What to expect from a good Funeral Celebrant

• A Funeral Celebrant will help you to create a funeral service that is totally reflective of your wishes, guiding you when necessary with any arrangements for the ceremony itself.

 

• A Celebrant can create an entirely non religious ceremony or a semi- religious ceremony including elements of your chosen faith, we believe that the wishes of your loved one and the family should be respected, regardless of our own beliefs, and will be guided by you as to religious content.

 

• Once the Celebrant has met with you, they should put together a draft of the service for you and send any Order Of Service details (if required) to the Funeral Director on your behalf so the Funeral Directors can put together the Order Of Service Booklet. If a member of the family/friend is making the Order Of Service for you then the Celebrant can send a template to that person if necessary via email.

 

• Once you have received the draft of the ceremony, you can make any changes that are necessary until you are completely comfortable that all information is correct and that the choice of readings and wording meets your requirements. If you do not wish to make the changes to the document yourself then you can email/phone the Celebrant with your changes and they should make these for you and send over another draft if necessary, until a final draft is approved.

 

• Whether you have lots of ideas and wishes for the ceremony or whether you are a bit lost as to where to start, the Celebrant should help you to create something fitting and unique for your loved one.

 

• The Celebrant should guide you as to any time restrictions at your chosen venue and should be able to adapt their words so as to put any tributes or readings from the family as the priority, providing they are known about in advance.

 
Ellie Lomas  ©2020  (Member of the Institute of Civil Funerals)

​Funerals can be a difficult subject. There is of course immense sadness, and often anger and frustration to deal with at such a difficult time. So where do you start?

Firstly, you should feel confident in your choice of Funeral Director, if you are using one. Your loved one may have taken out a pre payment plan in which case the choice will have been made, but if not you do not have to go with the first one you visit, none should make you feel pressured in any way.

It is worth remembering that many Funeral Directors are called to their line of work due to a personal experience or a real passion for caring for the deceased and their family. You should feel that you can trust them to make all of the arrangements and that they will treat you and your family with dignity and respect.

​Music can be so important in life and is always something to consider when organising a funeral. Music can uplift the soul even at the hardest of times. It also allows us to pause for reflection; some people prefer to choose a song to honour their loved one rather than write a personal tribute, the melody can add more meaning than simply words alone.
 
Some people leave their family with strict instructions on what to play during their funeral ceremony. This is always wonderful as these songs often hold special memories for family and friends and are sometimes tongue in cheek or what would have been seen in years gone by as ‘inappropriate’ for a funeral, causing eruptions of laughter amongst the tears.
 
Live music also works brilliantly and there are many singers and bands that offer their professional services for the ceremony. Some people have bagpipes playing or, in the case of a military funeral, a Bugler to play the Last Post. If you don’t know of any yourself, it is likely that your Funeral Director, Celebrant or a musical friend will be able to advise you.