Some people like to have everything prepared. They find it comforting to have their life organised so that they’re ready for any eventuality. But some take it a step further: by planning their own funeral. Most people prefer to leave proceedings to their families, but some people will have their own vision of how a funeral should go.
If you’re one of those people, you may be asking yourself, where do I begin? In this blog, I’m going to look into how you would go about planning your own funeral.
If you are diagnosed with a terminal illness or have reached an old age, you will be aware that your time is coming to an end. Naturally, this will lead you to think about what will happen when you’ve passed away, in this case, what about my funeral arrangements?
Our past blogs have looked at topics such as
what do I wear to a funeral and what different
types of funeral are there? In these, we’ve covered that, whilst most people will decide to do a funeral ‘by the book’ and follow the traditional route of black formal mourning wear with a sombre funeral at a place of worship or crematorium, others may prefer to do something a bit different.
If you are someone who would like an alternate style of funeral, this is where you may want to make plans before you pass away. Otherwise, people will most likely assume that you would prefer a ‘standard’ funeral to one out of the ordinary.
The best way to plan your own funeral is to simply make those likely to be organising your funeral – usually close family members – how you would like it to be arranged. A good place to start is by selecting a venue. If you’re being buried, then you may wish to choose a resting place with meaning to you - for example perhaps the church that you were married at. If you wish to get cremated, it may be worth taking a look at another past blog,
where is the best place to scatter ashes?
Next, it is worth thinking about how you want people to dress for the occasion. While most will want people to wear traditional funeral clothing, some prefer casual, even bright outfits, which goes hand-in-hand with seeing the funeral as less of a sombre event and more of a celebration of the deceased’s life.
Finally, think about what you may like people to say at your funeral.
This is another subject we have blogged about previously. Whilst eulogies themselves are usually left to the reader, perhaps suggest readings and poems that mean a lot to you, another way to make the funeral more person after you’ve passed away.
For those that like to be extra well organised,
Dyingmatters.org have provided a free downloadable template for you to complete, or maybe just to use as reference for when you want to make your own arrangements. Click the link below to download a copy for yourself.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, I hope you found it interesting. For more blogs on similar topics, please visit
funeral-notices.co.uk/blog
