How can I arrange a memorial or funeral ceremony?
If you would like to organise a private memorial ceremony you can contact me directly at any time. Whether you have already booked the venue and catering, planned the guest list and simply need a speaker … or you have yet to start and would like some guidance and ideas, I can offer advice to help you build a picture of how you’d like the day to be.
When it comes to arranging a funeral ceremony, again, you can contact me at any point during the process. Very often, the first person you will speak to when a loved one dies is a Funeral Director. They will ask you if you have thought about what kind of ceremony you would like to have. If you pass on my details they will contact me directly to discuss your needs and check my availability.
Once this has happened I will contact you to arrange a mutually convenient time to talk. This can be face-to-face, at your home or wherever you and your family and friends feel most comfortable, or if you prefer we can communicate via telephone, email, WhatsApp, Facetime, Zoom etc…
Before our chat I will provide you with a list of questions about your loved one, things to spend some time considering to help you feel more prepared.
Time to reflect
You may be anxious about talking with me, wondering where to start: how can you begin to put across everything you want to share about the person you loved?
This is perfectly natural! Over the years I have worked with hundreds of people who felt like this- but rest assured I can help to get your memories flowing and I guarantee that by the time we’ve finished you’ll be amazed at how easy it was. It can actually be really comforting to take a bit of time out just to reflect and remember the happy times.
Sometimes it can be a little more complicated. Maybe you had a difficult relationship with the person or hadn’t seen them for a very long time, or there is disagreement among family members about how the funeral should be?
Don’t worry- families are often tricky things (my own included!) and I have years of experience in helping to be diplomatic, wording things very carefully until we get it right, making sure we end up with a eulogy you are completely comfortable with.
Perhaps you are absolutely full of ideas and have a strong vision of exactly how the ceremony should be, who is going to speak and what they are going to say?
In this case my role is to offer practical guidance, to help you make decisions about how things are pieced together and to oversee the running order on the day, with as much or as little input as feels right for you.
If you have written a tribute but feel unable to speak yourself, I will read it for you with clarity and feeling so that that every single word is heard and understood.
