Every life is unique. Every life ends. When the time comes, the ceremony that marks that life should be just as individual.
When somebody dies, a funeral or celebration of life is usually needed. This is my role as a funeral celebrant—to create and lead a ceremony that is centred entirely around the person who has died.
I provide a wide range of services including traditional funerals, alternative funerals, celebrations of life, memorial ceremonies, ceremonies following direct cremations, scattering and interring of ashes, as well as cremation, burial, and natural burial ceremonies.
With 14 years’ experience as an independent funeral celebrant, I am not affiliated with any organisation or belief system. This means there is no influence or expectation placed on what a ceremony should include. Whether spiritual, religious, semi-religious, or entirely life-centred, each ceremony is shaped by what feels right for you and your person.
My journey into celebrancy began after attending funerals that left me feeling underwhelmed, questioning why ceremonies felt so similar when every life is so different. I trained as a wedding and funeral celebrant, and since then have had the honour of creating and leading hundreds of ceremonies.
The funerals I have led have ranged from the traditional to the very personal and unusual. These have included a panto-themed funeral with a papier-mâché cow’s head placed on the coffin, a music hall-style ‘knees up’, and a festival-style farewell held in a field beneath a stretch tent. Each one reflected the individuality of the person it was for.
My preferred area of celebrancy is funerals. This can sometimes be seen as unusual, but it is not something I view as morbid. Every person I meet is at a different stage of grief, and it is a privilege to support them in creating a meaningful and fitting goodbye. Being part of that moment is something I never take for granted.
As humans, we have always had a need for ceremony when somebody dies. Rituals for the dead have existed since the beginning of time. They help us acknowledge what has happened and begin to process it. My role is to help you create and hold that space.
Funerals are not restricted to churches or crematoriums. They can take place almost anywhere. I have led ceremonies in crematoriums, natural burial grounds, graveyards, village halls, pub function rooms, private homes, gardens, and even in a rain-soaked field under a stretch tent. Every ceremony has been different.
What makes me different?
Although funerals have moved away from a strict “one size fits all” approach, many ceremonies are still shaped by traditional templates that have changed very little over time.
Some celebrants work from set structures, adapting names and details to fit. Families are not always made aware of the choices available to them.
I work differently.
I won’t tell you what should be included. Instead, I ask what you want to happen, and we create the ceremony together. If guidance is needed, I offer it—but always with your wishes at the centre.
Every ceremony I create is shaped around the person it is for.
Celebrants work as part of a wider team, all supporting and guiding those who are bereaved. Sometimes that means creating a full celebration of life. Other times, it may be a quieter acknowledgement that someone has died. Whatever the situation, whatever the requirements, the people the ceremony is for will always be the priority.