How Flowers Are Used In Funeral Services?

We all have to be a part of funeral services for a number of times in one lifetime. Several etiquettes are to be followed and one of them is related to flowers. The fact regarding flowers is that they have a high position in the priority list as far as funeral services are concerned.

This is the reason why different kinds of flowers are recommended by the experts of online funeral services.

Just in case, you are finding it tough to decide. You can easily use the tips that we have discussed here in this write-up.

Sprays:

According to the experts of funerals services, sprays is the very common and the most used method of showing your love, sympathy and empathy for the deceased. Sprays are basically large and flat bouquets that are intended to be viewed from one side.

There are single-ended sprays, represented on a stand and there are double-ended sprays are well that are often found placed on the top of the casket.

BOUQUETS:

Experts of online funeral services say that bouquets are the most traditional way of expressing your love as well as compassion to the bereaving family.

Traditional bouquets can be given or displayed and placed in a vase or basket and then, there are floral bouquets that can be given different shapes. The most common shapes are crosses, hearts or the initials of the deceased.

WREATHS:

The wreath is the name given to the garland that can be fastened together in a circle shape and this becomes a kind of the wreath to represent the entire cycle of the life. According to the experts of online funeral services, the wreaths are typically displayed on a stand next to the casket.

LIVE PLANTS:

A very impressive alternative to flowers these days is live plants and the reason is that they are a symbolic representation of growth and growing life.

Two Types of Funeral Homes and Their Services

Funeral events involve the most important step, i.e. disposing the body and this disposing is done in different forms based in cultural, religious and personal requirements. It is because of this that you have to choose a funeral home very carefully and particularly the one holding expertise in your kind of disposal.

As far as funeral homes are concerned, they can now be classified on the basis of different factors and at the time of selection, their proximity, the services they offer and several similar things have to be considered.

Purpose and Characteristics of Funeral Home Types–

In several countries across the globe, it has been witnessed that funeral homes near me serve a particular community or the people belonging to a particular faith, religion or belief.

This can be counted as an evolution that funeral homes have witnessed along with one more, i.e. the type of disposing services offered by them. Generally, these funeral homes mostly have these services of embalming, body refrigeration and other services required during a funeral event.

The most common types of funeral homes include full-service funeral home, independent funeral director, cemetery-funeral home combination, crematory-funeral home combination, and religious funeral providers.

Common Funeral Home Types–

Different kinds of funeral homes are there and we have discussed details of some of them here.

A Full-Service Funeral Home–

• This kind of funeral home near me is a full-service facility that can offer services ranging from care of the body to its final disposal and all others under one roof.
• There is also a chapel that they use for services like any visitation, funeral and/or memorial services as well as on-site preparation facilities.
• Several services are offered by them and the main ones are bathing, dressing, refrigeration and embalming and some of them can even arrange catering services for the guests at the event.

Independent Funeral Directors–

• They are basically certified independent funeral directors who don’t have any command or control over any funeral home near me.
• They can help you by outsourcing the entire funeral event and by coordinating as well as monitoring the burial process.

Tips on Taking Flowers to a Funeral Home

Visiting a funeral home means you are here to express the grief of the passing away of someone you know. The best way to express this grief is saying it with flowers and according to the experts; flowers have always been a very impressive way of expressing grief and day “Thank You” to the deceased. At the time of visiting the funeral home along with flowers, some very important things are to be kept in mind and we have discussed here in this blog post.

Respect the Wishes of the Family–

While visiting there funeral home near me, one thing that you need to be very practical, i.e. respecting the wishes of the family. Even if the family has asked for some charity and donation, you should never disrespect their wish and follow them without any issues. Moreover, if their religious and cultural belief discourages using flowers, you should totally avoid them even if you strongly feel that flowers should be taken to the funeral home.

To avoid making mistakes, you can call the family members directly and get some guidance on how you should become the part of the ceremony is that no one gets offended.

Types of Flower Arrangements–

Depending upon the relationship you have with the deceased, it is your duty to determine the right floral arrangements and also, the type of flowers. You are the right person to decide the right kind of flowers to offer to the deceased and in this regards, funeral home staff can be very assistive. They will tell that if close relatives, there is the option of a casket wreath or spray and there are other arrangements as well.

They are casket lid swags, heart or cross-shaped arrangements and table arrangements. Experts further say that spray arrangements are typical, followed by wreaths, baskets, live plants and flowers in vases. Again, talk with family members and a florist to get ideas on ideas that can personalize your arrangement.

Answering Two Important Questions Regarding Pre-Paid Funerals Plans

Often people counter the idea of pre-planning the funeral ceremony, but this is a fact that this gives an immense peace of mind to the family. Moreover, the person opting for pre-paid funerals plans can also be relaxed thinking that the family will not have to take this burden of funeral arrangement and that all the desires related to this last ceremony would be fulfilled in an appropriate manner.

A number of questions are there in the minds of the readers and here in this post, let us find answers to some of them.

What Are The Benefits Of Preplanning?

Pre-paid funerals plans as well as prearranged cremation services, both come with a whole plethora of benefits for the deceased as well the family of the deceased.

The first immediate benefit is related to the cost that status right inside the budget and then, hassles related to making arrangement also get over with pre-planning. Apart from this, the person can be relaxed because all the wishes regarding post-death ceremony are recorded in the contract letter and they will be implemented. The contract holder can go for deciding like –

• Your Choice Between Cremation And Burial
• Your Choice Of Service (Ex: Gathering, Visitation, Funeral And/Or Memorial Services)
• What Items You’d Like (Ex: Casket, Headstone, Cremation Urn)
• Personal Touches (Ex: Music At A Funeral Or Your Favourite Photos Displayed)
• This Ensures That Your Final Wishes Are Documented For Your Family To Carry Out

Can I Prepay?

In terms of making the payment, often people have to pre-fund it, but if you are planning to do so, it’s important to have a clear understanding of some factors.

The entire concept of prepaying depends upon the funeral home chosen by you and if there is a flexible payment plan, you can go for it. Apart from this, there will also be some terms and conditions to abide by in terms of prepayment for pre-paid funeral plans.

Top Two Mistakes to Avoid In Funeral Planning Process

Planning a funeral ceremony or a memorial event is not an easy thing at all especially in situations when a family has just suffered from a loss of a loved one. In such situations, the assistance given by the chosen funeral home can be very helpful and in fact, only this way, you can avoid some mistakes. Yes, DIY is not possible at all because the family expects to follow all the religious rituals, etc. and this is why it is always recommended to seek the services of a reputed funeral home.

Here in this post, we take a look at some mistakes that family commits as far as funeral planning is concerned.

Mistake 1- Not Exploring Funeral Providers

One mistake that families often commit is that they continue sticking to the funeral home that has been offering its services to the family since yesteryears. According to the experts, this is something you need to get rid of and before committing to any funeral home, you should always shortlist some of them and research on the best funeral home near me.
Taking time to compare funeral providers in your area might save you money and help you locate “the best” funeral home, crematory or cemetery for your needs.

Mistake 2 : Not Asking Questions

The loss of a loved one in a family is certainly a great loss for the family, but then, the family has to stay in senses whole searching for the best service provider. This means short listing some after careful research about them on the Internet. This also involves interviewing them thoroughly and place as many questions as possible to find more and more about them and their services. This will give them an opportunity to reveal more and more about themselves and this way, you will also get more familiar with their services.

Read Also : Top Three Kinds of Funeral Services Offered By Funeral Homes

Methods of Showing Sympathy during COVID-19 Pandemic Scenario

Covid 19 has influenced our lives in all the possible ways and we have now become used to with this new normal. However, things become somewhat tough during the passing away of a loved one because in these situations, often hugs and grieving become very effective, but as said above, keeping social distancing factor in mind, it could become really tough at the funeral home near me to show love, respect and condolence to the bereaved family.

However, there are some useful tips that you can use to make sure that you make your presence felt at the funeral ceremony at the funeral home.

Get Creative with Communication–

• Because lockdown is there, followed by the golden rule of social distancing, this might not be possible for you to personally visit the grieving family.
• In such situation, sending a sympathy card via an e-mail can be a really useful option to let the bereaving family know that you are as depressed as they are on the loss of the loved one.
• Alternatively, you can do the same with the help of the website of the funeral hone chosen by the bereaving family and send your sympathy message directly to the funeral director.
• There are options to view tribute videos and also of sending condolences straight to the family of the deceased.

People may know also : Types of Funeral Services Available In Australia

Have Flowers or a Meal Delivered–

• Depending upon the time, you can even make your presence felt by ordering some flowers to be delivered to the bereaving family or directly to the funeral home.
• Flowers have always been a really impressive way to show you care and bring a bit of hope to a challenging time.
• Then, there is another, a bit unconventional idea of delivering home-cooked food to the family to relieve some stress “off” their heads.
• During these Covid-19 days, several restaurants have adopted creative methods to ensure safe practices and limit in-person contact.

Types of Funeral Services Available In Australia

Even the thought of arranging a funeral event for a loved one can fill anybody with stress. But this also remains as a bitter fact that death is foreseeable and one has to remain strong enough to face this loss and bid farewell to the deceased with a grand funeral event.

In Australia, different kinds of funerals are available and in all of them, the funeral director holding expertise in Christian funerals chosen by you will help right from the beginning to the end. Knowing about the types will help you decide which one to go with and which one fits inside your budget comfortably.

Traditional Funeral-

• This is also given the name of “full funeral” and according to the experts; this event begins with a funeral ceremony held in a church or chapel.
• This main ceremony is followed by burial or cremation (as opted by the deceased or decided by the family of the deceased) at a pre-booked cemetery plot.
• Here the funeral directors are given the responsibility of delivering professional, flawless service and make it easier to say “goodbye”.

Direct Burial–

• Experts specialising in Christian funeral service outline say that as compared to the traditional funeral, this is a rather affordable option.
• The reason is that in this kind of event, no funeral ceremony is arranged and the body is directly buried.
• In this kind of event, the family members only have to pay for transporting the body and burying or cremating it.

Cremation–

• This method has become immensely popular in the past one decade because it is a less time and money consuming option.
• In this kind of event, the body of the deceased is disposed by burning into ashes.
• This can also be made a part of funeral services, but this will become an expensive option as compared to direct cremation that is very similar to direct burial and hence, affordable as well.

Important Funeral Services and Role of Funeral Directors in Them

When we talk about funeral related arrangements, the first thing to come to mind is the funeral services that we can avail from funeral directors. These professionals can be immensely helpful in terms of making funeral related arrangements, but mostly people fail to get the most out of them since they are not aware of their rights.

They are not aware of the services that funeral directors are responsible for rendering.

In this post, we have summed up some important funeral services that these professionals can offer.

Types Of Services Where They Can Be Immensely Helpful-

Experts say that apart from helping you arrange prepaid funeral plans, these funeral directors can help you in several other services such as –

• A gathering or visitation
• A religious ceremony
• Burial or placement in a final resting location (committal)
• A luncheon, brunch, or wake

Amongst all these services, gathering is something that can be held on the evening before the service or on the same day, but before the services. As far as the religious part of the ceremony is concerned, experts say that it can be held at the funeral home or at the desired place of worship of the family of the deceased.

Once religious services are over, the role of the funeral director is to direct the procession to the graveside, where the casket is lowered and the body is buried. If the family had opted for cremation, the ashes also known as cremains have to be buried and this can also take place right at that time only. With cremains, the family has some other options to keep the ashes at the home or scatter it in the fields or what the deceased wished for.

In all these events, the attendees can be a part of the funeral ceremony by sharing the memories of the deceased and this can be submitted in the form of a eulogy as well.

Top Three Kinds of Funeral Services Offered By Funeral Homes

Since people are different and so are their religious beliefs, it is obvious that their ceremonial methods too would differ a lot. This includes the rituals to be carried out after the death of someone. This is the reason why a funeral home should be hired straightaway because they hold expertise in all kinds of funeral ceremonies of different religions and beliefs.

Based on your requirement, they can offer one of the following types of funeral services.

Traditional Religious Funeral Service:

• The traditional style of funeral would mainly include a series of ceremonies and the main one is the visitation that includes viewing of the body in the casket.
• During this ceremony, the religious leader chosen by the funeral home near me will conduct the funeral, which can include prayers, music and songs, and eulogies.

Keep Reading: Funeral Directors Tell Two Pre-Planning Mistakes to Avoid

Non-religious Humanist Funeral Service:

• This one is almost identical to the one discussed above, but the only difference in this kind of service is that throughout the ceremony, no god is referred to or any such religious rituals or belief.
• This type of ceremony mainly includes celebrating the life of the deceased, thanking him for everything and telling him that we love you and you’ll be missed.
• The main focus of this type of ceremony organised at a funeral home is to offer tribute to the deceased and telling him that you’ll be missed for the rest of your life.
• The service may also include a moment of silence, allowing attendees to reflect on the life of the celebrant.
• According to the experts, this kind of ceremony is an ideal choice for families who consider all religions equal and also for those having intimate memories of his or her life shared during the service.

Read more: Tips for Finding Funeral Directors to Help in Cremation Services

Direct Cremation Service:

• In this type of ceremony, the visitation is not done beforehand and the body is disposed at the crematory.
• This is a very affordable method of funeral ad growing enormously in popularity because of several reasons related to the environment.

Coffin Or Casket – What Is Used More In Christian Funerals?

A very important part of the process of Christian funerals is arranging a casket or a coffin. Some people don’t know the difference between them and what they are concerned about is only that they have to get one.

This is why we have written this post that helps you understand these two separate things and the difference between them.

Coffin vs. Casket – What’s the Difference?

According to the experts of funeral homes, there are several differences between them and a major one is that the coffins are wider at the top, around the shoulders and taper down towards the feet.

On the other hand, there are caskets that are more rectangular in shape and often have a split lid. The main advantage of this lid is that only half of the lid or cover can be opened for viewing and other process during Christian funerals.

Which Is More Popular In Australia?

The experts of reputed funeral homes will help you with Christian funeral service outline process and always recommend you to go with a coffin.

The same is more popular in Australia and so much that 80 out of 100 people choose a coffin over a casket.

There are no reasons researched or studied about the same and people say that they choose what their forefathers picked for their forefathers.

Is There Any Difference In The Price Of Coffin And Casket?

The cost of a coffin is much lower as compared to the cost of the casket and this might be another reason behind people preferring them over caskets.

However, the reason given by them, i.e. mentioned above sounds more realistic and primary than this price factor.

The shape of a coffin is octagonal and hence, less material and effort as well as time is consumed in its manufacturing and this fact makes them more cost-effective.

Do you know how arrangements are made in different Christian Funerals.