The funeral industry has changed in recent years, and more people are taking a personal approach to funeral planning. One reason for this change is that more families are choosing cremation over burial.
Choosing cremation allows families to be more flexible when selecting a time and place to say goodbye to their loved ones. This enables them to plan a more personal funeral than the more traditional ones of the past.
Choosing cremation makes it easier to hold an end-of-life service at an outdoor or unconventional venue. Not having the body present simplifies the funeral-planning process.
However, some families still want to plan a traditional funeral for their loved ones. They may have religious reasons for doing so, or they may feel comfort in saying goodbye to their loved one in the same method as they did members of the previous generations of the family.
Can you choose cremation and still have a traditional funeral service? Yes, you can choose to have both a cremation and viewing. Here are some cremation options to consider.
1. Cost-Effective Traditional Funerals with Direct Cremation
The most cost-effective method of disposition is a simple or direct cremation. A simple or direct cremation can be pre-arranged and pre-paid through Smart Cremation.
Once death occurs, a professional removes the body from the place of death and transports your loved one to a cremation center. Sometimes, the close family members who were not able to see their loved one at the place of death may be able to view the body at the cremation center before the process begins.
Once the cremation occurs, the cremated remains are returned to the family members.
The family can plan any type of funeral or memorial service that they wish. They can host a visitation for friends and extended family members to gather and offer condolences, which may be followed by a formal funeral or memorial service.. The cremated remains of the deceased may or may not be present at these services. This may be followed by either an interment or scattering ceremony, where the cremated remains are placed in an eternal home.
This traditional funeral after a direct cremation is more economical than a traditional service that includes a burial. Urns are less expensive than caskets, and burial plots or columbarium niches for urns are less costly than burial plots for caskets. You also have no need to pay for the expensive transport of your loved one’s remains from the memorial service venue to the place of burial.
This type of funeral appeals to those who wish for a traditional funeral at the lowest cost possible.
2. Traditional Funerals Followed by Cremation
Cremation can follow an open-casket visitation and traditional funeral, but it can be rather expensive.
If you wish to have the body present at the visitation (also called a viewing or wake), the body first must be embalmed. There is also an additional cost to have the body prepared for the viewing.
Some facilities allow families to rent caskets for this use, which adds to the funeral cost. Lower-priced cremation caskets are not intended to be displayed, so they are not suitable for open-casket visitation.
If the body is transported at any time during the traditional funeral (from the funeral home to a place of worship, for example), the family must pay for the use of the hearse and the driver.
Once the open-casket visitation and traditional funeral are over, the body is transported to the crematorium. This means that those gathered to say goodbye to the deceased must find another time to meet later if they wish to be present when the cremated remains are placed in an eternal resting place.
Can you have a visitation or viewing and traditional funeral and still have your loved one cremated? Yes, you can. The most cost-effective way is to have the cremated remains of your loved one present at the traditional funeral service. Purchasing a package through Smart Cremation is a cost-effective way to have a traditional funeral.
Do you have questions about Smart Cremation? Visit their website and connect with a staff member through the online chat option. Also, submit your contact information on the website, and you will receive a free cremation planning guide that will give you more details about the process.
