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Home Daily Life Death and grief Funeral Planning – The Good Funeral Guide

Funeral Planning – The Good Funeral Guide

Organising the funeral of loved ones can be daunting, but itโ€™s important to get it right and in a way that befits their memory. You may have spoken to your loved ones before they died about their preferences: the type of ceremony they want and any specific details that should be included.

In fact, if they were really organised they might have planned the whole thing. As this is not the norm, you will need to discuss this important matter with people in the know.ย  Funeral planning is a difficult thing to experience but to get through it,we’ve put together some guidelines below which we hope will make the process clearer.

Funeral Director

Most people choose to use the services of a funeral director. This way funeral planning becomes a bit more easier to have someone else’s experience and knowledge, allowing them to provide good advice and usually, an excellent service. However, you can choose a DIY funeral, but this will take more of your time and you will need to make arrangements with the local authority. So it could be said that funeral planning for DIY funerals could be more hassle for you and your family. Usually, people chose a funeral director via recommendation, if you want to check out their credentials please check viaย eitherย The National Association of Funeral Directorsย or theย National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors.

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Burial or Cremation

Funeral planning can be distressing but it’s always good to know some details of your elderly parents wishes prior to the end of the life. If you have no idea at all the funeral services can help you decide what option is best (a burial or cremation) for yourself and the family.

Although, These decisions may have been made ahead of time by the deceased, but if not the executor to the will or next of kin will need to decide. By law, bodies must be either cremated or buried, including decisions about the place and method. However, considerable latitude is permitted. For example, after cremation, your loved oneโ€™s ashes can be scattered in a public place, placed in a family grave or even kept at home. A burial can take place in official graveyards or in other places such as designated woodlands.

What type of service

Funeral planning can be tiring, with so many options and things to organise but hopefully family members and funeral services will help you decide on what type of service your loved one would have liked. Do you want a religious or non-religious service? In fact, the choice runs the gamut from very religious to those who donโ€™t belong to any faith. Accordingly, there are services available to reflect your preference.

For religious services contact your local place of worship. The British Humanist Society are a good source of information for alternative services, and they also provide โ€œcelebrantsโ€ to lead a service.

Transport

During the funeral planning you’ll discuss and decide on the type of transport for the funeral service. Most people opt for a black hearse, possibly followed by limousines for the family. However, other modes of transport are available which the family might think to reflect better the life of the deceased, such as a white hearse or perhaps, more quirky like a motorbike and sidecar which is adapted to carry a coffin. There are plenty of alternatives and it will depend on what is available in the area where you live, as well as the costs involved.

Flowers

Flowers are very much part of the British funeral tradition and are seen as being essential. This is another important part of the funeral planning process. Flowers for a funeral can be very expensive and need to be carefully budgeted. Bearing this in mind, many families decide to only have family flowers at the service. Other mourners are normally asked for a donation to be made to a designated charity, instead of flowers.

Order of Service

Part of the funeral planning is the order of the service. The service proceeds along pre-planned series of readings, prayers if desired, music and reflections on the life of the deceased.

The readings are chosen to reflect the personality of the deceased and are chosen to allow those who attend some comfort. There is always advice from a funeral director or a celebrant if you get stuck about appropriate choices. ย There is also lots of advice on-line. Two recommended sites are ย Much Loved and Natural Endings.

It is customary to have a speech which celebrates the life of the departed. The eulogy (derived from Greek and meaning Good Words) is usually written and read by a member of the family or close friend.ย  It gives a flavour of the personโ€™s life and legacy. It paints a complete picture of the person, highlighting many aspects of the person which might not be known to all the attendees.

Eulogising someone very close is very emotional. Sometimes, the words are written by the family but delivered by the leader of the service.

After the service

Part of the funeral planning process is setting up a reception or wake. Where everyone can get together have a drink and reminisce. Gathering the mourners after the service is customary. Normally, the family will host a reception, depending on the nature of the service, costs and ease of transport.

Paying for a funeral

The most stressful part of funeral planning is making sure you and your family can afford it. A funeral is expensive. The average cost is about ยฃ3000, but costs are expected to rise rapidly. ย One of the ways many families manage this is by arranging a pre-paid plan, paying for the essentials up front.

Here is a blog written recently which gives details of how this can be arranged.