Heather Clarke - Independent Celebrant

10/06/2025

Norma. What a lady!

Like so many others, my son and I fell in love with my fellow northern lasses, Norma, and her granddaughter, Jess by watching their reels together on Facebook. Their humour, love, and genuine care for each other was a real tonic.

As a celebrant, I deal with death every day. You learn to hold space for other people’s grief, to guide with care and compassion. You never stop feeling it, but you do learn how to carry it professionally.

But this feels personal. It is MY grief, albeit shared with thousands and thousands of others across the internet (and yet still nothing compared to the grief her family will be feeling).

I cried when I found out Norma had died, and I cried again when I had to tell my son. He took the news far better than I did though ... 91 is very, very old to a 11 year old, even for someone as lively as Norma!

It can feel strange to mourn someone we’ve never met, but grief doesn’t need or ask for permission. Norma connected with so many of us, simply by being herself. She reminded us of our own grandmothers and mothers, our own families, our own memories. She brought comfort, laughter, and warmth in a way that made her feel like one of our own.

That’s the power of genuine presence - even through a screen. Norma invited us into her world, and in doing so, became a part of ours.

Rest in peace, Norma. Thank you for the reminder of just how much joy can be found in the everyday.

05/06/2025 the day our family lost our rock, our everything, our beautiful, precious, perfect lady. We are all truly devastated and our lives will never be the same. We want you all to know that Nan fell to sleep peacefully, surrounded by all her family, she was full of love and had the most beautiful care. If anyone deserves a place in heaven, it’s you Nanny Norma. Social media and our community online made Nan’s last years so incredibly special, her cup was full and in her own words she “lived such a wonderful life”. 91 years was never going to be enough and she has left the biggest hole in all of our hearts. Reunited with her husband and family, until we meet again, our queen 💔

02/10/2024

💚 I am very excited to be exhibiting at The Magna Wedding Fair, in Rotherham, this Sunday, the 6th of October. 💚

Whether you are newly engaged, or your wedding day is just around the corner, you’ll find lots of exciting inspiration here, from some amazing wedding suppliers.

Of course, if you’re looking for a celebrant who will create a heartfelt, personalised wedding ceremony that you and your guests will remember forever, come and chat with me!

See you there! 👋

13/09/2024

A great big squishie THANK YOU to everyone who left an enquiry with me at the on Sunday. 

It was fantastic to chat to you about your vision for your wedding ceremonies - every single one so unique and personal. 💖

I have now emailed everyone, so look out for that landing in your inbox (or maybe your junk/spam - how rude! 🙄) If you haven’t had anything, give me a poke and we’ll figure it out.

If YOU would like to arrange a no obligation chat to explore how, together, we can make your ceremony one to remember, get in touch, I’d love to hear from you.

📸 .uk

01/09/2024

Just a reminder that next Sunday, the 8th of September, I’m doing my first ever wedding fair, The Indie Wedding Fair, at The Steamworks, in Sheffield.

I think I’m now a little less terrified, and a lot more excited. Luckily for me everyone else seems to know exactly what they are doing, and they have my back! 🩷

If you or anyone you know is planning a wedding, or you just love weddings, why not bag yourself a ticket and come down for a chat? The Steamworks is dog friendly 🐶 and has some great food options.

Go on, you know you want to …

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/theindieweddingfair/1307497

01/08/2024

Happy Yorkshire Day everyone! I’ve roamed far and wide, both in the UK and abroad, and it’s a bit of a joke amongst my friends that my favourite saying is ‘I could live here’. 😃

In reality though, I’m a proud Yorkshire Lass. Enjoy this poem by Doreen Brigham.

Sing A Song Of Yorkshire

Sing a song of Yorkshire, from the Humber to the Tees
Of horses, wool and terriers, of pudding and of cheese.
I know no other county where land is quite so fine.
England's lovely county. And I'm proud to call it mine.

Where shining purple heather stretches far across the moor,
and the lapwing's cry above me takes the place of traffic roar.
And peace comes drifting gently, there's no place I'd rather be
than this land of hills and valleys, from the Pennines to the sea.

So when I've done my roaming, and when my step grows slow;
when heart and mind assure me that the time has come to go,
then let me rest in Yorkshire, for it's there I want to lie
'neath sun and wind and heather...and a gleaming Yorkshire sky.

24/07/2024

I am RIDICULOUSLY excited to be joining the lineup at the The Indie Wedding Fair in Sheffield this September! 🙌😊

Looking forward to a day of chatting with folk about the HUGE difference that a celebrant led wedding ceremony, can make, and connecting with lots of other talented independent creatives.

Can you tell I’m giddy? 🤩

It is all happening at The Steamworks, a brilliant city centre events space and venue, on Sunday, the 8th of September 2024.

Copy and paste this link, to grab your tickets.

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/theindieweddingfair/1307497

Psst - the Treat yo’self tickets are guaranteed to be immense!

15/07/2024

📣 Service announcement 📣

In February of this year I fell, whilst skiing, causing a complex break to my right (and dominant🙈) shoulder.

On Thursday of last week (11th July), I had surgery which will hopefully fix things and get me back on the right track 💪

For the next four weeks, my arm will be completely immobilised, to allow it to heal.

Assistive technology, especially speech to text software is proving very useful. However, I know from experience, that it takes me longer to write a ceremony this way, than it does when I have the use of both hands to type.

Whilst I am unable to drive I will be relying on public transport/lifts for both family visits and the funeral ceremonies themselves, which also takes extra time.

All of this means that I am accepting a reduced number of funeral ceremonies at the moment. These will be ones for families I have led ceremonies for before, or where I have been personally recommended. If this is the case, please do get in touch.

For any other funeral ceremonies, I'm happy to recommend or introduce you one of my amazing celebrant colleagues in the area. Just ask.

Weddings, vow renewal and naming/renaming ceremonies are unaffected.

Thank you for your understanding.

* Photos show a smiling woman (me!) with tied back dark/grey hair and gold hoop earrings, wearing a black dress and large black arm brace/sling. Taken outside Holmfirth Vineyard, a beautiful restaurant/ wedding venue, surrounded by the dramatic scenery of the West Yorkshire hills and moorland and the vineyard itself, on a misty day *

20/06/2024

When I saw that Natural Endings were hosting a talk about DIY and Community led funerals, with , I knew that I had to be there.

My Dad died in 2021, and Rosie, and my other amazing fellow members of the Good Funeral Guild, guided me to make Dad’s funeral perfect for him, and us, in his community.

I knew that Anna Bushell - Celebrant would love the talk too, so invited her to come along with me for the ride. We chatted none stop for the hour journey there, and all the way back again 😃

Hearing all about John Mounsey’s community funeral was inspiring - moving, though provoking, and yes, funny too. I’ve shared Natural Endings post to my stories, where you can see more details.

It was great to finally get the chance to see their beautiful funeral home and ceremony space too. Just gorgeous! 😍💚

Thank you to everyone involved for holding such a wonderful event.

15/06/2024

How gorgeous is this? 😍 I’m heartened to see how more and more people are looking towards sustainable solutions for floral arrangements, from locally grown flowers and entirely biodegradable materials, to living displays that can be planted out afterwards. So many fabulous ideas!

Locally, I highly recommend the very talented and fabulous human who is Hollie, at Alchemilla Floral Her arrangements are divine, sustainable and made with love.

18/05/2024

It's been an interesting week at work

💚 Several funerals, including one for a 98 year old lady who was a ten pound pom, and then a ping pong pom (both terms I hadn't really fully appreciated before). In this ceremony we fully involved her family both here, and in Australia.

💚An interment of ashes ceremony for a man who lived and died abroad, but wanted his final resting place to be here in his 'home' of Yorkshire.

💚 Several family visits to families who have upcoming funerals. I love this part of my job - so many lovely people and conversations. Every single life is different, and I thrive on this variety.

💚 I have also had two non funeral enquiries this week. Funerals are where my heart lies and I am very lucky that for me, they are a full time job. My weekends and summers are precious, especially whilst my son is still young. However, both of these occasions are for people who I have previously supported with family funerals, so we have a special connection.

One is an amazing last minute booking for a boho/festival style wedding. The other an intimate renewal of vows ceremony. I am so looking forward to being involved in both of these.

💚 So this morning I have been relaxing in the garden. I had just sat down to have a moment, after clearing my vegetable patch, ready to plant my peas, when a lucky robin took advantage and managed to take several mouthfuls of unearthed delicacies back to its nest.

Wishing you all a peaceful weekend. I hope you manage to get a glint or two of sunshine.

04/05/2024

Being a celebrant in a fairly small community is a joyous thing. When one of the families that I supported recently wanted to send me flowers, as a thank you, they phoned my local florist, Hacketts Florist, only to be told by Nina, the owner, and amazingly talented florist, that she has known me for over 30 years!

What a small world, and what beautiful flowers 😊💚

03/04/2024

Happy Wednesday everyone! This is going to seem like a short week isn't it?

I'm back at work today, reinvigorated and fuelled by chocolate, after a lovely long weekend. I have a funeral this afternoon, and a family visit for a funeral next week.

Now that the season is turning, my conservatory becomes my office again. I love sitting here to write, looking out into the garden, the only distractions being the birds busying themselves gathering nesting material, and my mind turning to which part of the garden I'd like to tackle next (a wildlife pond was my project for this last weekend). NB - please excuse my dirty roof - I can’t get up there to clean at the moment with my broken shoulder. 😳

I do have another, more flexible, office, which I'll maybe post about as well.

After so many years spent working in large contact centre offices, this is just one of the many things I love about being a celebrant.