Humanist
Funeral Services
Please call
07896419414 or email mair.garland@humanistceremonies.org.uk to discuss your requirements for any of my humanist funeral services.
What humanist funeral services do you offer?
Here's a summary below of the humanist funeral services I offer. These include:
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Traditional Humanist Funeral Services
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Celebration of Life & Memorial Ceremonies
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Pre-Planned Funerals
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Living Funerals
I also offer shorter ash interment and ash scattering ceremonies. Please get in touch for more information.
I specialise in bilingual services in both French and Welsh for all of these options and I'd be more than happy to take you through the practicalities of offering a bilingual funeral service.
If you’d like to speak in more detail about the service you’re planning, please call 07896419414 or email mair.garland@humanistceremonies.org.uk.
Traditional Humanist Funeral Services and Celebration of Life Ceremonies
Traditional Humanist Funeral Services – what does a typical humanist funeral service look like? Where do you work and how much does it cost?
The person we’re remembering will be at the heart of the funeral service, and we’ll take the time to retell their life story with a tribute, which can be led by the family, or I can share it on your behalf. We can also include your choice of readings and music, which I can help you find, before saying a formal goodbye.
I’ll meet with you at least once before the day either on person or on Zoom to get to know you and the person you’re remembering to ensure the ceremony is personal and meaningful, and to make sure you’re as comfortable as possible with the arrangements before the day itself. I’ll also work closely with your funeral director to ensure all your desired elements are in place ahead of the day.
I work in crematoria and burial grounds across London including: Beckenham, Honor Oak, West Norwood, Croydon, Hither Green, Lambeth, Eltham, South London, Bluebell (Sevenoaks), Kemnal Park (Sidcup), Islington, City of London and Mortlake. I’m also very supportive of families who wish to hold a funeral service in a non-traditional location.
My funeral service fees start from £260 for a single-slot 30-minute crematorium service. Please contact me directly on 07896419414 or via your funeral director to discuss your requirements. I don't charge for funerals for children under the age of 18.
Celebration of Life / Memorial Ceremonies – what’s the difference between a celebration of life or memorial service and a traditional humanist funeral service?
A celebration of life ceremony is a meaningful, heartfelt, uplifting and personal way to commemorate the life and legacy of the person you're remembering. A celebration of life or memorial ceremony typically happens some time after a funeral service or direct cremation has taken place, if the person died abroad or where the person has chosen to donate their body to medical science.
One of the main benefits of holding a celebration of life ceremony is that there are no time constraints, allowing family and friends to come together in a more relaxed setting. They are typically longer ceremonies than traditional funeral services, allowing more time for elements like opening the floor for family and friends to share memories or a meaningful action to say goodbye, such as scattering ashes, planting a tree, unveiling a memorial plaque or a toast to their memory.
You can hold a celebration of life ceremony in any venue of your choice - inside our outdoors in a place that was special to you and the person you're remembering (e.g. the family home or garden, their favourite park or beach, or a local hotel or pub function room.)
I’m able to help with elements such as preparing the music to be played on the day as well as photo slideshows.
I'm based in South London, and I lead celebration of life and memorial ceremonies across London, the South-East and beyond.
My standard fee for celebration of life ceremonies is £350, which includes: all planning meetings, your bespoke ceremony script, assistance with technological elements, leading the ceremony on the day itself, a keepsake copy of the script and travel within the M25 (travel and/or accommodation expenses will apply to ceremonies outside this area; please get in touch for a bespoke quote.)
For more information about previous celebration of life ceremonies I've led for families, please take a look at my blog post about them here.
Pre-Planned & Living Funeral Services
Pre-Planned Funerals: can you help me plan my own funeral?
Whether you’re actively planning for your funeral or you’re creating your funeral wishes as part of your will, I can help you decide on the elements you’d like to include and capture your wishes for how you’d want your funeral ceremony to be.
There are several options to help you plan your funeral service, depending on the level of detail you’d want to be captured. This can include something simple such as a list of the music, readings and speakers you’d like; to helping you capture your life story; or writing your full ceremony script exactly how you’d want it to be.
My fee for pre-planned funerals starts from £50 for an initial 1-hour planning meeting to capture your funeral wishes and I would share my pre-planning questionnaire with you ahead of time. Additional time or meetings may be required depending on the level of detail you’d like to capture; I’m very happy to advise on what I think might be suitable for your circumstances. For more information, please get in touch.
Living Funerals: what exactly is a living funeral and how can you help me come up with my own one?
A living funeral is held for a person who’s still alive and wants to be able to say a personal thank you and farewell to their friends and family before they die. They’re empowering events that allow you to say goodbye on your own terms and to take an active part in your ceremony with the most important people to you.
You might ask family and friends to share their favourite memories of you, and you might also want to play a role if you wish in thanking them or asking somebody to do this on your behalf in your own words – and anything else you’re eager to include.
A living funeral can take place anywhere you like that feels significant to you – whether that’s your local pub or hotel function room, a community hall or your own back garden.
To help fulfil your wishes for your living funeral, I’d recommend holding at least one planning meeting with you and I’m also happy to have separate conversations with family and friends to organise their contributions with your permission. We can discuss any ideas you might have already, and I can advise on how to put all the elements you’d like into a ceremony structure. Please contact me for further information.
My standard fee for living funerals is £350, which includes: a planning meeting, your bespoke ceremony script, assistance with technological elements, leading the ceremony on the day itself, a keepsake copy of the script and travel within the M25 (travel and/or accommodation expenses will apply to ceremonies outside this area; please get in touch for a bespoke quote.)
