Organising a Memorable Funeral
If you truly loved the person who is now deceased, you will want to make sure that their funeral is something wonderfully memorable. Funerals involve umpteen decisions that have to be made by the organiser. Here we will look at organising a memorable funeral.
Where do You Even Begin with Organising a Memorable Funeral?
If you are ever called upon to arrange a funeral, you may well want some ideas as to where to start planning. Funeral directors can play a major role in giving solutions to all your funeral queries, but remember, you don’t have to use one – it’s not mandatory. Soon after the death of your loved one, you’ll realise that there are some things that you will need clarity on. One of these is the death certificate. A dead person doesn’t just pass away into obscurity – some documents need to be filled in to signify the end of life. It is where a funeral home and funeral director become so valuable, as most will take this chore upon themselves.
The date of your loved one’s funeral will also need to be taken into account, and you need to wait until the death has been registered before you consider the date of the funeral. If there were things not quite normal, the death might involve a coroner, and then there will be a longer delay.
Plan Ahead of Time For a Memorable Funeral
Certainly, organising a funeral ahead of time can spare your family plenty of niggling about things, and most importantly, about who will pay for the funeral. It alone can cause plenty of strife. Let’s look at some important parts of planning and organising a funeral for your loved one –
There is no law saying that you have to use a funeral home and funeral director to plan for a funeral. However, there are many people with funeral plans who are only too happy to hand over the arranging to someone who is capable. If you do opt to make use of a funeral director, make sure it is someone entirely reputable. You’ll, therefore, want to find one who belongs to a professional association such as the National Association of Funeral Directors among others.
Know what you’re paying for.
Why this is important is that these Associations have certain codes of practice everything is with integrity. Always ask for an itemised price list, so you know exactly what you’ll be paying for. Make inquiries about a funeral package, because this can often reduce the cost of the funeral considerably.
Remember too, that if you do arrange the funeral with a funeral director, you’ll be responsible for the costs. That is exactly why you need to ask for a price list. You want to know exactly what products and services are available and what you’ll be paying for them.
What To Do
You’ll be wanting to compare costs with other funeral directors. You may also need to sign a contract with the funeral director, so be sure to read it carefully. This way you won’t end up paying for something you weren’t aware of.
- One of the first things you will want to do is notify all those who were close to the deceased of their death. Apart from family and friend, you will need to inform your pastor too if the deceased was an active member or adherent of the church.
- Some people like to place a death notice in the newspaper as well as online. A death notice like this is a good idea. It pays tribute to the person who has passed on, and it lets as many people as possible know about the date and time of the funeral.
- Hopefully the deceased will have had a funeral plan in place which would have outlined their preference for a funeral. Always check the instructions first. It could be a Christian funeral, military funeral, celebrant funeral, Jewish funeral, humanist- or Muslim funeral. It’s up to you to do some research and find out what the deceased would have preferred. The person may even have thought all this planning for a funeral is ridiculous, and their wishes might have been for direct burial or cremation. It’s where one does away with any funeral service.
The Venue
Choose an appropriate venue. You can have the memorable funeral anywhere, even at home if you want. Whichever venue you choose, you just want to make sure that it will be pleasing to the deceased. Things to remember are –
- who will preside over the ceremony – clergy or celebrant?
- will there be a wake?
- choose the clothing you want the deceased to wear in the coffin
- discuss with family and friend if anyone would like to give a eulogy
- Select the pallbearers, flowers, colour scheme and decor. Know who the musicians will be and who will take care of the sound system, video recording if any.
- make plans for transport – funeral vehicles
Time for Some Lightheartedness
When the funeral service is over, most people choose to have some meal or tea to help the family enjoy a more light-hearted occasion and to help them put the painful, sad days aside. This time can be a time of healing. To allow people to realise that they are entering a new phase of their lives and that life marches on.
Maybe you just want a quiet meal with family members back home; then you should make this aspect known. Serve Food and drink at a funeral reception, but this is entirely up to you. It’s time that nobody will particularly want heavy food. Provide finger foods – those comforting types of foods such as delicious soups, traditional sandwiches with lots of nice, tasty fillings and plenty of hot cups of soothing tea. Alcohol can- and does play a role. A little bit of alcohol can play a soothing part in deadening the pain and sadness.
Incredible Things Happen when You’re Organised for a Memorable Funeral
Organising a memorable funeral isn’t an easy task. Simply because there are so many options and so many different, volatile feelings. Fortunately, there is a lot of advice available in books and on the Internet. On how to organise a funeral in such a way that it brings honour to the deceased.
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All info was correct at time of publishing