Boring but important
Permissions and risk assessment
Concerning naming ceremonies, memorials and ashes ceremonies:
It is important that, in order to properly enjoy the ceremony, all the participants and well-wishers can feel safe. For any ceremony that doesn’t take place in a crematorium or other hired space I will conduct a risk assessment in consultation with you.
If the venue is on land owned by someone other than you, it is your duty to gain permission to hold the ceremony there from the landowner, be it a private individual or a public body such as a local authority. This should be done well in advance of the ceremony to give them time to consider and respond.
Fees
- Funeral and memorial ceremonies: £275-£350, payable either to me on invoice or via the funeral director. For baby funerals I can offer a reduced fee.
- Naming ceremonies: £300, payable in two stages on invoice – one third before the full planning meeting and the balance on delivery of the ceremony.
Privacy
When I collect information about you and family members or friends, I do so specifically for the purposes of producing an appropriate ceremony for you. By entering into an agreement with me to lead the ceremony you are giving me permission to use the information for that purpose.
I do not use your data for any other purposes without your explicit permission, and I do not pass it to third parties.
The information you give me, including contact details, is kept on a password-protected computer; paper copies are shredded. I may use the data for my own monitoring purposes but any information that I share with, for example, other celebrants, is in anonymised form.
After six years your data will be deleted. If you would like me to delete it before that, please let me know. Please also contact me if you have any other questions about what personal details I hold, or how I use your data.
Training and accreditation
Being accredited by Humanists UK requires me to abide by their code of conduct, to attend regular CPD training sessions and to be peer reviewed every three years. The organisation also provides insurance cover for me and a complaints procedure for you, should either ever be needed.
The local celebrant networks are self support groups. We maintain close contact with each other, so it is usually possible to find another celebrant to step in at short notice if, for any reason, your chosen celebrant is unable to conduct a ceremony.
Funeral ceremonies
Like other Humanists UK funeral celebrants, I have adopted the Funeral Celebrant Accord, which defines the attributes and skills required of an excellent funeral celebrant and is intended to set the standards by which all celebrants offering funeral services should be measured. In a nutshell is says an excellent funeral celebrant:
- Is professional
- Cares for their clients
- Is calm and shows natural leadership
- Writes personalised ceremonies
- Cares about their self-development
I am a member of the Good Funeral Guild which financially supports the Good Funeral Guide. I offer ceremonies for people of all ages, including the very young, and am trained and accredited by the Foundation for Infant Loss. I am also accredited by humanists UK to offer pre-planned funerals