One of the most common reasons to choose cremation over burial is because of the reputed environmental benefit. In an age when all of us are looking for ways to reduce our impact on the environment, cremation provides a quick and easy solution. Cheaper than a traditional funeral and increasingly more accepted in traditional funeral planning circles, cremation is fast becoming the preferred choice for today’s funeral consumers.
Archive for the ‘Funeral Planning’ Category
The Environmental Impact of Cremation
Thursday, April 11th, 2013What is the Difference between a Mortuary and a Funeral Home?
Friday, March 29th, 2013
When it comes to the funeral industry, there are more providers involved than most people realize. From hospitals and mortuaries to funeral homes and crematoriums, the disposition of a body requires careful processing and handling.
Most people are aware of the role a funeral home plays in traditional funeral planning proceedings. This facility, usually visible in the community, is your point of contact with the death care industry. Funeral homes employ funeral directors, who serve as the guide for your family’s decision-making process and provide you with the services and products you need. You can buy caskets, choose burial or cremation, pay for the funeral, and hold a service all on site.
Buying or Selling a Pre-Owned Burial Plot
Wednesday, March 27th, 2013
If you’re getting ready to pre-plan a funeral and are looking to save some money on burial costs, it might be a good idea to look into pre-owned cemetery plots. Although the name is a bit macabre (bringing to mind burial plots that have already seen bodies come and go), the concept of a pre-owned plot is actually quite normal.
Funeral Order of Service Suggestions
Thursday, March 21st, 2013
When it comes to funeral planning, there are no strict rules when it comes to how you set up the memorial service—but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few guidelines you can rely on to help. The order of service (also known as the funeral service sheet or funeral program) is a sort of itinerary for the memorial service, outlining what your guests can expect and providing a memento to take home after the service completed. Religious in nature (but not required to be), this is a great way to organize the day so that you don’t become overwhelmed by decisions.
Because the order of service is such a standard practice for religious memorial services, there are plenty of places you can turn to find more information. You can ask for help and support from your funeral director, religious officials, or even your own ideas of what should or should not be included.
Is It Possible to Have a Viking Funeral?
Friday, March 8th, 2013
When it comes to unique funeral traditions, no one does it quite like ancient Vikings. We’ve all seen depictions of Viking funerals in movies…the longboats with the deceased laid reverently across the prow as a fiery arrow is shot to the deck, the rafts with huge pyres that burst into flames at sea. It’s romantic and dramatic and a proper sendoff for a warrior culture that so many people these days glorify.
Should You Take Out a Funeral Loan?
Wednesday, March 6th, 2013
Paying for a funeral is an issue everyone will need to deal with at some point in their lives. Whether the death of a loved one moves the subject to the forefront, or if you are estate planning and want to make advance arrangements, you will soon find yourself surrounded by funeral payment options.
Green Funeral Options: Funeral Plants
Tuesday, February 26th, 2013
Funeral flowers are one of those things that almost everyone associates with the traditional funeral setting. From huge commemorative wreaths to the casket flowers that add a touch of color and brightness to a memorial service, many people find that sending sympathy flowers is a great way to show your love and help support the bereaving family.
However, with green funerals on the rise, it might not feel right to spend money on a display that will only last for a few days. While some families preserve funeral flowers or turn the blooms into potpourri, others end up throwing the decaying flowers out. That’s why alternative funeral flower options like funeral plants exist.
Funeral Mediation: When Families Disagree
Saturday, February 23rd, 2013
Death and funeral planning have the tendency to bring out the best and the worst in people. While families might hope that the loss of a loved one will bring them together as a cohesive unit, it is often found that the reverse is true. From disagreements about money issues to the actual funeral planning process (including how the body is disposed of, what kind of funeral service is held, religious preferences, and even flower choices), it often comes to pass that individuals simply cannot agree on how to proceed.
Understandably, this can quickly make a bad situation even worse—especially if there are no pre-arranged funeral plans in place and there has not been an Executor to the Estate named.
Funeral Planning and Decision Fatigue
Friday, February 15th, 2013
It’s no secret that planning a funeral is a mentally exhausting task. Most people charged with the task of burying a loved one are already reeling from an overflow of emotion, and when you add the need to make dozens of financial and burial decisions, the results can tear a person down.
According to recent studies about the process of making decisions, there might be some science behind the difficulties we face when planning a funeral (above and beyond mere loss). Decision fatigue, or the emotional toll that an abundance of decision making has on the human brain, can impact the way you think about your choices. And in many cases, the results will be vastly different than if you’d made that decision a few hours earlier (or later).
Funeral Planning Information: The Business of Selling Caskets
Wednesday, February 13th, 2013
Although funeral planning has included coffins over thousands of years of human history (with ancient Egyptian caskets among the finest), the casket industry as we know it today is a fairly recent development. As is the case with almost all of our modern-day funeral traditions, the practice of using formal, wooden (or metal) caskets purchased from a funeral home for the express purpose of looking good goes back to the Victorian era.
