I planned my funeral when I was 12 years old, I wanted my family and friends to memorialize me in a way that was a reflection of my favorite pastime. It was to be held at my favorite ice cream parlor, decorated with balloons and giant picture of me and everyone was served bubble gum ice cream. My parents thought it was childhood imagination, my friends thought my funeral planning was “cool”. As I look back, it was far from the traditional service held at a funeral home with a casket surrounded by flowers; day long wakes and church services with register books and prayer cards.

During my career as a Funeral Director in San Francisco , I was involved in planning an array of alternative funerals and memorial services and I realized my childhood fantasy was actually a possibility. There are many ways to create a celebration of life. Families that I have worked with have taught me the variety of this religious ritual. Loved ones can opt for burial or cremation. Remembrance services can be inside or outside. Families can plan their own services or they can follow traditional guidelines . Eulogies can be humorous or serious. It can be big or small. It can be formal or informal. Because our society supports freedom of religion, we do not need to conform to someone’s expectation of the “perfect” funeral service. There is no perfect funeral ritual. Each and every person has a unique memorial. It is an important day in our lives, and in our grief. The process of funeral planning can be stressful and daunting, even I, a death care professional, had a difficult time when it came to saying goodbye . I invite families and funeral directors to use this website to freely design a service that reflects the life lived, you will find a variety of ideas for alternative funerals. Funeral planning aids are available for free download, they will make your time more efficient.

Perhaps you have already planned a service and would like ideas on how to better cope with your grief . If you need an idea on how to hold onto your memories be sure to visit our links page for ideas from trusted funeral entrepreneurs. If you are just stopping by for some interesting reading be sure to check out the blog with creative funeral ideas from The Undertaker.

Kellie Gillespie is available in the Atlanta and Southeast region for consultations on funeral planning as well as online chat consultations. Chat sessions are offered in American Sign Language video chat, please inquire about using oovoo.com for your funeral consultation in ASL.