Cemeteries

It is often assumed that funerals can only be undertaken by a funeral director, however this is not the case. Although a funeral director will be invited to organise the majority of funerals, some people prefer to organise funerals themselves.

The funeral director typically organises the funeral by collecting and moving the body, arranging embalming and viewing of the deceased, providing a coffin, hearse and other elements. Carrying out these services relieves the bereaved from doing what they may feel are unpleasant and difficult tasks. Ultimately, the funeral director must operate commercially and in charging for his or her services, funerals can be expensive.

Some people do not wish to use a funeral director for a wide variety of reasons, such as:

• they may feel that passing the body of a loved one over to strangers is wrong
• some feel that personally organising a funeral is their final tribute to the deceased person
• the family may simply wish to save money by doing everything themselves
• they may have used a funeral director on a previous occasion and found the experience unsatisfactory
• some may feel that funerals arranged with a funeral director are routine and processed, and may desire an innovative and different approach