At no point should you feel pressured into making any arrangements that make you feel uncomfortable. While some people may opt for embalming, cosmetology, and a viewing or wake, others may simply want a graveside service or a direct cremation; all of these are valid options, and at no point should you feel that the funeral director is pressuring you to add on unwanted services.
If you've formally prearranged your funeral or memorial service with a provider, then you should keep those documents with your other important papers at home—and let your loved ones know of their existence and their location—so they have timely access to them when necessary. If you keep your legal documents in a safe, or offsite in a safety-deposit box, then you should ensure that your loved one(s) also know the safe's combination or can access the key.
Keeping in mind your personal priorities, do further research. Visit the funeral homes’ websites. Ask your family, friends and colleagues for their experiences with any of your choices. You could also check online customer review sites, or ask your local Funeral Consumers Alliance if they have received any complaints about any of them. Then focus your attention on two or three of the most promising choices.
Ask yourself: How important is a convenient location? Do you prefer proximity to your home, place of worship, or cemetery? Is price a critical factor? How flexible is your budget? If you or your family used a funeral firm in the past, how satisfied were you? Do you have special religious or cultural requirements? If you want a viewing or service, will you need a large facility with ample parking, high-tech video screens, or handicap-accessibility? Or is simplicity your first priority?
Tip: At £700, the funeral expenses payment is unable to cover the average cost of a funeral. There are alternatives that may reduce the financial burden, such as a public health funeral or direct cremation. Separating the service from the disposal of the body can be helpful too in allowing people to think creatively about meaningful but inexpensive ways in which a person’s memory can be honoured.
You should also discuss with your provider any religious or cultural preferences that you would like honored. For example, if you desire a secular or non-religious funeral or memorial service, you might like to use the services of a funeral celebrant, which some funeral homes now have on their staffs. Many funeral homes also have experience serving families from diverse cultural backgrounds with their own funeral rites, rituals, and customs.
We strive to be professional, courteous, understanding, and above all, compassionate in our service. When selecting a funeral service, we suggest to our families the three most important items to remember: 1. Every funeral is a dignified funeral; 2. Stay in a price category that you can afford and most importantly, 3. Whoever is paying for the funeral, such as a surviving spouse, they need to maintain their same standard of living or better.
Evangelist Ceola Walker Baker, age 78. Heaven Sent April 3, 1942 and Heaven Bound October 22, 2020. Ceola was born in Birmingham, AL to Samuel Sr. and Sally Walker. Ceola was a member of Miracle Cathedral where she served as an Ordained Evangelist, Church Mother, Missionary, and Mime Ministry. She loved feeding the community with… Read complete obituary here.

