Hi, I'm Alex

Image of Alex Barnes

Hello! I’m a Humanist Ceremonies funeral celebrant, trained and accredited by Humanists UK.

I create and lead memorable and meaningful non-religious funerals, celebrations of life, memorials, and ash ceremonies. Each humanist ceremony is unique and custom-made, and is an authentic reflection of the individual's life and values.

What I offer

I work closely with families to craft a bespoke and personal ceremony that reflects the story and legacy of their loved one. My aim is to provide a space where family and friends can come together to honour and remember the person, but also celebrate individual life.

A Celebration of a Unique Life

Every life is unique, and so should be the funeral to say farewell. Humanist funerals incorporate personal stories, memories, and tributes into the ceremony, to make it a sincere and authentic goodbye. I can guide you on choices, if needed, and also suggest other elements to make the ceremony right for everyone involved.

Contact me

Please do contact me if you are looking for a professional celebrant to lead a non-religious funeral ceremony for your loved one. I’m here to support you during this challenging time and help you create the most fitting funeral for them. I’m happy to have an initial conversation to better explain what I do and how I work.

Thank you for your excellent service today. You presented the speech in a sensitive and emotional way and I would certainly recommend you if anyone is in need of a humanist celebrant.

— Carol Martin

Thank you for the excellent service you provided for our Dad’s funeral. You advised us about how to start planning the funeral and talked us through each step, listening to

our wishes of how we wanted the funeral to be. We both felt that you were very empathetic and we were confident that you would link the different parts of the funeral together in a manner that would be right for us. The wording that you prepared to begin, link and close the funeral was almost spot-on from the start. You read the poems we chose beautifully and at all times spoke clearly and with dignity – perfect. Both of us felt supported by you at all times and that you would be available to step in if needed, and would deal with any mishaps confidently and professionally. The entire funeral had the “feel” that we were hoping for – thank you again Alex.

We would wholeheartedly recommend you.

— Helen Kirk

Thank you so much for being the celebrant at our mum’s “celebration of life”. You did an amazing job at leading the ceremony, and I cannot sing your praises high enough. Everyone present said how wonderful it was. 

From the moment we first met you when you came to discuss the ceremony, you were kind, caring, compassionate and extremely professional. You were a pleasure to work with.  You captured our lovely mum brilliantly in your eulogy,  and the whole ceremony was simply perfect. I am so pleased that we found you! 

With your help, I think we did mum proud, so on behalf of not just myself, but all the family present, the biggest “thank you” for making what was a potentially difficult day, so much easier. 

You are clearly very talented at your job, and we are so very grateful to you. 

— Andrea Kasaby

I’m just dropping a line to say a really big thank you for assisting us with and conducting the service for my father’s funeral last Friday.

 

Quite a number of people came up to me afterwards and said that it was the best funeral they had ever been to. Now that’s a bit of a double-edged sword….but it would have tickled my dad!

 

We thought that you were so very kind, professional and respectful and struck the right balance between guiding us and letting us ‘run free’ with it without it getting out of hand! I hope that makes sense.

 

— Linda and Steve Arundale

Thank you very much indeed for the service you presented today, it was compassionate and humorous and very well received by us all.

— David Dawson

Image of Alex Barnes

Alex Barnes

Where I work

I am based in York and cover all surrounding areas including Harrogate, Knaresborough, Malton, Easingwold, Selby, Leeds, Beverley and Hull

Fees from...

My fee for the family meeting, planning, writing and conducting of the ceremony is from £235. This includes travelling to venues within 30 miles. Memorial services may be a little more expensive, depending on their length and location.

How to contact me
Email

alex.barnes@humanistceremonies.org.uk

Phone

07825 869754

HUMANIST CEREMONIES™ is the network of more than 550 celebrants, trained by national charity Humanists UK to a gold standard to provide memorable and meaningful humanist ceremonies to non-religious people. Operating throughout England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands, we deliver authentic, tailor-made and heartfelt ceremonies for life’s key moments. They are always inclusive and welcoming, regardless of the beliefs of those attending.

You can trust Humanist Ceremonies celebrants: We are DBS-checked, fully insured, and regularly peer reviewed for quality assurance. We are committed to a code of conduct, and have a transparent and robust complaints process in the rare case of a problem. We all pay a monthly fee to Humanists UK to further support the work of the charity, and are part of a regional network for like-minded celebrants for support and learning.

Humanist funerals

Humanist funerals, memorials and ash ceremonies are a fitting way to honour a unique life with warmth, sensitivity and meaning, but without reference to religion or an afterlife. They put the story of the person who has died at the heart of the ceremony, paying tribute to them and the legacy they leave, and provide an opportunity to bring people together, not just to share sadness but to celebrate a life lived.