Blake Hutchings is a Humanist Funeral Celebrant who is dedicated to producing uniquely personal non-religious funeral services. With public speaking and performance experience of around fifteen years, as well as a wealth of creative writing experience, Blake is committed to working closely with you in order to do justice to your memories of your family member, friend or loved one.

I first decided to become a Humanist Celebrant after the funeral of my uncle in 2013. His was a Humanist ceremony, at which I gave two readings. The celebrant at that funeral had seen me in public speaking situations in the past, and suggested that this might be a line of work that I should consider. As I gave it further consideration, I realised that becoming a Humanist Celebrant would be a perfect fit for my own personal set of abilities and passions, and I have found the experience to be a huge honour and privilege so far.

Having completed the excellent training from Humanists UK, along with my experience thus far, I am ready to work with you to develop the right tone, structure and content of service. Through working closely with you, I can guide you through this difficult yet important occasion, and can offer advice on how best to make it work and to get what you want.

I will always aim to meet with the family and/or friends of the deceased as far ahead of the date of the ceremony as possible in order to ensure plenty of time to develop the service. This may involve further contact, and I will be able to send draft copies of the script for the service to you in order for you to be comfortable that everything will be as you would like. On the rare occasions where a meeting is not possible, there will be at least one telephone conversation, and I will be available for you to contact at any time, should you have any questions, comments or concerns.

Although many funerals do follow a fairly familiar structure, you are free to personalise your service in almost way that you can imagine. You could include personal readings and contributions, live musical performances, video clips and/or slideshows (provided the venue has the facilities or you can provide your own)… Whatever you feel is appropriate can be incorporated.

Funerals are naturally an emotional and meaningful event. My aim is to make it a positive one, incorporating humour, reflection, good memories and respect for all involved.

Click here to see an example format of a funeral service.