The dread that many people face organising a funeral can be substantially reduced if you find the right people to arrange things with. There are many benefits working with a UK based Funeral Celebrant. They can help you to create a fitting tribute to your deceased loved one.

Celebrants offer another fitting choice 

Funeral ceremonies were once almost the exclusive preserve of a church or other religious organisation, now you can choose a funeral celebrant.

In the UK we have become more secular, or non-religious, in many of our practices. Fewer of us attend church now so religion is not an option for us. So when it comes to funerals, we increasingly require ceremonies that express the individual nature of our relationship with the deceased.

The Benefits of Hiring a Celebrant 

Tailored to your needs, not taken from a textbook

Not everyone wants a textbook funeral that may not reflect the life, personality or wishes of the person who has died. Instead families and friends can now choose a celebrant to help them create a special personalised ceremony. A good celebrant can help to really capture and commemorate the essence of the person who has departed. You can work with your celebrant to create a totally customised personal ceremony.

Skilled in handling family sensitivities
Some also look to an expert who can deal with tragic or difficult circumstances. These could include sudden or accidental deaths, deaths of young children and adolescents, suicides, or lives that seem to have little to celebrate.

Spending the time needed

A further benefit of using a funeral celebrant is that a good one is prepared to spend time with family members, friends or colleagues. They will listen and interpret your wishes for the ceremony. And a great funeral professional knows reconciling the emotions at this difficult time with practical issues needs a subtle blend of sympathy, empathy and tact.

Growing trust, lowering distress

Gaining the trust of the family members, or the person of friend charged with organising the funeral service, is really important. Good celebrants can put you at your ease during this difficult time. They know how to avoid causing distress, or how to alleviate it should tension arise.

Celebrating with creativity

Perhaps most importantly great celebrants not only interpret your needs, and the lives and histories of the deceased. They do it creatively. They can put together a service which, whilst emotional, can also be calming, uplifting, spiritual.  You can include relevant and meaningful music, readings, family stories that you believe to be fitting for the occassion. The celebrant can also involve you or other family and friends in the ceremony if you would like. That way its becomes a very personal and inclusive event.

 

 

Recognising the right moments for humour

Great celebrants even know how to capture and represent humorous elements of the deceased’s life in ways that can make their absence seem less painful.

Including these anecdotes can lighten the atmosphere. They can  even allow the funeral party to remember fond memories of the person they have lost. A combination of tears and smiles at a funeral says much about the celebrant. Its important to capture the right balance of mourning, solemnity and celebration for a life well lived.

These special moments can really enhance the whole experience and have a lasting positive effect on the people attending the funeral.

 

Who handles what?

Where a natural death has occurred (a death that doesn’t require the involvement of a coroner and where a death certificate has been issued), most people contact or appoint a funeral director.

Even when a loved one’s death is anticipated there are very few family members or friends are ever prepared. Bereavement can still be a big shock and a hard thing for family to deal with. Often, the hospital or home where the person dies will suggest a funeral director.

The choice is yours

Know that you are free to select who you believe will do the best job for your family. You should not feel pressured into conducting the funeral as soon as possible because its important for you to be prepared too.

If you want to arrange a celebrant, your funeral director should be able to suggest local celebrants to help. During the ceremony, your celebrant should convey a real sense of your deceased loved one. They should create a fitting ceremony conveying the right message that pays tribute, mourns and celebrates your loved one’s life.