Training Feedback from
Funeral Celebrants

Here are funeral celebrants that we have trained talking about their training and the work they do, filmed at the 2022 National Funeral Exhibition.

Having delivered my first funeral today, I wanted to reflect on this and extend my gratitude to you and the team who delivered the recent course I attended. I was offered a ceremony, with a week’s notice, which felt quite daunting initially; but once I had pulled myself together, and looked at the resources provided by Civil Ceremonies, I felt more at ease.  On reflection, I feel that the residential week prepared me so well for the funeral offered, and the process was straightforward and reassuring due to information and tips from you and the team.  In fact, having been videoed, assessed and observed by 4 tutors and 11 course mates, the experience at the crematorium on the Wednesday afternoon was more of a challenge than delivering to a congregation of 70 people today; and therefore, from that point of view the course was very successful in preparing me for work in this field. I’m eager to deliver more services now, and feel uplifted by the experience. A big thank you to you and everyone at Civil Ceremonies for your support, this has been second to none. Mark Eames – February 2024

I had done some extensive research into other courses available – some only online and some only 3 days of residential.
I was recommended to undertake my course through Civil Ceremonies by a good friend who had completed the course a couple of years previously. They highly rated the methods used and I completely echo all her sentiments.
After the extensive absorbtion of all the required information, how can any future candidate even contemplate undertaking a lesser course.
Civil Ceremonies are thorough, professional and unbelievably helpful through the whole process as they guide you on your journey of Celebrancy. Peter Tobit – February 2024

I would like to stress that this course has been absolutely fantastic. I work with a variety of celebrants and have become very aware of how little industry knowledge and training lots of them have. Working directly with families can be quite complex and you will get asked a huge variety of questions from the legal process, coroner’s involvement, finances and what to do during the service. This course covers all of this and a lot more. I cannot believe how well prepared this makes your graduates and am so grateful for all of your support and resources. I am so enthused as a result and feel passionate about starting to take services.Thank you all so much for everything that you have done.  It’s been completely amazing. (Kirstie Jackson – Currently in learning)

Civil Ceremonies Training is the best, a couple of the Funeral Directors  (FD) I have worked for have asked if I did my training with Civil Ceremonies. Having completed my training with Civil Ceremonies in October 2019, I conducted my first service  at the beginning of 2020 when a friend of a friend asked me if I would conduct  her mother-in-law’s funeral. I picked up further work from the FD of that service  and  people who attended the funeral, then Covid hit. Work slowed down a little but I kept going, averaging 4 funerals a month. It was a difficult time  as I couldn’t get out and about to see new FD. However from March 2021 to date (the end of  2023) – there has been a  complete turn around.  I now average about 10-12 funerals a  month, which I am very happy with. I have  been asked on a number of occasions if I knew the person and apart from 3 occasion I can honestly say I didn’t. I always say a service is only as good as the information I receive from the family. Only to be told it is also how I deliver the service too.. with empathy sympathy, a little bit of humour and meaning. I find being a funeral celebrant so rewarding.  Supporting and helping  people through what is usually the most tragic time of their lives. Thank you again and keep up the good work. Julie Oram – October 2023 (Trained October 2019)

I just wanted to let you know that I delivered my first funeral today and it went really well. I received some lovely feedback from the FD and from the family and other mourners. I knew that this would feel like a special thing to do, but I didn’t realise quite how special it would feel. There’s something so rewarding about seeing people genuinely moved in that way. I have two more booked as well. So, I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone for the training and the support and for providing me with a solid foundation for what is increasingly feeling like a vocation for me. I really appreciate everything. Jessica MacDonald – June 23

I just wanted to send you and the team a big thank you for the amazing training that you provided in May. I have just delivered my first funeral, I felt confident and equipped due to your hard work and commitment. Co-operative Funeral Care called me today with feedback from the family and I was literally overwhelmed with their kind words and positive feedback. The Co-op were really pleased too and have said they will definitely be using my services again.   Thank you so much, you wonderful bunch of humans. Kathryn Smith – May 2023

I just wanted to say a massive thank you for the excellent training I received last year. I took my first funeral this morning and it was amazing. I got such a thrill feeling I was helping in some small way to say goodbye to their father. After the service the gentleman’s ex-wife gave me a bouquet of flowers and  told me I had gone ‘above and beyond for them’, what an amazing compliment. I felt I needed to thank you and the team for your amazing training. Thank you again. Emma Doherty – March 23 (Trained Sept 22)

I’d like to thank you and all the team for what was a rigorous but really enjoyable training. Both the distance learning and the residential week challenged me, but gradually built my confidence. I feel very ready now to launch myself as a funeral celebrant. I particularly found the script delivery at the crematorium helpful – a bit scary but very confidence building! Julia Marshall – March 2023

Can I say, how thoroughly enjoyable (and intense) I found the residential course.  It was one of the most professionally run courses I have ever attended, from the additional learning material provided right through to the fantastic accommodation.  However, it was the professional presentations and feedback, from all the lecturers, that really made the course; thank you to everybody who inputted into it. Vicki Manders-Trett – February 2023

I just wanted to let you all know that on Monday I conducted my first funeral!  Anyway, just wanted to say that due to the fabulous training provided by you, all went very smoothly. It really was just like being back on the course, with all the procedures step by step. My manuals were certainly referred to constantly! Anyway, had some wonderful feedback and have just received my second booking!! So just wanted to say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ for giving me the best foundation ever for this profession. I am immensely proud to call myself a Funeral Celebrant! Jenny Humphries – July, (Trained February 2022)

I’ve just booked my 80th funeral of the year and thought I’d let you know that things are now going really well – so much so that I am leaving my job at the end of the summer term to fly solo as a funeral celebrant. I can never thank you and the team enough for the training and support you gave; it provided the best possible foundation for my work as a celebrant. There are no words to describe how fulfilling and satisfying I find doing this work.  Thank you once again. Lisa Newman – July 2022 – (Trained Sept 2020)

I just wanted to thank you all involved with my training as a funeral celebrant. I have done a few now. I had the most wonderful email thanking me this morning (I have had a few before but this one nearly made me cry!) And all of the comments that they made were down what you taught me and your training and coaching.

I am thoroughly enjoying my new career (at the moment!) and cannot thank you enough! Jayne Luckman – April 2022

I just wanted to let you know that I was extremely honoured to be asked to write and officiate the Mother’s Day Memorial Service that was held at a brand new crematorium close to me, that has only been opened for a matter of weeks.

Just four short years ago, I could not have imagined that I would even be capable of doing something like this.  This is down to the fantastic training I received from you all at Civil Ceremonies.  So thank you for giving me the confidence to change career direction and continue to be achieving new goals at my time of life. Kay Poole – March 2022 (Trained 2018)

This course has been one of the best things I have ever done. I thoroughly enjoyed all the content, all the role play. It is am emotional rollercoaster but the support given from the tutors is immense, I know I have made lifelong friends this week. I would do it all again. – Katie Page – February 2022

This is best course I have ever attended. Very informative. Fantastic tutors all very knowledgeable and approachable. Highly recommended – Alison Regan – February 2022

I wanted to send a particular message of thanks. I have just done my first two funeral ceremonies, one being yesterday followed by another this afternoon. They both went very well indeed. In fact, I am a bit amazed at how well they did go given they were my first. But I feel that this success is a testament to you and the training I received with you. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for it. As you have said the training is demanding and does not suit everyone as you work us hard and fit a lot in. After having done my first two ceremonies I am extremely grateful that you did…! Throughout the process of meeting the family, creating the ceremony and preparing to deliver it – I referred to my notes constantly, I used the templates and business resources, I took myself back to the things that you and all the tutors taught us. All of which gave me a firm foundation and the confidence to know I was doing a good job. It’s not just my own perception…my family thought so too…! I feel a sense of happiness and fulfilment – that is greater than words can say. I got so much from doing the funerals and know with certainty that this work is my vocation. I thank you immensely for all the dedication and care you put into helping us fledgling celebrants learn how to create and lead ceremonies that are a good experience for our families as they say their final goodbye. Josie Wood – Aug 2021

I did my first service yesterday. The service was 1.5 hours, for over 90 people for a Professor! It went really well, in fact it couldn’t have gone better. I put a lot of hard work into it and practiced the script like my life depended on it. Referred to all my training manuals from the course. The course you run is the best out there so thank you for the training – Douglas Anderson – December 2020

The amount and quantity of information that we have been given on both the online and residential courses has been amazing! It was worth every penny! Thank you all! Lesley Carr – Dec 2021

It was certainly an intense week, but the tutors helped to make it a fascinating one too. What an incredible company Civil Ceremonies Ltd is – my sincere thanks go to you all for your hard work and dedicated involvement in our training. Through your efforts and valuable experience, you have given us all the skills and confidence to be able to work as civil funeral celebrants and to offer more choice to families facing the funeral of a loved one. What an incredible gift and opportunity! Thank you so much. I am so excited to begin my new career and will look forward to staying in close touch as I take my first steps in that direction! November 2021 – Rachel Nott

I wanted to write to you today as I’m sitting in a cafe reflecting on what was just my second funeral ceremony but with now a further six booked in the diary in the coming three weeks. I could never have imagined just how much making that initial phone call to discuss training would influence my future. Now here I am, with an amazing relationship with three funeral directors, doing work I love. So thank you! For all your hard work with the training, for your advice and support and for just being genuinely lovely people!  Today the funeral director was moved to tears and hugged me after the ceremony. She has asked me if I’d work with her regularly! I’m delighted. Tomorrow I have a wedding and next Sunday a naming ceremony but I do really feel the funerals are where my heart lays. September 2021 – Lyndsey Conquest

Some of us from our cohort have got started at varying paces and we constantly converse via WhatsApp – we’ve said so many times how grateful we are for the depth and rigour of our training when we’re facing the reality and variety of it all. Hayley Harris – July 2021

Can I just thank you and all of your colleagues for a really good week, I have found it really useful and eye-opening in terms of just how much has to go into leading a funeral, but I have been inspired and enthused by this course, I am already mapping out how I am going to set up and progress things over coming days and weeks. Can I also add, from the perspective of a trainer in business, I think the materials, resources, signposting information, course delivery, organisation and structure (both distance and residential) really are the best I have ever come across, and I’ve seen a few!!. Thank you again Anne, I really appreciate your time and energy put into getting us to learn and perform. Brian Smith – June 2021

I found the whole course very interesting and well presented. It was very enjoyable – although demanding, thanks to all the tutors. Jean Aitken – May 2021

Thank you so much for such an inspirational course. It was hard work work but I came away feeling like I was equipped. Jan Hawker – May 21

I recently undertook the Diploma in Funeral Celebrancy (RQF) course. This involved distanced learning and the residential was replaced with an online provision. I really felt that the whole course was excellent. Brilliantly resourced. It provided me with great insight into the funeral business and very practical – giving me the skills and understanding in being able to carry out my new celebrant role confidently. It also enabled me to feel aware of how to run a successful business. Top marks for such a good and thorough course. Advice and feedback was superb. You will be supported every step of the way. I can highly recommend it. Value for money. Mike Warren – Online, Feb 21

I thought that the whole course was excellent. A very comprehensive and informative course which provides everything you need to get started. The arrangements and info prior to the course was excellent right down to the COVID-19 provisions. Really enjoyed it all. Thank you! Stella Munro  – July 2020.

Thank you so much for an engrossing and rewarding week at Highgate House in September. It was an immensely valuable learning experience and great to meet the other funeral celebrancy students. I suppose you could sum up the course as ‘Thoroughly amazing and amazingly thorough’! Pippa Burne – Sept 2020.

So just over a year has passed since I left the grounds of Highgate House on my journey to be a celebrant, and I just wanted to share a little of what has been going on and just let you know the training was not all in vain!

Not a week after I passed I was extremely fortunate in that one small family run independent funeral director gave me my first service within 24 hours of me dropping my business card into them. Only one out of the many I visited. It was very much a sink or swim service, it was for a man even younger than myself who had died of an accidental overdose, whose 9 year old daughter was also in attendance. Needless to say it was a challenge and not quite the ‘easier’ standard elderly natural death I was expecting to be given as a new celebrant to the scene. However the same FD has continued to put me through my paces with various cases and families that have been a real challenge to work with, the constant infighting and squabbles have been a real eye opener. I have so far done services from gypsies, to rich CEO’s of national companies to the poorest and less affluent in society. I’ve even had a police presence with a convicted murderer in chains sat in the front. I’ve been to mansions, council estates and now having to do everything over the phone and not meeting the family until the day because of this dreaded virus, has been a hard but very rewarding challenge.

A few months back an opportunity came up to assist the shorthanded FD on a collection, we have all grown quite close as a unit and work very well together and through hard work they have grown to trust me immensely. I jumped at the opportunity to learn more about the industry and, as fate would have it, I am now working for them full time as well as acting as an in house celebrant when needed. I collect the deceased, dress them, put them to bed etc and then I then have the honour of either carrying them as a bearer or conducting the service myself.

So much has happened it’s been a real rollercoaster of a year and I just wanted to give you a brief rundown otherwise I could ramble on! But the main purpose of the email being to once again thank you and your team for getting me through the meltdowns and crises in confidence I suffered on the course. Who knows where I would be now had it not been for all your support.  Thank you. David Winchester (trained in Apr 19 – received June 2020)

I took my first funeral yesterday……., what I wanted to say to you is how much the whole thing felt like just another exercise from the course – doing each thing in turn exactly as practiced – which is a tribute to your course. I am exceedingly glad I chose to enter the celebrancy business properly through your course– and I am exceedingly glad to have got one under my belt, and all the “first time” anxieties out of the way, so soon! …The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the course did indeed deliver everything I needed to deliver an actual funeral (including equipping me with the right response to the last-minute panic of non-operating curtain). You can’t say better than that.  John Swanson – February 2020.

Thank you for such excellent training – the call from the FD for my first funeral came in on Monday mid-morning, I was with the family 85 Kms away by 18.30 that night, first draft of the Script sent to client by 14.00 Tuesday, approval that night and Orders of Service prepared and printed on Wednesday! Just like being on a Civil Ceremonies Ltd. training course!! Seriously though, I very much appreciated the depth of your training so that I could meet the crematorium staff with confidence, music cues and running script in hand, to work hand in hand with them on the day and cope with a live singer, a childhood friend of the daughters of the deceased, who found herself unable to complete her song due to emotion. You did warn us of the perils of live music, and it came to pass. We finished on time and I received thanks from the Crematorium Attendant, a nod from the FDs representative and deeply appreciative comments from the family. It really brings it home to you when you can feel the raw emotion of relief from the family that they achieved the ceremony they desired. Thank you. I know I am not yet the finished article but you have set me on a course to a fulfilling and ever enlightening career. With very best wishes to you and all the team . Alan Mackay – December 2019 (based in France).

This course has been a roller – coaster even, with relentless input of new information! I have really appreciated the strict time keeping and very clear agenda for each day. Thank you so much for such an excellent course…I‘ve loved it! Caroline Adams – December 2019.

I cannot see how the course could be improved, I am so glad I chose Civil Ceremonies. Brilliant coursework, amazing tutors and super venue. Thank you. Dee Paoletti – September 2019.

I gave my first funeral service on Friday, it went really well (I think) and I just want to thank everyone at Civil Ceremonies for all your help and support in getting me to this point!

I only had a week from being asked to give the service until the day it was happening as the FD was let down (or some complication) by the original celebrant they had hoped to use. So it was all very last minute with changes going on literally the evening before. But I thought back so many times to the absolutely brilliant training the tutors gave us, and the amazing amount of support from you and from your office – and it all worked! I had my course manuals and notes permanently on my dining table for the week, I used the tape recorder on my iphone to listen to what I was saying and how it came across, not to mention pre-timing every bit of the service – and it all worked!
Thank you again, I really appreciate the amazing training and care you have all shown. Jo Adam – February 2019.

Brilliant course! Absolutely necessary to do funeral celebrancy. Can’t imagine doing this work without doing this training. Extremely well organised! It was like a well oiled machine, every part planned perfectly. Excellent quality teaching. I learned so much. Intense but well worth the hard work. I wish you were running the country! Alice Cullingworth – February 2019.

What a fantastic week. I can honestly say that I enjoyed every minute, though some were slightly more nerve-wracking than others! So many tips, so much help. How hard you must work to collate all the information and put it together in a coherent, seamless week. I cannot imagine attempting to deliver a funeral ceremony without this wealth of knowledge behind me. It is slowly starting to sink in. Usually when I drive anywhere I listen to the radio, but on Friday I drove the two and half hours in complete silence – just thinking. The venue was fantastic, so friendly and welcoming. Today (Sunday) I am going to quietly go through all my notes and the mass of information you gave us so I can find what I’m looking for. I am excited to get going and I am ready for the challenges ahead. With many many thanks. Alison Griffin – February–March 2019.

Having completed the course last week I used all we had been taught in putting the ceremonies together and have had amazing feedback! Two funeral directors have made me their favoured celebrant, the regular crem chapel attendant has asked for a pile of my cards to give to who ever asks him for advice on who to take their service – he says he is asked a lot. To top it all, the family today were so delighted they have passed on an extra payment for me to the funeral director as they reckon my fee isn’t high enough … unbelievable. So thank you for transforming the way I do funerals! Nigel Evans – July 2018 (was already practicing as a celebrant).

I just wanted to drop you an email to let you know that I conducted my first funeral last Friday. The family were lovely and the funeral was very well received by those who attended (over 150 according to crematorium staff). I’ve since met the family again earlier this week and took the opportunity to let them know, after the event, that it had been my first funeral – they were gobsmacked! It took me almost half an hour to convince them that I was telling the truth.
Apparently, I conducted myself in such a professional and confident manner they thought I’d been conducting funerals for years. To say I was a “wee bit proud” of myself would be an understatement! Thank you for all your help and feedback during my training. My being “professional and confident” is owed in no small part to the training I received in May – I took so much from it. Susan Maitland – May 2018.

I just wanted to say “thank you” for the excellent training I received from Civil Ceremonies. I performed my first funeral today, a real test since it was someone I knew. I was the trainee who said I would never do a funeral for a friend but it was a testament to the confidence your organisation instilled that I got through it with composure, (not to say relief!). Family very pleased and the funeral director has indicated he will use me again. He was very complimentary. Jacqueline Barr – March 2018.

I just wanted to let you know that I conducted my first ceremony today. There were over 150 people there for a thirty-minute slot. Anyway, the feedback was so good that I received a phone call a couple of hours later offering me another funeral on the 11th April! Thank you so much for such a thorough training. I was very nervous today but kept telling myself, ‘trust your training’. Debra Homer – March 2018.

On a personal note, last week was incredibly special for me. I learned so much from you and your wonderful team, and I enjoyed every minute – it was the right balance of information provision, continual support and constant challenge, pushing us to practice what had been taught – so a huge and very sincere ‘thank you’ to you, Jill, John and the rest of your amazing team. Your passion for, and belief in, what you do shines through the entire course – from the materials you provide, to the trainers you engage, to the guest speakers who came to talk to us, to the administration team in the office; every one of them shares your commitment and passion for what you do. This job really is a ‘profession’, and I hope that in the weeks and months to come, I can provide a high quality, personal, unique ceremony for every future client who engages my services. – Clair O’Reilly – February 2018 (Ireland).

The course is thorough which is necessary, the tutors are fantastic. The course is so thorough it is the best preparation I could imagine for entry into such a challenging role. Crafted and delivered with such care and attention. I conducted my first ceremony yesterday; it went very well and I was very very grateful for my incredibly thorough Civil Ceremonies training! Thank you once again for taking such care in crafting the course – I don’t think I could have felt more prepared. Thank you!! Libby Curley – October 2018.

The course was enjoyable, well presented and very professional. I enjoyed all the guest presenters who provided a good insight into the funeral industry. The content of the course has equipped me well to work as a funeral celebrant and was full and comprehensive in content. Presenting at the crematorium was a pivotal part of the training, well planned and executed. The training team were true professionals and made the course interesting and inspiring. There was pressure to complete tasks in a limited time, but it proved effective, yes we can do it. This was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I will never forget the brilliant, inspiring training, or the trainers. Quite simply I cannot thank you enough. Nikki Ayling – Oct 2017.

I have now conducted my first funeral, in fact I was lucky to do so less than one week after completing the course. I spent hours at the keyboard typing out facts, constructing someone’s life story and then the big day rolled round and I stood before a crowd of around 35 people and told the story. And it felt that this is what I am truly meant to do, it was hard work, but so incredibly rewarding. I felt so incredibly humble as I stood at the front of the chapel, telling a story about the man in the coffin. Half of the congregation were stars of the story. I knew no-one. Afterwards I even got a lovely email from the family. I really didn’t expect that, even the funeral director had said, they might not be the type of family who give any feedback, but equally so, if they weren’t happy, we would soon know about it! So thank you so very much again, for being so very kind, friendly and patient. Lorraine Inglis – March 2017.

It really was one of the best courses I have ever been on (and I’ve been on, written and taught quite a few). Please thank everyone again for a really well put-together and challenging week’. Tamara Bibby – March 2017.

Just a quick line to say I can’t believe it just coming up to one year since the course. It’s been an incredible year, full of challenges and a sense of achievement in more ways than I could ever have imagined. I’ve certainly had some frights and delights along the way.

Though I was totally exhausted after the course (and took a week to recover) I hit the ground running. It wasn’t until I was doing the job that it became clear how thoroughly the course had prepared me. I have already done well over one hundred services though I have to admit it has been hard work at times to get the funeral directors to try me out. Happily I am starting to get a few who think of me now as a first call. I love meeting new people and hearing their stories and the challenge of accurately reflecting a life in a way that is suited to the individual family. The creative side of a service is so very rewarding.

I would like to thank you for all the support and advice you have given me over the past twelve months and enabling me to do a job that has made me feel properly useful in the world. I look forward to joining you on a further course later this year. Louise Goode – March 2016.

Thank you very much for a wonderful course last week. I found you and all the tutors truly inspirational and am very keen to put everything you taught us into practice. Your kind encouragement and wonderful motivation gives me confidence, and I am preparing to hit the ground running. Thank you once again for a splendid course and for opening up such exciting possibilities. Oliver Tims – March 2017.

Distance Learning Feedback

I found the first part of the training to be most enjoyable, stimulating and thought provoking. It was fun, (if that is the right word) and I couldn’t wait to get to the next section. The material was very well presented, clear and concise and laid out in logical form which made working through it enjoyable. Right from the outset rigour in process and applying standards was most apparent adding to a feeling of worth and satisfaction. You people seem to be exceptional and, rather uncommonly, the right hand knows what the left hand is doing!!

I have been impressed throughout by the combination of friendly and professional assistance given.

I have undertaken many training programmes over the years and mostly what lets them down is poor administration and poor communication. Civil Ceremonies appears to have got both sorted – I have nothing but praise for both elements. When I have had questions, Hazel has been able to help me and has even gone out of her way to provide me with helpful additional information, for which I am extremely grateful. The distance learning was very good, and written in a way that underpins the guidance to write clearly, concisely and simply.

Comments received on the Distance Learning element of the training

Excellent information given on every aspect of the residential course.

It was an excellent resource to work from. All the information was very clearly presented.

So far I have been delighted with every aspect of this course.

Always friendly, understanding, helpful and willing to go the extra mile. Also very positive and encouraging.

I have been impressed throughout by the combination of friendly and professional assistance given.

Course feedback from established celebrants

We love to hear from funeral celebrants that we have trained as they grow and develop their business. These are some comments we have had from Celebrants who ‘got going’ recently.

Can I just say how valuable the course has been to get me started as a Funeral Celebrant. It does not matter how long you have been in the business, this still helped me considerably in advice and also tools of the trade. Therefore many thanks for all the hard work from all the instructors.

I just wanted to thank you – not only for the course last year, but also for the continued support and assistance along the way. Things are going well – and I have averaged 4 to 5 funerals per month so far – and have 3 now booked for January. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you.

I completed the Diploma in Funeral Celebrancy in February 2014 and on Monday 5th January I lead my 50th ceremony. I just thought I’d drop you a line to say what amazing preparation the training has proved to be. At no time did I feel out of my depth (and I’ve had a very wide range of situations to deal with!). Thank you again.