Families
Death is difficult and the resulting decisions are equally arduous and daunting. In some cases the decedent has left little or no direction to the surviving family. However, in most cases the decision to cremate or bury has already been made. The question is where, when and how much. What are the next steps and what are my choices to celebrate the life lost. No two lives are the same but the celebration will generally take on a traditional or non-traditional path. To a family, tradition refers to customs when dealing with life events; however, we consider traditional as in-ground burial and non-traditional as cremation.
Decisions
For either traditional or non-traditional celebrations you should consider the importance of the grieving process and the level of serice you expect from the funeral home. Knowing what you want and your tolerances will assist you to realize your vision and understand your budget. Refer to the accompanying refence material.
For traditional burial you will need to consider where the decedent will be buried, the level of service, the casket the burial vault ad the grave marker. The burial vault is protective barrier into which the casket is placed for protection to/from natural and man made elements. Levels of service are personal services the funeral professional provides. It may vary from embalming and chapel service to limousines, graveside tents and interment services. Each are additive and complete the overall experience and impression.
For non-traditional services you will need to make decisions for three containers: the displaying unit, the urn and the urn vault. If you have no intent of visitation you will still need to acquire a unit for transportation and use at the retort. The urn vault is the protective holder for urns. If you have no intention of burying the cremains then you made avoid the selection of an urn vault. You should know that most cemeteries require an urn vault as urns were not designed for endurance.