Why Choose Me?
How I can support you
There are 3 main stages for every funeral service:
1: I meet with you, the family.
2: Office time. Lots of typing, phone calls and emails with you to create a bespoke and personal funeral service.
3: I deliver the funeral service in the venue you have chosen.
Thoughtful. Personal. Warm. Reliable.
You always look for ways to personalise the funeral to the person that has died and are quite creative with that.
I like that you also think about your choice of outfit and can tell you have given it some thought. The little details count. Your communication is superb.
You are reliable. You are friendly. You are passionate about doing a good job. You acknowledge the teamwork and are always striving to improve and do your very best.
Due to my counselling and pastoral experience I am
good at actively listening, and therefore feel
comfortable in being present with others on their
difficult days.
It is an honour to be alongside a bereaved family
within their grief and pain and really hear the life story
and impact of their person who has died.
I meet each family with a blank page of paper as no
funeral service is the same, as each individual is
unique.
Positive. Kind. Compassionate.
You are very caring and very compassionate. You have a good understanding of grief and are strong enough to guide lost souls in a direction that they really need.
I think you are a bit of a force of nature. Bright, colourful, and confident. People need that when they are in the worst place.
Your communication skills are awesome, don’t change. I have total confidence in your ability to produce every aspect you have arranged. I love that you contact the families straight away.
I enjoy every job I do with you, we will keep recommending you.
How I would support you
Initial Contact
Your Funeral Director will have contacted me once you have met with them to ask for my availability and have then given me your basic contact details.
Arrange an Appointment
I will phone you to arrange a convenient time for me to personally introduce myself to you in a venue that suits you best, perhaps within your home.
Introduction
In this face-to-face meeting (that can last about 2hours), you start by signing a JWCelebrancy consent form and I also give you information about myself and my contact details.
I will start with asking about their family tree so that I can understand your family makeup and then you can tell me all about your person who has died, their love legacy.
(I would love to firstly hear all about their life story and get to know their character first before we talk about the practical details of their service).
Whilst listening, I like to observe facial expressions, body language, hear memories and take lots of notes highlighting the personal things and the little details that matter to you and to your person who has died.
We can then discuss themes, colours, music choices, service content ideas such as poems, readings, personal items to be on display and perhaps who would like to be involved or represented.
If there are children and young people attending we can discuss ways in how to include them or represent them, and perhaps arrange another time for me to meet them in person prior to the service.
We then put together a Draft Order of Service.
Order of Service
I email you (and the Funeral Director) the Draft Order of Service to confirm it, and the music is then booked by your Funeral Director.
Family Contributions
You then contact me with all your family contributions, and we continue to communicate as we work together to gather all the content for their funeral service.
Life-story
If you require me to write one, I will e-mail to you their Draft Life-story (Eulogy) to read through and give amendments from the discussion we had and my notes taken.
I recognise that I may have never got the honour to meet your person who has died, and so I am humbled to help you in this way by drafting their Life-story for you to check. However, it requires our teamwork, and so I want you to feel comfortable with its content, therefore, please don’t hesitate to talk to me about your amendments.
Service Details
I will arrange with you a convenient time to give you a phone call on the day before the service to ‘check in’ and briefly run through the service.
After out discussion I then email my full-service script to the Funeral Director and venue.
On The Day
I will meet you directly at the venue and be there early with the Funeral Director’s team checking everything is in place and all the behind-the-scenes details.
Once the Funeral Director and the coffin has arrived safely, the Funeral Service will begin as I walk in front of the coffin into the venue, and you then take your seats.
I will officiate the service to your pre agreed requirements.
I will invite others to the microphone to speak or be ‘your mouthpiece’ as I read out your contributions, memories, and life story on your behalf.
After the service I will spend some time with you and those who have come outside the venue and stay to wave you off as you enter your vehicles to leave.
(I am grateful to receive a invite to the continued celebrations (wake), drinks and food after the service, however, won’t be able to join you).
Remembrance Candle Video
On the day of the service, on my social media, I will post a remembrance candle video via Instagram and a unique creative service post for you to see that you have consented to prior.
*The social media post does not contain personal details or your loved one’s coffin. It is a visual representation of your loved
one’s funeral for you. Some families like to save it and share it forwards as a remembrance image.
Facebook: Jen Watson, Funeral Celebrant. JW Celebrancy
Precious Keepsakes
After the service I will post to you a full Souvenir Script of the whole Funeral Service. A printout of every word spoken as a precious keepsake.
If you would like further copies at £15 (including postage), please don’t hesitate to contact me again.
I will also send you an annual Christmas Card, and you are welcome to keep in touch with me, or ‘Facebook friend’ me via Jen Watson.
Should you choose me to be your Funeral Celebrant and entrust the funeral service for your person who has died to my leadership, I will do my utmost to provide a dignified and highly personal service which will be based on your requirements.
I work self-employed alongside local Funeral Directors, (who I invoice for my fee), and I am only responsible for the service part of the funeral.
I look forward to your contact.
Jen.