07850695685
Your Way Ceremonies
Independent Funeral Celebrant
Welcome to my website.
Each funeral ceremony is unique, it should be unique because your loved one was unique. They had experiences, likes and dislikes, they were an individual.
A civil ceremony will provide, a bespoke, one off ceremony which celebrates with dignity, the unique life of your loved one.
Testimonials
My wife and I just wanted to drop you a message to express our gratitude and how grateful we are for you carrying out our daughter’s service, we found it very touching and fitting and will be forever grateful for your efforts and presence.
Thank you for the kindness you have shown us in these difficult times.
It is truly is appreciated.
C and L
We all, including those that attended and those watching from home, agree it was a service that really summed up Dad well. His humour, love of life and passion to do the right thing professionally all came though nicely.
Thank you for putting it all together so well. We are truly grateful to you for that.
Kevin.
K
I would just like to thank you for today. So many people commented and said you were amazing and how mum would have loved you. Thank you again.
S
Thank you for doing such a lovely service for my mum and for all your support & listening especially to me.
M
Words cannot express how truly wonderful Nancy is. From start to end, Nancy makes you feel like you've know her all your life. She gets to know your loved one and takes the time to make sure she really has grasped their life. The ceremony was just as we wanted it and Nancy was wonderful. I cannot recommend Nancy highly enough if you are ever in this awful position. Thank you so so much.
B
I just wanted to say I thought you nailed today for us. It was absolutely perfect. Thank you for the time you took to get to know us as a family. Everyone said today was very special and that is what we wanted.
D
Your Way Ceremonies Services
Let's work together
You are not alone
Losing a loved one is one of the hardest parts of life you will have to endure. I understand this is an awful time for you. I understand that the world seems wrong at the moment and you don't know if you are coming or going. I also understand that you have a service to arrange and prepare for and this will seem like a momentous task. I am here to help. Together we can create the most beautiful last act of love for your loved one.
Please contact me, my number is at the top and bottom of this page or email me by clicking on the 'get in touch' button, we can then arrange to meet and have a chat. I will learn about your loved one and what makes them unique, we will talk about your ideas for the ceremony and decide what you would like for the service.
I am happy to meet as many times as you need while we are planning the ceremony, do not be afraid to ask. I am here for you.
I will be available throughout the whole process so you know you do not have to do this alone.
Writing your service
I will then start to write your service and arrange your loved ones funeral to the highest standard, incorporating all aspects of things they enjoyed which encompass who they were and how they lived. I will help you find poems, readings or prayers and music if you cannot decide, I will write the eulogy if you would like me to, some people like to write things themselves and I am happy to help and offer advice if need be. I will send you drafts of what I have written for your approval.
We will do it your way.
The Ceremony
On the day I will meet you before the service so you do not feel alone.
I will deliver a perfect service for you, incorporating others if they would like to take part or take care of it all myself. If others do wish to take part I will meet them prior to the ceremony and let them know when I will call them up and where to stand. I will ensure I have a copy of what they will read so they can be reassured that I can step in if needed.
I will ensure that everything runs smoothly and that all you need to think about on the day is your loved one.
This is a service for you and your loved one and we will do it your way. Together.
Direct Cremations
Don't let them go without saying goodbye....
What can we do?
For whatever reason you and your loved one may have decided on a direct cremation rather than having a funeral service. This can be difficult for the people left behind who need a way of saying goodbye and that usually comes in the shape of a funeral ceremony. There are alternatives and so many things can be done to enable a beautiful goodbye.
Where can it be held?
A ceremony can be held anywhere you like; in a wood, on a beach, in a pub, even in your garden. It can be held in a place that meant something to you.
The choices are limitless.
Your Ceremony, Your Way
We will meet and discuss all of the ideas you have and I can help you with the expertise that I have. Together we can create a lovely lasting memorial so that their life and departure can be acknowledged and given the importance it deserves and through that, you can say goodbye.
Your Way Ceremonies
VIRTUAL SERVICES
When you need to say goodbye there should be no limitations, not distance, how many people are there, if you are shielding or in lock down or even if you are unwell yourself. Nothing should stop you having the chance to say goodbye.
LET'S TALK
What would you like in your virtual service? How many people will be attending? There is no limit in a virtual service. Tell me about your loved one. There are no limits. We will do it your way.
WRITING YOUR SERVICE
I will take the information I have and write you a beautiful service including anything you would like in it, including music, readings, poems, prayers, a eulogy and a goodbye. It can have as much or as little in it as you would like. No limits.
LET ME TAKE YOU THROUGH YOUR GOODBYE
Through an application such as Zoom we can meet and hold a virtual service with unlimited people or just you and I. We can do this at any time you would like, at the time of the actual funeral, at the time of cremation or burial or at a time which is memorable to you. We will do this together.
CONTACT ME
For more information or to have a chat about what you would like to do, please contact me on the form below, or text me your information and I will call you back
As times are changing...
During the planning of a funeral you talk about every aspect that made your loved one who they were. You share beautiful memories, laugh and cry. You have a chance to go through old photos and choose the best for the order of service, you have a chance to hear their favourite music again and listen to poems that had a meaning to them. You get a chance to go back to happier times, albeit briefly and to remember the best of the person who is no longer there with you. In this current pandemic crisis, this has been taken away.
The rite of passage from death to funeral has been changed. What we always knew as the norm and what we always did before, has changed. Funerals are very limited at the moment with few people allowed and social distancing in place, some are not even taking place at all.
I believe that the arranging of a funeral service can be very cathartic. It doesn’t heal the pain that you are feeling but it can help put all of the pieces together in to one organised place and reflect on the person who you are missing so desperately.
If you have recently been bereaved, I am sorry. I am so sorry that you have to go through this with no finality of a funeral service, but more importantly I am sorry that you are beginning the most difficult of journeys. However, if you feel you would like to do something, to begin to organise a celebration of life service, we can do that together and we can do that now.
Just contact me by phone or email or complete the form at the end and I will get in touch with you. Together we can plan for the day when your loved one will be celebrated and remembered as they should be remembered and we will do it your way.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Nancy
Your Way Ceremonies
Independent Funeral Celebrant Services
Other Services
Pre-plan your Funeral Service
Many people are thinking ahead and planning their funeral in advance. How lovely to know that you have created your own service and so comforting for your family to know that everything that is spoken or heard on the day comes directly from you.
If you would like to know what options are available and how to plan your own funeral and organise your own service, please get in touch.
I will meet with you and plan your service with you, making sure it is exactly what you would like to happen and then when the time comes I can deliver what you want to save your family any of the worries and concerns at what will be a difficult time.
About Nancy Whitmarsh
Hello, I am Nancy and I am an independent Funeral Celebrant having completed an NOCN Level 3 Diploma in Funeral Celebrancy and NOCN Level 4 Diploma in Baby and Child Funerals. I have a Grief and Bereavement Counselling Diploma and I am a member of the Association of Independent Celebrants.
I am married with a daughter and granddaughter and I live in Devon.
I very much enjoy reading and writing poetry as well as painting and singing and I have recently started playing the ukulele!
Throughout my career, which has been consistently people focussed, I have been preparing for the role of Funeral Celebrant. From learning to be compassionate and a confident public speaker, I have also developed good listening skills and the desire to deliver a beautifully written service for you.
I have always wanted to walk beside people who are suffering because of bereavement and help where I can to make things just a little bit easier.
There is no worse feeling than grief. It is a journey that we all have to go through at one time of another. Let me at least help take a small amount of pressure from you at this time.
Get in Touch
