When you’re saying goodbye to someone you love, the ceremony can feel like one of the hardest parts to face. And yet, it’s also one of the most important.

As a Geelong funeral celebrant, one of the most common things families ask is:
“How do we make it feel more like them?”

The answer is simple, but not always easy: personal touches and rituals that reflect who they were and how they lived. These small moments of meaning don’t have to be grand or complicated. Often, it’s the subtle, sensory, and symbolic gestures that speak the loudest. And matter the most to the people in the room.

Invite a Shared Song

Choosing a song for everyone to sing together can create a powerful sense of togetherness. One ceremony featured Let It Be – familiar and comforting, everyone knows the words and it’s not overly intimidating for those non-singers (myself included). Everyone joined in. And no one was focused on their ability to hold a tune – because the words and simplicity of the song quickly became a cathartic release everyone in that room needed. It shifted the emotional energy in the space, everyone felt connected, it felt like a powerful release and like something we could offer to the person who was gone, in return for all they gave us in their lifetime. Honestly, so moving and special.

Gather Around Something in Nature

For someone who loved camping and the outdoors, a bonfire ceremony created the perfect familiar and relaxed atmosphere for storytelling, warm chats and deep sharing. Guests stood with a drink in hand, sharing stories and memories. When the first person spoke, others followed. Those who didn’t feel comfortable simply opted out; however, in a supportive space like this, many people who weren’t planning to share chose to do so.  The space felt supportive, real, relaxed, and full of love – completely unpressured.
A photo table nearby provided guests with the option to write messages on the back of printed photos, creating a keepsake for the family to treasure later.

Weave in Something Tangible

A woman with a love of scarves had one placed on each guest’s chair, turning the room into a beautiful wash of colour that felt unmistakably her. Guests were invited to take one home, and during the walk to the burial, the group became a sea of purple, her favourite colour. Some tied them around their necks, others around their bags. These small, visual representations helped us identify her community, as we all walked through the cemetery for her burial, and they remain a way for guests to continue to connect with her and honour her life; by placing it in their home,  thinking of her when they see it or wearing it forth in their own every day life.

Let Scent Become Ritual

Scent is deeply tied to memory. One family chose to burn incense throughout the room before guests entered – not a scent the person had used, but something new the daughter had chosen for herself. It was her way of creating a new ritual she could continue at home; a way to anchor to her loved one, honour them through ritual and feel connected to them anytime she wanted to. Knowing the person had loved burning incense throughout their life instantly connected with guests as they entered the ceremony, it was comforting and familiar, at a time where many people can be feeling a bit uncertain.

So, What Does a Funeral Celebrant Do?

A funeral celebrant helps guide families through creating a ceremony that honours the life and personality of the person being farewelled. As a Geelong-based celebrant, my focus is on collaboration, creating meaningful moments that represent your person, and making space for your grief as well as your memories of your person. Whether something more traditional, informal, spiritual, or completely unique will work best, the most important thing is to ensure every ceremony is as different and special as the individual we are there to represent.

It Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect – It Just Has to Feel Right

When you’re planning a funeral, it’s easy to get caught up in logistics and formalities. But what stays with people isn’t the program layout or the music order, it’s how the ceremony felt.

Did it feel like them?
Did it feel warm?
Did it allow space to breathe, to cry, to smile through tears?

Symbolism, scent, sound, and simple gestures are all helpful ways to shape a goodbye that’s grounded in who that person was and what the person meant to the people around them.

If You’re Planning a Funeral in Geelong

If you’re in Geelong or the surrounding areas and you’re looking for a funeral celebrant who can help guide you in creating a ceremony that’s personal, grounded, and full of meaning – I’d be honoured to support you.

There’s no one way to say goodbye.

But when it feels like them and it reflects their story –  it helps you to feel like you’ve done the best job you can for them – one more time.

It is something to carry with you and something to hold on to on the hard days ahead.