Samantha Edmundson | Family & Funeral Celebrant

Hi, my name is Samantha Edmundson (Sam for short). I live in a village in Bedfordshire with my Partner, Paul, and two cats (Atticus and Esmerelda). Between us we have five children and numerous grandchildren.

After spending a number of years commuting up and down the M1, Paul and I decided we needed to re-prioritise our lives. We spent some time travelling around Europe in a very old motorhome named Bessie, taking time to reflect on life and read widely. I also travelled to India and Portugal to find out more about yoga and meditation, which I have been practising for several years.

We both decided to train as Celebrants partly because of the impact that attending funerals and weddings has had on us; the services which were delivered by Celebrants were generally more deeply personal and reflected the lives of the people involved, in a way that the formal structure of many traditional religious ceremonies are unable to do.

My working background has been primarily in the Charity Sector, where I have been an advocate and a manager of advocacy and helpline services. I am at my best when working with and supporting people to enable them to understand and clarify exactly what they want, then helping them to achieve that. I use these skills to support you in preparing and delivering unique and personal ceremonies which reflect the personalities and lives of you or your loved ones.

Before working in the Charity Sector, I spent a number of years in the NHS, where I worked with colleagues, patients and their families to ensure patients had the best experience they could during their time in hospital.

I have developed a range of skills which are useful to my role as a Celebrant; working closely with people, communication and organisation skills, training and public speaking and the ability to resolve problems to ensure a good outcome for all involved.

My aim is to work carefully with you, to help you achieve exactly what you are looking for, whether that is a traditional ceremony with religious elements included, a ceremony which is rooted in ancient rites, or a very modern, bespoke ceremony perhaps with more unusual elements.

During our initial meeting, I will listen carefully and ask questions to make sure I fully understand what you want. I will then prepare and deliver your ceremony, exactly as you want it to be. But if you wish, I am equally happy to provide any level of advice and support so that you or others can be as involved as you choose. I will ensure that you are kept informed about progress and approve the ceremony prior to delivery, as this is all about you and your wishes.

I have a calm, positive outlook on life and I love working with and supporting people, particularly at the most important times of their life. As your Celebrant, my role is to ensure that your ceremony is exactly what you want it to be and you can be confident that I will work with you to achieve that. At our early meetings I bring a listening ear to understand exactly what you want; in the preparation phase I bring a keen eye for detail to make sure nothing is assumed or overlooked; and on the day I bring a calm energy to deliver your ceremony just as you want to be.

Whatever the nature of the ceremony you are seeking, whether the full-blown pomp of a formal wedding, the elegant simplicity of a woodland handfasting ceremony or the pleasure and delight of a naming, I guarantee to help you create an experience which will provide lasting memories you will treasure.

If you have the sadness of saying goodbye with a funeral ceremony, we will work together to make sure you are supported at every step of the way, that I fully understand what you need the ceremony to be and that the ceremony truly reflects and celebrates the life of your loved one.

My belief is that as individuals we all want and deserve a bespoke ceremony which reflects our uniqueness and helps us to mark those occasions and rites of passage which shape our lives. I will work with you to prepare and deliver a ceremony which is a true reflection of you or your loved one’s personality, beliefs and values.