Michelle Sponseller Celebrant / Officiant

06/09/2026

The thought won’t leave you alone, will it? You went to a funeral, and something shifted.

Maybe the service missed the person completely, and you left certain you could do better. Maybe it was done so well you thought, I could do that.

However it arrived, the pull toward ceremony work is real, and it brings more people to this calling than you’d think.

The hard part is telling passing curiosity from something worth acting on. Curiosity fades when the work gets real. A calling tends to lean in.

If you already work close to the end of life, as a death doula, a hospice nurse, or in a funeral home, you might know this feeling well. You walk with families right up to the ceremony, then watch someone else lead fumble the goodbye.

My new post is an honest look at the difference, a bit of my own winding path, and where to start if the pull holds up.

Curious where it could lead? Read here: https://www.celebrantmichelle.com/post/called-to-ceremony-work

06/07/2026

Getting ready to officiate the wedding of Madison and Kaitlyn, perfect day!

06/07/2026

I believe we'll be hearing a lot more about death doulas in the US. Their role sits at the intersection of caregiving, emotional support, and practical guidance, and it's part of the same movement that drew me to end-of-life celebrancy.

Doulas tend to the journey; celebrants honor the life. Both believe these moments deserve care, not avoidance. Worth a read 👇

https://bbc.com/news/articles/c7v9rjv99z5o?fbclid=IwY2xjawSSXUtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe4-LJxjuFHs9T0Kk3WmwjRYrYQoDaA1qqFP2YpJwMcVl6UUdxyGQ6HEv5JNA_aem_DGM7nZukA0eR3hyoQ2U0DQ

Ruby Love, from Bristol, is a death doula, giving holistic support to people in advance and during death.

06/05/2026

Now booking July 24th, 25th and 26th!

$950 INCLUDES- Up to 20 guests.
Custom Ceremony by Michelle Sponseller Celebrant / Officiant
Photography by Miss Lily Photography
Fresh floral bouquet by Rose Lane flowers
6" double layer cake by Little Crumb Bakery
Gorgeous Venue at Jackson Street Chapel Event Venue
Keepsake candle by The Picky Nose Candle Company

This is our ONLY event and our ONLY available dates before READY. Set. Wed! is GONE forever. Don't wait to book! This is your last chance!

06/04/2026

Most of us have sat through a funeral that could have been for anyone. The same readings, the same generic music, a stranger at the front who clearly never met the person we came to grieve.

It doesn't have to be that way. A service can actually sound like the person: the woodworking that filled his shop, the recipe cards in her handwriting, the row of trophies from her bowling league.

My new post gathers real, personalized ceremony ideas, built around objects, places, music, ritual, and food, all drawn from real services. My hope is that it shows you what's possible.

Read it here: https://www.celebrantmichelle.com/post/personalized-funeral-ceremony-ideas

What's one detail that would have to be there to make a service feel like your person?

06/02/2026

The funeral home needs the obituary by tomorrow, and you're the one staring at a blank screen, trying to sum up a whole person in a few hundred words.

If you've ever been handed that job, you know it's harder than it looks, especially when you're grieving. The facts come easily enough. It's everything that made them who they were that's hard to fit on the page.

My new post is a gentle, practical guide to writing an obituary that actually sounds like the person: where to start, the small details that bring someone back, and how to write honestly about a complicated life.

Read it here: https://www.celebrantmichelle.com/post/need-help-writing-an-obituary-a-celebrant-s-guide-to-honoring-a-life-in-print

And if the words just won't come, you don't have to do it alone. Helping families put a life into words is part of what I do.

What's one small detail about someone you loved that a list of facts would never capture?

05/28/2026

Hiring the right person to lead an end-of-life ceremony is one of the most important decisions a family makes.

And almost no one is taught how to do it.

So I wrote a guide.

What to look for in a celebrant, what questions to ask, what happens on a first call (a Zoom from your kitchen table counts).

Swipe through for the highlights, or read the full post on the blog: https://www.celebrantmichelle.com/post/how-to-hire-a-funeral-celebrant

Save this. Share it. Send it to a friend. This is one of those things people only think about when they need it, and by then they're already in the middle of it.

Funeral directors in Central Michigan, there's a section for you too.

05/27/2026

Hiring the right person to lead an end-of-life ceremony is one of the most important decisions a family makes. And almost no one is taught how to do it.

So I wrote a guide.

My new blog post walks through what to look for in a funeral celebrant, what to ask, and what happens on a first call (a Zoom from your kitchen table counts).

Read it here: https://www.celebrantmichelle.com/post/how-to-hire-a-funeral-celebrant

Funeral directors, there's a section for you too.

05/26/2026

Some seasons in this work hold more weight than others, and these past weeks have been full ones.

I had the deep honor of standing alongside five families as they said goodbye to the people they loved most, three at funeral services, and two at graveside services held in the weeks and months that followed a passing.

🌿 A woman who lived ninety-four years with her hands in the soil, born in Detroit, shaped by her German roots, and who built a garden paradise that now grows in the yards of everyone she loved. [Obituary: https://www.ppvfuneral.com/obituaries/Erika-Offenbacher?obId=47141683]

🦅 A father of seven, grandfather of twelve, who carried the eagle's teaching of love in everything he did. A man whose hug came a beat longer than you expected, whose door stayed open, and whose voice, saying "Hey, Babe" still echoes for those who loved him. [Obituary: https://www.clarkfuneralchapel.com/obituaries/Frederick-Red-Bennett?obId=48302583]

🔥 A fiercely loyal woman with a laugh that filled a room and a quiet, steady devotion to caring for her people through their hardest seasons. Her love showed up by showing up, day after day. [Obituary: https://www.clarkfuneralchapel.com/obituaries/Gwendolyn-Lee-Bean?obId=46365762]

🛻 A man known across Mid-Michigan as the one who could always find the right part. Forty years behind the counter. A cardinal tattooed on his arm for the wife he loved for forty years. And a daily phone call that always ended the same way: "What's for supper?" [Obituary: https://www.clarkfuneralchapel.com/obituaries/Raymond-Frederick-Faber?obId=48341858]

☀️ A gentle soul who never spoke a word but communicated love in every way that mattered, through his eyes, his smile, his laugh, his hugs. A man whose family was built not by choice, and who taught everyone around him how to find joy in the simplest things. [Obituary: https://www.clarkfuneralchapel.com/obituaries/Ronald-Wedge-Jr?obId=48188676]

Five lives. Five entirely different stories.

To every family who let me sit with you, listen to your stories, and stand beside you in your most tender moments, thank you. This work is sacred. And it is the honor of my life to do it.

🕊️ Michelle