As your Celebrant…
I have the privilege of spending time with you when someone you love has just died. My focus is you, and working with you to ensure a meaningful ceremony.
It is never easy to deal with the death of a loved one. Whenever and however it happens, a host of tasks and duties crop up that can overwhelm even the most organised family member.
One of the questions you might be asking is: Who will lead the funeral service? Your choice will shape your memory of the ceremony and indeed, the person being remembered, for many years. I am here to help, and together we will create a loving and memorable ceremony that captures the life and legacy of the person you have lost.
My Approach…
My aim is to create a personalised ceremony which is a tribute to the person you have lost.
My role is to help you plan the funeral service, which may lighten the load you carry in the time between the loss and final goodbye of someone you love. This can feel quite invasive from a stranger, and difficult to allow me in, so I am sensitive and observant to your cues and the flow of my questions will be as natural as possible.
I am here to offer my support and guidance throughout the ceremony planning process, with my fullest empathy, honesty and compassion. We are not here to deny the pain of death but to find a way to make it more bearable.
The Process…
During our first meeting, either via Zoom or at your home, I shall ask questions about the deceased in order to prepare a ceremony befitting of them. It is important that you do not feel restricted to just answering my questions, so I invite you to tell me about your memories and your loved one’s favourite things. If other family members can be present and contribute their own stories, it will help me to build a fully rounded picture.
I then spend time tying all aspects of the ceremony together with skill and grace, weaving your loved one’s story together through memories and pictures. My manner is formal as I understand friends and family are there to grieve and tears may be shed. But my style is joyful, I like to include elements of humour interwoven throughout, as death does not put a ban on laughter.
The Ceremony…
Having spent time with you, and having working together to finalise the ceremony, it is my honour to lead your personal service. The ceremony will include your chosen music, poetry, readings, and tributes, and on the day you can be as active in the ceremony proceedings as you feel able.
The ceremony will seek to bring you comfort, as the words spoken will hopefully help you move from grief at your loss to pride at having known such a wonderful person.