Designing Your Funeral
There are two facets of the design process. First, we ask you to consider how you wish to honor and celebrate the life. When those important decisions are made, we’ll turn to the issue of how you wish to care for the physical remains.
How to Honor a Life
It’s about bringing those you love together, at a time of loss. It’s a natural thing to do, and over time, has become a socially-expected practice. More importantly, a funeral or memorial service, whether traditional, or contemporary, is the first step in healing.
You can have your service anywhere, and any way, you want. Your choices include the place of celebration, day of the week, and time of day; the musical selection, what prayers will be said or songs you’d like sung. We can arrange to have doves, butterflies, or balloons released at the close of the service. Keepsake gifts of wildflower seeds or a tree seedling can be given. We’re here to help you create the most memorable and meaningful service to honor your loved one.
Funeral Services
Gathering with friends and family gives everyone the opportunity to share memories, express emotions, and find comforting support. Whether you choose burial or cremation; whether you select a formal funeral or a more relaxed memorial service, the need for acknowledgment of the loss with family and friends is ever present. We can help you create a unique meaningful ceremony to express the genuine individuality of your loved one.
We offer families a beautiful setting in which to come together to honor your loved one. But, you may certainly choose to celebrate their life in a more unique setting. No matter where you decide to gather together, such a service will make a difference in the lives of all who attend.
Burial or Cremation?
Your next consideration focuses on choosing between burial and cremation. Usually, people are clear on this point. In fact, your loved one may have told you, or someone else, exactly how they wish to be cared for. But it can be a hard decision for some families, especially when the wishes of the deceased were never clearly stated. If that's the case, please know we're able to help you come to the perfect decision for your loved one, and for you.
Once you decide, the finer details come into focus. If you've chosen burial, then selection of the casket, vault, and desired cemetery follows. Naturally, we’re here to help you.
If cremation is your choice, then you'll need to make the next decision: whether the cremated remains will be placed in a mausoleum niche, or buried on the cemetery grounds.
In some communities, there's the option for a 'green burial.' If that's what your loved one would prefer, we'll help you select an environmentally-friendly choice.
Burial Services
If burial has been selected, usually any ceremonies we design revolve around the casket being present. You can choose to follow tradition, with a viewing, and then a funeral service in a church or memorial chapel. Or you could decide to have a more relaxed service, even in your family home.
Let’s just say this: there is no ‘hard and fast’ formula for honoring your loved one when burial has been selected. We’re here to listen to your concerns, share our experience, and help you to arrive at the perfect way to gather together before your loved one's interment in the cemetery of your choice.
Cremation Services
Cremation only refers to the manner in which you or your loved one has chosen to deal with the physical remains. We want you to know that this decision doesn’t limit the ways you can honor your loved one's life. We heartily suggest that you have a funeral or memorial service, because your need for such a healing experience is not lessened by the decision to be cremated. Again, the options are limited only by your imagination. We hope that you will contact us to discuss the wide variety of celebratory options open to you.
What's Next?
Now that we've given you the basics, it's time to reflect more on exactly what is appropriate for you and your family. If possible, gather everyone together to speak of their feelings and desires.
Still looking for inspiration? Speaking with a professional funeral planner will help to clarify your thinking. Reach us at (619) 284-6760.