You have seen the adverts on the television, selling you attended cremations, unattended cremations, life insurance to pay for your funeral service and ceremony that is bespoke to you. Is that your experience??? It really could be!
The chap who loved bikes, yes he does get a sidecar hearse, but my questions are, where is the motorbike cavalcade, where are his friends in their motorbike jackets and why is the celebration of life not being held in a motorbike cafe? Where is the beautifully bespoke ceremony, where we tell the amazing life story of a man who loved bikes and his family, and friends? All possible, and not hard to do.
The lady who has loved to dance her whole life - there are no suggestions of what will be offered to her. Well how about arriving at the venue (maybe a nightclub, closed at the time of the ceremony) in a party bus playing her favourite tunes. When she arrives in the nightclub maybe the first song is played and a flash mob starts to welcome her to her celebration of life. A life that has been unique, non-traditional, colourful, spontaneous and full of love.
With a little thought and imagination planning the ceremony of your life, or your loved one's can truly be anything you want it to be.
Planning a unique celebration of life can be a great way to honour the memory of your loved one. Here are some tips to help guide you through the process:
1. How would you like to celebrate the life of your loved one? Think about their interests and hobbies, how they dressed, did they have a sense of humour, did they love music? The ceremony needs to reflect them and their unique personality.
2. You do not have to use a church or crematorium for the ceremony - you can celebrate the life of a loved one anywhere: a garden, beach, pub, nightclub, theatre, hotel, barn. The list can go on and on. In Norfolk and Suffolk there are so many nice venues and here at Beautifully Bespoke Ceremonies we are working with local venues to offer a real choice to families.
3. Create a meaningful ceremony. You can of course do this yourself, but we would encourage you to engage an Independent Celebrant. They will help you to consider incorporating music, readings, and speeches that reflect the life of the deceased. They will co-create a unique beautiful ceremony where you can include rituals such as: a candle lighting ceremony a sand ceremony, a flash mob, dancing, sing-a-longs or any cultural rituals.
4. We would encourage everyone to talk to their families about their funeral/ celebration of life. We acknowledge that people do not always like discussing their death. If there has been no discussion, think about what your loved one would have wanted. Talk to family and friends to get a better sense of how they would want to be remembered.
5. A unique ceremony can be as long or short as you see fit. You may like many people to share their memories with everybody listening, or you may want a shorter ceremony so people can share their thoughts in an informal way.
6. Technology is an amazing way to involve more people. It could be through the use of photos, video, music live streaming, or creating a memorial web page.
7. Don't forget to take care of yourself. It's important to take care of your own mental and physical health during this difficult time. Make sure you take time out to do activities that make you feel relaxed and at peace.
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Much Love Jules, in Sunny Suffolk