Terms of Service

Full payment at confirmed booking is the preferred option. Instalments may be agreed case by case. The amount due on booking, any later payments and the final due date will be recorded in writing before confirmation. Payment upfront does not remove your refund rights.

Payment can be made by bank transfer, cash or cheque by arrangement, or by card through the website or a payment link where available. Cheques must be received in time to clear by the agreed due date. Please use your booking reference. I will provide an invoice and acknowledge payments, including a receipt for cash.

Funeral-director commissions are covered by a separate business agreement. A referral alone does not make a funeral director liable for a family’s bill; direct family bookings remain subject to these private-client terms.

If payment is late, I will contact you and give reasonable written notice and an opportunity to resolve it before suspending work or ending the booking. I will take the ceremony date and circumstances into account. Any amount retained or claimed must reflect reasonable losses without double counting; the applicable cancellation cap in section 6 or 7 will still apply.

For private clients, I offer a 14-day cooling off period for every booking, ending at the end of the fourteenth day after the contract begins under section 2. You may cancel without giving a reason. This contractual offer applies even where a statutory exception might apply and does not limit any greater or extended legal rights.

You may cancel by any clear statement, including email, post or telephone using the details in section 1. The cancellation form is optional. Sending your notice before the cooling off deadline is sufficient; my acknowledgement is not required to make it valid.

I will not begin within those 14 days without your separate express written request. If you then cancel before completion, only a reasonable proportion of the agreed price for services supplied up to cancellation is payable. If I have not obtained that request or provided the required cancellation and cost information, you will not be charged for work during this period. Sections 6 and 7 do not override this protection.

If you expressly request early performance and acknowledge that the cooling off right ends when the entire service has been completed, that right ends on full completion. Approving a script alone is not completion where delivery of the ceremony remains outstanding.

Any refund due under this section will be made within 14 days of being informed of cancellation, using the original payment method unless we agree otherwise, without a refund fee. Business bookings made by funeral directors use their separately agreed terms; this private-client cooling off offer does not apply to them.

After the cooling off period, please notify me promptly if you need to cancel. Email, post or telephone is acceptable; I will confirm telephone notices in writing. Notice takes effect when communicated to me, without needing my acknowledgement. No charge under section 6 or 7 applies where you are legally entitled to end the contract because I have failed to fulfil my obligations.

The maximum cancellation charge is based on the total agreed ceremony fee, not simply the amount paid so far:

• More than 30 calendar days before the ceremony: up to 50% of the fee.
• 30 calendar days or fewer before the ceremony: up to 100% of the fee.

These are ceilings, not automatic charges. I will calculate the reasonable net loss directly caused by cancellation, taking account of preparation already undertaken, unavoidable agreed costs and lost net income, without counting the same loss twice. Costs saved and replacement bookings that reduce the loss will be allowed for. I will take reasonable steps to reduce the loss and provide a written breakdown. The charge will not exceed either that loss or the relevant ceiling.

Payments received will be credited against the justified charge. Any excess will be refunded; only a justified shortfall may be invoiced. I will provide the calculation and refund within 14 days of cancellation. If a later replacement booking reduces my loss, I will refund the difference within 14 days of confirming it. Refunds use the original payment method unless you expressly agree otherwise, without a refund fee. These arrangements also apply to section 7. Private-client legal rights remain unaffected.

All funeral bookings, regardless of how far ahead they are made, and associated memorial services identified in the confirmation as using these funeral terms, are assessed individually. Charges reflect work completed and reasonable net losses directly caused by cancellation, less costs saved and replacement income reducing the loss. I will take reasonable steps to reduce loss. There is no double counting and the charge cannot exceed the agreed fee. Other memorial bookings follow section 6.

This section applies to funeral bookings made by private clients, who retain the cooling off protection in section 5. Where a funeral director commissions the service as a business, cancellation and payment are governed by the separate Funeral Director Terms agreed before work begins.

Please contact me promptly about a change of date, venue or ceremony. I will check availability and discuss how existing preparation can be reused. Any revised fee or additional work must be agreed in writing. I will not charge twice for the same work.

If I cannot attend the new date, we will discuss alternatives. If you cancel the original booking, the relevant cancellation terms apply, subject to your legal rights. A postponement does not automatically restart the cooling off period or remove existing rights. Exceptional circumstances will be considered sensitively.

We will agree a main contact and realistic dates for information, drafts and approval. Please check names, dates, relationships, readings and pronunciation carefully and tell me about corrections. I remain responsible for providing my service with reasonable care and skill; your approval does not remove that responsibility.

Please tell me about access, communication, cultural or faith requirements so we can plan together. Late changes will be accommodated where reasonably possible. Substantial additions outside the agreed scope may require a separately agreed fee. Silence will not be treated as approval of a draft.

Please confirm venue permission, access times and arrangements for sound, music and readings with the relevant providers. We will agree who is responsible for each task. For outdoor ceremonies, we should agree a suitable alternative for poor weather. Any ceremony timings or changes depend on the venue and other providers as well as your celebrant.

Unless expressly confirmed otherwise, a wedding or commitment ceremony I conduct is symbolic and does not itself create a legal marriage or civil partnership. You are responsible for arranging any required legal registration separately.

If illness or another serious event prevents me attending, I will tell you promptly and make reasonable efforts to find a suitable replacement. A replacement and transfer of your information require your agreement. If no acceptable arrangement is reached, I will refund all fees paid to me within 14 days of the booking ending, using the original payment method unless you expressly agree otherwise, without a refund fee. This does not limit any further legal remedy.

If events outside either party’s reasonable control make the ceremony impossible, we will discuss postponement, alternatives and any refund promptly. There is no automatic right for me to retain all payments. Any financial outcome will reflect applicable law and the circumstances; section 6 will not automatically be applied as though you simply changed your mind.

I will use your information for the agreed service as explained in my separate privacy notice. It explains purposes, lawful bases, sharing, retention and your rights. I will collect only what is needed and explain any additional permission required for sensitive information. Acceptance of these terms is not blanket consent. Photos, testimonials and stories will not be used for marketing without separate optional permission.

You may keep and share your completed ceremony script for personal, non-commercial purposes. Rights in original writing remain with its author, and third-party readings and music remain subject to their owners’ rights. Please ask before commercial reuse or publication beyond personal sharing.

Please raise concerns with me using the details in section 1 so I can try to put matters right. I aim to acknowledge complaints within five working days and provide a substantive response within 14 days, or explain any delay. Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or removes your consumer rights. Changes to a confirmed booking require our agreement.