What may put you off about Funerals
As a celebrant, I have worked with families on funeral Orders of Service for quite a long time. In fact, I have performed over 150 funerals to date. So I have reasonable experience of putting bespoke ceremonies together. When it comes to putting a funeral together, each family is likely to have one element (at […]
The Perfect Funeral
I doubt if such a thing exists as a “perfect” funeral. However, I know that Funeral Directors and celebrants like myself normally do their utmost to satisfy needs and desires. I ought to point out that, as a civil celebrant, my comments here refer to secular or part-religious ceremonies only. Problems A difficulty arises if […]
Life-time Funeral Eulogies
The idea of life-time funeral eulogies doesn’t, at first sight, make a lot of sense. Why would you write a eulogy when still alive? What’s the point? A good turn You may not care much what happens at your funeral. Once you’re dead, that’s probably it. Your family can work out what they want to […]
It’s your funeral!
You don’t expect things to go wrong at a funeral, do you? After all, everybody goes to great lengths to ensure that things go smoothly. Funeral Directors put themselves out to ensure that needs are met. The staff they use (celebrants, crematorium staff, etc.) are professional, dedicated people. So you have every right to expect […]
Organise your own Funeral Service
Has it occurred to you that you can arrange your funeral service in your lifetime? I realise that that may not be your cup of tea – and that’s fine. But, more likely, you’re not even aware that you can do this. This is actually an option that is available to anyone. And even if […]
Funeral Music
I thought this article might be of use, even if it’s a little out-of-date, as I frequently get asked about funeral music choices. Popular music for funerals 29 September 2015 by The Co-operative Funeralcare A survey based on over 30,000 funerals Music plays such an important part in people’s lives that it now acts as […]
Happy Funerals – a seasonal miscellany!
At this Yuletide season it seems right not to be entirely serious, so I thought a few moments of levity, even about funerals, might be forgiven. Unless otherwise stated, they all relate to services I have conducted (with names changed, to protect the not-necessarily innocent!). Limousine lunacy Although neither of these was ‘my’ funeral, […]
Choosing Funeral Music
Would you have “Metallica” played at your funeral? Many next-of-kin I come across as a funeral celebrant have not given much thought to the funeral service they are supposed to be putting together. They certainly haven’t planned their own. Often, it is because of that very British reluctance to speak of death at all, let […]
It’s Your Funeral
The “Funeral Service Times” carried an article about SunLife’s 2016 “Cost of Dying” report. It emerged that funeral costs rose by 5.5% over the year. Apparently, the average cost of a funeral came to £3,897. However, if you factor in probate, flowers and a headstone, that sum rose to £8,802 per person. It was even […]
Life-or-death Decisions
27 September 2016 Recently, I wrote about crucial decisions that affected wedding planning. I’d now like to look at life-or-death decisions. By that I mean decisions relating to death. It’s an understatement, but when someone dies, it can be an extremely difficult time for those left behind. Obviously, just as relationships differ, so will reactions. […]