I’m Now a Qualified Funeral Celebrant

I’m really proud to be able to say that I’m now a qualified funeral celebrant.

It feels like quite a significant addition to my work as a celebrant, and also one that makes a lot of sense to me.

For the past few years, I’ve spent my working life standing alongside people during some of the biggest moments of theirs. I’ve conducted hundreds of weddings as a registrar, and now, through my own celebrant business, I create wedding ceremonies, vow renewals and naming ceremonies that are personal, relaxed and completely centred around the people involved.

Funerals are, of course, very different.

But in many ways, the heart of the job is the same: listening properly, getting to know someone’s story and finding the right words for an important moment.

Why I trained as a funeral celebrant

I’ve always believed that ceremonies should feel like the people they are about. That matters just as much at the end of a life as it does at the beginning of a marriage.

A funeral doesn’t have to follow a particular formula. It doesn’t have to be overly formal, religious or impersonal unless that is what the person or their family would genuinely want. It can be warm, and it can contain humour. It can include the tiny stories and quirks that make everybody in the room immediately think, yes, that was them.

There can be tears and laughter in the same ceremony. And, most importantly, there can be space to tell somebody’s story honestly and meaningfully.

That is a huge part of what drew me towards funeral celebrancy.

What does a funeral celebrant actually do?

My role begins well before the day of the funeral itself.

I’ll spend time with the family, usually during a meeting where we can talk about the person who has died — their life, their relationships, their personality, the things they loved, the stories people always tell about them and the things they’ll be remembered for.

Those conversations aren’t about filling in a questionnaire or collecting a list of dates.

I want to understand who that person really was.

From there, I write and create the ceremony around them.

That might include their life story, family memories, music, readings, poems, personal tributes from friends or relatives and time for reflection. I can also read contributions on behalf of somebody who would like to write something but doesn’t feel able to stand up and read it themselves.

On the day, I conduct the ceremony and guide everybody through it calmly, so the family doesn’t have to worry about what happens next or who needs to do what.

A funeral doesn’t have to feel generic

One of the things that matters most to me is creating a ceremony that doesn’t sound as though somebody’s name could simply be swapped for somebody else’s.

Every life is different.

Some people are quiet and private, some are the loudest person in every room. Some have huge families, complicated families, lifelong friendships, beloved pets, favourite pubs, questionable hobbies, ridiculous sayings or stories that absolutely have to be told.

Some funerals will feel gentle and reflective, others might be full of music and laughter. There is no single right way to say goodbye. My job is to work with the people who knew them best and create something that feels right for them.

Funerals and celebrations of life

I conduct both funerals and celebrations of life across South Wales. A funeral will often take place at a crematorium, burial ground or cemetery and may include a formal committal. A celebration of life can be held somewhere completely different and might take place instead of a traditional funeral, or at a later date. It can often allow even more freedom around the location, timings and structure of the ceremony.

Whichever form it takes, the aim is the same: to create a meaningful space for people to remember someone and say goodbye in a way that feels personal.

What qualifying means to me

Funeral celebrancy carries a very different kind of responsibility.

Families are often meeting me at one of the hardest moments of their lives, and I’m very aware of the trust involved in asking somebody to tell the story of a person you love. Completing my funeral celebrant training has given me the practical knowledge and structure I need to support families properly - from creating and writing a ceremony to working with funeral directors, managing the committal and understanding everything that needs to happen on the day.

But I also know that the most important part of the job will always be human. Listening, being calm, knowing when to speak and when to give people space. And finding the words when somebody else understandably can’t.

I’m incredibly proud to now offer funerals and celebrations of life alongside my other ceremonies, and it feels like a very meaningful next step for Emily Ayres Celebrates.

If you’re arranging a funeral or celebration of life in South Wales and would like to talk about creating a ceremony that genuinely reflects the person you’re remembering, you’re very welcome to get in touch.