How Prepaid Funeral Plans Work
The average cost of a funeral has gone up a staggering 130% since 2004. A prepaid funeral plan allows you to pay for your funeral in advance. It freezes the costs of the services included in your plan at today’s value. That means the services you paid for will not be affected by inflation – […]
Guide to Sending Funeral Flowers
Sending flowers to a funeral Funeral flowers have been one of the longest standing funeral traditions. In fact, scientists found traces of flowers at a burial site in Northern Iraq from 62,000 BC. The Guinness Book of World Records officially declared it the world’s oldest form of human ritual. Nowadays, the main function of funeral […]
A Guide to Pre-Arranging Funerals
How to Arrange a Funeral in Advance A pre-arranged funeral is one of the most thoughtful gifts you could give to your family and loved ones. We prepare for and plan all major life events and the celebrations that go along with them. Yet, with ‘Death’ still being considered a taboo subject by 16 million […]
What Is a Celebration of Life and How to Plan One?
A Celebration of Life is a very personal way of saying “goodbye”. It puts emphasis on life rather than death. It centres around acknowledging the deceased one’s legacy and remembering the love and joy they brought to their family’s and friends’ lives. Even though 54% of Brits say they would opt for one (according to […]
What is a Direct Cremation?
A direct cremation is a very simple, dignified way of holding a funeral. The main difference between a direct cremation and any other type of cremation funeral is that there’s no prior ceremony or service for your family to attend. Your body will be cremated in a simple coffin with a nameplate shortly after passing. […]
Planning a Wake
If you are thinking about planning a wake, here are some of the things you might wish to consider: A wake is simply a gathering of people to mourn the passing of a loved one, either before or after the funeral. It is generally assumed that the word ‘wake’ comes from the days when individuals […]
Open casket
Ever thought about opting for an open casket at your funeral or experienced viewing one yourself? It’s a popular choice in the USA, where viewings or wakes that take place a few days before a service are a standard part of funeral rites, but it’s not a very common sight in the UK and the […]
Graves of the rich and famous
Whilst most graves are just visited by family and friends, many last resting places of the famous rack up thousands of visits in any one year. Visiting famous graves is now big business with many people finding it a great way to learn about history or pay respects to an idol. There is even a […]
Buried alive
The concept of death can be difficult and often terrifying to contemplate, but for some the thought of being buried alive is more unnerving and it can become a pathological phobia – or taphophobia, to use the technical term, from the Greek taphos meaning grave or tomb. Prior to modern day medical practices, this fear […]
Alternative Hearse
Choosing an alternative hearse in which to make your last journey can be a great way to personalise your funeral plans. Many famous people have been transported to their final resting place in less than conventional vehicles – Martin Luther King travelled in a white Cadillac, Princess Diana’s coffin was carried by a gun carriage […]