My name is Evan, and I am a funeral director at a busy funeral home in the Midwestern United States. I have found that many loved ones want to personalize the funeral experience, but they simply don't know how. I am going to outline some ways that you can make a funeral unique to the person you are celebrating. From dramatic readings to favorite music to decorated caskets, the only limit is your imagination when it comes to planning the perfect funeral. I hope your mind will be open to the possibilities the next time you are in the unfortunate situation of having to plan a funeral.
Add Unique Touches to a Funeral
Should You Hold A Memorial Service If Cremating A Loved One?
Christina Clarke
Cremation is growing in popularity, partly due to the more affordable cost and partly due to people not wanting to take up dwindling space in cemeteries. If you're not having a traditional funeral with a coffin burial, though, what is the best way to memorialize the deceased? You can hold a memorial in a few different ways.
You Can Certainly Hold One
Yes, you can hold a memorial service for someone who was cremated. In fact, a funeral home can help you arrange for the memorial on their property. The only difference is that you won't have a coffin and body, and you don't even have to have the ashes with you, honestly. If you're really not sure what to do but know you want to hold a memorial, having the funeral home help you plan one is the easiest way to go.
It Doesn't Have to Be at a Columbarium
When you have cremains, you can keep them, scatter them, transform them (e.g., jewelry, planting them at the base of a tree), or inter them in a columbarium, which is like a crypt that holds many urns. You don't have to hold the memorial at the columbarium or at the cemetery where the columbarium is located. However, that will likely be the most convenient place, if the deceased is being interred in an area where most of the mourners are located.
Memorials for Scattering Ashes at Sea May Be Limited
If you want to scatter the ashes at sea and think that will be the perfect time for a memorial, keep in mind that you'll face limits. There will be weight and occupancy limits on the boat, and time may prevent many people from speaking. In fact, it might prevent you from speaking as you could have only enough time to scatter the ashes. (These services are run by understanding people, but if the weather is bad or the seas rough, you're not going to be out at sea for long.) If you want a memorial, you may want to have one after the scattering, when you can all meet on land at a venue that holds the number of people who have agreed to show up.
If You Don't Hold an Official Memorial, Give Mourners Options for Honoring the Deceased
Cremating a loved one and not gathering people together can seem rather abrupt to those not involved in the cremation or ash-scattering/internment procedures. If you're not going to have an official memorial, where everyone can gather to remember the person, you may want to give mourners options for honoring the deceased person. For example, let them know what the deceased's favorite charity was, or if the deceased had a favorite organization that people can donate to (such as a zoo's wildlife fund). Maybe you can plant a tree in the deceased's name, and people can stop by periodically as the tree grows. This can help mourners process everything that's happened.
Cremation is an efficient way of handling the deceased's body, but the memory of that person is quite another matter. You can hold a traditional memorial or think of something else that will let mourners gather and remember the person. For more information on cremation services, contact a professional near you.
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