Lucy Ashton | Funeral Celebrant

Hello, my name is Lucy Ashton and I am your funeral celebrant in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire. 

As a fully qualified Funeral Celebrant with UKSOC I work in Sheffield and the surrounding areas of Rotherham, Chesterfield, Derbyshire and the Peak District. It is always an honour to work with people to create a beautiful bespoke and memorable ceremony for their loved one, a final tribute and celebration of life.

I was brought up in Sheffield, and have always enjoyed the parks, nature and the countryside around the city. I ran my own floristry business here for over a decade until 2022 and I loved not only the flowers and creative flair in this job, but also working with my customers, getting to know their families and friends, and becoming part of their community. I was very fortunate to have many regular customers who came in for a natter as well as for bouquets and I got to know them well. It was always a pleasure to make a happy occasion such as a birthday, an anniversary or a wedding even more joyous or similarly to help make a sad occasion such as a funeral a little easier.

Funeral work was my favourite type of floristry; using flowers and nature to reflect a life is a skill and a privilege and always a very peaceful and gentle process.
The parks and countryside around Sheffield are similarly inspiring as a Civil Celebrant, and I am deeply proud of the industry, heritage and history of the area. A city of steel and an area built on black diamonds, I love the warmth, the friendliness and the resilience of the people here and I feel lucky to call it my home.

I share my home with my much-loved rescue dog and spend happy times pottering in the park with him. He’s an elderly gentleman now, but still full of fun and frolics, and always smothered in cuddles and kisses.

It was a natural evolution to change from florist to becoming a Funeral Celebrant. I love getting to know people, understanding their needs and building that connecting bridge.

As a florist my tools were flowers and nature. As a Celebrant, I use your memories, our words and carefully chosen poems or music to create a lasting reflection of a loved one. I will spend time with you to weave the story of someone you have lost and to help guide you through this challenging time.A bereavement is of course a time of loss and of sadness, but it can also be a time of warmth and sharing, of friendship and families coming together under a united purpose. A ceremony with me will reflect that warmth, the love and memories and perhaps the humour which can be shared, and that can go on to help to support and comfort in a time of grief.

I respect the cyclical nature of life, the birth, death and the lasting memory and impact of all things living. I believe our Planet is a thing of wonder to be enjoyed, relished and treasured and I have a strong appreciation of natural burials and memorial ceremonies in addition to cremations.

For all Funeral Ceremonies, I am inclusive of your own personal beliefs and wishes, and I am a strong ally to the LGBTQ+ community. My priority is to create a ceremony which is a tribute and a celebration of the life of your loved one, to make that difficult time a little gentler, a little kinder and a lot more individual.

Steel City Ceremonies was forged of a combination of my skills, my experience, and my desire to make a positive change in someone’s life. A melting pot of compassion, integrity, authenticity, dignity and respect in all my work and all my connections with people.
Let’s get the kettle on, it’s going to be fine. We’ll sort it.