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YOUR GUIDE TO A FUNERAL • What type of coffin would you prefer? There is a huge range available from traditional solid wood, various materials such as banana leaf and wicker through to cardboard decorated with artwork using a picture or photo of your own choice. • Most funerals include a gathering of mourners after the ceremony with refreshments served. The venue might be your own home, a church hall, a pub or a more formal venue such as a hotel. Think about your budget and how many people may attend to help with your decision. Legally most of the expenses connected with the funeral can be claimed from the money left by the deceased but a gathering of mourners is not considered an essential funeral cost. • Many funerals now give people the opportunity to give donations to charity instead of floral tributes. If the person who has died did not nominate a charity themselves you may want to think about a charity related to their interests, or that supports research into the condition from which they died. Hospitals and hospices also have funds to which donations can be made. • Many mourners appreciate guidance about what to wear. Traditionally this was always black but except for very formal funerals, grey, navy and other sombre colours are generally acceptable. If there will be mourners from faith/cultural traditions different from your own, they will especially appreciate guidance about cultural/religion specific customs. Some families request that mourners wear a specific colour. • You can take time to decide on the design of a headstone for a grave or you may want to consider an alternative memorial such as a bench or tree. • If you are arranging a cremation there are many choices available for what you do with the ashes (cremated remains). There is also a wide variety of style of containers (urns) that can be used to store the ashes while you make a decision. The ashes can be stored at the crematorium or funeral director’s premises (for a short period of time) as well as at home. • The number of decisions to be made just for the funeral can seem daunting. Unless you have to arrange the funeral quickly for whatever reason, you can take your time, talk with family members and close friends and ask as many questions of your funeral director, we’re here to guide and support you.
Immediate concerns
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