David Somerville Independent Celebrant Avis 

David conducted my grandfathers funeral service and it was honestly better than we could have ever imagined (given the circumstances). He spoke about my grandad as if he had known him for years and he even checked in with each member of my grandfathers family personally to offer his sincere condolences, it really was the most touching ceremony and celebration of my grandfathers wonderful life. I’d 10/10 recommend David for any future services, I’ll definitely keep you in mind if I eventually ever get married LOL. Thanks for everything David!

When my mum passed away recently, we were fortunate to be introduced to David. From the very beginning, he took the time to meet us in person, truly listened, and made a genuine effort to understand who our mum was and the life she lived.

David was incredibly patient, allowing us the space to share stories and memories, and helping us feel completely at ease during what was an emotional time. His kind and thoughtful manner made a difficult process so much more manageable.

In the days leading up to the service, David stayed in close contact, sharing the eulogy he had prepared and inviting us to suggest any changes or additions. We always felt heard, supported, and involved.

We wanted the service to reflect not only the sadness of our loss but also the joy, love, and humour that defined our mum’s life. David captured this perfectly. The tone of the service was exactly what we had hoped for — heartfelt, respectful, and uplifting.

After the service, we were overwhelmed by the number of people who came to tell us how beautiful and moving it had been, and how wonderfully our mum’s story had been told.

I would not hesitate to recommend David to anyone. He was truly exceptional.

When our mum passed away we were fortunate to be introduced to David by the funeral arranger. We had explained we wanted the funeral to be a celebration of her life. For people to feel able to smile and even laugh while expecting a few tears.
We met with David and he listened to our rambling stories of mum, not an easy task with 4 grieving daughters, and produced a eulogy which told her story with just the right level of humour and understanding. His help and guidance ensured that all our memories were represented in her story.
The number of people who approached me on the day, to tell me what a lovely service it was, is testament to David’s skill, compassion and professionalism. Thank you David.

I cannot fault David, he was very understanding and patient with myself and family when we met up with him. David went above and beyond and make a sad experience manageable.

David's experience of these matters made it easy for the Family to express the life of our later mother. The eulogy was heart warming.

David conducted our mum’s funeral, as a celebration of her life, and we were very happy with how he handled things. He was able to accurately capture the essence of my mum’s life, weaving her story together expertly, as well as his general approach being exemplary - being both careful and compassionate at all times.

This has been one of the hardest things we, as a family, have had to go through, and to have David’s knowledge, experience and guidance helped us immensely - with particular praise being due on advising us of the best moment during the ceremony to place flowers on my mum’s coffin. Without David’s guidance I’m not sure we would have been capable of doing so at the time we had envisaged.

Many thanks again, and if our review reassures one family that they're in safe hands it has been well worth it.

David was perfect. He understood what we wanted and picked up and understood mum. He had a very natural and caring style which made us comfortable.

He showed great respect and a caring attitude. He made us all feel at ease and at one with mum on the day.

David conducted the service for my wife's funeral. He came to chat with the family and was very compassionate and understanding. He listened to stories and got a sense of who she was, her character and her values. He kept in touch regularly in the run up to the funeral tweaking his Eulogy as required. On the day he was amazing, he captured my wife's personality, character and soul perfectly. We had wanted a light hearted service and that's what he delivered, the stories we had given were told with joy and perfect timing. There were tears and laughter, I don't think anyone could have done a better job. He stayed in touch afterwards and sent a copy of the final Eulogy as a keep sake. I would highly recommend David.

I do not think I have the words to say how great David was when he was the celebrant at my Sisters Funeral. He was very attentive and there was 3-4 different family members contacting him with changes and additions to my sisters eulogy which didn’t seem to annoy him at all. He even watched Dirty Dancing for the first time to put some personal touches to the eulogy: nobody puts baby in the corner was the quote he added which was very fitting. I would 100% recommend David x

David was excellent he made a very difficult day go well for myself. He spoke of my partner so well. It felt like he knew her. He conducted a lovely bright and cheerful service and that what I wanted.

I can’t recommend David enough. The service he conducted for my mum was truly lovely. With the little information i had told him i was worried it wasn’t enough but the eulogy came back and it’s as if he knew my mum personally. He is truly an amazing person so kind and caring and genuinely takes pride in what he does.

I can't recommend David highly enough. As well as being caring and compassionate, he completely understood what we wanted and was so helpful in shaping the service, doing the heavy lifting by putting together the first draft of the eulogy, which then only needed some fine-tuning at our end. All in all he made a difficult situation so much easier.

Cannot thank you enough David for the care and compassion you have shown myself and my family since the passing of my beloved dad Billy. From coming out to the house (and dealing with the rabble of the family sharing stories) through to the professionalism of conducting his funeral with the right mix of humour and satire which had my dad down to a tee!

I can’t thank David enough for the beautiful eulogy and service for my aunt Isabel. It was a personal and fitting final goodbye to a wonderful lady. I would highly recommend David. His professionalism and kindness shown to our family at this time was lovely and as if he’d known her personally all her life. Thank you ❤️.

David was recommended to us and now having met him we couldn't praise him highly enough. David listened to all our families fond memories of mum and thoughtfully composed a special and moving eulogy that celebrated her life and did so with compassion and sincerity.
Everyone that attended said that it was such a beautiful and fitting tribute to our mum.

Thanks again David from the Buick and Lauriston families.

Can’t thank David enough for our Fathers eulogy. Still don’t know how he managed to make it so wonderful, our words can’t describe what he did but his certainly could. We felt we hadn’t given him much to go on yet somehow he managed to get exactly what the whole family wanted and he was so understanding and kind giving us this lasting memory.

We were so grateful to have had David as the celebrant for our brother David’s service. From the outset, he showed such genuine compassion, warmth, and professionalism. He took the time to get to know us and truly understand our family, creating a ceremony that was personal, heartfelt, and deeply respectful.

On the day, he led the service with such sincerity and care — a beautiful celebration of our amazing brother’s life. David also wrote a touching poem in his honour, which meant so much to us. Many of our friends and family commented on how moving and fitting the ceremony was.

David helped guide us through an incredibly difficult time with such care and support. We couldn't have asked for more.

Thank you David, you are a truly special person and your words and presence brought comfort and peace to us all. Sharon and family xx

The loss of my dad has been difficult. So having to find someone to speak about his incredible life wasn't easy.
David was recommended to us. I can honestly say that David was exactly what our family needed. On first meeting him he listened to our stories and took a lot of notes. We told him we wanted to celebrate dad's life and tell his story. The eulogy he wrote him was so special we really couldn't have asked for better. After the funeral everyone commented on David's eulogy. David told dad's story so well, he really captured the colours of his life and incredible character. We wanted it to be lighthearted with a bit of humor and that's what he gave us.
David also wrote a poem about dad's life which we will treasure forever .

I can’t thank David enough for his care and compassion and his lovely eulogy which captured my dad’s true personality as if he knew him and his attention to detail was outstanding even wearing a poppy on the day as my dad always wore one . David made the service feel like a celebration of his life which I am sure my dad would have wanted . It made us laugh and made us cry and I will never forget how he made such a difficult day that much easier, my daughter also mentioned that he was smiling at her throughout the service reassuring her and everyone agreed it was a lovely service which I will always cherish.

David carried out the service for our veteran father today, and words can't fully express how grateful we are. Everyone was truly blown away hearing about my dad — his military service, his unwavering dedication to family, and the incredible man he was. David captured our family's emotions with such authenticity and compassion — saying what we struggled to find the words for, as tears rolled down our cheeks.

He was professional, warm, and even brought a touch of wit that reminded us of dad himself. David told the story of our dad's life, and he truly did our father proud.

I would highly recommend David. You can trust him wholeheartedly to honour your loved one’s story during such emotional times. Everyone in attendance commented on what a fantastic service he delivered. Believe all the reviews before this.

The personal poem David wrote and shared at the end was a deeply touching tribute that led beautifully into the burial. At the cemetery, he read a soldier's prayer upon our request, with a sense of reverence that, combined with the ambient sound of the bagpipes and the moving notes of the bugler playing the Last Post, created a moment we will never forget.

By the end, David felt like part of our family and captured his life as if he knew dad personally. We are so proud of him and forever thankful.