Condolences
There are more choices than you think
With funerals you actually have more choices than you think when it comes to saying farewell to a loved one.
Most of my work in this space is as a funeral celebrant, that specialises in crafting and leading personalised ceremonies that reflect the beliefs, values, and stories of the deceased and their loved ones by tailoring bespoke ceremonies both secular and non-traditional services. I work with funeral directors to deliver memorials, services and celebrations of life.
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In the beautiful video here I was asked by the family to focus on lots of yellow and lots of hearts. You may also notice red glitter shoes that were also a request as the person being honoured loved Judy Garland.
Whilst I am not a funeral director, I work with a few and have access to people that can assist you with these needs, along with many other options that are available to you and most people in the funeral industry don't want you to know about. When it comes to funeral service options, there are four major types you will generally choose from:
1. No service, no attendance funeral (otherwise known as a direct burial / cremation or bare funeral): As the name suggests there is no service and no attendance.
2. Single service funeral: A typical single service funeral takes place at a funeral home chapel, church or other place of worship. The service includes a final committal ceremony and there is no procession to the cemetery or crematorium.
3. Dual service funeral: A typical dual service funeral begins at a funeral home chapel, church or other place of worship and is followed by a procession to the cemetery or crematorium for a final committal ceremony.
4. Graveside service: A graveside or arrival service takes place either entirely at the graveside or crematorium chapel. In the case of burials, a graveside service may sometimes be held at the cemetery chapel followed by a very short procession to the graveside for a committal ceremony.
Death is still somewhat a taboo discussion around a backyard barbeque or at the dinner table, but it really shouldn't be that way. I am about education in this space and that is a long hard road to walk down when nobody wants to talk to you about it until something happens, and then the conversation becomes less of a priority and more of a necessity, so the default is to do what you think should happen.
Please call me for any assistance with funerary requirements. Click the funeral help button to find more information on various subjects of significance in this area, along with some words of education on what is still a much taboo subject that we need to talk about more.