Feedback

Written Feedback – 100 most recent

It’s all here – the good and the bad, (except there is no bad).  If it has a star rating it was sent to Humanists UK or Google, if it doesn’t it was sent to me by email, message, letter or card.

… We’re deeply grateful to Doug for his incredible work and his sensitivity throughout the entire process. We couldn’t recommend him highly enough for anyone looking for a meaningful and personal celebration of life. (See Google Business Profile for full review)

Doug was compassionate, professional and personable from the start … Doug wrote a fantastic script and delivered it beautifully. We asked that humour was included, as our dad would have wanted, not an easy task. Doug got it spot on. Everyone present commented on what a great job he did.

Good morning Doug. a few sore heads yesterday … I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done. I think you got it spot on. Everyone I spoke with afterwards spoke about how impressed they were with your ‘service’. It was great meeting you, thank you so much.

We wanted to say how grateful we are to you for leading … the service for N. From our first meeting to the service itself you have expertly guided us …  You set exactly the right tone … and your words will remain part of our memories of him … thank you from the entire family.

Doug faced a tight deadline and had a tough job as the funeral service involved two families with different religious expectations – but he managed it all with exceptional skill, care and balance. His suggestions and guidance were excellent and we felt in safe hands. We’ll always remember Doug fondly.

I would just like to say a great big thank you for such a beautiful service you delivered. Everyone commented how brilliant it was. It was so personal and made the day special.  Even ‘Grumpy J’ would have enjoyed it. Thank you once again.

Doug created the most beautiful ceremony. The guests still say one year later how amazing the whole wedding ritual was 🖤 thanks Doug! …

Doug was recommended to my family to be the humanist for my mother’s funeral. To say he really helped is an understatement, he understood everyone’s emotions and gathered all the information together perfectly for the service . The service went smoothly and we couldn’t have asked for anymore.

… Sadly my dad passed this year, so the arrangements were exactly the same. … This time the arrangements involved more family members, … so … gathering information was time consuming. … As per my mum’s funeral, Doug delivered a good service for my dad. Top class 👍

Appreciate everything you did for us, and we’d use you 1,000 times over if possible. You’re a very fond memory of our marriage and I appreciate you.

Thanks so much for all your help with B’s service, it was lovely. So grateful to have found you – you really pulled everything together for us.

Doug thank you so much for today. I think we gave her the best send off that we could have done and you helped massively with that. We appreciate you so much. Thank you 🙏

We are so grateful to Doug for making a difficult time more manageable. He made the celebration of Life Service for my sister exactly as we hoped. He listened to all of our ideas and was able to gently make suggestions and guide us to making decisions.

Douglas was a really lovely man, very caring and listened to all my requests. We had a few laughs and tears together but the ceremony was brilliant. He gave me a lovely binder folder with all the words that was said so I can read it back later.

Doug has been absolutely amazing from day 1 to the day of the ceremony making the whole process of creating the ceremony very smooth and fun. The ceremony he wrote for us was beautiful and personal and just perfect! We highly recommend him to any couple getting married!! Thank you for everything Doug!!

Doug went above and beyond. A lot of patience dealing with all my other family members. Even meeting us all out of office hours. This due to others work commitments, This enabled governance to the order of the service.

Doug was helpful, reassuring and an excellent orator. Couldn’t have been better. Many thanks.

Doug provided kind, understanding support at a difficult time.

Many thanks, Doug. I thought you did a great job and it was most reassuring to have you help us throughout the process. I will certainly leave some very positive feedback.  All the very best

Thank you for your help in putting together a successful ceremony for Mum. Yes thanks, all enjoyed the gathering afterwards. 

Thank you so much for everything yesterday.  Everyone said what a lovely service it was.  It was really nice to meet you and have you guide us through a really difficult time.

I spoke to several people afterwards who said can we have his name and details!  Honestly you did us all very proud.

Thank you Doug. I can appreciate that it may have been a difficult service and can only apologise for the ‘heckler’ who couldn’t show any respect. Thankfully aunty M’s lack of hearing lifted the mood! As always you did a great job and we are greatly appreciative.  

Doug did an excellent job. He spent time with us … which was therapeutic in itself. He was amazing in the retention of detail. He navigated us through the whole service process helping us make it our own … He was sensitive and articulate and we will always be grateful to him.

Doug was so helpful, guiding us all the way through the process and giving us practical advice. He … did our Dad proud and despite the sadness of the event, it was so meaningful and moving. We have been left feeling positive about the sending off we gave our Dad …

We would give a million of points to Doug if we could! The celebration went way beyond our expectations, it was tailored to perfection and so personal and simply beautiful. Everyone commented on how lovely it was, and the double language was much appreciated 🖤not a single dry eye!

Would like to thank Doug for his support & kindness after the passing of our Dad/Husband D, he listened, wrote & delivered a wonderful tribute & service that was warm and compassionate to celebrate his life. We are so grateful for your patience and professionalism, thank you.

Just a quick note to say thanks for today.  Everyone agreed that today absolutely reflected what and who E was.  There was no mistaking.  We think he would have approved.

You did a wonderful job and that atmosphere was in part due to your excellent delivery of S’s story. We were all very pleased with her farewell service and I’m sure she would have been too. Thank you again for your time and dedication. 

Doug, honestly no words, we all just appreciate you today for everything running smoothly and sounding the way we wanted it to, I know thank you sounds weird, but…

Thanks Doug and again for the lovely service on Monday. It was really good to be able to invite family and friends to join us from around the world.

From 1st contact through to the service and subsequent follow up email Douglas has been a true professional …  He visited my sister’s husband at home spending time with him and discussing his wishes … he kept me informed and gathered history and information to base the service on. 

Thank you very much for the copy of H’s funeral service.  We thought it was beautifully written. It was accurate, appropriate and balanced in composition. Thank you so much for all the effort and attention to detail you put in to give H a beautiful send off for his family.

Thank you for your service yesterday, had lots of comments saying how lovely it was, and how well it reflected C as a person.  I know D was happy also, and will get his comments later and leave a review on the website.  Thank you once again from us all.

Thank you so much, the day was lovely and thank you for all your help. The session you took was really nice and gave the opportunity for everyone to say their final goodbyes. You did an amazing job which was echoed by all that attended.

We were all delighted with the service. There were some very complimentary comments from the family and M said ‘she could of listened to you all day’ and suggested you do bedtime stories as you have a wonderful calming voice.  I … look forward to planning a wedding … would love you to conduct.

You did amazing and everyone said how true the service was to P and you took such immense pressure off J and myself. Obviously, we hope we don’t need you soon in a professional capacity, but we will recommend to others. It was a complicated family set up and you did everything justice and more.

We very much appreciated your management of the event and your contribution to the day.

I think people were pleased with the service.  You spoke very clearly, which helped the older people, many suffering from hearing difficulties, understand everything you said. No worries about the Harry Styles thing (I misread his name)– I think it helped to break the tension.

It was great to have Doug’s guidance in preparation for the burial, and his steady hand on the day. Numerous guests commented on his contribution to making the event a success.

Douglas was absolutely wonderful. He celebrated an Italian/English wedding and all the guests were appealed to his professionalism and sympathy. The ceremony he prepared was wonderful, tailored to our needs and to our couple.

Thanks for a great service.  It hit exactly the right note, mum was very happy and dad would have approved!

Doug was amazing- from our very first call, in fact from his very first words to us, he seemed to immediately understand who we were and what we were looking for. He is kind, supportive, empathetic, organised, and a very eloquent speaker. 

Doug made a real effort to capture the essence of our relationship and personalities in his ceremony, which our guests were extremely impressed and touched by. Weddings can be very stressful to plan, and Doug made this part so pleasant and easy … we whole-heartedly recommend him!

We just wanted to say thank you very much for officiating our ceremony – it was amazing! We had so many questions after about humanism, which we were really pleased with 😊.  Echoing what H said, it was a beautiful ceremony and it inspired many people- my dad claims he is now a humanist!

It was a wonderful day and S and T did great, thank you for prepping them. Thank you for everything you did. A lot of people complemented the ceremony and the way it was scripted. … (I had Covid and the best man and a guest took over).

The feedback from everyone on the service was that it was very good and definitely hit the mark. It’s a shame you couldn’t deliver it having done all the work, but … Tina did a fabulous job standing in for you. (I had Covid and the service was read by a colleague, Tina Patrick)

Once again, a big thanks from both of us for making our day so special. We really appreciate your professionalism and warmth throughout the entire journey.

Dear Doug, Thank you for conducting the ceremony yesterday; I was pleased with how everything went. From comments which were made to me by many of those who attended they thought it was just right for T and reflected his personality.

Doug was so helpful in the planning for my husband’s memorial. He also did a wonderful job making the process so easy for me.

Doug did an absolutely fantastic job on the day of my dad’s funeral. It was like he had met him before and spoke fondly like he was an old friend. Made us feel very at ease and thank you Doug for reading the poem for me very last minute. I cannot recommend him highly enough. 

Just a quick message to say thank you for today. Really appreciated. Doug, the ceremony was beautiful. Thank you.

Doug did such a good job he had almost convinced two very strict Catholics into choosing a humanist funeral. Doug was very professional and conducted the funeral exactly how my dad would have wanted. 

Very helpful and kept us informed every step of the way.

Doug was very understanding and helpful … Many of the family who attended the funeral or watched it on the weblink said how well he had captured her personality and character … our thanks to him for helping to make mum’s funeral special and personal and for helping us through a difficult time.

Thanks for … Sunday. We really enjoyed the day & thought the ceremony was exactly what we wanted. We had lots of lovely comments to say how great it was & a few of our friends wished they had know about it for their children.

One of the mourners who was mum’s professional carer for years, is a devout Christian and made a point of telling me this morning that she thought the service was really lovely and you were very good. And I agree. Thank you.

Thank you so much!  You did such a fantastic job of capturing mum’s life from start to end.  It was such a lovely service.  She would have been proud.

Thank you so much for yesterday. I am sorry with how hectic and overwhelming it was but I thought you coped tremendously! Much better than S and I!  It was a lovely service and everyone has been contacting me today to say how nice it was, so thank you once again.

Fantastic ceremony. All who attended thoroughly enjoyed the day.

A huge thank you to Doug for such a wonderful Naming ceremony for our daughter. It was funny, thoughtful, perfectly timed and most important thoroughly reflected who she is! Doug expertly guided us through the creation of the ceremony, letting us shape it how we wanted but with appropriate and thoughtful suggestions ….

Doug captured the spirit of our Dad excellently.

Thank you so much for putting together and delivering our ceremony. It truly was an immensely special moment and something I will remember fondly forever. A big part of this was due to the work you put in on the day but also in preparing and constructing the ceremony. 

You put on a fantastic service that our guests in Clevedon and in Italy really enjoyed, and that was very special to S and I. S’s family even want you to come to our Italian celebration! Thank you for helping us bridge the gap of language and distance – you made the day for us.

Doug was fantastic. … He listened to what was important for us and what we would like to do. He worked hard to produce a ceremony that included this but also other aspects that ultimately resulted in a really special ceremony. … I will never forget the ceremony, it was made very special.

Thank you for today. We couldn’t have asked for anything better.  Everyone said how much they enjoyed the ceremony and how it’s what they’d like for themselves.

Thank you so much for the lovely service. I really appreciate the time you took to get to know us and our mum. And for working with us to get the words just right. You helped make a sad day memorable for all the right reasons.

Thank you to Doug for taking the time to get to know us, and our mum. The ceremony was lovely, and your tone was exactly right. It was a sad day but we got to remember our mum in the way we wanted to.

Thank you for the commemoration for my mother.  I was a bit choked for words after the service and didn’t feel able to stop and talk. You did an excellent job of getting the tone right – the balance between sadness and celebrating her qualities and successes.  It was a very dignified farewell.

Just a few flowers to say thank you for your support on funeral day.  This difficult time has brought out kindness in all corners. (On a floral card sent by a lovely lady with dementia whose husband’s funeral I led.)

Doug conducted my uncle’s funeral. His widow has severe dementia and we were eager for her to be as involved as possible in the funeral ceremony. Doug talked to family members about my uncle and his life and visited my aunt in her care home…

… She really liked him and she was able to talk to him about her memories. He used quotes from her during the funeral service. Because of this, she took an active role in the service. We could not have achieved such a meaningful farewell for my uncle without Doug’s concern and compassion.

I want to say a huge thank you for all your care and support, it was greatly appreciated and M clearly understood what was happening and hopefully will remember bits of the day. Thank you again!

We would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the part you played in making our wedding the most special day of our lives. All of our guests appreciated the efforts you made to cater for both sides of the linguistic spectrum but also the quality of the ceremony.  

M’s mother in particular wanted us to make sure that we sent her heartfelt thanks for the beautiful way you conducted our ceremony. Honestly Doug we couldn’t have asked for anything more, it was an amazing service and we feel deeply fortunate that we found you.

Lovely service today. Loved when everyone turned and waved (to the webcam in the crematorium).  Very thoughtful. Thank you.

Many thanks for yesterday, we all felt R’s send off was perfectly pitched and went very smoothly.  Your calm and considered approach made us all feel we were in safe hands on what was always going to be an emotionally charged occasion. I’m sure R would agree. Very best wishes from us all.

May I thank you again for leading the service for x’s funeral this morning, I really did feel your delivery was excellent, especially as you never knew her in person. It was just as she would have wanted it to be.

Thank you so much for the lovely tribute to R yesterday.  Everyone thought it was lovely.  They also enjoyed the visual tribute. All that and the music brought a tear to nearly everyone’s eye, so I think we made the right choices in the celebration of his life. 

Doug spent a long time with me and my daughter discussing our wishes … We found him to be very empathetic. The tribute to my husband couldn’t have been better and I know it would have been just what he wanted. We received many positive comments from friends and relatives …

Thanks again for the service – your words and their delivery were very well judged and made for an enjoyable (I think you know what I mean!) and fitting memorial to Mum.

Hi doug, thankyou for everything yesterday. You made it for us. Everyone that was there thought the same. Take care.

A huge thank you for today. What a brilliant and memorable afternoon it was. Just so special and you did such a wonderful job. I most certainly will give feedback, how could I not want other people to celebrate their loved ones in this very special way. I am so glad our paths have crossed.

I was initially a bit worried about what my mother’s sisters and their families would feel about us having a humanist celebrant but I think the mix that we had and the ease with which you allowed this to happen, means that everybody was able to take comfort from the celebration.

You truly have felt like a friend to us during the last couple of weeks – I don’t know how we could have managed without you.  I also wanted to thank you for all the time and trouble you went to.  I felt you really went above and beyond anything we could have hoped for.  

Doug put in a lot of work to ensure the ceremony was as we wanted. He did a brilliant job.

Douglas did a great job and was very easy to deal with I would highly recommend him.

The service really paid tribute to my husband Lee … The way the stories were told people said they could imagine Lee saying them. Lee knew he had a very short time left and chose Doug before he passed away to do his service and Doug really did him proud. 

Thank you for all your help and kindness at the funeral for my husband.  It was a happy day and not an upsetting sad day, for the sun shone and your reading of the service and the content was a true celebration of his life.  I’m so pleased he said he would like a humanist service.

Doug was calm, kind and incredibly professional. Having listened to us, he put together a wonderful tribute to mum which felt really personal and was exactly what we wanted. It was timed to perfection so that those unable to attend could share a minute’s silence for her.

… The whole thing was about the person who had died not about God. … Doug’s handling of the occassion this time, for my step-mother-in-law’s funeral, was as excellent as that of his predecessor – moving, relevant, and positive. It could not have been better

It was a pleasure working with Doug and planning both the service and subsequent wake. Doug clearly spent a lot of time and effort in absorbing the background information and transforming it into an excellent and personalised eulogy/tribute.

Doug was incredibly helpful … His calm and thoughtful narrative during the service helped link the various readings, music and tributes, making the whole thing a smooth and moving experience. The explanation of Humanism was sensitive and fitting. The family are so grateful for his support … 

From the moment we met Doug he put us at ease, our ceremony was just perfect and meant so much to us and our family have said how personal it was too. Before the ceremony Doug helped to keep the groom’s nerves in check and keep him calm … We had the best day of… Continue reading “We had the best day of our lives …”

(a humanist ceremony following a Catholic one). The humanist part of the day was not only a highlight, it also looked beautiful on camera and meant we have lots of lovely pics of relaxed guests having a laugh (and a cry).  Thanks again for taking it on, it really meant a lot to us.

Doug did a fantastic job of helping us arrange our son’s naming day, the ceremony was very personal and laidback as we wanted it and he ensured everything ran smoothly. We have had numerous lovely comments from our guests and we are very grateful that we found Doug to help us create a perfect day.

Doug is an excellent speaker and a lovely guy. He was accurate, thorough and produced a very interesting ceremony. He helped make sure everything ran smoothly.