My services and fees
As a civil funeral celebrant, my mission is to create a beautiful, bespoke funeral ceremony to reflect your loved one and their life.
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I will support you from the moment we start working together, and right through to the day of the ceremony. I will work closely with you to compose and deliver, with care and love, a unique funeral ceremony to celebrate the life of your person.
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The ceremony may weave together personal tributes, music, poetry, readings and symbolic acts. If required, it may include religious or spiritual elements: perhaps a hymn or a prayer.
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As a member of the Institute of Civil Funerals, I am fully insured and work to the highest standards.
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My fees are below. I aim to be clear and transparent about them. They include travel within a 30 mile radius of Whitstable (CT5). I can travel further for a modest travel cost. These fees are all-inclusive (no VAT is payable).
FUNERAL SERVICE
A funeral is a formal ceremony that takes place after someone has died. It is a final step in taking care of a person’s body, providing an opportunity for loved ones to come together to honour the deceased’s life and achievements.
A funeral can be a valuable part of the mourning process, giving some formal closure, and an important step to moving forward.
Traditionally, if a person was religious, their funeral ceremony would take place in a church or other religious building, followed by burial or cremation.
For those who are not religious, their funeral ceremony may take place at a crematorium prior to the committal of their body for cremation. In fact, with the right permissions in place, funeral ceremonies can take place almost anywhere.
Funeral ceremonies invariably include tributes, readings, poetry, music and symbolic acts that reflect the life of a loved one.
If you are planning a funeral, I will work closely with you to carefully create and then deliver, possibly with contributions from others, a fitting, bespoke and memorable ceremony.
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£250
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BURIAL SERVICE
Burials generally take place in a cemetery or churchyard, or increasingly these days, at a natural burial ground.
The whole funeral ceremony can take place at the graveside and may include readings, poems, tributes, music and symbolic acts.
If the funeral ceremony has taken place elsewhere, a short ceremony for the committal of the body may take place at the graveside.
In either case, I can work with you to write an apt and thoughtful ceremony to mark the laying to rest of your loved one’s body.
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My fee depends on whether it is a full funeral service or a shorter ceremony (£80–£250)
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MEMORIAL SERVICE
A memorial ceremony can allow greater flexibility for the celebration of a life. Memorial events can take place more or less anywhere, without the constraints of space or time that tend to impact on funeral arrangements. Memorials may take place some time after a funeral, allowing more time for planning ahead.
Such occasions generally allow far more time to fully commemorate the life of a loved one.
Village halls, community centres, gardens and pubs are just a few of the many possible venues for a memorial.
If a private funeral has taken place for immediate family only, the family may then arrange a memorial ceremony to enable participation by all those whose lives were touched by their loved one and who will wish to commemorate and pay tribute to their life and passing.
Working with you to create and deliver a memorable memorial event is another service I offer.
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£250
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EULOGY WRITING
If you are tasked with putting together and delivering a funeral eulogy or tribute, I can help.
A eulogy is a speech about the person who has died, summarising and celebrating their life and capturing their essence. A eulogy usually highlights the dead person’s achievements, interests and hobbies. It makes reference to the person’s family and close relationships and will draw on memories and anecdotes supplied by loved ones and acquaintances. A eulogy can highlight the many positives a person has contributed during their lifetime and can include happy and funny stories too.
In order to write a eulogy to your loved one, I will meet you to find out as much as I can from you about them. Guided by you, I will connect with any other family members, friends, or contacts you suggest. By using their memories too, I will be enabled to write the fullest and most befitting eulogy.
I can also advise you on how to deliver a eulogy to greatest effect, or deliver it on your behalf if need be.
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£150
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SCATTERING OF ASHES
Scattering the ashes of a loved one may take place some time after their cremation. It can be a most important final symbolic act, carried out at a place with special meaning to the person who has died and offering some further closure and solace to their family and friends. Mourners may later return to the spot to reflect, remember and process their feelings.
You may choose to arrange a scattering of ashes ceremony, a potentially poignant and powerful act. I can help you with this, working with you to create and then deliver at the chosen place, a ceremony that is likely to be relatively short but may include a poem or reading, music or symbolic act, whatever you wish.
The scattering of ashes gives a real sense of the circle of life and may provide a measure of comfort for those on the grieving journey.
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My fee depends on whether I conduct the funeral or memorial service (£80–£120)
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ADVANCE PLANNING
Planning your own funeral and recording your wishes in advance are actions your family will very likely greatly appreciate. It might be a way of helping them cope with your loss by providing them with strength through your choices, for example uplifting music or readings particularly pertinent to you.
My ailing father sat me down some months before he died and had me write down his wishes for his funeral, including his choice of venue, and his selection of readings and music for the occasion. At the time it was somewhat unsettling because it forced me to directly face the fact that my beloved dad’s days were numbered. His foresight proved invaluable when the inevitable occurred. It was a great relief to know exactly what he had wished for his funeral, not least because there were so many other matters to consider and do in the difficult days after his death.
In his wisdom, dad had taken away the guess work about the choices of readings and music. In a strange way, listening to his personal selection on the day was comforting – something of a connection to him from beyond the grave, if you like.
If you are interested in my advance funeral planning service, I will sit down with you and provide support for your planning, recording your wishes for your funeral. If you are unsure, I can help by making suggestions of poems, readings and music that might be appropriate. By planning the content of your funeral in advance you are providing your family with a legacy for which they are likely to have heartfelt appreciation.
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£100
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THIS IS YOUR LIFE
You are the best person to tell your own story fully and accurately.
We may think we know someone very well: a close family member or a best friend, perhaps. However, if asked to give a full and accurate account of someone else’s life with all its many facets and milestones over the years, time and again we are likely to struggle to do them full justice and are likely to find we have many gaps.
I once worked with someone who had many, many strings to his bow in an exceedingly full and busy life. Throughout his years he had been (and continued to be) involved in countless matters, contributing much to his community and beyond.
Every time my colleague went on holiday he would email me an updated, detailed document telling his life story and listing all its significant events and his many undertakings. He would update the document to the present each time he went away. He did the same for his wife and each of his children. His reasoning was that should the worst happen, I would have a comprehensive account of each of their lives immediately to hand and be able to do each of them justice, writing full and accurate obituaries. I used to save his files in a folder called The Big Red Book. Happily, I never had to use its resources.
As a practised professional story teller, I can meet you to record your life story in your own words and write it up so that you have an accurate, expertly-crafted, condensed memoir of your life to pass on to your family. It will undoubtedly be valued by your family now, and by future generations.
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£200
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SUPPORT SIGNPOSTING
The death of a person can leave their loved ones in need of support to cope with the associated emotional, psychological, practical, financial and legal concerns.
I am familiar with many sources of specific help, support and information for those who have been bereaved. I can supply a list of local contacts and organisations that offer help to those who have lost a loved one.
This is a service I am pleased to offer freely
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