Your funeral director can help make your funeral unique, allowing you to choose the clothing for the deceased or you could decorate the coffin with something that represents what they held dear to them. Also your funeral director will be able to inform you on any limitations there may be.

Burial

Generally burials take place in either a cemetery or churchyard, and the deceased can either be put in an existing grave with a love one or can be put in a new grave.

With existing graves, when you want to put the individual with family or a loved one, such as a spouse, you will find that you will need the grave’s deeds, or other similar documents; if you do not have the deeds for the existing grave your funeral director may be able to assist you in tracking down the documents.

If you are choosing a burial you may want to put an item that they held dear to them inside their coffin to add that personal touch, which you can organise with your funeral director.

Cremation

When choosing to have the deceased cremated there are two types of service that you can choose from, either a full service or a committal service, which run over a shorter period. Depending on the deceased individual you may wish to have two services, with a longer service held in somewhere such as a church before going to the crematorium for a shorter committal service.

Your funeral director can assist you in finding a crematorium that has a service room, which can allow you to hold a committal service on the site, or if you wish you could have a full service there.
Whatever choice you make your funeral director can help to ensure the day pays tribute in the most appropriate way.

A Christian Funeral

For Christians when someone dies they see it as the end of their life on earth and they believe they will then be judged by God for if they will go to heaven or hell. The funeral is held to mourn the loss of a loved one and to celebrate their life.

For the funeral service the deceased often leaves wishes for hymns and prayers with a family member, friend or in their will, and they will often have chosen whether they want to either be buried or cremated. Generally for Christians the funeral is held a week after the death.

A Catholic Funeral

Catholics share most of their values and beliefs with other Christian denominations, however when it comes to the death of an individual Catholics believe that in addition to heaven and hell there is also Purgatory. Purgatory is where Catholics believe people who have committed forgivable sins are purified by temporary punishment before they are then allowed to enter heaven.

A Humanist Funeral

For those who are wanting a funeral for an individual who was not committed to a religion then the humanist funeral can offer an ideal service. If you are organising a humanist funeral the officiant will wish to talk to you about the individual to make sure that the service is individual to them.

Family and friends can make contributions to the ceremony to read a poem, reflect on the individual’s life or share a story they had about the deceased. When it comes to music humanists are generally open to allowing whatever you choose, and the humanist officiant can often offer suggestions if you are unsure.