Give your loved one the fondest of final farewells in the Highlands – planning a funeral is never easy but it is important to remember it is your way to say goodbye to a loved one
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Planning a funeral is never easy but it is important to remember it is your way to say goodbye to a loved one.
You should think about what they would like as a send-off and what would be a fitting way for you and your family to give a final farewell.
These days many people plan their own funerals so it is important to respect their wishes and arrange a service in keeping with what they have requested.
This could be anything from the colour and variety of flowers, to which hymns are sung or poems recited.
While, of course, funerals will always be sad and emotional occasions, they do not have to be solemn if you do not wish them to be.
Many people make a service a celebration of a life lived – however short or long it may have been.
Attendees can be requested to wear bright clothing rather than black and flowers can be equally colourful.
You can also request that people do not send flowers at all but donate the money they would have spent to your loved one’s favourite charity or perhaps the hospice or hospital that cared for them before they passed.
Services can also be religious or non-religious, such as a humanist funeral conducted by a celebrant, depending on the loved one’s faiths and beliefs.
Discuss your wishes with your funeral director and they can best advise on what type of service could be arranged.
You can then discuss your wishes, such as favourite hymns and prayers with your place of worship, or poems, songs or personal eulogies with a humanist celebrant.
During the Covid-19 funerals were very restricted – in particular the number of people who could attend – however this has now been relaxed. As a result more people can attend services.
Having said that, many people have extended family living abroad who will not be able to attend in person but, in this technological age, it is possible to live stream or video the service.
