As a celebrant, I start my weddings and funerals with the same words: “Everyone, we are about to get started, so can you please make sure your phones are off or on silent.”

I introduce myself, express my great privilege in sharing this moment with the people gathered and always make sure I have tissues on hand. Wedding dresses don’t have pockets and you’d be surprised how many people come to a funeral not expecting to cry.

From there the scripts change. At a wedding, I tell the love story of the couple – which is sort of like the prequel to the book they are now writing together. At funerals, I facilitate the family and friends as they tell the story of their person’s life through speeches, music, and slideshows. In some ways, the narratives of funerals and weddings have similar purposes; both are rituals combining music, story and movement. A wedding represents the close of one chapter and the beginning of a new, hopefully joyous, exciting one for the couple and their community. The couple’s roles publicly shift, from betrothed to wedded, and their roles in their family and community subtly shift........

© The Guardian