“I wanted to say a big thank you on behalf of my family. With your help, we gave my dad a service that was elegant and dignified. He would have loved it. You have a wonderful gift, you made a difficult task feel manageable with just the right amount of guidance.” (appreciation his daughter)

If you are looking for a celebrant willing to do everything possible to help you pay your last respects and celebrate a life in a very personal and meaningful way- you have landed in the right place.

I had been to many funerals in my life, for all sorts of people and reasons, before I needed to organize one in my own family. The celebrant I found (now retired sadly) opened my eyes to what a truly great and worthy funeral could be like, and made me want to become a celebrant myself. In my work, I am always grateful for that amazing inspiration and example; and am so happy to be, we could say, ‘paying it forward’. 

A good celebrant (also known as an officiant) understands how difficult things can be when you are grieving and that arranging a funeral is an extra worry on top of everything else. As soon as you get a celebrant on board to help, the load will lighten for you in many ways.

I’m always happy to chat, and you’ll soon know if I feel right for you: feel free to call 07957 367 774 or email me at sam.reagan@humanistceremonies.org.uk

“The whole family were so happy with the service. Sam was very professional but also compassionate and went the extra mile every step of the way. Nothing was too much, and details were double checked. Can’t recommend her enough. Made a terrible day beautiful.” (appreciation from her daughter in law)

Confidence in your celebrant, that there will be a good funeral service, can make the day feel much less stressful and can give comfort to you. A good celebrant will ease the way for you: reading out for you or putting into words, the things that need to be said on the day, perhaps even words that are too hard for you to say yourself. Whether it is words or music, a mixture of both or something more modern, such as a visual tribute of family photographs set to favourite music,  a celebrant who knows the venue can help, and advise you how to make the most of every option available to you there. No-one need worry or dread a funeral service. 

You can contact me before you contact a Funeral Director or afterwards, even while you are waiting for a date. I am a full time funeral celebrant and can be very flexible on the timing of our first meeting: which I hope will be in person, unless you need it to be online for any reason. I place no time limit on the time we spend together at that meeting: I stay until you are happy with the plan, before I start work on the service for you. I also keep in touch with you regularly right up to the day of the funeral: helping you with any Order of Service booklet and liaising with your Funeral Director along the way. My fees, based on the service length, are laid out very clearly on my Prices page, and are no different whether you contact me first, or ask your Funeral Director to contact me. To see them click here

Families often turn to me again years after I first helped them, knowing they can trust and count on me to see them through, in tough times. My goal is to prepare a service celebrating the life of the person who has died, and what was most meaningful for them and to you. The services I write are inclusive to everyone religious or not: memories are for everyone.

If you came here looking for help to plan your own funeral service: I can help you too: please click here for more information

Beyond what I say, it is what the families I have worked for think of me that is my best recommendation to you: all of the messages of thanks for my work that follow throughout the rest of this page come from families themselves, are very recent and are updated regularly. 

ABOUT ME

I’m mad about music, my cats, my garden and golf, and was a very busy professional musician before becoming a Funeral Celebrant. I have a positive, straightforward outlook on life and although I work very hard, I enjoy my downtime: listening to new as well as favourite things, and going to the theatre when I can. I would not like to be without music in my life. My cats please and amuse: one never liked it when I practised at home myself and would leave for the garden immediately; the second always loved it and used to come and sleep beside me while I worked. Fortunately, neither of them seem to mind the stereo. I’ve travelled a lot in my life and have a picked up a little of several languages, some more so than others- it is a little joke with friends and family that I can read a menu in about 12 languages.

Funeral services written individually every time, are what I do, and I love to take great time and care over them. Firstly, I need to listen: to hear about you and about the person you have lost and about any ideas you already have for the service: we start there. There are so many ways to create a well deserved send-off and I will find the one that seems the best for you and your family.

“Sam took the time and effort to work out what we wanted and find way and suggestions for providing it, she was very flexible. Her presence and delivery in the Crematorium was totally appropriate.” (from her father)

“Just a short note of thanks for all your work on my late mother’s funeral service today. It was very much appreciated and made what is, understandably, a stressful event that much easier to bare. Best of luck for the future and I shall “sing your praises” to all who may need a humanist etc funeral celebrant.” (from her son)

I specialize just in Funeral Services (Cremation, Burial and Ashes Interments) Memorial Services (a bit more like remembrance services, held when it was difficult to get everyone together to remember at the original time of the loss)  and Pre-Needs Services (which is making plans for a service for someone who wants to take care of all the details before they die) and am available throughout London and Kent.

“Just to say Sam. I think you really have something special in your career and you are an absolute natural. You gave a beautiful Eulogy, and you just have a calm practical presence about you which instils confidence. Your genuine interest in getting to the real story really shined through. Thank you again for all of your support and for making it a brilliant celebration of my brother.” (from a Memorial Service, held at a beautiful venue)

” Absolutely amazing Service-we knew after meeting Sam that we were in good hands. Sam has a natural skill of putting all the information together and presenting it in such a way that you felt she had actually known the person. The whole family were so happy with the service”  (from her daughter in law)

“Firstly, thank you for your help professionally and personally, it made a difficult time much easier. Your style and oratory skills are just perfect for making people celebrate lives loved and remembering good times on a sad day. Everything went well on the day, and it was nice to catch up with people who had such lovely memories of my dad. I hope not to see you for a while so please take care in the meantime. Again many thanks for everything for both my parents.” (appreciation from their son)

“Sam was an exceptional celebrant. She listened carefully to everything the family said. Sam’s words, particularly at the graveside were just beautiful. She really helped us to create a beautiful ceremony”  (from her sister)

“I just want to say, thank you so so much for all your help and the wonderful words you wrote for my mum’s service. The Service so perfectly summed up everything mum would have wanted it to be and you have made this whole process just a little bit easier on my sister and me-  Thank you again Sam, from the bottom of our hearts” (from her daughter)

“I and the family were so impressed by your in-depth eulogy for my husband and some of the people there actually thought you were a family friend! I have taken out a funeral plan with Dignity, as I was impressed by the whole way that the funeral was conducted as were a great number of my friends, who said they hadn’t been to such a “happy” event of that kind ever. Would you consider being the celebrant for my funeral, whenever that may be, if you say Yes, I’ll add it to my instructions.” (appreciation from his wife)

“Sam did a brilliant job for Mum. She took the time to learn about Mum, about what content was important to us and how the family wanted to be involved and then created the perfect Order of Service and oversaw and delivered in a thoughtful and caring way. Thank you Sam.” (from her sons)

“Dear Sam, thank you so much for the wonderful service you gave us for my brother’s funeral. You put your heart and soul into providing all our thoughts and memories and joining that all interlinked with all our wishes and music. The video you made was so good, and I can speak for all at the service that they loved it all. It was amazing – really I must congratulate you on such a brilliant, friendly job you did for for us. I really can’t believe my brother is gone but having all of his service to read and see again will always be a nice memory to have. Thank you again Sam and we will pass on your name to others in future.” (from his sister)

“I want to extend thanks from the whole family for all your hard work in ensuring that dad had such a wonderful end to his journey. Your words really captured the essence of him; as a quiet humble man he would have been surprised to hear his life sound so happy and fulfilled, which I really believe it was. Everyone said afterwards what a lovely service it was, so many thanks once again.” (from his entire family)

“Thank you once again for thoughtfulness, time and care and the wonderful words you wrote for our mum,  all of which are most appreciated.” (from her sons)

“The thoughtfulness you showed meant more than you will ever know.” (from her grandson)

“I shall forever be grateful for all the hard work, care and attention you showed in helping me with mum’s funeral service.” (from her daughter)

 

 

 

“Sam was brilliant at communicating with us, she listened, made changes in accordance with new remembering and was kind and thoughtful. She presented the service really well, ensuring that she arrived early for preparation. She was very well received, and generally Great :)” (appreciation from the arranger of a Memorial Service)

“Sam was consummately professional and proactively scaled down both the quantity of work, and the fee she charged, because she felt that the situation in which I had placed her meant she had less work to do than usual. Her input was worth every penny in terms of the degree of confidence that she brought me, which was exactly what I wanted. Highly recommended.” (appreciation from a spouse,  who had already begun to arrange a family run Memorial Service, and who just needed a little bit of professional input to make the day secure)

If you are making arrangements for a Pre-Paid funeral, it is worth thinking about making a plan for the service too: either a simple outline or in full. It can be a great help to your family or anyone else who is arranging your funeral to know your wishes, and to have them easily available when that sad time comes.  I can offer Accredited Pre-Needs Funeral Service Planning: please click here for more details.

© Sam Reagan 2021, updated April 23rd 2024