5 Planning Tips for Your Own Funeral Service

Planning your own funeral service means you are able to select exactly what you want and if you fund these arrangements in advance, your family will not have to worry about the financial burden. Wondering what’s involved with personal funeral planning? Here’s an overview of the basics.

1. Choose Cremation or Burial

One of the first decisions you need to make when you’re planning your funeral services is whether you want to have cremation or full body burial take place. Traditional services can still take place prior to cremation and burial of the ashes in a cemetery can also be arranged. Still, another service planning option may be for people to donate their body to science as an Anatomical Gift.

2. Decide on the Type of Service

In addition to deciding which disposition you would like, cremation or burial, you may also want to plan a service. These services can include your religious affiliation and can occur within a church or temple or you can elect to only have a short graveside ceremony in the cemetery. You can also plan a memorial service which can take place at a funeral home, a family member’s home, a restaurant or any other location that will accommodate the family and friends who will attend. If you may want to set up public visitation, also called a wake, which can happen for both cremation and burial services, embalming will be required. You may want to plan a reception for after the service where family and friends can reflect and share memories with one another.

3. Outline the Specifics

When you are planning your funeral or memorial service in advance, you are able to organize everyone you want to be involved. This includes naming who you want to officiate the service and where you want your services to be held. You can delegate who will read and write your eulogy or who you wish to be pallbearers. If you are planning a service to take place in a church, you are able to choose which readings you want and the songs you want to be played. Ideally, to be on the safe side, you should list your first, second, and possibly third choices for every person you want involved with the funeral.

4. Name a Charity

It is tradition for members of the community to send flowers and money to the family when a loved one has passed. When you have planned and funded your funeral services in advance, you can instruct these monetary gifts be directed to a charity of your choice which can be published in your obituary, your family’s social media and also on the funeral home website. These donations will be made in your memory and recorded with that charity.

5. Make a List of People to Be Notified

Members of your immediate family and those friends closest to you will be aware that you have passed away. This list of people to be notified should include individuals who are important to you as well as organizations and clubs you are affiliated with and can provide instruction for your family to reach out to past these social organizations to coordinate their involvement with your funeral services.

At Boston Cremation, we make funeral planning easy. To take care of matters now, contact us at (781) 322-0909. Alternatively, use our four-step process to make your plans and pay for your funeral online today.

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