Funerals

The funeral world can often be perceived as cloaked in dark tones and using hushed voices but it’s changing – and fast – and if that’s not right for you there are so many ways in which you can respect and honour the life of a loved one in a relevant and meaningful way. 

As your celebrant I will really get to know your person.  I will meet with you at a space in which you feel safe and spend all the time you need listening to the story of their life, what they liked and disliked, what made them laugh, what made them cry. ​The people they loved and those who loved them. 

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Having attended many funerals through the course of my work it is often evident to me when a family has been given the space and time to tell their person’s story in abundance; to make the telling of that life not just a list of attributes and life milestones but to make us feel that just for that moment in time they are still very much in the room with us.  (And of course for many of us they always will be)

I’ve been drawn into the world of funeral celebrancy largely, I think, because of the way my parents’ funerals were conducted.  They died fairly close to one another (two years) and, numbed by grief, my family and I were gratefully led by what our appointed funeral directors told us we should do.   In collaboration with my siblings, I wrote and delivered each of my parents’ eulogies, probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  But this granted me a sense of giving my parents a voice, since each of their services were led by people who didn’t know them and had spent little time with us getting to do so. 

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What I’ve since learnt is that nowadays concerning almost every aspect of a funeral there are so many more options available to us.  For example, recently there has been a move to have a direct cremation followed by a joyous celebrant led celebration of life.  Or you could do it the other way around and take your person to a spot that might have special meaning (your back garden / local pub – with necessary permissions of course) and have the celebrant led celebration of life with them there (yep, in their coffin) followed by a cremation or burial.  There has been an increase in environmentally friendly natural burial grounds and a wealth of suppliers springing up offering all manner of unique ways in which to give your person a fitting tribute and farewell.

As your celebrant I will gladly give recommendations and advise you of the many options available as we work together to ensure that the story of your person’s life is honoured in all it’s wonderful glory.

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Since Ive started working in the funeral world I’ve learnt so much.   I’m passionate about sharing this information with others so that they can make informed choices that are right for THEM.  So I’ve set up the SW London Coffin Club … click here to find out more.