On a sunny early autumn day we arrived at The Mount Somerset Hotel in Taunton, laden down with props and clothes for a rather important photo-shoot.

We work with some amazing Celebrants who deliver the perfect funeral ceremony – whether at the local crematorium or within a more natural setting like a natural burial site or basically, wherever the family wish to hold the funeral service. So, what better way to celebrate these Celebrants than with a stylised photo shoot, in the most beautiful setting, showing off just what they do?

Sarah trained as a Celebrant back in 2004 and was the first Celebrant in Somerset to approach funeral directors and really start to fly the celebrant’s flag, showing families there was another way to conduct funeral ceremonies for those who held no religious beliefs. There are some wonderful Ministers who support the families through their beliefs but there were a growing number of Celebrants coming up through the training schools who offered just as much support to those families and who offered perhaps a more personal service for their loved ones.

However, getting through those first Funeral Directors was soul destroying! They were the “gate-keepers” to the families and if they refused to use her, then there was no way of really getting into the industry. There was very little information online, no-one had websites or Google to find funeral directors, it was (and even to this day on some level) still is, an industry that really is built on reputation – you used a funeral director because they were recommended or they had carried out the funeral for every generation of your immediate family, you didn’t use them because they were the first company that came up on Google or had the best reviews. Thankfully, it is a little different now-adays.

So, when a Facebook advert came up for the Coffin Club a few months ago, Sarah’s interest peaked. Two ladies, both Celebrants who offered training for newbies and a way to get past those gate-keepers and reach families direct. Fool proof- right? Well, kind of.

Let’s be honest, as a funeral director herself now – Sarah knows she is still 90% the gate-keeper.

Families come to her to look after their loved one and by building a relationship with her families, she knows exactly who to recommend to conduct the

funeral ceremony: a Minister or a Celebrant. Ministers are usually linked to the deceased by their church, but Celebrants are really linked only through the funeral director and their recommendations that they are best suited to this family and let’s not forget – we only get the one chance to hold the funeral ceremony. It must be perfect. Sadly, someone who has proven themselves to be a brilliant celebrant is much more likely to be given the next funeral, than someone who has never been used before.

But hopefully that will soon change. Working with the brilliant ladies at The Coffin Club is changing the perception of celebrants and how they can reach the families in a more direct route.
The photo shoot and lunch was to help give these newly trained Celebrants a spring board and some rather fantastic photos to use on their own websites or FB pages.

So, watch this space – if families wish to find their own Celebrants to carry out their loved ones funeral then absolutely! There are some wonderful Celebrants coming up through the area and we think they are all pretty amazing.