Burial Services
People often confuse not having traditional earth burial as not having a funeral. Even if a family chooses cremation over traditional earth burial, they can still have a meaningful memorial service.
Cremation or Burial
This is one of the major decisions that needs to be made when a death occurs and it usually depends on a variety of things. If the family has traditionally chosen burial in previous generations, they may decide to choose earth burial as the family might own plots together in a local cemetery. Furthermore, a family may not like the idea of cremation and opt for burial. There are certain costs associated with burial. Some of them include casket selection, plot within the cemetery and headstone in the cemetery. Each cemetery is governed by their own board of directors therefore prices and guidelines differ from one cemetery to the next.
"Disposition" is the term used by the funeral industry to describe the final handling of the deceased's remains. Although your initial decision for the disposition of the body is between burial and cremation, there are several variations on each.
Burial Choices
- It can be interred (earth burial)
- It can be entombed in a crypt within a mausoleum (above-ground burial)
- It can be buried at sea
Reasons For Choosing Burial
- Burial is traditional within your family, religious group, or geographical area.
- You may have a monument on the grave
- The ability to visit loved ones in the days/years to come
Decisions You Must Make If You Choose Burial
- Whether or not the body is to be embalmed
- Which kind of casket (Wood or Metal)
- The requirements of the cemetery
- Which cemetery to use
- What kind of plot
- What to put on the gravestone