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WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT JULIA

 

“I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for all your efforts leading up to my Dad’s funeral yesterday, and of course, for the service itself. In truth, I am unable to adequately express my gratitude. You have been truly amazing. So, on behalf of myself and the rest of the family – thank you so very much”

Steven

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“Lee and I would like to thank you so much for the beautiful service and your patience in helping us get it so right. Also thank you so much for the beautiful boxed keep sakes we will both treasure them forever.
Thank you again”
Donna & Lee

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“The service was lovely, thank you and many of my friends said how beautifully you spoke. It felt very personal to us and I know Dad would have been impressed!

Peter also said he felt it could not have gone better and we are very grateful to you for the suggestion of a video clip which really helped him to feel part of it.

You guided us through the service so that we felt very comfortable and knew exactly what to expect. 

Thank you again.”

Ally

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“Julia that was wonderful, the family across the world (watching the live stream) have all been moved by your delivery and presence. I couldn’t of wished for better, nor would I of changed a thing. Thank you from us all x”

 
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“The boys and I wanted to write and say thank you for the absolutely beautiful service you did for P. on Tuesday. It was the perfect send off for him and we simply couldn’t have wished for better. Even though you weren’t able to meet P. the eulogy you presented captured him perfectly and your coordination of the overall event was amazing. It was positive and uplifting despite the inevitable sadness and P. would have very much approved of the humour! We were touched by your empathy and sensitivity and I have had many messages from family and friends commenting on what an incredible service it was thanks to you.  With all our very best wishes and thanks for making what is inevitably a difficult time much more positive.”
 
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“My thanks go to Julia for her professionalism and compassion during such a difficult and upsetting time.  It was comforting to be able to talk so openly about my thoughts and feelings of my mother and Julia really took the time to understand how she lived, what made her the beloved woman she was and what other people thought of her.
 
Julia was able to transfer all that information into a caring, kind and warm service that has certainly helped me with the grieving process and added more of a celebratory feel to proceedings on the day of the funeral.  I wish to extend my thanks and gratitude to her.”
 
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On behalf of our whole family may I thank you so much for the way you arranged and performed the funeral service for our mother yesterday. We were very impressed with the sensitive way you dealt with the diverse views and opinions that is inevitable in a family of our size.  The way you managed to capture all the memories and anecdotes that were fired at you was remarkable.  The end result was a fitting tribute to someone we loved very much and for which we will be eternally grateful.  You did us proud.

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I just want to reiterate the thanks sent to you on our behalf last week. We are so lucky that you agreed to help us organise mum’s funeral and to have you guide us through the service on Wednesday afternoon. I can’t thank you enough for the kindness, patience and professionalism you showed us from the moment we were introduced/
 
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“On behalf of the family can I thank you for the compassionate way you handled the preparations for Mum’s funeral and the event itself. We were very impressed with the way you picked up on our mood. While we were of course sad to say goodbye to Mum, we really wanted it to be a celebration of a life lived to the full.
 
We didn’t want our focus to be the trying last months of her life, but all the many happy years we had with her. You realised this very quickly and everyone who attended the funeral felt Mum’s sense of humour and fun coming through in your address. It was a perfect send-off for her, and your approachable manner made it so much easier to get through what could have been a very hard day. Thanks again for all you did”
 
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I just wanted to say thank you so much for the wonderful job you did for mum’s funeral on New Years Eve. You were amazing and we are all truly thankful for making a very difficult time a little easier. Your words were lovely, thank you for taking the time to come to the house to meet us and get to know mum. Thank you once again“
  
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“Thank you so much for giving Dad such a tasteful and appropriate send off. We all agreed that it was a fitting tribute to him and you managed to capture our wishes perfectly. Much appreciated and thank you for making a difficult day more manageable”
 
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“Everyone I spoke to said how lovely the service was and that you were so kind. I can’t thank you enough for all you did it was so personal. You have a very special gift”
  
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“just a little message to thank you for dad’s service again. It was lovely and many people commented after, saying that it was simple yet beautiful and what they would like for themselves.. many thanks again”
  
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“Thank you for officiating at mum’s funeral.  You really took the time to listen to myself and my brother to find out all about mum’s life and that really came across in the ceremony.  You delivered the whole thing beautifully and we will forever be grateful to you for helping us say goodbye to such a special and wonderful lady”
  
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“I recently attended a service led by Julia Hawkes, following the death of my neighbour. Intrigued, I approached her after the service as I was impressed by the way that she had complete control from start to finish, but with the lightness of touch needed at such a delicate time.

My neighbour made me aware that Julia was very empathetic and efficient in compiling the story of her late father’s life, which she delivered with the perfect balance of respect and humour.

With a background in teaching Julia has clearly worked with people from a range of ages and backgrounds and I have no doubt that she will be as equally professional and capable in handling more joyous ceremonies as well.”

 

FUNERALS

Thank you for visiting my website and considering me as your celebrant.

Are you looking to create a meaningful and special funeral ceremony that truly reflects your loved one?

small candle burning in remembrance of deceased loved one

I believe that everyone should be able to have a funeral ceremony that captures their unique and special qualities. A funeral ceremony should comfort the bereaved, acknowledge loss, celebrate life and allow people to smile at shared memories.

There is no right or wrong way, a well-crafted sensitive funeral ceremony can take many forms and is likely to include laughter as well as tears. At its conclusion, there is a general feeling that it was a fitting send-off.

As an independent celebrant I will work with you to create a ceremony that is uniquely personal. You may already have a clear idea of how you wish the funeral ceremony to proceed or alternatively we can work together to choose appropriate words, poems, readings, music.

I am a sincere, warm and compassionate person and I will listen carefully to what you want. My role is simply to enable you to create a ceremony that honours and reflects your loved one.

Creating such an important ceremony can be daunting but by choosing to work with a qualified and skilled celebrant you will be able to receive as much support and guidance as you require at this difficult time. I will meet with you to discuss your wishes and create a draft funeral plan that you can review. This initial meeting will allow you to get to know me and I can gain an understanding of what is important to you.

I am happy to include religious, non-religious or spiritual content from any faith in the ceremony. In addition, you may want to include the following elements within the ceremony:

 

Poems and readings

Family tributes

Music

An acknowledgement of absent friends

A candle ceremony

Sometimes, the emotion of the day means occasionally – and understandably – people cannot read their tributes or poems. Rest assured that if this happens, I will be on hand to help by stepping in and reading it on their behalf.

You may wish to have the ceremony in the crematorium or cemetery chapel or at a natural burial ground.  Alternatively, I am happy to conduct a funeral ceremony in any location of your choice including at home or in an outside venue possibly followed with a private committal. Some hotels will now host the funeral ceremony and the wake. Please ask me about all the possibilities

logo showing Julia Hawkes is a supporter of The Natural Death Centre

MEMORIALS / END OF LIFE CEREMONIES

 

With the emotional stress of the death of a loved one, the planning and preparation for a funeral ceremony can be overwhelming. You may decide to invite only immediate family to a very simple funeral and put your effort into planning a memorial ceremony at a later date for other family members and friends.

 

There is much flexibility and choice available in the design and structure of a memorial ceremony and traditionally family and friends usually play an active role in planning the event. My role as Celebrant is to support you in creating a personal and heartfelt ceremony, offering as much advice and guidance as needed. If you wish me to lead the ceremony on the day and coordinate the order of ceremony I am happy to do so.

 

A memorial ceremony can be held anywhere you choose; at home, in a garden, a hotel, a rented hall or even a close family member’s home. There are no time limits or restrictions on what is included in your ceremony and I am happy to suggest ideas if needed.

 

It would be a privilege to create a memorial ceremony with you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

 

ADVANCE FUNERAL PLANNING

 

Pre-planning your funeral ceremony offers you peace of mind and the reassurance that your family will not need to second guess your wishes at this extremely difficult and emotional time. This allows them to focus on the other, more practical matters that will arise, whilst giving them the comfort of knowing that they have honoured your last wishes.

Working with a sensitive and understanding celebrant will allow you to create the ceremony you would like. I can offer you as much support as you need.  You may already have some ideas but would like help to gather together your thoughts, memories and ideas into a truly memorable ceremony.

I am happy to meet with you and together we will discuss the kind of ceremony you would like. This could be completely non-religious or include some religious elements like a prayer and hymns. You might have a favourite piece of poetry or reading that you would like to include and maybe even a special person you would like to read it.

After meeting with you I will then draft your funeral ceremony. When it is finished we can meet again to go through the document carefully and make any changes you wish to make. Once agreed, you will receive a written copy. Your Funeral Director can have a copy of your ceremony document and a copy can be placed with your Will. If you would like to discuss this process further please don’t hesitate to contact me for a free, no obligation chat.

quill and paper indicating writing a life story ahead of death

PET FUNERALS

brown large dog and black and white cat lying together on a white background

Losing a much loved pet is a difficult and emotional experience. Over the years as a  pet owner myself I have experienced the loss of my own beloved pets and I understand the deep sense of loss and sadness that is experienced.

If you would like to create a pet funeral ceremony please get in touch, together we can create a ceremony that will honour your pet and enable you to celebrate the companionship you shared.

What I offer:

Pet burial ceremonies

Pet ashes interment or scattering ceremonies

Advance planning for pet funerals

 

Please get in touch to talk through what you would like. I am happy to meet for a no obligation, no fee initial discussion.