Your Welham Jones funeral arranger will guide you through all the arrangements for both types of funerals, and help you decide between them if the deceased did not specify which they would prefer.
A funeral is a deeply personal event, so our team at Welham Jones will help your decisions by making suggestions based on our experience, whilst encouraging your input and ideas.
Choosing between a burial or cremation may depend on your religious or personal beliefs or those of the deceased. Orthodox Jews, the Greek Orthodox Church and Muslims do not allow cremation.
According to the Cremation Society of Great Britain, 78% of the UK population is cremated after death. Cremation is a more affordable option than burial, due to the shortage of burial space available. Your funeral director can advise on local costs.
There are several other factors you might wish to consider, which we have outlined below. If the deceased has not specified their wishes, then we can help you make this difficult decision.
The service
You can choose to have no service at all (unattended) or to have a burial service (attended).
If you decide upon a service, then these will often be:
Where the burial takes place
The burial will take place on the same day as the service.
Burials taking place on the same site as the service
After the service, your funeral director will lead the pallbearers in carrying the coffin out to the graveside, followed by the family and sometimes the congregation.
Burials taking place at a different location from the service
The funeral party follows the hearse to the burial location. Other mourners may:
The committal
The minster or celebrant will often say a few words before the committal and lowering of the coffin into the grave. Relatives can then add earth or flowers to the coffin as a last act of respect.
Grave memorials
You can arrange a memorial for the grave at a later date to be placed on the grave after nine to 12 months, when the ground has settled.
The service
You can choose to have no service at all (unattended) or to have a cremation service (attended).
If you decide upon a service, then these will often be:
The committal
The end of the service is known as the committal. You can choose to have the coffin hidden by curtains during the committal or remain on view at this stage.
After the service
Your funeral director will lead close family and then mourners out of the chapel, to view floral tributes and greet funeral guests.
The cremation
This usually takes place on the same day as the cremation service. Close family can witness the charging of the cremators, if required by some religions.
Peace of mind
An identity card is always kept with the coffin and, in accordance with the Cremation Code of Practice, the coffin is always cremated with the body. The ashes are kept with the identity card with the Cremation Certificate when they leave the crematorium.
After the cremation
We can help discuss options for laying the ashes to rest and look at urns or memorials, if desired.
You will need to choose a coffin or casket for burial. If you opt for a woodland burial, you will need to choose a ‘green’ coffin built from renewable materials.
Burials are generally more expensive than cremations, unless your family already possesses a grave with unused space in a cemetery, or your parish church has an open churchyard.
If the burial is to take place in a local authority owned cemetery outside the deceased’s town or parish, this will cost more.
We can arrange to re-open existing graves, including the removal and replacement of an existing memorial.
It is worth bearing in mind that there are a growing number of woodland burial sites available, should burial space be an issue.
You might also want to consider purchasing additional graves in a cemetery where all your family can be buried together.
You will need to choose a coffin or casket suitable for cremation.
We have a wide range available, suitable for all tastes and budgets.
Cremation is generally cheaper than a burial, as burial grounds are becoming limited in availability.
(The final cost will be determined by how much you wish to personalise the event.)
Additional paperwork by way of a medical certificate is legally required. For example, if the deceased had a hip replacement confirmation will be needed that this is compatible for the cremator. One form is completed by the family and the other by the deceased medical practitioner or hospital doctor. All of these are arranged by the funeral arranger.
Some crematoriums are located further away, and this might cause difficulty for some people travelling to the venue. A solution is to hold a church service first, to include a ‘lych-gate’ committal, so that everyone who wishes to may attend.
You will need to decide what to do with the cremated remains (ashes).
Until you decide, we will keep the cremated remains for you at no additional cost.
You may choose to purchase an urn to keep or bury them in, or scatter them in a place of significance. Many churches and cemeteries also have memorial gardens as a final resting place for the ashes.
Dear Rosanna and everyone at Welham Jones, Thank you for everything you did to help plan our mum’s funeral. Not only did you provide an excellent service but also showed so much kindness and compassion. Especially Rosanna, who spent so much time going through everything to make sure I understood. She then regularly checked in with me before and after the day. I will never forget the support she gave me during the worst time of my life. Love Alice and family.
Alice
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