During my career as a Funeral Director in San Francisco, I was involved in planning an array of alternative funerals and memorial services and I realized there are many ways to create a celebration of life. Families that I have worked with have taught me the variety of this religious ritual. Loved ones can opt for burial or cremation. Remembrance services can be inside or outside. Memorial plaques are a great idea for gravestones at the cemetery or other outdoor memorial idea. Families can plan their own memorial services or they follow traditional guidelines. Funeral flowers can be incorporated into the service with plants or sympathy gift baskets given as mourning gifts to families. Eulogies can be humorous or serious. The memorial ideas and funeral planning can be big or small. The celebration of life can be formal or informal.

Because our society supports freedom of religion, we do not need to conform to someone’s expectation of the “perfect” funeral service. There is no standard funeral ritual. Each and every person has a unique memorial. It is an important day in our lives, and in our grief. The process of funeral planning can be stressful and daunting, even I, a death care professional, had a difficult time when it came to saying goodbye. I invite families and funeral directors to use this website to freely design a service that reflects the life lived, you will find a variety of ideas for alternative funerals. Free funeral planning forms are available to assist in preplanning and for organizing a personalized memorial service. The funeral planning aids will make your time more efficient.

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Perhaps you have already planned a service and would like ideas on how to better cope with your grief . If you need an idea on how to hold onto your memories be sure to visit our links page for ideas from trusted funeral entrepreneurs. If you are just stopping by for some interesting reading be sure to check out the blog with creative funeral ideas from The Undertaker.

Kellie Gillespie is available for consultations on funeral planning via email, online chat and American Sign Language video chat.