Yew Tree Celebrancy
Hello and welcome. I'm Luke Waterson, a South Wales-based Independent Funeral Celebrant. Here at Yew Tree Celebrancy, we specialise in telling stories: your stories, and the stories of the person you have lost. With these, we craft heartfelt funeral services to honour the unique life being celebrated. This ensures a day that is truly yours and theirs, and a service rooted in celebrating a life lost with compassion and dignity.
Services
Celebrations of Life /
Funerals
Funerals, or celebrations of life as we prefer to call them, are never easy occasions. At a time when there is so much to sort out, deciding what type of service you would like for your lost loved one - and what to say in that service - can be overwhelming. This is where a celebrant can help: to discuss your wishes regarding the funeral location, the sort of service you would like and most importantly to listen to the stories of your lost one's life - so that these can be woven together to create a beautiful, bespke ceremony on the day that is truly, uniquely reflective of the person concerned...
Ash Scatterings
Post-cremation, families, friends and acquaintances often wait a while before choosing what to do with the ashes of their lost loved one. They might wait for a fitting anniversary, or to decide upon a location that held special significance for the deceased. Whether you want your loved one's ashes interred in a burial plot, or scattered in a place that they loved, it may be that you also want someone to say a few words or lead a longer service at the same time. This sort of service can run much as a funeral service might, but often feels just as tough for family and friends to officiate. Here it can help for someone with professional experience of leading these occasions to step in...
Funeral Pre-Planning
Often, as people near the end of their life, they have an understandable wish to make plans for their own funeral. We can help you with those plans. This can be just lending an ear to talk about a topic which can be difficult to discuss with other family members. Or it can be setting down firmer arrangements, to ensure your wishes are reflected and ease the burden on loved ones when the time comes...
Pet Funerals
Pets are much-loved parts of the family for many years and when their time comes, they deserve a special send-off too. Whether you choose a professional crematorium service or a home service to honour your four-legged friend, we can help to officiate the ceremony and make it the most meaningful occasion possible...
Memorial Services
As a memorial service takes place when the body is not present, families have the choice of time (memorials can take place weeks, months or even years after your loved one passes) and place (services do not have to be at a crematorium, but can occur in locations like a community venue, a pub or a garden). Often, a meaningful anniversary and somewhere with a personal link to the deceased are chosen. Yet it can still feel like too much for family and friends to lead the ceremony. And this is where we can assist...
Funerals
With You Every Step of the Way
We believe every goodbye should be one-of-a-kind and characterful, as personal and meaningful as the life lived. We work closely with you from the first moment we get in touch to the end of the ceremony on the day and beyond to create the best space to honour the unique spirit and values of your lost loved one. Whatever sort of service you want for the person you have lost, this is what you can expect from us...
At First...
It may be that you contact me to be your celebrant directly, and it may be that your funeral director asks me to get in touch with you. If it is the latter, I'll have confirmed some basic details about your loved one with the funeral director beforehand, after which I will contact you. I will attempt to do this by telephone ideally, or otherwise by email. The point of this initial call will be to arrange the important next step: a face-to-face meeting.
Attentive Listening...
The face-to-face meeting often takes place at the home of the family members or other loved ones making the funeral arrangements. A home meeting is usually preferred: a space where you will be most at ease, and where we can properly talk. Other venues - a coffee shop, say - are possible too if you want, provided we can still chat. At this meeting, which can last one to two hours, I will ask the questions necessary to get the fullest possible sense of your lost loved one. This can be an emotional experience, but it is vital for creating a ceremony reflective of your lost one's life and values. Mostly, I'll be listening and you will be talking: telling me the information and stories that will give me that unique, personalised overview of your lost one's life. I'll also be asking you about other elements you'd like woven in to the service: readings from loved ones, other tributes, pictures of your lost one that you would like to feature, music they loved that you'd like played on the day. At the end of this meeting, I'll have everything I need to create the script which will form the basis of the ceremony on the day.
Artisanal Scripting...
I take everything that you have told me and craft this into a script - a script that tells your lost one's story from beginning to end, and your stories that involve them. I have been a professional writer for over two decades, and so you can be sure that this stage will be seamless. I'll check and double-check every detail, ensuring you are ok with the final result. The final script will also have incorporated those other elements - readings, tributes, pictures, music - at the points you want them to be.
Accomplished, Heartfelt Delivery...
On the day itself, I'll be there as you arrive at the venue and I'll be there for you throughout the ceremony. Based on the script we agree upon, I'll lead the ceremony that gives your loved one the send-off they deserve: the ceremony that feels true to them and to you.
I have dedicated my life to stories. My mother was a great storyteller and she always encouraged me to become one: ever since I was old enough to put pen to paper. For over 20 years, I have been a historic fiction novelist, writer and public speaker. More recently, I also have a lot of experience helping vulnerable adults with their day-to-day needs. In both jobs, being able to listen to what others had to say was key. Now I want to listen to you, too, and tell your stories. My journey into celebrancy began with a profound belief that the words we choose for our most significant life transitions—funerals and weddings alike—should be unique celebrations that reflect the wishes, values and stories of the person or people involved. They should be personalised, meaningful, one-of-a-kind occasions just as the life story they celebrate is beautiful and special.
From the first moment we meet, I will work closely with you to weave together your memories, tributes, words, pictures, music and anything else appropriate to create a ceremony for your lost loved one that above all is true to them. At Yew Tree Celebrancy, we pride ourselves on getting every detail right so that the service is beautiful, heartfelt and bespoke - tailored exactly to what you, the family, friends and acquaintances would like it to be , My commitment is to provide a presence that is both professional and personalised, comfortingly guiding you through the planning process - and standing with you throughout.
'Your writing is creative and thoughtful, bringing warmth and personality into your delivery. It was truly a joy to
listen to, and you created a meaningful and memorable tribute.'
Tessa Sheehy, Celebrant
Start a Conversation with Us Today
Email Address
yewtreecelebrancy@gmail.com
Contact Number
0782-488-3596
Region Served
I proudly serve families across the Swansea and South Wales area.
