All Articles & Guides / Pre-Planning / How to Start Planning Your Own Funeral
How to Start Planning Your Own Funeral
The first step toward planning a funeral is deciding what type of service or event you’d like to have, along with what type of burial. Here are the types of services and memorials you can choose:
- Funeral service
- Graveside service
- Crematory service
- Memorial service
- Cremation viewing
- No funeral home events
- A private event
- A celebration of life
Additional details of events you can decide on are:
- A viewing – these can be held formally at the funeral home once the body has been prepared, or at a gathering with a cremation urn or memorial photos on display.
- A wake or visitation before the funeral – these are traditionally held at the homes of family members or loved ones.
- A reception after the funeral – held either at the funeral home or privately.
- Any specific religious events
You can also decide what is done with your body. If you are opting for a lower cost, cremation may be the way to go, with some cremations costing as little as $1,000 and affordable urn options. If you’re eco-conscious, you can choose various green burials, or even ocean burials. You can also dictate where you’d like your ashes scattered, or donate your body to help make scientific breakthroughs. Both physicians and even criminal investigators can use bodies for organ transplants, to identify illness or disease, or even to study decomposition to help discover or identify missing persons.
Finances can play a role in how you choose to plan your funeral. A traditional burial organized through a funeral home can include many different funeral costs and can leave your family in debt, since the average costs of burials can be anywhere from a few thousand up to $20,000 or more. Knowing the cost of burials might steer your decision towards cremation and a private viewing at your own home. It may also push you to start a savings account dedicated to funeral costs so that your loved ones aren’t left scrambling financially. Some funeral homes may even allow you to pre-plan and start contributing monthly payments toward your desired services before death.
Don't Forget To Include Details in Funeral Plans
Leaving your loved ones with a dedicated plan down to the personal touches can help you be remembered the way you wish. Here are some additional details you can plan:
- Location of funeral, service, or other events
- Officiants and pallbearers
- Who will deliver eulogies, prayers, readings
- The music you wish to be played
- Any flowers or plants to be displayed
- Photos for display
- Any catering wishes
- Who can attend and anybody you’d prefer not to attend
- Writing your own obituary
Need help organizing your final wishes? Try using our template to add details on how to plan your funeral.
Since death is inevitable, end of life planning should not be considered morbid; however, family and friends may shy away from having conversations about death. Taking small steps to prepare and organize now will make having the conversation with your loved ones easier. It’ll be important to discuss details and decisions with them to prepare them for when the time comes. Plan your last hurrah the way you’d want to be remembered – creating a space for your loved ones to celebrate your life, their memories with you, or to mourn if they need to. A good funeral or memorial will be an event that allows for laughter or tears.
Related Content
