Choosing the Type of Funeral

Choosing the type of funeral can be difficult. You want the very best for your family member or friend, but – if they’ve not left any instructions or discussed their wishes – it can be hard to know where to start. We’re here to help in anyway we can, you can contact us anytime on 0800 996 1927.

How soon you hold the funeral is up to you, there’s no rules about how quickly things need to be done. Sometimes there are religious reasons for holding the funeral within a certain time, and in such cases we’ll ensure that things happen as quickly as possible. Equally, if you’d like the funeral to take place later – perhaps to give relatives time to travel from overseas or to give you more time to make arrangements – this can also be arranged.

The Type of Funeral

One of the first things that you’ll need to consider when choosing the type of funeral, is what sort of service to hold. Many people leave instructions about what they want – some even supply a list of songs they’d like played or specify where the funeral tea /wake should be held – but if they haven’t, then we can help you plan something fitting based on what you know about them. If they were religious this may help shape your choices, as most people wish to respect the beliefs of the person who has died, even if they do not share them.

Of course, not everyone is religious and it is just as important to respect someone’s lack of religious beliefs. If they were not religious, a secular service may be the most appropriate choice – this is easy to arrange and is becoming an increasingly common choice.

We will arrange as much of the service as you want us to, from booking the date and time to arranging funeral flowers, printing orders of service booklets to helping to write a newspaper notice if required.

Burial or Cremation?

Many people make their views on if they want to be buried or cremated clear before they die, so it may simply be a case of honouring those wishes. If nothing has been specified and there are no other factors, such as religious requirements, that need to be observed, it is simply a case of choosing the type of funeral you feel is most appropriate.

If you choose a burial or cremation we are here to help you with all the arrangements, we’ll talk through the options available to you, and answer any questions you may have. We deal with all the arrangements, from booking the crematorium or burial, to contacting a church minister or selecting from a range of civil celebrants or someone from the Humanist Society Scotland to take a service.

There are several crematoriums generally used within our office locations, with the majority having a choice of chapel sizes to fit most services. If you’re not sure which one to use we will be able to help and talk you through the features of each one. Most crematoria have cameras so that people who can’t be at the service can watch it via webcast or on a recording later. We can advise if these services are available locally.

If a burial is chosen then you may have an existing burial plot (also known as a lair) that can be used, or a new plot can be purchased. If you do want to use an existing plot, then the burial office will check their records just to confirm a further burial is available in that plot. If you have the details of the plot, such as the location, lair number and the section in the cemetery, this will help and would normally be on the liar certificate if you can find this. If not then the burial office will ask for the name and date of the last person buried so they can locate it.

If a new plot is required then there are only certain cemeteries where these can be purchased, we can let you know where these are at the time, so you can make a decision.