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Cremation Funeral Services
By Karen S Musselman
Cremation funeral services are services that are held
when a person has chosen to be cremated. Generally,
there are no real differences between cremation services
and funeral services, except that there may be a type of
urn in place of a casket since the body is absent.
Cremation services also don't have to take place within
a certain time frame as a traditional funeral service,
so this can make it easier on the family of the loved
one since they have more time to prepare. But just as
with a funeral service, cremation memorials should also
be planned with care, keeping these top aspects in mind.
Time and Place of the Memorial Service
Since you can have cremation funeral services just about
anywhere, you may want have it just about anywhere
except the funeral home. Cremation services are a solemn
occasion but they don't need to be made even more
depressing by holding the service right at a funeral
home.
You may contact a local church about having the service
there. Even if you aren't a member of the church, the
minister may allow cremation funeral services to be
conducted at the church anyway just out of consideration
for the community and in respect for the deceased.
Many churches allow weddings to be held in the church by
non-members. You may need to attend a regular church
service or two prior to the memorial service, so keep
that in mind when you contact the churches.
If the departed was not an especially religious person,
you may think about having the service elsewhere, maybe
a favorite park or meeting place or even a banquet room
at their favorite restaurant.
Set the Appropriate Tone for the Service
If you're planning on having someone give the main
eulogy, make sure it was someone who was actually close
to the departed loved one. A childhood best friend is
usually asked to speak first, especially if they
maintained close contact with the loved one until their
passing.
You can also ask a few other people ahead of time if
they'd like to speak or tell some stories.
For indoor cremation funeral services when appropriate
to the tone of the service or something the loved one
may have liked, you can have memorial candles for people
to light as they either enter the building or leave.
Memorial Keepsakes for Cremation Funeral Services
It's fairly traditional that keepsakes are handed out to
those guests who have taken the time to come and pay
their last respects and greet the family of the loved
one. Often there are funeral programs and funeral prayer
cards that are tokens of appreciation to the guests who
have arrived.
Other keepsakes that are used at cremation funeral
services in addition to or even in place of programs or
prayer cards are memorial bookmarks. Memorial bookmarks
can be used in place of the programs or in place of the
prayer cards yet complement the programs to commemorate
the memorial service of the loved one.
Ideal for cremation funeral services, memorial bookmarks
can be printed with a photo of the departed and a
favorite verse or saying on one side and the reverse
side can be printed with the date of the loved one's
passing and the date and location of the memorial
service.
Funeral Thank You Notes
Some families opt to send out funeral thank you notes to
those who attended the service. You can add memorial
bookmarks to the notes instead of handing them out at
the service, just as an extra memorial keepsake to
remember the loved one by.
Karen Musselman's All Occasion Custom Laminated
Bookmarks has more than 80 designs that can be
customized for beautiful memorial bookmarks for
cremation funeral services. |
