A funeral is a way to say goodbye to those we love and cherish, by holding a service to honour the deceased and at the end the body can be committed to cremation or buried in a cemetery.
Once the funeral has taken place, the family and friends of the loved one may wish to hold a memorial service, also known as celebration of life. If the person was cremated, the scattering of ashes in a special place or request by the deceased may take place. If the person was buried you may wish to hold a candlelit celebration at the burial site.
What happens once my loved one has passed?
Usually, your loved one will be collected by a Funeral Director of your choice and the funeral preparations will start. A date and time slot will be booked where the service is going to be held, and it is at this point that a celebrant will be appointed.
I would be contacted by the Funeral Arranger, and given the details of the Chief Mourner –whom I will contact and agree a time and date for a family meeting to be held.
Funerals
What is the point of a family meeting?
In order for me to conduct the service in the most professional & compassionate way I will need to understand about your loved ones life. This is a great way for me to provide the family with support and to help them understand what will happen on the day.
How is a funeral service conducted?
Many of you may not have been to a funeral before, you may have only been to cremation based funerals or burials. To enable you to understand what may happen on the day here is the 6 basic parts as to how a funeral will be conducted.
Entrance – The Funeral Director will escort the pall bearers (or sometimes family members holding the coffin) into the chapel. Music will be playing and this will be a song the family have chosen.
Opening words – Beaulieu will start the service once the family and friends have taken their seats with some opening words about what will happen during the service.
Hymns/Prayers – A reading may take place, a prayer chosen by the family or deceased.
Eulogy – Beaulieu will have had a meeting with the family beforehand and learnt about the deceased. I will create a personalised written eulogy about your loved ones life, or I could read eulogies written by family/friends.
The Committal – At this point, Beaulieu will go and stand beside the coffin and read out a blessing. You can personalise this section of the service if there is a particular passage you would like to be read out at this point. Once the committal blessing has taken place, there is usually reflection music whilst the curtains close, if they are not being left open.
Closing words & Exit – Beaulieu will say the final words for the service, the last piece of music is played and the family exit when they are ready.
​
Once the service has taken place, I am happy to provide the Chief Mourner with the full service around a week later, usually via email.
If you would be kind enough to leave a review for me to use on my website and media, I would be extremely grateful.
