A funeral is the last thing you can do for a loved one.   

As a Funeral Celebrant, I feel it is a great honour and privilege to provide a service to celebrate the life of someone who has passed.   As a professionally trained Funeral Celebrant, I work with families through this difficult time of loss, to create a service that tells the story of your loved one.   
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Today, funeral services no longer need to be sombre and sad.   Whilst this is a very sad time, it is important to share feelings of grief with loved ones and to ensure a satisfying and appropriate farewell is given to those who have passed away.

It helps in times of grief, to think that your loved one would have approved of their farewell and I like to work with families to ensure they approve and are happy with the funeral service.  As well as a farewell, it is a time to celebrate the life shared with your someone special. 
As you can imagine every funeral service is different, because people are different.   I want to be able to help those left behind to celebrate the life of their loved one, to share the times to know that the last thing they were able to do for their loved one, was meaningful,, appropriate and special.

My service includes:
I will visit your family in your home or elsewhere, depending on your requirements, to discuss your needs and to plan the service. Or, if you prefer, we can discuss all your needs via zoom or phone.

​Together we will work through various aspects of your loved one’s life which can be included in the funeral service discussion as to how we can have family members and friends involved in the service if desired  assistance with the eulogy and presentation on behalf of the family, if this is preferred provision of readings, poems etc for use during the service, or on Orders of Service, or thank you cards suggestions of symbols that can be used to honour the deceased’s life consultation with your chosen Funeral Director a copy of the service as a keepsake for the family.

Internment of ashes can be a service, either on the same day as the funeral, or at a later time as a separate farewell for family and close friends. 
 
If you prefer a simple graveside service which can also be conducted on the same day as the funeral, or at a later time as a separate farewell for family and close friends, this can be organised as well. 
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Let me help you and your family to turn a distressing event, into a beautiful memory.​

Testimonials:
Irene was incredibly helpful to our family as we prepared a commemoration for our mum.   She was well organised, calm, patient and had lots of good ideas for our service.   She produced a script of the service for us to look back on and share with people who could not attend.  She quickly adapted to our changes on the day with good grace.  The service she provides is from the heart and is a godsend in a commercial world.
Wendy and Barbara 
Thank you very much for your amazing support and kindness over the past couple of weeks.   Mum would have been so pleased that you were part of her funeral.   We really appreciate your guidance in preparing everything and for beautiful farewell you gave mum.
Damien, Kylie and families
Thank you for your kind help at this time. All family and friends appreciate the lovely way the ceremony went & so much of this is thanks to you. Your attention to details in our time of upset was very much appreciated.  Thank you so much Irene,
David, Wayne & James
A very big thank you to you Irene.  For your love, care, consideration, compassion, generosity and so much more.   I miss mum so much, but am grateful that your handling of her funeral was easier than I had envisioned.   Thank you.   Thank you.
Vivien Galvin
​I just want to thank you so much for the beautiful service you conducted for my sister Christine today.  You were very professional and added the humour in the correct away and manner, thank you.
Michelle Hadden
Irene is a wonderful Celebrant who organised and led the funeral service for my father.  She is a compassionate person and understands it is a difficult time for people having just lost a loved one.   Irene provides that personal touch and you feel she is part of the family.   She liaised with the Funeral Director on our behalf to make sure our needs were met and that everything went smoothly on the day.   I cannot recommend Irene highly enough.
Greg and Janet Roberts
I can't say thank you enough for the best funeral service I have been to and you fully captured my husband's personality from our conversation.   Many compliments from those who attended and those who were unable to attend.   The family watched on the weblink overseas were pleased that you and I "did him proud".
Annette Sinclair
Thank you so much for doing such a great job for my wife's funeral.   I can't thank you enough.
Robert Dicker
Words cannot describe the beautiful feeling I had when I met you, which makes my heart  sing to see someone so caring and genuine to do my Auntie's service.   Very hard task when we are not familiar with much in Melbourne.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.   Again, thank you for your service - it was beautiful.
Debbie and Steve
I just wanted to email you to thank you wholeheartedly for the magnificent job you did yesterday. Everything went exactly to plan, without a hitch.  I had many people say to me, it was the best memorial they have ever attended and was exactly how Dad would have wanted it.
From all the family, thank you so much for taking the time, to help us commemorate Dad.   Your planning and service officiating was beyond expectations.
​Lori, Annette and family
Irene Harrington has served as a funeral celebrant for our family on three occasions. Her compassion, her sincerity and her expert guidance were invaluable when family emotions were very fragile. She is an excellent communicator and a perceptive listener. Her planning is meticulous whilst being fully cognisant of the family’s wishes at all times. Irene enabled us to celebrate and honour the lives of our loved ones with respect, honesty and dignity. 
Tom, Jan and family
What a lovely service you put together for John’s funeral.   Many thanks.  I’ve received very positive feedback, with several people saying they thought that’s what a funeral should be.   Many said they'd learned so much about John that they didn't know and what a lovely service it was.   I am very grateful.
Audrey
Arranging a funeral service does not allow you time to linger over decisions so it is essential that the 
celebrant you choose is the right one.   Irene listened patiently to us and guided us through the form 
and content of the ceremony to give us a time to grieve and farewell our husband, father, brother, 
friend in a way that truly reflected his attitude to life, and which was profoundly moving without 
cliched sentimentality. She conducted the service with dignity, compassion and intelligence.
We are deeply indebted to the friends who introduced us to her.
Sheila and family

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