Comforting. Resonating. Authentic
Planning
The task of planning a loved one’s funeral service may feel overwhelming.
A funeral service is a very important step in the grieving process. Prior planning significantly reduces stress when grieving.
Providing peace of mind, support, choices, and a ceremony that reflects your loved one’s personality, beliefs, and lifestyle.
The funeral service is an important step in the grieving process.
A funeral service is an opportunity to gather, to share in grief, to remember, and to celebrate the deceased person’s life.
Each person’s life deserves a ceremony that represents who they were. This can be achieved through the written word and the presentation of the service. This includes finding the best structure, rituals, enactments, music and symbolism that will reflect the personality of your loved one in a meaningful way for family and friends.
The venue can be traditional, like a church or the funeral home. Alternatively, you can use your own home, the local hall, community venue, sports venue or somewhere in the great outdoors.
Together we can discuss a range of possibilities. Ideally allow 2-3 hours to talk about your loved one, looking at photos, share stories, plan and organise.
How can we best pay tribute to your loved one?
Funerals are life-centred or personal. They recognise and paying tribute to the life of the deceased person.
You have a range of options to consider when planning a fare well for your loved one. There’s no obligation to put on a “cookie cutter” style ceremony that has been repeated many times before.
It is often the little things that make a big difference to how you personalise a funeral in an authentic and meaningful way. Let’s consider some options:
The venue
traditionally these are a funeral home or a church.
The venue can be anywhere you would like it to be, e.g. the golf club, community centre, yacht club, rugby club, a beautiful garden, a beach, a crib, the local racetrack, chess club, woolshed or your own home.
Music
Everyone’s music preference is different, so this is a fabulous way of honouring the deceased. The music can be recorded or played live.
Meaningful rituals or enactments
A simple but beautiful way to involve specific people or everyone present.
Telling the story through a eulogy, tribute, singing, readings, poetry, and favourite music. To name but a few.
Photography at a funeral.
Photography is a way of capturing life’s many milestones. Usually there is a focus on the happy, joyful milestones.
Funerals are also a milestone. They can be significant and poignant.
A time of deep sorrow and grief intertwined with love, compassion, and sensitivity.
Photography is an opportunity to capture the special moments during the ceremony and wake.
A sensitive photographer will capture all of this with discretion and professionalism. Giving the family time later to look back over the photos, share memories and stories anew, providing time for healing in the days, months, and years ahead.
“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever … it remembers little things. Long after you have forgotten everything.”
[Aaron Siskind]