George Hulme

Funeral Celebrant | Licensed Lay Minister (Reader) Canterbury Diocese | Member of the Association of Independent Celebrants | Serving families throughout Kent

A funeral is one of the most important things you will ever arrange for someone you love. I take that seriously.
I'm George, a funeral celebrant and lay minister with a background in pastoral care and preaching. I work with families across Kent to create services that are honest, well-crafted, and shaped entirely around the person who has died: their character, their story, what they meant to the people in that room.
Whether your family is rooted in Christian faith, holds a more personal spirituality, or wants a ceremony that makes no religious claim at all, I can hold that with you. What I bring to every service is care with language, attentiveness to your family, and a quiet confidence in the room when it matters most.
I regularly serve families in Maidstone, Medway, Canterbury, and across Kent, and I'm happy to travel to neighbouring counties. If you're not sure whether I cover your area, just ask.

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There's no pressure and no obligation — just a calm, unhurried conversation about how I can help.
📞 Call me: +44 (0)7366 900091

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Funeral & Memorial Services | George Hulme Celebrant | Kent

How I Work
Every family I serve gets my full attention from the first conversation to the final word of the service.
I start by listening — properly, unhurriedly — to who your loved one was: not just the facts of their life, but how they laughed, what they believed, what they left behind in the people who loved them. From that, I write a ceremony in my own hand: shaped around your family, spoken with care, and true to the person being honoured.
I'm experienced across the full range of settings — crematoria, churches, natural burial grounds, community venues, and meaningful outdoor locations — and I'm equally at home with services that are rooted in Christian faith, those that hold a quieter spirituality, and those that make no religious claim at all. If you're uncertain what shape the service should take, that's part of what I'm here to help you work out.
I also conduct ashes ceremonies, small gatherings of remembrance, and intimate family moments where something simple and personal is what's needed.My Services
The Full Service — £395
For families who want a ceremony that truly does justice to the person they've lost.
Includes a personal consultation with you and your family, a fully written bespoke ceremony, guidance on music, readings, and order of service, and professional, confident delivery on the day. You'll also receive a clean copy of the ceremony script as a permanent keepsake.The Full Service with Extended Support — £495
For families who want more time, more guidance, or more involvement in shaping the ceremony.
Everything above, plus a second consultation session, space to involve additional family members in contributing, and post-service follow-up — a brief call in the weeks after to check in with you.Full Planning & Pastoral Support — £595
For families who want a steady, experienced hand through the whole process.
Everything above, plus support coordinating the wider service — liaising with the funeral director, advising on the order of service document, helping with readings and tributes, and being available to you across the days between death and service. This is for families who want to feel accompanied, not just served.Additional Services
Eulogy or tribute writing (standalone) — £175
For families who want a beautifully written tribute but already have an officiant.
Pre-planning consultation — £125
An unhurried conversation to document your wishes before the time comes. A gift to the people who will one day carry this for you.
Memorial gathering or ashes ceremony — from £225
A shorter, more intimate ceremony for a smaller number of people.A Note on My Credentials
I'm a Licensed Lay Minister (Reader) in Canterbury Diocese and a member of the Association of Independent Celebrants. I carry full public liability insurance and work to the AIC's professional standards. But what I'd rather you trusted is this: I treat every service as if it were for someone I knew.

About Me

I've spent a long time learning how to find the right words in hard moments.
As a Licensed Lay Minister in Canterbury Diocese, I've sat with people through illness, loss, and the ragged edges of life — listening for what matters most, and trying to speak it truthfully. That pastoral formation shapes everything I do as a celebrant. I'm not simply performing a ceremony. I'm trying to do justice to a person's life, and to the people in that room who loved them.
I'm also a writer. I write poetry, compose songs, and work in the English folk tradition — a tradition built on stories about ordinary lives, told with care and precision. That practice keeps me honest: it trains you to notice what's specific, what's real, what's irreplaceable about a person, and to resist the easy, generic phrase. When I sit down to write a ceremony, I bring that same attentiveness. I'm looking for the details that are yours, not a script I've used before.I live in Kent with my wife Julia. We've built a life that feels genuinely ours — full of music, long country walks, and the kind of quiet contentment that comes from knowing what you love. You'll often find me out on a footpath with a guitar slung over my shoulder, or at home making music while Julia is nearby. Our grown-up daughter continues to surprise and inspire us both.
I mention this not as a footnote, but because I think it matters. The people I serve are trusting me with something precious. I want them to know that I have a life I'm glad to be living, people I love, and a real understanding of why losing someone you love is among the hardest things a human being bears.I work with families of all kinds — those with deep Christian faith, those with a quieter or more personal spirituality, and those who want a ceremony that makes no religious claim at all. Whatever your family believes, I will meet you there. What I bring to every service is the same: careful language, genuine presence, and a commitment to honouring the person who has died as fully and truthfully as I can.Licensed Lay Minister (Reader), Canterbury Diocese · Member, Association of Independent Celebrants · Trained in Funeral Ministry, Canterbury Diocese