A day in the life of a Celebrant

BABIES, WEDDINGS AND FUNERALS

– a day in the life of a Celebrant

By Dorothy Cooper, Red Rose Ceremonies

“What is a Celebrant?” “What do you do all day?” “All you do is talk; it can’t be hard.”

ACelebrant is a person who is trained to create a custom-made personal ceremony for any life event. Sounds simple?

Here’s a glimpse into my week:

MONDAY

Three requests from funeral directors with details of services. I contact families, arrange a time to meet and have a chat. Everything that I do is family led; the most important part of my job is making that initial connection and establishing trust. Although my job involves a lot of talking (something I’m really good at), it also needs sensitivity to quickly pick up on emotions and feelings and to reassure a grieving or bewildered family.

In the car, for a very quiet and traditional service at the crematorium, making sure that I’m always there at least an hour early, to check that there are no issues.

Back home, cup of tea and on to the computer, to research and write another service. Most 30-minute services take about 6-8 hours to write from scratch – no “insert name here” templates.

TUESDAY

Up very early to finish a draft service and send to the family. Every service I write is sent to the family in full, so they can approve every word, and make changes if they need to. I spend the morning talking to another family – they want a lively service, motor bike escort and dancing as their loved one was a real rocker…but can we dance in a crematorium? Of course we can.

WEDNESDAY

I spent time finishing the wedding ceremony that I am going to be leading on Saturday (we’ve been planning this for 2 months now). It’s going to be a lovely outdoor service (hope it doesn’t rain) with a book theme, a hand fasting, blessing stones and a lot of literary quotes which I loved researching.

THURSDAY the future they had planned, and we use the baby’s name frequently. At times, my job is to just listen, and make notes so that I can create the best possible goodbye. We decide we are going to include a naming ceremony along with the farewell burial. I spend the afternoon wrapped in a duvet on the sofa – sometimes this job is incredibly difficult.

FRIDAY

I write the baby service while it’s still fresh in my mind, and spend the afternoon packing for the wedding the day after. The details are really important – planning and covering every possible eventuality is key – have I got the ribbons for the handfasting?

SATURDAY

Wedding day! I arrive two hours early, make sure that everything is set up and ready, then sit and go over the service. The sun is out, it’s a beautiful setting and we have a great day – I love my job!

Still think it’s easy, or all we do is talk? Please contact me if you would like to know more on 07970 058 548 or email enquiry@redroseceremonies.co.uk or visit www. redroseceremonies.co.uk