How to Plan a Memorial Service After Cremation
Cremation gives you two popular options to celebrate the life of the deceased. You can choose to have a funeral service or a memorial service. A funeral service comes before cremation, and the body is usually present. But the memorial service comes after the cremation, so the body can’t be present. If you choose direct cremation, you can only have a memorial service after the cremation is complete. Here’s how to plan a memorial service after cremation.
Select an Appropriate Location
Once you decide you want a memorial service, the first thing is to decide on the venue. Choose a venue that has enough space for the expected guests. Consider the possibilities of having catering services and privacy.
You can have the ceremony in a town hall, church, park, hotel, garden, on the beach, or at home. If the deceased had wished to have the ceremony in a particular place, consider the wish first.
The best thing about a memorial service is that you can make your ceremony private. There’s no need to involve a funeral director or stick to a particular time or place.
Invite Guests
Once you have the venue and the date, invite friends and family to the memorial. If some family members live far away, give them enough time to make the travel arrangements. Otherwise, you can have several memorials in separate locations.
Unlike a traditional funeral, which has to happen within a week, a memorial can wait until all family members are present.
Plan Activities for the Memorial
There’s no fixed procedure for how to conduct a memorial. But most services have speeches, music, prayers, and a specific dress code. If your deceased loved one had wishes about such an event, consider accommodating their wishes. Otherwise, consult with the family members on what to include in the memorial service.
In cases of time constraints, select a few people who will deliver keynotes. You can also decide ahead of time what kind of music to play. Finally, consider giving the service a personal touch to reflect what the deceased loved one liked to do.
Now that you know how to plan a memorial service after cremation, the next thing is to decide what to do with the cremated remains.
Here are a few suggestions:
What You Can Do with Cremated Remains
The cremation option allows you to choose what to do with the ashes. Some of the popular ways include:
- Scattering them – You can spread the ashes in a place that has significant meaning to your family. It can be a beach, park, or private property for which you have permission.
- Keeping the ashes at home – Some people prefer to keep their loved ones’ ashes at home in order to remember them.You can decide to keep them for a while and scatter them later.
- Burying the cremated remains – You can bury the remains in a cemetery or a home garden the same way you would bury a casket.
- Dividing the ashes – Some people choose to split the ashes among family members, especially when they don’t live in the same area. If you decide to divide them, you can have them made into jewelry.
A Memorial Service Allows You to Heal
A memorial service plays a significant role after losing a loved one. Spending time with family members and sharing memories allows you to grieve and heal quickly. From there, it becomes easier to accept the loss and move on.
If you’re thinking of choosing cremation as your end-of-life option, Florida Family Cremation can help you. We provide affordable cremation services in Clearwater, including simple cremation and veterans’ services.