Planning The Funeral
It is good to talk to other family members before the ladies from Caring Angels arrive. Some of these decisions that will need to be discussed are:
Arranging the funeral
What type of service? Burial or cremation?
Where will the service take place?
Celebrant or minister?
Coffin and pricing?
Flowers?
Music?
Orders of Service?
Press notice?
Coffins
We at Caring Angels know that you can still have a beautiful service without having to spend a fortune.
You don’t need to spend a lot on the coffin, especially if it’s a cremation service. We can place special and sentimental items on and around the coffin on the day of the funeral.
We encourage families and congregation to come and write personal messages on the coffins. This is very popular with families who choose the white coffin, and this can be done during the service.
We offer a wide range of coffins which range from a simple composite board coffin that has a veneer finish through to crafted, solid timber coffins.
Example of our white coffin. ‘Daisy’, which has been lovingly decorated by family and friends with personal messages.
Professional fees
Arranging a funeral involves many hours of planning, organising, administration and co-ordination to ensure that the whole service runs smoothly. These fees also include the use of facilities, equipment, vehicles, etc. We want you to remember the funeral, not the price.
Cremation
Cremations have now become more popular. This can either be through a lower cost or it was the wishes of the deceased person. A cremation service is a dignified process that is preferred by many families. Each crematorium has their own set fees.
Burial
Cemeteries have their own set fees. These can vary greatly depending on which cemetery and whereabouts you want the plot. Your preference will determine overall costs. All graves are double depth now so you can’t choose a single depth plot.
Flowers
We at Caring Angels Funerals know that you don’t need to spend a lot on flowers to make your loved one’s funeral special. We can arrange for you to have one single rose through to a large spray. We have even encouraged families to pick some flowers from their own garden to make it more special. We have even had a box of vegetables on the top of the coffin for a gentleman who preferred them to flowers.
Press Notice
You don’t need or have to place a notice in the newspaper, but it is an efficient way of informing people details of the funeral. Many people nowadays email, phone, text, or even use Facebook to inform everyone.
Dressing and Personal Items
When meeting a family, Caring Angels ladies like to hear about your loved one’s life, experiences, achievements and mostly their family. It gives us a bigger insight to the person who we are looking after. We encourage families to place inside the coffin as many things they want. We have placed many things such as sweets and lollies, cigarettes, photographs, letters, through to tanning lotion, their beloved pet’s ashes and even a spanner. The list is endless, so we like you to use your imagination. We also ask for your loved one’s ‘normal clothing’. Whether it be shorts, t-shirt and thongs, a suit, wedding dress or favourite Hawaiian shirt. We also encourage you to give us one of their pillows so that they are ‘comfy’ in their coffin. If possible, we also like to have a photograph of your loved one’s family, so that they have you with them at all times.
Officiating at the funeral
Anyone can officiate at a funeral service, whether this be a celebrant, minister, or friend. If your loved one has been a member of the local church, then families like to have the minister to officiate. The person who you choose to use will meet with you prior to the service to discuss your ideas, whether it be having a traditional service in the church, a graveside service, or a chapel service in the crematorium.
Venue for the funeral
There are many locations where a funeral can be conducted. Whether this be at a traditional church, the crematorium chapel, on your property or the nursing home chapel.
You will need to take into consideration how many people you think will be attending. There are time restrictions at the crematoriums so you may need to consider this if you think there will be a large number attending. If so, you can make an additional booking so the service isn’t rushed. There is an additional fee for this.
If you live on acreage, it can be nice to have the service at home, and also be more personal.
Information Required for the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages
At the time of the arrangement of the funeral we will need certain information regarding family history, names and dates. This is sent by Caring Angels Funerals to the Registrar so that the deceased can be referenced to confirm identity. Once the death has been registered, a copy of the Death Certificate is issued and will be sent to you. You will need this Death Certificate to close bank accounts, changing deeds, etc.
Hints and Suggestions for Writing a Eulogy
Write down a list of your most memorable times, thoughts and occasions of your loved one. It can be a daunting task and eulogies are one of the hardest (and scariest) speeches to make. Everyone knows that standing in front of a large crowd and talking can be very hard and also daunting! Not everyone can do it so your eulogy can be short, sweet and simple. It doesn’t have to be pages long. Just say what you need to say. Don’t be embarrassed if you falter and start to cry, this is natural and people will understand.
Here are a few topics that you may find helpful:
Where they were born
Where they grew up
Schools attended / sporting achievements / clubs
Marriages
Children / Grandchildren
Things they loved doing
Holidays
Habits
Funny attributes
Additional Information to help plan the funeral
When you meet with the celebrant, funeral director, or minister, you can discuss your ideas or plans that you have for your loved one’s service.
Here are a few ideas to help you:
Songs/music that are meaningful or relevant to your loved one. Did they have a favourite song?
Placing items on the coffin or writing on the coffin during the service.
Flowers, whether they be a simple rose to a large spray. As said before, a gentleman had vegetables from his allotment. Family and friends can also come forward and place single flowers on or around the coffin during the service.
Orders of service booklets which can be handed out by the funeral director before the service starts. This can include photos, songs and poems.
Provide a memorial book of which everyone can write in. We encourage everyone to write down a few words to the family, as well as their name. We at Caring Angels provide this free of charge.
Present a slide show of your loved one’s life, special occasions, families, etc.
If the service is a burial, it is nice for families to come forward during, or after the lowering of the coffin, to place petals into the grave or even release balloons, doves, etc. We recently held a service for a gentleman who had his pilot’s license. We made over 40 paper aeroplanes and handed these out to family and friends. As the coffin was being lowered, we had his favourite music playing and everyone threw an aeroplane into the grave.
We have also handed out pebbles and pens to the congregation before the service and asked everyone to write something special or a favourite memory of the deceased on it. After the service we then gave the basketful of pebbles to the family. It was a lovely surprise for them. The family informed is a few weeks later that they have placed all the pebble’s in their mum’s garden where she loved to sit.
