Mandy Moran -Civil Celebrant

25/08/2026

Rest in Peace Dolly Parton 🕊️🦋🙏

A Smile That Warmed the World

A rare beauty was she,
With a smile that warmed the world,
A light in the darkness,
A gentle sweet woman.

Her laughter was contagious,
Her heart filled with care,
A gift from above,
A special one so rare.

The beauty of her smile,
Would light up a room,
A beacon of love,
A blissful delight bloom.

Though she's gone from us,
Her light will remain,
A reminder of beauty,
A warm and gentle flame.

So when we think of her,
We'll remember her grace,
The beauty of her smile,
That lit up the place.

14/08/2026

13/08/2026

Why I love my role as a Funeral Celebrant…. 🤍❤️


When I am with a family, I are not simply “doing a job”. I am holding a space for people at one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. I listen to their stories, their memories, their regrets, their laughter, their sadness and sometimes the things they struggle to put into words.
Then I take all of that and help turn it into something meaningful……a life that can be spoken about, remembered and honoured.

And perhaps that is why my own emotions don’t overwhelm me in those moments.

When I am with a family, my emotions have a purpose. They become empathy rather than something that takes over. I feel the sadness without making it about me. I hear someone’s pain and stay alongside them. I cry inside, perhaps even shed a tear, but still know what needs to be done: “I need to hold this family. I need to help them through this.”

And I wonder whether there is another reason being a funeral celebrant feels so satisfying to me.

Because I get to see the person behind the life story.

I don’t just hear, “He was a husband, a father and a grandad.” I want to know what made him him. The cheeky smile. The stubborn streak. The favourite hobby. The little habits that made everyone laugh. The relationship between husband and wife. The things children will remember decades from now, not simply a list of dates and relationships.

It’s giving someone their humanity back in words.

A person has died, and suddenly there is a danger that their life becomes reduced to a name, a date and a few lines in a service. You get to say, No. This was a real person. This was someone’s beloved husband. Someone’s funny Dad. Someone’s troublesome brother. Someone’s wonderful Nana. This is what they were like. This is what they meant to people.

And for a short time, I become the person who carries those memories when the family is struggling to carry them themselves.

I haven’t had to become less emotional to do this job.

I’ve learned how to use my emotionality in service of other people.

There is something quite humbling about the trust families place in me. Often, I’ve only met them a few times, yet they allow me into some of the most intimate corners of their lives. They tell me things about someone they loved that perhaps they haven’t told another person for years. They trust me to stand at the front of a room full of people and speak about that person with dignity, warmth and truth.

I give them a moment where their grief and their love can exist together.

They can laugh at the funny story. Cry at the difficult memory. Feel proud. Feel sad. And, perhaps most importantly, feel that the person they have lost has been properly seen.

That is why this work gives me such satisfaction.🙏

10/08/2026

How wonderfully special is this... His beloved dog ❤️

25/03/2026

My job is a privilege and an honour and it gives me such gratitude and reward to help people at such difficult times in their life when having lost a loved one….🤍🕊️
It truly never ceases to amaze me the kindness of people…..these beautiful gifts that I have received from two special families recently make my heart sing. ❤️ Thank you so so much. XX

15/03/2026

This reading is in honour of all mums, those lost to us and those still here…. And always remember memory is the treasury and keeper of all things….. 🩷

“When the good Lord was creating mothers, he was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared and said ‘You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one’.
The Lord said “Have you read the specification on this order? She has to be completely washable but no plastic… Have 180 movable parts – all replaceable… Run on black coffee and leftovers… have a lap that disappears when she stands up… a kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed Love Affair… And six pairs of hands!’
The angel shook her head, slowly, and said “Six pairs of hands? No way.’
‘It’s not the hands that are causing me problems, said the Lord, ‘It’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have.
‘That’s on the standard model? asked the angel.
The Lord nodded “One pair that sees through doors when she asks ‘what are you children doing in there? When she already knows!’
Another in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn’t, but what she has to know.
And, of course, the ones in front that can look at a child when he gets himself into trouble and say “I understand and I love you’ without so much as uttering a word.
Lord, said the angel, go to bed… tomorrow is another day.
I can’t.
I’m so close now.
Already, I have one who heals herself, when she’s sick, can feed a family of six on £1 of mince and get a nine-year-old to have a bath, said the Lord.
The angel circled the model very slowly!
‘It’s too soft,’ she said
‘But tough’ said the Lord excitedly. ‘You cannot imagine what this mother can do and endure’.
‘Can it think?
‘Not only think but it can reason and compromise!’ said the creator.
Finally, the angel bent over and ran a finger across the cheek. ‘There’s a leak,’ she said.
‘It’s not a leak’ replied, the Lord, ‘it’s a tear.’
‘What is it for?
‘It’s for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness and pride.
‘You’re a genius! Said the angel.
The Lord looked sombre – “I didn’t put it there…...

23/02/2026

Overwhelm is an understatement when faced with having to think about the many different elements of arranging a funeral at a time when you are grieving for a loved one…
I am here with genuine empathy & understanding… and professional experience to help you craft the right service for your loved one…


Poetry can help lighten the mood with many humorous options… or for comfort or reflection… with profound and spiritual meanings….

A wonderful example to use for a keen angler with a humorous and comforting feel is:-

Gone Fishin' - Delmar Pepper

I’ve finished life’s chores assigned to me,
So put me on a boat headed out to sea.
Please send along my fishing pole
For I’ve been invited to the fishin’ hole.

Where every day is a day to fish,
To fill your heart with every wish.
Don’t worry, or feel sad for me,
I’m fishin’ with the Master of the sea.

We will miss each other for a while,
But you will come and bring your smile.
That won’t be long you will see,
Till we’re together you and me.

To all of those that think of me,
Be happy as I go out to sea.
If others wonder why I’m missin’
Just tell ’em I’ve gone fishin’

23/12/2025

As I sit here contemplating …..feeling relieved to take a well-earned break, I also reflect on the last two or three weeks and the services I have led…..🤍
I think of the many families this Christmas without their loved ones, that loss touches us all at some point in our journey, it is inevitable…

The expectation that we all get to experience that long well-lived life… isn’t true….it’s something that we all cling onto, ‘The circle of life’, but some are not as fortunate as others… some are taken far too early…..🕊️

So let all of us be grateful this Yule Tide… as the light slowly begins to return… and let's show gratitude for all we have….our loved ones and for having the comforts of warm homes, food on our tables, clothes on our backs but most importantly for being surrounded by people we love…. ❤️

Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for a healthy & peaceful 2026 … 🎄❤️

A Winter Solstice Blessing
May you find peace in the Promise of the solstice night,
That each day forward
Is blessed with more light.
That the cycle of nature
Unbroken and true
Brings faith to your soul
And well-being to you.
Rejoice in the darkness,
In the silence find rest,
And may the days that follow
Be abundantly blessed.

11/11/2025