How to arrange a funeral service

It can be a very stressful time to arrange a funeral when a dear friend or loved one dies (or may pass soon). You have the responsibility but you may be grieving while making the funeral arrangements for someone you care about.



To make this difficult time easier for you we have some details:

  • Take your time

    You have lots of decisions to make, do so when you feel ready to cope.  Don’t feel pressured.

  • Take care of your love one

    They need to be transported into the care of a funeral director, however, don’t worry at this stage, you can choose later which funeral director you would like to use for the funeral service (your loved one can then be transferred).

  • Check if there are any pre-arrangements

    A pre-arranged funeral plan may have been left by your loved one. This will normally specify the funeral service provider that your loved one selected. If there isn’t a pre-arranged plan, you can choose who you’d like to arrange the service.

  • Select a funeral service

    There are many options to choose/select, from a coffin, to which venue should be used.  Sadly when meeting with a funeral director, there may be pressure to make expensive selections, even if the wishes of your loved one were just to have something simple.  We’d suggest reviewing options at home online or over the phone so that you can make choices without any pressure (we created both funeral service packages and our online price planner so you can see all the costs without any pressure).  Key choices are burial or cremation, and the venue.  Different venues provide different services, for example, some venues have a ‘non-attendance’ option. Others, have reduced costs for running the same service in a different local area.


    When you feel ready, speak to a qualified funeral director to arrange your service.

  • Cemetery arrangements

    If your loved one is to be buried, you will need to meet with officials of the selected cemetery to purchase the location (for example a grave plot, crypt or urn niche).  A funeral director can do this on your behalf.

Note: Your chosen funeral director will share a deeply personal moment in your life that you will never forget. Feeling comfortable with the funeral director we feel is one of the most important elements. You’ll feel more at ease because they're at the funeral, comforted that they’ve respected your wishes and supported by their personal care.

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