Burial Celebrant in Carlisle, Cumbria

Burials

It is a huge decision choosing where you would like to have a funeral service.

The most traditional option to do so is a burial service. It is the oldest form of service dating back over 100,000 years. The service is essentially made up of the main funeral service followed by a short ceremony where the coffin is lowered into the ground.

A celebrant-led funeral service can be led at a crematorium, a church graveyard (if the deceased was a local parishioner) or natural burial site.

The actual burial service is usually restricted to the deceased’s nearest and dearest. There can be poems, readings, prayers and music – you can choose your way of saying your last goodbyes.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

You get in contact with me via email, message, phone call, facebook, Instagram, or in person and we have initial chat about your requirements and wishes. You can give me a date and I will see if it is available. If it is then let’s meet up. We get to know each other, and you can decide if you would like me to be your celebrant. It might be that your funeral director has put me in touch with you.

Once you have decided I am the one for you I ask that you pay me a deposit of £90. The fee can be found below. If you have gone through a funeral director and found me the fee will be taken when you pay their bill.

We meet up in person or over Zoom, Skype, FaceTime and we get to know each other even more. This can take between 1-2 hours but there is no limit. At this meeting I want to get to know all about your loved one and their life story. This helps me make your ceremony totally unique and personal. We can talk about where they were born, siblings and family members they grew up with, their time at school and any childhood stories, all their family members and friends, their careers and places of work, did they belong to any groups or societies, their personality, their character, hobbies and achievements, your favourite memories of them, any significant events, how will they be remembered and did they have any personal requests about their funeral? We also talk about what ideas you have for your ceremony – will anybody else be speaking? Choices can be made from my wide selection of poetry and readings. Any additional pieces that hold special meaning or significance for your loved one can be included. I will help you decide how they could be arranged and presented. You may want a family member or close friend to do a reading or make a speech.

I go away and compose a draft script for your ceremony using all the information I have gained from us meeting.

It is important for me to say there are no restrictions on how many times we re-write the draft ceremony. It has to be absolutely perfect. If there is anything you don’t like, just let me know I really don’t mind.

When I have the final draft I will add in any readings, poems or speeches so everything is well timed. We are somewhat limited with time as they are often very strict about time keeping.

After the service when there’s a chance to have 2 minutes with you I will present you with a presentation box with a copy of the service script.

FEE £190

DEPOSIT £90

I do not charge for baby or child burials

For ceremonies within a 25-mile radius of CA2.

Additional mileage of 45p a mile is charged for ceremonies further afield.