A funeral ceremony is an event, where the physical elements such as coffin, cars, place and flowers are matched with the content for the atmosphere you want to create. By making the ceremony integral to the whole process of arranging a funeral, the family can draw on its own traditions to create a personal experience to say their farewells.
You may want the tradition of a church funeral. The beauty and atmosphere of churches, the liturgy, the act of singing together, radiate a sense of ancient ceremony and ritual bringing comfort to many, and this may be enough.
But you can personalise the tradition by engaging the family and mourners during the ceremony, maybe by inviting them to light a tealight and place it on the coffin, weave a flower into a woven coffin or to leave their places and look at the pictures and messages written on a cardboard coffin. These small things are what make the service memorable and help people feel involved.
You may want a more simple low key ceremony at a crematorium. Or a service at a natural burial ground or another local venue in Heathfield or throughout East Sussex. This way you can have your service and celebrations at the same place.
Or maybe you would like just immediate family at the burial or cremation, or a direct cremation with no attendance, followed by a big celebration afterwards. Or you may want some space and wait a few weeks or months later for a memorial service. It is your choice.
The Barn, Station Approach, Heathfield, East Sussex, TN21 8LG.
