Saying Goodbye Your Way

Hello and welcome to my first blog post!

I wanted to talk today about options when it comes to saying goodbye. Funerals have long been regarded as very formal, sombre occasions. Everyone wears black and the ceremony doesn’t reflect the person who has died in any way.

They don’t have to be like that at all!

As a celebrant, my role is to create a ceremony that feels true to the person who has died. This isn’t just about the words I use. You don’t want people to wear black? That’s fine! You can have them wearing bright colours, or football shirts (I will too). Was your person a gardener? You could give every guest some seeds to plant in their memory. You want “Highway to Hell” to be played (or any other song that traditionally would have been deemed inappropriate for a funeral)? Go for it!

You don’t even have to have the funeral at a traditional venue. You could hold a celebration of life at a venue that meant something to your person, for example the home ground of their favourite football team. Or if they liked to be outdoors it could be at their favourite beauty spot. The beauty of this type of ceremony is that there aren’t the time constraints that come with a ceremony in a more traditional venue such as a crematorium.

Something else that is becoming more popular is what is known as a “living funeral”. This is a ceremony that happens before a person dies which they are present at. They can be involved in the planning of it and say goodbye in their way, as well as hearing their family and friends share their memories to celebrate their life.

There are no rules when it comes to planning a funeral ceremony. If it’s true to the person, it should be in the ceremony, and as your celebrant I will work with you to create a ceremony that allows you to say goodbye your way.