Hi, I'm Richard

Image of Richard Spedding

Richard has been an accredited humanist funeral celebrant now for six and a half years (since January 2018) and is well-established mainly all over the Fylde Coast, including Blackpool, Fleetwood, Thornton Cleveleys and Lytham St Annes, and beyond if required such as in Preston and Lancaster, and works with all the Funeral Directors in that area.

His main crematorims at Carleton near Blackpool, Park in Lytham, Preston and Lancaster.

He is driven by ensuring that every family receives his best possible attention and provides a fully non-religious funeral ceremony that is authentic to their needs and fully reflects the life and personality of their loved one. This often includes a lot of laughter in his ceremonies, which aren't known for being somber or maudlin, and each one takes on average nine hours work.

Richard never wants to walk out of one of his funerals to be told 'Well, that's not the person I knew'. Instead, he wants those present to think that that Richard actually knew the deceased due to the detailed research that he has conducted along with ensuring that 85% of what's said at the funeral is about the deceased.

Richard believes the most important part of the ceremony process is when he personally meets family and friends, not just because he obtains all the information and agrees on the structure with the family, but those present find it a very cathartic process.

This approach has led to at least a third of his funerals being either from repeat families, recommendations, or from those who have been present at one of his funerals.

Richard also offers pre-planned ceremonies where he meets, ordinarily with someone who is terminally ill, and crafts their funeral ceremony with them, which is then signed off for when it's needed.

He also conducts many memorials in a wide variety of locations when the deceased has had a simple cremation and family and friends wish for a more relaxed environment, which has included many pubs, hotels, back gardens, sports clubs and even on the stage of The Grand Theatre in Blackpool in front of a packed audience.

Richard passionately supports charities and raises awareness regarding the prevention and awareness of male suicide.

Please check out the below testimonials from families and also more information available on my Linktree which contains links to all my social media at https://linktr.ee/richspeddingcelebrant

Richard made the whole process from start to finish so simple. From the initial meeting to discuss my brothers life with the family to the wonderful service, he made the whole process simple and was very understanding. The service was lovely and I’m sure my brother would have been proud.

—

Richard was simply the best celebrant that we, as a family, could ever have wished for. The way he told the story of Dads life at the service got his full story across with lots of smiles to go along with the tears. He dealt with us in such a caring manner & his kindness will be remembered always. So many people have come to us since the service to ask for his details saying they would definitely go to him for a service in the future, hopefully a long time in the future though!

—

Richard did an absolutely tremendous job from beginning to end. He is an excellent and sensitive communicator, taking the time to visit us and really getting to know our mum as she was. The speech he wrote was rich in detail, brilliantly delivered and funny in all the right places. The funeral was perfect and Richard was a huge part of that. We can\'t recommend him enough!

—

Richard was recommended to us by Anthony at D Hollowell and Sons. When we explained about our family he said he knew the perfect person, Richard. Sitting waiting for Richard to arrive to discuss how the service would run was so daunting for us all, we struggled through grief and shock to recall our memories of an amazing husband, dad and brother. Upon meeting Richard within minutes he put us at ease. He reassured us that we would all be OK, with his amazing communication skills he enabled us to open up about all of our memories, the tears very soon turned to happy ones. The service on the day, I can only describe in words of everyone that attended 'the best funeral' they have ever attended. This is something I never thought I or anyone would ever say. It was all about Mike, our Dad, a loving husband to our mum, brother and friend. It was real and relatable at every single moment. I have never sat in a sevice before and been so emotionally comfortable enough to laugh at the memories which Richard had captured pefectly, even the cheeky moments in life my dad had. I honest can not thank you enough for the time you gave us as a family and the most amazing send off that was well deserved for our Dad, and more so for my mum who was obviously wanting the absolute best for her husband, which I can say you delivered honourably. I would also like to thank Anthony from D Hollowell and Sons, for recommending the perfect person for the service.They also provided such amazing care for our dad, and our family too every step of the way. We all thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Mike\'s family

—

I would like to thank Richard for his services in the recent passing of my beloved mum. I gave Richard a lot of information which he really listened to and created a beautiful and absolutely perfect presentation of my mum which me and my family will cherish for life. I felt he really took the time to understand the kind of person my mum was and even managed to reflect her humour into the service. I would now never use anyone else. Thank you Richard x

—

I felt that Richard really wanted to capture the essence of mum, to understand why she was so special and express this in mums service. Richard was also very aware of what I wanted to say about mum in my own words and worked with me and the family to ensure we expressed everything we wanted and reassuring us throughout this difficult time. It was a lovely and fitting service, thank you Richard.

—

Richard led the service for my Stepdad, Joe. The whole experience was faultless and the feedback on the ceremony was universally positive from everyone who attended. Richard spent 3 hours with us to get to know Joe and this translated into a really perfect reflection of Joe\'s life on the day. I cannot recommend Richard highly enough!

—

Image of Richard Spedding

Richard Spedding

Where I work

For funerals mainly in the Blackpool, Lytham, and Fleetwood areas but also further afield in Lancashire and beyond.

Fees from...

the same fee as other local celebrants and ministers £228 and slightly more if extra travel is required. No charge for those tragic funerals where the deceased is 17 or under.

How to contact me
Email

richard.spedding@humanistceremonies.org.uk

Phone

07447 908305

Website

humanist.org.uk/richardspedding

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.