10 steps to organising a funeral when your loved one left no instructions

1. Choose a Funeral Director or do it yourself There are so many Funeral Directors out there these days that finding the right one can seem daunting. Try and get some recommendations from friends and family, word of mouth is often the strongest marketing tool. With ready online reviews available, a quick search will also show some local firms who have gone above and beyond for other families. If in doubt, ask a few different companies for a quote, it is likely you will click with one of them from the off. If you would prefer to care for your loved one yourself, this is perfectly legal and manageable if you have the right help and advice. Some really helpful…

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Funerals: Thinking ahead and planning for the inevitable

Dying Matters With Dying Matters awareness week in May 2019 posing the question, “Are we ready?” one Celebrant takes a look at why it is so important to think ahead and plan for the inevitable, your funeral. So many funeral celebrants have heard the following comments when having the first conversation with someone who is recently bereaved, ‘We never talked about funerals…’ ‘Burial or cremation? I don’t really know what she’d like’ ‘Religion? He never said whether he believed in anything’ ‘She liked lots of different music, but I have no idea what she would’ve liked at her celebration of life ceremony’  Does this sound like you? Perhaps it is time to open up the conversation about death, dying, funerals and…

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Choosing a Direct Cremation like trend setter David Bowie

The past 18 months have be challenging for every person in the funeral profession and mourners alike. The pandemic has pushed families to source alternative options for saying goodbye to their loved ones, moving away from traditional ones.  Here’s where Celebrants come in. Celebrants are storytellers by trade and at The Celebrant Directory we have a wealth of advice and inspiration written by Celebrants creating ceremonies across the world.  Directory member Helen Noble, Best National Celebrant for Funerals CDGA shares her insights into Direct Cremations and Memorials, first made popular by David Bowie. Since he passed, the demand for Direct Cremations have rocketed by 400% – a true trend setter in both life and death. What is a Direct Cremation?…

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What is grief in children?

Part one of What is grief?  shared a very personal account of grief. In the second of our three part series investigating grief, one very experienced Celebrant looks at how children handle bereavement and explains how to be age appropriate when helping a grieving child. Golden rule of grief: be guided by the child Children differ in their capacity to understand grief depending on their age and maturity. Babies and small children lack the words for their grief but still feel it. Toddlers and the under 5s will take time to form a consistent understanding of death. This means that they may swing back and forth between understanding and not understanding. Be prepared for this, and to answer the same…

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How to deal with grief when you are abroad

In the final part of our trilogy considering different aspects of grief, one experienced funeral Celebrant in Spain looks at death and dying overseas. Read on for a very personal account full of advice on how to die well abroad. My reasons for becoming a funeral Celebrant In 2004 my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 terminal Cancer.  She died aged 63 on 5 November 2005 at 11.55pm she loved fireworks and the noise outside the hospice in Hackney where she died was deafening.  To this day I still say she chose that day to die so we would remember – she knows how bad I am with dates! Whilst she was in the hospice we planned her funeral, she…

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Checklist for planning a funeral

Planning a funeral for a loved one can be even more stressful if you don’t know where to start. You are grieving, you are planning your last goodbye and you want it to be perfect.  One experienced funeral celebrant has collated a step by step checklist to help guide you through this difficult time and support you to plan a funeral. How do I start planning a funeral? The daunting prospect of planning a funeral for a loved one at one of the most difficult times in your life breaks down into a simple checklist taking you through everything from selecting someone to officiate the memorial to choosing readings and considering transportation for the mourners. Before you start planning, read…

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How to write a eulogy for a loved one’s funeral.

How to write a eulogy

There will come a time when you may have to write some words to celebrate the life of your loved one.  Perhaps the time is now. Are you writing a eulogy for a loved one’s funeral but not sure where to start? In this blog, our resident blogger and funeral celebrant, Rosalie, answers the seven most asked questions and answers to help you write a eulogy that brings your loved one to life and engages the hearts and minds of your audience. Q1. What is a eulogy? A eulogy, or funeral speech, is a spoken tribute about a person at their funeral. It aims to capture their character by sharing highlights of their life, special memories and stories illustrating what…

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What is a eulogy and how do I write a good one?

A eulogy is a speech, or piece of writing, in praise of a particular person, or thing. These can be living eulogies – i.e. given in praise of someone at a retirement party, for example. Or, in the case of a funeral, a eulogy may be read as a tribute to the person that has died. This may be written by a family member or a close friend, and is often read out by the person that has penned it. If a family have chosen to work with a Funeral Celebrant they may ask the Celebrant to help with the writing and/or delivery of the eulogy. This is often the case when there is no obvious other person to do…

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What is grief?

Approaching any milestone event such as Christmas or a birthday can be incredibly poignant when you have lost a loved one. In the first of our three part series asking, “What is grief?”, one brave Celebrant shares an intensely moving account of her own personal experience of grief twenty years on. This is my grief? Grief is described in the dictionary as intense sorrow especially caused by someone’s death.  That it may be but until it is your grief you have no idea of the intensity of grief, what it is or why it is happening.  Life is a blur.  Grief is an emotion – an emotion no one wants to choose. Grief is a place – it is a…

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Funeral Budgeting 101: Funeral Celebrant Planning for Beginners

Are you a celebrant in need of some funeral budgeting advice? This article covers it all… Making plans for a funeral is one of the most difficult tasks anyone will have to go through. That’s why, as a celebrant, you have an important job to make sure that all the finer details are taken care of, including helping with funeral budgeting. Funeral budgeting covers a wide range of different factors. For starters, you’ll be guiding people through their loved one’s Will to avoid potential inheritance disputes when paying for the funeral. You’ll also be required to help choose the flower arrangements, and more. Every little detail can make a huge difference to the funeral, so it’s vital to be prepared.…

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