Unique Tributes
Unique Tributes
What is a Funeral Celebrant?
A funeral celebrant is a trained professional who assists in planning, organizing, and officiating a memorial service. Depending on their expertise, a celebrant can guide the creation of a traditional religious ceremony or a completely secular celebration of life. Their goal is to ensure that the service is meaningful, personalized, and reflects the unique life and memory of your loved one.
What Does a Celebrant offer a Family?
A celebrant takes time to connect with the family, learning about their loved one’s life and story. Using these insights, they design a personalized funeral service that reflects the individual’s unique journey.
Typically, a celebrant spends 8 to 10 hours preparing the ceremony. This includes meeting with the family, structuring the service, crafting a meaningful tribute, and coordinating all elements like music, readings, and speakers. They work closely with the funeral director to ensure the service supports the family’s grieving process and provides an environment of healing.

The celebrant can officiate the ceremony at a variety of locations, whether at the funeral home, in a park, at a restaurant, or even in a family’s backyard. The tone and style of the service can range from traditional to creative, solemn to lighthearted, depending on what best honors the deceased and supports the family’s needs.
Meet Celebrant Coordinator, Lark d'Helen
Personalize Your Loved One's Service
When searching for ways to personalize a funeral service, remember the moments you spent with the person and try to highlight the qualities that she or he are remembered for. Consider hobbies, subjects of interest and places where the person spent much of his or her time. It can help to make lists of their passions, achievements and memories you shared together. There are a number of ways that these lists can be incorporated into a service:
Photos and albums
There are many opportunities to display photos at a funeral service. Poster boards with photo collages can be placed on easels for display. Flat screen TV monitors can be used to display pictures or a slideshow during calling hours or just prior to the services. Photographs can be printed in the memorial folders, registry book or on urns.
Tribute Videos
A DVD video is a wonderful way to share your loved one’s life with others. It can be personalized with your special photos and music. These videos become keepsakes that you can share with your family for generations.
Artwork
Artwork of the deceased or art created in tribute is a beautiful addition to a service. Sculptures, a slideshow of drawings or displaying artwork throughout the funeral home helps people learn more about a life that was cherished.
Music
Live or pre-recorded music can be relaxing and comforting to those who have come to the service. Some other ways music can be used, is to record a CD with the deceased’s favorite songs or songs that he or she wrote or to have musically inclined family or friends perform at the funeral service.
Readings of Poetry & Literature
Passages from the deceased’s favorite books or poems that capture the essence of life help create a service infused with wisdom and words to remember. You can also invite friends and family members to read passages or poems of their choice or write their own pieces to share.
