How to Plan a Funeral Step by Step

Whether you’re planning funeral service for yourself or a loved one, the process can seem overwhelming. You’ll be faced with numerous decisions, including designing a fitting memorial service, choosing a casket, selecting flower arrangements, and many others. Because Wujek-Calcaterra & Sons, Inc. knows how difficult this process can be for families in Sterling Heights, MI, they offer the following personal planning guide for funeral services. This “How to Plan a Funeral Step by Step” guide is useful when arranging an at-need funeral for a loved one who’s passed, but it can also help you make decisions for pre planned funeral services.

Design the Memorial Service

How do you memorialize a life? This is a question that’s becoming more and more common when a loved one dies. In essence, the service is a chance for family and friends to say goodbye to the deceased. However, it also presents an opportunity to showcase the person’s interests and achievements, which is where personalization comes in. If you or your loved one is religious, having a clergy member officiate the service can be appealing. If you plan on a secular service, you can select a friend or family member that had a close bond with the deceased. Personal anecdotes are a great way to honor to the person you lost. You can also utilize the services of the funeral director, who can help you create a loving and respectful tribute. From there, the choices are largely up to the person planning the service. Some people serve food when the memorial service takes place within the home. You may also arrange readings of written passages that meant a lot to the deceased, such as poems and works of literature. Many families create a collage of photos showcasing the person’s life and passions. You can also have a digital collage or scrapbook playing when guests arrive.

Know Your Disposition Options

The form of disposition of a body refers to things like burial or cremation. These decisions are extremely personal; after all, picking a final resting place is a profound decision for many people, one that is not often taken lightly. The option you choose can also have an impact on price, which is a concern for people planning funeral service on a fixed budget. Final disposition options can include:
  • Earth Burial: With an earth burial, the body is placed in a casket an interred into the ground at a pre-selected grave site. Along with the casket and associated accessories, you’ll also need to choose a grave marker, which is etched with the personal details of the deceased.
  • Mausoleum: This option is similar to earth burial. The key difference is where the body is laid to rest. Instead of being placed in a funeral plot in the ground, caskets are placed in a crypt inside a mausoleum.
  • Natural Burial: A natural or green burial involves wrapping the deceased in an environmentally-friendly covering and placing the body in the ground without being embalmed. The idea is that the body and its covering will become one with the earth again without disturbing the surrounding environment. This option may not be available in all areas, however.
  • Cremation: With cremation, the body of the deceased is exposed to high heat, which breaks it down into ash. Ashes can be placed in a receptacle, they can be scattered in a location chosen by the deceased, or they can be buried. Cremation is often the most cost-effective disposition option.

Determine Whether the Body Will Be Present

If you have a visitation before the service, you should also take some time to consider whether you’d like the body to present. With traditional funeral planning, many people have an open casket, in which the deceased’s embalmed body will be resting. You can also opt for a closed casket, which may be appropriate depending on the circumstances. Even if the body is cremated you can still have the urn present at the funeral service and visitation. Of course, some families prefer not to have the body present at all, and this too is an acceptable option. Wujek-Calcaterra & Sons, Inc. is here to assist you throughout the funeral planning process by answering any questions you might have. Hopefully this “How to Plan a Funeral Step by Step” guide was able to help you. Call (586) 588-9291 today to speak with a funeral director about you or your loved one’s burial needs. You can also get more information by using the online contact form.
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