COUPLES spend months, maybe years, planning the perfect wedding these days to make it the celebration they truly want.

But when it comes to funerals, most of us would readily admit we’d rather not think about it while we are still here - let alone contemplate decorating our own coffin.

Now there is a new movement that has landed in Colchester and is aiming to change all of that.

It’s the aptly named Coffin Club Colchester.

Founder Jenny Edwards, who will begin the six-week course in September, explained her reasons for doing so and why she thinks facing up to your funeral isn’t something to shy away from.

Jenny, who works at Colchester Hospital, is also a qualified funeral celebrant.

It was during her course work for a health and social care foundation degree that the way we respond to funeral planning struck a chord with her.

Jenny’s course project had to identify a need at the hospital.

She explained: “I identified what I found was a need for a memory card to be given to people who had miscarried or had an ectopic pregnancy and it had links to support groups and ideas to mark that life lost.”

Jenny’s other job as a civil celebrant, which sees funeral directors contact her, or people contact her independently, also led her to her latest venture.

“I went to a master class at Coffin Club Hastings, just to find out how to set one up and then I approached two friends, as it is a charity and you need a minimum of three trustees.

“Luckily, I found two like-minded people.”

She added: “I don’t enjoy ‘conveyor belt funerals’, they don’t give enough time to reflect the person and that is my angle. I wanted to find out more about how you could individualise funerals to make them unique.

“I wanted to encourage people to think about their end of life celebration and make it unique to them - and one way is to personalise your own coffin.”

Hastings in East Sussex was where Coffin Club was born but there are now others emerging around the country, with Colchester’s being the first in East Anglia.

The original founders were Kate Dyer and Kate Tym who met when they worked together as marriage registrars before leaving, together, to become independent celebrants - conducting weddings, baby namings and funerals.

They became disillusioned with the type of 'conveyor-belt funeral' being offered, and accepted, in most of the UK and the costs attached.

The patron is actress Miriam Margolyes, whose roles have included Professor Sprout in two Harry Potter films and the Mother Superior in Call the Midwife.

It was through her documentary, Dead Good Adventure that she came into contact with Coffin Club.

Miriam has planned her funeral with Coffin Club and decorated her coffin.

Coffin Club Colchester, which is free to attend, was born earlier this year and so far has focused on promoting itself at fairs and hosting talks.

When the course officially starts, the format will involve looking at a different element of a funeral each week, such as music or poetry, with the second part of each session dedicated to coffin decorating.

The coffins, which are wooden and have a standard size to fit someone up to 6ft 2 ins tall and weighing 18 stones, are ordered in from a firm in Holland to be used at the clubs.

Jenny, from Frinton, said: “They’re like what you would imagine if you bought a coffin at Ikea.

“In the last week of the course we have a viewing and people can invite their family over to see the coffin before you flat pack it down and take it back home.”

Jenny added: “What we are trying to do is encourage people to think about their end of life celebration, how they want their funeral to go, because we are so uptight about talking about death and dying and people die and their families are left floundering.”

At the end of the course, attendees will have a written record of their funeral wishes – another important way to avoid what can lead, said Jenny, to conflict among families trying to plan a loved one’s send off.

“At the end they have got to a place where they know what they want, can go out and cost it and find a funeral director that is like-minded and will fulfil their wishes or go to their family about it.”

Coffin Club is open to everyone and anyone so those who attend may include elderly people or those living with a terminal diagnosis, their families or carers.

Of course telling people you have founded a coffin club is likely to provoke an interesting reaction.

“They laugh,” said Jenny. “It is almost hesitant.”

“But you plan for buying a car, you shop about for a house, nobody shops about for a funeral.

“Big events in people’s lives like a wedding, you know what you want and plan for it and save for it and have a wonderful day. "Really, people should do the same for their end of life celebration but they don’t.”

Urging people to give Coffin Club Colchester a try, Jenny said: “There will be a lot of laughter and humour. In years to come we will aspire to have a Coffin Club running at least on a monthly basis, if not a weekly basis.”

For more information about Coffin Club Colchester, contact Jenny on 07840117242.