Brighton’s creative Humanist funeral celebrant

“You must take from it the hope, love and courage that other people give you in what they thought about your loved one.”

— Michael Rosen, On the importance of a good funeral

Celebrant Gitte, a white woman with dark hair in a black dress and light denim jacket, is leaning against a pillar on Brighton band stand.

Creating memorable funeral ceremonies to match the life that was lived

Searching for an experienced funeral celebrant in Brighton who can create meaningful, personal memorials?

Get in touch for a free and non-binding chat to discuss your wishes.

How do you say goodbye in the most authentic way?

There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ when it comes to funerals - just like every person is one of a kind.

No matter what kind of funeral you choose, I can help you create a funeral ceremony or celebration of life that includes all the right elements to honour the person that died - and none of the stuff that has no meaning or relevance.

Memory tree in white with nine tags attached, with handwritten notes on what a good funeral is.

The right funeral ceremony can bring people together thoughtfully and carefully create time and space to honour the person in a meaningful and uplifting way.

As a humanist celebrant, I can help you plan a personal and meaningful send-off - whether that’s a celebration of life in an alternative setting, a family-led funeral or an uplifting chapel or graveside service.

I work with families and friends to create funerals and celebrations of life that are fitting for the person and that feels right for those saying farewell. You can read more about my approach further down the page.

You don’t have to know exactly what you want for the service. I will help you find out what feels right and what would work best. I have made it my mission to embrace and offer all that is possible for a non-religious funeral or celebration of life. I can give you as much support and guidance as you feel you need – from a gentle nudge in the right direction to a full or extended ceremony service.

With my experience in creating deeply personalised end of life ceremonies - from creative cremation services to non-traditional natural burials and ceremonies in alternative venues - I can help you plan an original and fitting send-off.

I am a Humanist UK trained and accredited funeral celebrant, and with my additional training as a Coffin Club Celebrant Plus, you are in very safe hands.

  • Gitte wonderfully coordinated a wide diversity of inputs in the life celebration of my friend... A ceremony planned with many viewpoints, organised by friends, inclusive of family wishes.. and a Zimbabwean perspective too. It was a wonderful service and fitting tribute, much appreciated by the 100 attendees. It would have been challenging, to say the least, to coordinate this without the guidance of a professional. I would wholeharteadly recommend Gitte's services, to bring together a fitting event, in my case, at a challenging time. Thank you Gitte!

    Justin

  • The immediate family were delighted with your sensitive handling of Diana’s funeral and the care and attention to detail you put into the preparation. Feedback from those attending has been universally praising the ceremony you conducted for us and the support and leadership you gave to the participants was exemplary. I have also received complementary emails from people attending virtually. One friend of 40 years said she felt she learned more about Diana from the 25 minute ceremony that she ever did in their long association. I only hope you’re still around to do the same for me when I go.

    Tom

  • Gitte helped us create the most perfect service for our brother (52) who was taken way too early after a short battle with cancer. She spent so much time with us to get to know him and we had the most modern service imaginable. Nothing we wanted was a problem. Gitte spoke as though she’d known him all her life and it was beautiful. We finished the service sharing a glass of champagne with him and writing farewell messages all over his coffin. So very special.

    Liz

  • From the moment I met Gitte I knew she was going to be a wonderful celebrant to conduct my brother's ceremony. She was kind, warm, compassionate and supportive throughout the whole process and there was excellent communication and quick responses to any queries or concerns I had. On the day, she conducted the ceremony with warmth, compassion, some gentle humour which helped everyone relax as we said our farewells to my dear brother Julian. She made the day go as well as it could and I will be forever grateful to her. Thank you Gitte X

    Linda

  • Gitte was the celebrant for my partner's funeral and did a brilliant job. At such a stressful time, she was calm, patient and helpful. She took time to listen to what we wanted and to learn about my partner so that when she conducted the ceremony, it really felt like she knew him well. She was very responsive to all our requests and questions, made suggestions when asked but respected all our wishes. Those that came to the funeral commented on what a great job she did. I thoroughly recommend her. She was compassionate as well as practical and made sure everything went smoothly on the day without being intrusive.

    Liz

  • Gitte held our hand as we worked with her to find a way to honour my Mother. The process and the event were so thoughtful and throughout she was supportive, working with us gently to make a restpectful and authentic celebration that we were so happy with.

    Gill

  • Thank you so much for bringing everything together on the day with your sensitivity and warmth. You helped make a difficult day very special.

    Gabriel

My approach

I wholeheartedly agree with Michael Rosen (quote above) and believe that a good funeral is both emotional and meaningful, but that doesn’t mean that it has to be sombre and sad. I focus on making the ceremony uplifting, by including light humour (when and if appropriate), wonderful or wicked memories, reflection time as well as respect and consideration for everyone involved.

I make sure to get the tone, facts and story right for the service by working really closely with you, as a family, and with any other loved ones that would like to be involved. I do not limit my time to one meeting and will take the time needed.

I will meet with you as soon as possible as we make contact to make sure there is time to get everything right. You will receive a draft copy of the script in good time, and I will work on it until you are comfortable with everything in the service. I will continue to be available for questions and updates before the service. On the day of the service, I will be there for you to welcome you and other mourners, I will deliver the ceremony with warmth and clarity and I will support you as you say goodbye.

Celebrant Gitte, a white woman with brown hair, is sitting on a bench on Brighton beach promenade, smiling.

My journey as a Humanist celebrant started when I was lucky to attend a heartfelt and utterly personal humanist funeral. I was so impressed with how authentic it was, compared to church funerals. I was left with a feeling of gratitude and an open heart because of how the celebrant had truly honoured my friend. Their story was told honestly and warmly, recognising the other lives that our friend had touched in their life. This is when I realised that I wanted to be part of helping others give their loved one a truly personal send off.

Your options

If you do not want to follow the conventional structure of a funeral service, you are free to personalise in any way you choose. You can have a celebration of life in an alternative venue, such as the person’s favourite pub, club or outdoor space - with the coffin present.

Separating the cremation or burial from the service means there are no restrictions on time, location or content of the ceremony.

Most funeral services are cremations in a chapel, but there are many other options and you have a lot of flexibility for how you want to organise a funeral.

You can have a natural burial, where the body is lowered into the ground – the ceremony can take place in a chapel first, or partly in chapel and by the burial ground, or have the complete ceremony in the natural surroundings of the burial place.

If you’d rather not have a service, or have the service later at a different venue, you could have a direct cremation. This means that no one will attend and the body of the deceased is cremated by crematorium staff. You will still be able to collect the ashes to keep, scatter or have with you at a later remembrance service as a celebration of life.

A funeral or remembrance service can take place anywhere. You are even allowed to organise and facilitate the whole process yourself. There are few legal requirements for this (which I am happy to talk through with you).

If you would rather have a more supported service, where I lead according to your input, you could follow a more familiar structure:

  • Introductory music

  • Words of welcome

  • Thoughts on life and loss

  • Personal tributes from family and friends

  • The tribute – a beautiful story of the life and personality of the person who has died

  • Readings of poetry and prose

  • Reflection – either in silence or accompanied by music

  • The committal – when the curtains are closed or the coffin is lowered

  • Closing words – including thanks on your behalf

  • Final music

Our meeting

My most important focus for the service is to acknowledge and celebrate the person that died with a true and thoughtful tribute. To be able to do this, I will meet with you to learn about them, often in their or your home, if possible. I will be asking about details such as:

Date and place of birth, family tree, how they grew up, school, work, hobbies and where they’ve lived and if there are any stories from those times.

  • Character traits: Loves, hates/dislikes, struggles, passions, what made them laugh/happy, relationships, style, music, film and literature choices etc.

  • If anyone would like to contribute with reading, music or personal words.

  • How would other people describe them? How would they like to be remembered?

It is always a good idea to think about these things, or even discuss them with other family members or friends, before our meeting.

My fees

A single-slot crematorium funeral or burial chapel service from £350.

A double-slot crematorium funeral or burial chapel service from £450.

(There is an additional charge of £50 for a burial taking place in addition to a chapel service.)

Alternative venue celebration-of-life from £500.

 All fees are for greater Brighton & Hove area, and a small travel fee added for ceremonies further afield.

What others say about humanist funerals

Have a look at the video below to hear what attendees of humanist funerals have to say, how it works and words from a celebrant:

Get in touch if you would like to know more about the different options available and how they work, enquiry for availability or to book me:

07977 496693

hello@ceremoniesbygitte.com

or click the button below.

I am a member of the Good Funeral Guild, a collective of like-minded people working to change funerals for the better.