Arranging a Funeral.
Our principle objective is to take care of you, your loved one and all the practical arrangements for you. This means advising you of the options and choices for the funeral, and seeing that the arrangements are made in accordance with your wishes, and with equally importance, with the wishes of your loved one.
What you will need to think about.
- Burial - If a burial is required, do you have a family grave and, if so, do you know the location of the cemetery and grave number? This information will be written upon the grave deed which is also required by the cemetery prior to the grave being opened. If the grave deed can't be found, a Declaration of Indemnity is required to allow the grave to be opened.
- Cremation - If the funeral is to be cremation, then at which crematorium would you like the cremation to take place? What would you like to have done with your loved ones ashes, after the cremation?
- Church Service - or would you prefer a service within your chosen crematorium or cemetery chapel?
- Requirements of Service - Do you know of an minister/ priest of officiate you would like us to approach to take the service, or would you like us to make the arrangements with your local priest, minister or an officiate from the Humanist organization for you?
- Preference on the day, date and time
Burial - If there is already a family grave available, we will require details of it's location and the grave deed if this is available, however if the deed isn't available we require the name and approximate date of the last person interred in the grave. If you require a new grave we will need to know from you the type of the grave you wish to be purchased (i.e. single depth, double or more, dependent of the cemetery) and at which cemetery you wish the interment to take place.
Cremation - You will need to choose which Crematorium you wish the service and, or committal to be held at. Most crematoria have a small chapel in which a service may be held. Times in these chapels are limited. You may wish to use this if you do not require a service in church (or other venue). You may also use the crematorium for a committal only (no service). The Crematorium also provides a music facility either in the form of an organist, cassette or CD player on which music of your choice can be played. For longer services double times may be booked at some of the Crematorium Chapel, at an extra cost.
Cremated Remains - We can collect your cremated remains from the crematorium on your behalf and hold onto them safely until you are ready to collect the ashes from us. In most instances we can collect the ashes the following working day. Ashes may also be scattered in the grounds of the crematorium upon there Garden of Remembrance, on a family grave or at a place that holds fond memories - in fact ashes can be scattered in most places. However permission must be obtained from the appropriate authority or land owner for this to be the case. We can advise you upon all aspects of this. You may also just prefer to keep the ashes in a specially designed casket or keepsake - again we can advise you on this.
Flowers, Donations and Obituaries - We can arrange flowers for you. Books are available for you to make your choice and also a selection of cards for your personal messages. Instead of flowers you may wish to ask mourners to make donations to a charity of your choice or of their choice. These donations can be dealt with by ourselves, we will record them and forward them on to the charity on your behalf. We can arrange to place announcements in a local and/or national newspaper for you and we can assist you with the wording. We are also able to arrange acknowledgement notices, thanking the people who have supported you, again we are able to assist with the wording if you wish.
Cost - As each funeral is unique, it is difficult for us to provide you with a full 'online' estimate, but shown within our Coffins and Casket page, is our basic charges that are charged in making the funeral arrangements. In addition to these charges, there are disbursements to be added. Please telephone us and a member of our staff will be able to discuss your funeral requirements in greater detail prior to us furnishing you with a more accurate estimate of charges.