Sarah Burley Celebrant

18/03/2026

All colours are welcome. It’s always a little special to see someone’s beloved team colours represented at their funeral… whatever the team. I recently led a service where everyone wore bright red for Liverpool FC, another where everyone wore Brentford Bees, while last week it was all about the Chelsea Blues. The florists do an incredible job matching the colours perfectly.

17/03/2026

I found a little friend in the sunshine today.

16/03/2026

My job is largely spent alone at a screen, writing funeral services and never quite knowing if, after meeting the bereaved, I have listened carefully enough to their tone, their memories and their needs. I always offer those words to the client to read in advance, check and edit, but they may not ‘hear’ my voice as they read. So when I arrive to lead a funeral, there is a sense of responsibility and always a nervous sense of hope that I will be the person to help them at this difficult moment.
Receiving letters like this, from attendees means so much. (Edited only to respect the privacy of the author)
Dear Sarah
Everyone has been talking about the way you were able to put together a remarkable resumé of J’s life. We all know that you spent many hours with the family to be able to reach this level of understanding. You spoke with such warmth and feeling and it was as though you knew J personally, for which we are thankful to you. Your expertise was exceptional as is your capability as a poet.
I enjoyed our conversation together and I was amazed that you could interpret so well my feelings for J and the way you coloured her life so remarkably.
The whole funeral and wake was memorable and uplifting.
Thank you again and again !

15/03/2026

A real privilege to be working alongside Daisy Chain Celebrant Services UK today at the Mothers’ Day service of remembrance.

14/03/2026

My office companions, while awaiting my turn to lead a funeral service. I often look at these fluffy faces in the crematorium ‘bearers room’ and wonder how they arrived and the stories behind them all. I suspect they were brought and placed with flowers, but ultimately left behind, unable to continue the final journey with a loved one.

09/03/2026

An interesting insight into the changing landscape of funeral provision.

💬 The funeral sector is changing – and families are leading the shift.

For decades, funerals in the UK followed a familiar template. But today more families are asking for something different: more choice, more personalisation, and greater transparency around costs.

Recent research shows that attitudes towards funerals are evolving. Many people are moving away from large, formal ceremonies towards simpler, more meaningful farewells, while others are choosing highly personalised celebrations of life.

At the same time, the Competition and Markets Authority investigation into the funeral sector highlighted concerns about rising prices and lack of transparency, prompting new rules requiring funeral directors to clearly display their prices.

These changes are reshaping the industry.

Large corporate funeral chains that once dominated the High Street are facing growing pressure, while modern independent funeral directors are emerging who offer more flexibility, more personal service and clearer pricing.

At White Rose Modern Funerals, we believe every farewell should reflect the person who has died and the wishes of their family — whether that’s a simple cremation, a small intimate gathering, or a beautiful celebration of life in a meaningful place.

In our latest blog post we explore how the funeral sector is changing, why the traditional model is under pressure, and how progressive independent funeral directors are helping shape the future of funerals.

👉 Read the full article here: https://whiterosemodernfunerals.co.uk/a-changing-funeral-sector-why-modern-independent-funeral-directors-are-on-the-rise/

08/03/2026

Sometimes you meet someone fleetingly who stays in your mind for days and days… A chance meeting last week inspired some more of my terrible poetry…

I met a man,
Along a path
Seeking the bed that would be his last.
“I want a place beneath the trees,
Where the gentle winds can rustle the leaves
Where the rolling hills above me rise
And about my head are the dragonflies
That softly settle on on flowers so bright
In the warm, soft earth
‘Neath a shaft of light.”
I met a man at peace, on this path
Planning the place to sleep at last,
For when he reached his life’s completion,
He’d know he’d made the right decision
Back to nature, beneath the tree
To rest in Earth’s own harmony.

burial at Clandon Wood Natural Burial Ground

05/03/2026

I wandered lonely as a cloud, by William Wordsworth. Remembering an incredible woman who appreciated the world and the renewal of springtime.

03/03/2026

The importance of implementing correction and embracing it.
You can’t be everyone’s cup of tea. And that’s perfectly fine.
Somewhere along the way, many of us absorb the quiet belief that we’re supposed to be universally liked, be agreeable, impressive, easy. We build ourselves around a society that expects it, especially in the funeral industry.
As celebrants we need to be whatever the family needs. But in striving to be ‘universally appreciated’ we all sometimes edit our opinions, soften our edges, and rehearse our responses, in hopes of holding the right space, just for them.
But in truth, you cannot be everyone’s cup of tea. And that’s not a flaw.
Taste is personal. Confidence, gentle humour, intensity or quietness, animation in response or silent softness, will resonate deeply with some people and fall flat with others.
Rejection, or simple mismatch often just means we are not aligned. And alignment is important when working with those who are grieving and struggling through their own emotions.
When you accept that, you speak more honestly. It takes a while to find your own voice.
The goal isn’t to be liked by everyone. The goal is to be deeply valued by the right people and give to those people the level of service they need and deserve.
The careful matching of celebrants to bereaved families is a real skill, and one that I truly value from those who refer families to me.
I also truly value the services I provide when another celebrant has not resonated with a family, just as much as I value those who step in to do the same for me.
We work together. We share our knowledge, experience and support because we all recognise that we are not always going to be everyone’s cup of tea.
So for any family feeling uncomfortable after meeting a celebrant, speak to your funeral director and tell them.
We all strive to be perfect, and sometimes that means offering a different blend of tea! This week I have stepped aside from one family and stepped in for another. I am both honoured and humbled to have so.

24/02/2026

In memory of the wonderful woman whose service I’m currently planning, today: As the sky turned blue I did what she would have said. “Look up”

19/02/2026

Once again, Donna Ashworth says everything perfectly.

I think one of the most comforting thoughts is knowing we get to take the favourite things about our loved ones and make them our own, if we like.

The way they loved.
The joy for life they had.
The support they gave.
We can be that. In their honour.

Just as we choose from their possessions, as trinkets to remember them by, we can also choose what traits we will embody and which new habits we will make our own.

It warms me. I hope it warms you too x

My love to all who grieve ###x

Donna

From the new ‘loss’ collection, out very soon x