The celebrant’s role is to ensure the bereaved get the ceremony they want for their loved one, so it is lovely to receive feedback from the family after the funeral.

I have shared below some recent testimonials from families.

 

“Thank you for yesterday, it was a really lovely service and everyone said how they felt it captured the essence of Mum.  On behalf of Dad and our family, thank you for the work you put into the eulogy and your support on the day.”
Lara & Derek.  May 2026

 

“We would like to thank you again for a beautiful send off for my dad, it was perfect just how he would of wanted it.  I had many comments after the service and during the wake to say how wonderful the service was and it touched everyone there with your words.

Thanks again”  Gareth Diane and Helen.  Apr ’26

 

“We just wanted to send you a note to say a huge thank you for delivering the service for [K].  It was really lovely to hear you speak about him and his life, and we felt you captured the very essence of him. Many of his friends and family, including his mum, all spoke about what a perfect service it was

Thank you again.”  Nikki & Dean. Mar 2026

 

“Thank you so much for your efforts this last week or two, the eulogy that you delivered was a very fitting tribute and everyone was very touched by the service. I found the whole process to be incredibly helpful to me in processing my thoughts too, so you have my deepest gratitude.  Many thanks”  Dave.  Feb ’26

 

“I just wanted to say a huge thank you for all your effort toward making Tuesdays celebration go so well.  We have had so many emails to say how the event really captured the [T] we all knew due in no small part to you. The wake also went well and memories shared, the poem recited(!!) and glasses raised to an amazing and lovely chap.

Thank you again and All good wishes going forward.”  Jane.  Feb ’26

 

“I just wanted to send a quick email to thank you for delivering such a great service a [S]’s funeral on Friday, it was really lovely and captured her and all the aspects of her life perfectly with just the right balance. She would have loved it :).  All the best,” Neil. Sept ’25

 

“I can’t recommend Simon highly enough. He is so easy to get on with, listens intently and with so much patience that the end result was a service that was so personal to my Dad that you thought Simon had known him. It was perfect.  Thank you for making a difficult day memorable for all the right reasons.”  Ann.   Sept ’25

 

“Thank you for your service on Thursday. We really appreciated your calm, gentle approach and the way you handled our situation, and guided us through the process, with the care and consideration it needed.

Everyone we spoke to at the wake commented on the honesty and intimacy of the ceremony and the personal touches we added with your help.  You brought it all together beautifully with your words and we all felt it was a fitting tribute to our Dad. Many of our family and friends said it was what he would have wanted and they were glad to have come. Thank you.” Rosie.  Feb ’25

 

“It went really smoothly and exactly what we hoped for. Thank you so much again for taking the time to sit down with me and my family to hear our stories about Grandma – it showed in the eulogy and your speech for her. We’re incredibly grateful and are very glad that we found you.  Your calm, friendly and approachable demeanor helped to ease our worries and we knew after meeting you that the ceremony would be in good hands with you.

Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for us.”  Jenny.  Feb ’25

 

“I would like to say a personal thank you to yourself and the team for how special, kind, honouring, accommodating, understanding and respectful both the ceremony and the prior arrangements made myself and our family feel. It went off very well, so smoothly on the day, you really made us welcome special and cared about. Your kind words, introductions and Neville’s music will be heart-fully remembered.

Our family was repeatedly complimented on the day, a fittingly large turn out, for the tone of the event fitted the man, our dad, and those able to attend so well.

We miss our dad deeply, but I am sure he would have both chuckled and approved.  NJB.  Nov ’24

 

“Many people have approached me expressing their appreciation of the way you guided the meeting and one lady a widow of over 25 yrs said when she got home reflecting on your words made her weep”  Blanche.  Nov ’24

 

“Thank you for Thursday. You composed a wonderful ceremony from all the different inputs we gave you and it flowed so beautifully. It summed up [D]’s life so well. Everyone that I’ve spoken to said it was a perfect send off.”  Trudi  Nov ’24

 

“Just to say an enormous thanks for all the work you put in to today’s ceremony. It could not have gone better, I thought. The music and visual tribute was really good, and I thought it worked really well that you allowed us to listen to so much of the Schubert before you began to speak. You took great trouble with your final words, summing up very effectively what John and I had said in our tributes. Everyone was very positive afterwards.

I’ve had feedback from some people who watched it online and I’m told that it came across very effectively.

I am immensely grateful to you.  Sincerely” Harry.  Oct ’24

 

“Thanks for all your support at the meeting and on the day – it was much appreciated

Your eulogy and memories of [N] were perfect and summed up him and his life in a fitting way. The whole ceremony was delivered by you in a lovely way and made a difficult day for all the family just a little bit easier

Many thanks and best wishes to you for the rest of the Summer”  Steve.  July ’24

 

“I thought you told dad’s story brilliantly. I honestly do not think I’d have changed anything about the day though, me and my brothers all said he felt contented and at ease knowing that dad had a fitting send off.

The choir were great, I heard the guitarist filling in with background music many times.

I have a copy of the ceremony and will keep everything filed away to remember the day.

Thank-you again, from the bottom of my heart.”  Tony.  May ’24

 

“We were very impressed with the way in which you were able to put Mum at ease so that she felt comfortable sharing very personal memories with you. Equally we felt that your narrative came over very naturally, as if you had known [D] personally.

We were very grateful for the opportunity to contribute as the ceremony came together, and this enabled me to assure [D]’s children that their voice would be heard.

So, thank you so much for making the event as special as it was. Mum has even asked me to book you for her funeral!”  Simon.  April ’24

 

“I cannot thank you enough for all that you did, you truly were amazing, my Dad would have really liked you. Everything was perfect and I can honestly say on behalf of myself and my family, there wasn’t anything we would have liked done differently.

Andrew’s tribute was perfect wasn’t it? and the children’s poem was too. (they were teaching Andrew how to do handstands and cartwheels at the Wake!)

Thank you again for looking after us, your kindness and professionalism was very much appreciated.”   Theresa.  April ’24

 

“Myself and my family wish to send you heartfelt thanks for your deliverance of a lovely goodbye for [D] on Wednesday. It was delivered beautifully we all thank you so much.

At the Wake/Celebration everyone said the same. Not a dry eye in the house and most felt at the end they wanted to clap which says it all.

Once again many thanks much appreciated.. you deliver very well. Keep it up.”  Christine.  April ’24

 

“I just wanted to say on behalf of the family that we really appreciated your work on helping to make [M]’s service truly a funeral that represented our brother down to a tea.

You captured him in your words and helped us to get through a very hard time and we all appreciated the help and commitment to making it special just for him.”  Flick.  Feb ’24

 

“We can honestly say we received nothing but positive comments about [S]’s day.  

I was aware that her friend’s knew much more than I about [S]’s life, but with your massive input we achieved an event that was “so [her]”

We now have [S] here at home as we finalise the interment at Wolvercote, so she can be alongside [her son].

We both feel nothing could be done differently it was just perfect and both yourself and Suzanne did a fantastic job.  We can’t thank you enough for the work put in, so once again, thank you Simon.”  Andrew.  Jan ’24

 

“I can’t put into words just how grateful we are to Simon for all the help and support he gave us with my father’s recent funeral. 

His compassion, patience and calmness throughout was really comforting at such an emotional time.  Having sat down with us and listened to our stories, Simon really understood the ‘essence’ of my father, delivering a beautiful, heartfelt service that couldn’t, in my mind, have been any better.”  Melanie

 

“I can’t believe how you have managed to put all that together just from a short meeting with us! It’s lovely and captures everything that was [B].
Thank you so much.”   Sarah

“Just wanted to say thankyou so much for yesterday. You made everything seem to go so smoothly, and I know mum had various comments from guests to say how lovely the service was and that was all down to you.  Really cannot thank you enough for the work you put in.”  Sarah

 

“Thank you so much.
I think it’s a beautiful service and the balance of emotion is perfect. I really appreciate you finding the Russian references and for the poems, they’re great. The last poem is absolutely perfect and very fitting.

There’s absolutely nothing that I feel needs changing. You’re very talented.”  Emma

“Thank you ever so much for the service. It was lovely and you did an amazing job.
I really appreciate it.”  Emma

 

“We have had many wonderful comments with regard to yesterday’s ceremony for [P]. Tony and his daughter in Canada were extremely grateful for such a fitting ‘Goodbye’ to their Brother and Uncle.

Some of the ‘train’ people were also very complimentary, and said that it summed [P] up so well.

Indeed, we certainly do not feel that anything should have been done differently, I am sure it was exactly what [P] would have wished, and we are grateful to everyone who gave their reflections, in order for you to paint such a true picture of our friend.”   John and Monica, David and Naomi

 

“We received so much praise for [F]’s send off everyone thought it was just spot on, perfect

My Mum was really pleased along with all the family, can’t thank you enough for all you did for us to make the day so special.  We wouldn’t of changed anything
Thanks again”  Jeff

 

“The whole service was beautiful you managed to capture ‘our dad’, Grampy, brother in the short time we spent with you.
We as a family will never be able to thank you enough for yesterday”  Sue

 

“Thank you Simon, we all thought you were brilliant and helped us through what has been a very difficult time and day.

There is nothing we would have changed and want to give our thanks for your compassion and understanding and the wonderful ceremony which captured mum beautifully,

Thank you once again.”  Darren

 

“Just a quick note to thank you very much for officiating so efficiently but unobtrusively at my brother’s funeral yesterday – I think just what [A] would have wanted. The whole service was conducted brilliantly and gave the family the opportunity to celebrate my brother’s life in their own way. I have been to a number funerals recently when this was not the case and the ‘minister’ acted as the most important person there.  Thanks again”  Graham

 

“Thank you so much! The service was perfect. You spoke sensitively and you delivered a wonderful ceremony. I could not have asked for more. Mum and I were delighted with it. I felt you had really made an effort to get to know my dad and given the short amount of time, you wrote an amazing tribute. I am very grateful to you. Thank you for your patience and for making it special for us all.  Best wishes”   Vivian

 

“We had lovely feedback from everyone, they were especially moved about what you said about Dad and how you were able to piece it all together, it was just perfect.”  KS

 

“I just wanted to thank you for today it was absolutely beautiful.  You really captured the essence of my friend. Thank you”  Heather

 

“A great send off.”  Martin

 

“Thanks for this. It was a beautiful day and you did such a marvellous job. It was a very special day for us and that was for a large part thanks to you.
Everyone was complimentary about your reading.  Thank you very much.”  Elisa

 

“Thank you so much for making [G]’s goodbye so special and moving. You did so much research and talking to different people that you gave an accurate and sympathetic portrayal of the person she was, and will be remembered as.  Most certainly when you came to talk to me, you got me to remember all kinds of things that were in my distant memory.”  Sally

 

“Thank you Simon, you really did give my Dad the send off he deserved.  Thank you so much”  Amanda

 

“You were amazing from start to finish… a real calm head… which was much needed. The ceremony was fantastic… upbeat which suits [A] perfectly…  Thank you so much… you don’t realise how much of a help you were.”  Simon 

 

“Thanks Simon we have reflected today and feel it was a lovely send off for [A]”  Nicki

 

“Thank you organising such a wonderful service”.  Neil

 

“Thank you for leading the ceremony today. It was a lovely service. [J]’s sister watched on line and said ‘the young man made it very special’!

I was a bit worried about Nellie the Elephant [exit music] but she said it was great. I had a couple of other messages to say that they liked it too, so it was an appropriate way to end the service and say goodbye.”  Amanda

 

“Thank you for [K]’s ceremony, we thought it went very well.  All the people we spoke to afterwards, said they enjoyed it very much, so wouldn’t recommend changing anything.”  Peter & Caroline

 

“Thank you so much for everything . So many people said how good the service was. We appreciate all that you did!  Many people commented on you wearing the [football] shirt and were very pleased.”  Maria

 

“Thanks for your message and I really appreciated you dropping off a copy of the ceremony that’s a nice touch to be able to keep hold of something like that.

We all agreed it was a lovely send off for Gramps. Very pleased with the service. Massive thank you for pulling this together and supporting us.”  James

 

“Mum, myself and my family could not have been happier with how the Ceremony went. The feedback we received on the day and since, from the guests who commented was 100% positive.

The majority did not only say how much they enjoyed the service but said they would like to have a similar service when its their turn as it brought back many fond memories of Dad while you were talking about him!”  Debbie

 

“Thank you so much for the lovely ceremony it was exactly what we wanted.  

I had lots of comments from family and friends saying how nice it was and that my mum would have been proud.”  Davina

 

“Once again, thank you for the lovely service you conducted for us yesterday. Everyone said it was a fitting tribute to my Dad and I’m sure he would have agreed too.

Thank you so much. You made a difficult and emotional day so much easier.”  Sharon

 

“Thank you so much for yesterday.  It was all so about mum and how she was.  I can’t think of any way it could have been better.”  Sue 

 

“Thank you so much for the great job you did at my dear husband [N’s] funeral on Monday, everyone said how lovely it was as it was all about him.”  Patricia

 

“Thank you Simon. The feed back can only be to thank you so much.  I had so many positive comments from those who attended. Many said how special the service was and I believe that was, in large part, down to the preparation and care you put into making the service so personal. 

Yesterday at this time I was a wreck, today I feel at peace because collectively we did [T] proud.  Thank you so very much.”  Jill 

 

“On behalf of my whole family, thank you for your help on Monday with the ceremony, it was beautiful and hopefully we all did him proud.”  Natalie