The Funeral Director and the Funeral Planning

Published: 11/30/2009 by Funeral Home Resource Team

When you are planning a funeral, the funeral director will ask the family if the body should be embalmed or not. They will also ask you choose clothing and jewelry for the deceased. Take care in choosing these items and bring them to the funeral home. You may want to choose a favorite outfit or wedding dress. You will be questioned about the burial decisions including whether or not there is a pre-funded cemetery or mausoleum location.



The funeral director will also help you select the casket or container and whether the viewing and funeral will have an open or closed casket. You will also decide the hours that people may call at the funeral home or you can choose to not have specific calling hours for the convenience of family or friends.




When planning the funeral service you will need to consider where the funeral service will take place, when, and if it will take before or after the burial or cremation. www.FuneralHomeResource.com can help you locate local Funeral Homes. If there are any special ceremonies that you will be having at the funeral you need to plan these as well. Some clubs or fraternal orders may provide special ceremonies for the funeral service. If the deceased is a veteran, contact the local Veteran’s association and they can assist you in your planning as well. Most funeral homes have relationships with the Veteran’s Associations and are able to educate you about the specific services they offer.



The funeral director should be made aware of the relationships of people attending the funeral and will arrange the seating. You can also create your own seating arrangement. This is best used in instances when you have conflicts within the family and don’t want the stress of certain members being placed next to each other. During this time you will also choose the type of flower arrangements that will be provided by the family. Some may wish to have a casket spray or lid arrangements. There are a multitude of arrangements to choose from including standing sprays, baskets, or specialty pieces including floral hearts, crosses, bibles or other figures or religions totems.




The funeral director may also suggest setting up items such as a photo album or picture display for a memorial station. Other items may be set up that reflect the interests of the deceased, but it is important to be sure these are appropriate. The funeral director will also show you a set of memorial cards to choose from. These are unique cards printed up to remember the deceased. They usually have the birth and death dates, the pallbearers’ names and a poem or scripture.