A Funeral Celebrant is someone qualified to host and officiate funeral services. As well as conducting the funeral itself (non-religious and semi -religious), celebrants are involved in planning the order of service, music, writing the eulogy and creating a meaningful service for the person who has died.

One of the biggest benefits of having a celebrant-led funeral is their openness and inclusivity. They allow you to create a ceremony that is a true reflection of the deceased.

Many feel that typical funerals don't offer any kind of emotional weight or psychological transformation, despite this being a huge part of the grieving process. However a funeral celebrant will try to bring a sense of light to the ceremony, reminding the mourners that the individual lived a beautiful, meaningful life.

It also gives you the flexibility to factor in different beliefs and wishes, without being tied to specific structure.

This will be included as part of the costs you pay to the Funeral Director.

As part of the service, I will carry out a home visit where I will ask questions to attain information, stories and memories. Some areas you may wish to think about include:-

- Where the deceased was born and grew up

- Siblings and family members they grew up with

- School days and childhood stories

- Partners, children, grandchildren and other family members

- Closest friends

- Armed forces/National Service

- Career plans and places of work

- Groups and societies they belonged to

- Interests and achievements

- Favourite memories

- Musical tastes

- Significant events

- Sayings and stories

- What will you remember them most for?

- Did the deceased make any personal requests for their own funeral?

- Will anybody else be speaking at/participating at the service?

- What 5 words best describe your loved one?

You should also think about songs, poems, hymns or prayers that you might like at the funeral. You can find lots of examples of popular choices which may help you under the other sections of my FAQs

It's your choice. Many people will leave the bulk of the funeral to the celebrant, which is perfectly normal and understandable given the circumstance.

However, should you wish for a family member or friend to speak, carry out a reading or maybe recite a poem, that is perfectly fine and will be discussed as part of my home visit and our time working together. And I will always be on hand during the ceremony to lend support or take over should the reader find the situation to emotional.

You can have as many readings, tributes or poems as you would like, although please understand this may be limited to the time we have available in the chapel which is normally around 30 minutes.

Should you wish for hymns or a prayer to be included in the ceremony, I can also easily accommodate.

Naturally there is an order to the day, however it is completely up to you should you wish to devise a printed order of service to support.

Your Funeral Director would normally help you choose and some people like to keep this as a keepsake.

Yes, I can hold a service or celebration of life wherever you wish it to be.