Celebration of Life

My civil funeral ceremonies are a reflection on and celebration of a person’s life, driven by the wishes beliefs and values of the deceased and their family not by the beliefs and ideology of the person conducting the funeral.

By choosing a civil funeral, families can ensure this final act of love focusses entirely on their loved one.  It may be a celebration or reflection of their life. The style and tone are appropriate to them whilst being sensitive to the circumstances of their death.

A civil funeral ceremony is appropriate for either a cremation or burial and although it is often held in a crematorium or chapel, it can be held at a variety of locations to ensure the setting itself is as personal as the ceremony.

The ceremony itself may include music, readings, poetry and symbolic gestures, such as candles and photographs.  Religious or spiritual elements such as prayers and hymns can also be included or the ceremony can be entirely non-religious.

After meeting you, I will create a ceremony according to your requirements that is respectful, personal, memorable and honours the person’s memory, placing an emphasis how the person lived their life, their personality traits and your memories of them. That’s why a celebrant is the go-to option if you are looking to create ceremonies of substance and meaning without necessarily mentioning religious beliefs or the afterlife.

How To Choose a Funeral Celebrant

You can rely on a celebrant recommendation from your funeral director, however it’s best to track them down yourself. You might want to ask your funeral director for a recommendation.

For planning and leading the service, celebrants tend to charge between £150 and £250.  In comparison, the Church of England charges £190 (2018) in minister fees.

A Memorial Service

Again, if you choose me as your Celebrant, this ceremony will be a celebration of life service. A memorial service is typically after an individual’s burial or cremation, although it is becoming more common to host this type of gathering in place of a traditional funeral. A memorial service can take place any time after a death, from a week to a year.

A memorial service may also be an additional and special ceremony that allows people to celebrate that person’s life in a more relaxed atmosphere than the funeral.

When a person dies there are only several days to get everyone notified and present for the day. It is unfortunately not always possible for everyone to attend. Often the funeral service itself and the facilities are restricted as well and may not provide as much room as you would like or perhaps you requested the funereal to be a close family affair only. This is an opportunity to ensure there is a memorial service organised for a later date.

As a Civil Celebrant, I can offer help and guidance and will plan a simply beautiful and fitting memorial service. At a memorial service there are no coffins or casketsand no burial to attend. You can choose the music and readings and include a eulogy and a prayer, if you wish in order to really celebrate the person’s life.

Because previously it was a funeral service, you may use the memorial service as a opportunity for tokens of remembrance to offered to the guests in the way of keepsakes or a memorial bush that can betaken home. In addition, a memorial book of shared memories and photos could be opened.

A popular trend these days is to hold a gathering at a public venue. This could be a music hall because they loved classical music or even a local football stadium, because this is where they spent 10% of their life from childhood to senior years. It may even be a match day.

While celebrating a person’s life this has been done as a Eulogy at the Funeral Service, at a memorial service, you may choose more people to speak.

A memorial service It is an extraordinary opportunity to put on a great event in the correct context for everybody to say goodbye one last time and to meet each other. Whether sombre or more lively, it will be a choice the family can make together.