A GREAT SEND-OFF
Death is the last of lifes’ Rites of Passage.
It’s devastating to lose someone you love. As your funeral celebrant, I can walk beside you at this difficult time, supporting you to give this special person’s send-off the careful attentiveness it deserves.
Tell Me More…
Grief is never easy to navigate. My vision as a Funeral Celebrant is to accompany you on life’s experiences, including through the journey of heartache and loss. Often the burden of enormous grief encompasses our whole self. It feels insurmountable. Remembering our loved one is a healing exercise, albeit a difficult one. I can offer you an understanding presence and be a gentle guide through the process of creating a ceremony that looks at the life lived, the tears, the joy, and the love.
Snapshot Overview
As a civil funeral celebrant, my job is to make the day as smooth as possible and give your loved ones the send-off they deserve. Here’s how!
Legals
When creating a ceremony to honor a loved one, there are no legal requirements to consider. This is for you to celebrate life.
Ceremony
Whilst there are many traditions surrounding funerals, how you say goodbye is entirely up to you. I will guide you in creating the service.
Support
My role includes fulfilling communication with various parties as requested. This includes research, advice, eulogy writing and guidance.
Equipment
Depending on the venue, this is often already provided by the Funeral Chapel. However if required, I can assist with a PA system.
Professional Celebrant
I always present professionally. However if something a little different is suggested clothing/readings/music – I encourage and accommodate it.
As Well As
This time can be tough. I’m willing and able to create something for you that reflects your loved one, even if it feels ‘different’ outside of the ‘norm’.
WHAT DOES A FUNERAL CELEBRANT DO?
A funeral celebrant is a professional who leads funeral and memorial ceremonies. A funeral celebrant will work alongside you and/or your funeral director to create your funeral ceremony, whether it involves cremation or burial celebrants. Civil celebrants can provide the following funeral services:
- Creating the funeral service
- Adding personal touches
- Offering resources
- Writing the eulogy
- Leading the ceremony and providing support to families
WHAT CAN I EXPECT FROM MY FUNERAL CELEBRANT?
Funeral Service. In the midst of grief, it can be difficult to organise your thoughts and funeral planning can feel overwhelming. A funeral celebrant will work with your funeral director to ensure everything runs smoothly and no important details are omitted.
Personal Touches. Including personal touches ensures the funeral ceremony fully represents who they were. I fully encourage your right to create something bespoke and am keen to work with you to create something unique.
Provide resources. Helping you select readings, poems and songs to commemorate this person’s life. I can share resources and provide prompts to help you write down what you need to share at the funeral.
Creating the Eulogy. Finding the words while lost in a tumultuous sea of grief can be impossible. I will listen with an open heart as you tell me about your loved one’s life. I can help you find the memories that make you smile, so you can fully celebrate them and find the words you need to say goodbye. I ensure accuracy with names, places and dates and share your heartwarming, funny, moving and fascinating stories with sincerity and empathy.
Building the Order of Service. Incorporating your chosen poems, readings and music, I can help you create a personal and touching Order of Service so your family and friends can listen, pay respects, celebrate their life and say goodbye.
Leading the Ceremony. You needn’t worry about the process and can allow yourself to grieve properly while I lead the ceremony.
Support. You can lean on me to provide an empathetic ear and help you through this tough time with advice, support and experience from our first appointment until we say our goodbyes.
WHAT GOES IN A EULOGY?
It is really just a fancy word for a life story. A Funeral Celebrant’s job is to support you as you write this. What kine of things go into a eulogy?
Memories. Eulogies are a picture painted with the memories of close family and friends. Collectively, it’s a life story built, mosaic style, from several different perspectives.
Beginnings. For those who lived full lives, this can include their beginnings like what kind of child they were, where they worked, where they lived, when they met their partner and their hobbies.
Anecdotes. There are stories about us that really display our values, and sharing these anecdotes can shed light on this person’s sense of humour, kind heart or funny habits.
Big Events. The big things that happened in their life, whether as a child or during adulthood.
Character and Personality Traits. What kind of person were they? What jokes did they enjoy? What music did they like?
Your loved one is extraordinary and should have a tribute to reflect their uniqueness. I will support you during this difficult time to ensure we record every little detail together.
Frequently Asked Question
FAQs that will help you know more about what Katie Reeve can do to make your event more memorable.
1 What is a memorial service?
A memorial service is the same as a Funeral. However, the body of the deceased is not present. The death of someone close is devastating for families. Memorials get families together to commemorate someone’s life.
2 What's the difference between a civil ceremony and a religious ceremony?
A Civil funeral service is usually conducted when the deceased had no religious beliefs. It has the benefit of being client-centred, honouring the wishes of the deceased and their family. This contrasts with religious funerals, which are generally dictated by a religious process and held in a church or place of worship. Civil funerals can contain both religious and secular content and are held at crematoriums, chapels and other locations. A civil funeral can focus more on the person and allow greater flexibility with more input from the family.
3 Why have an Order of Service?
Funeral celebrants work with funeral directors to create the Order of Service from the family’s wishes, only including what is important to the grieving family. An Order of Service will usually contain the following: Music, hymns, the eulogy, readings/poems, photographs of the deceased person and their dates of birth and death.
The Order of Service gives mourners something to hold and follow along with the service, as well as something to keep afterwards. This way, they know when the funeral celebrant will begin the eulogy and which songs or readings are coming up. It’s also best practice to provide the reading and song words in the Order of Service.
What others say about Katie
My Amazing Work
Just look at those happy faces! It was an honour and a privilege to be part of the 'big day' for these lovely couples
‘My Amazing Work’ is also on my Instagram page.
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