3 Important Things You May Forget When Making Your Final Arrangements
Have you ever given much thought to how you want things to be handled after you pass on? Do you still need to make final arrangements to ensure that your last wishes are carried out? Too many people neglect to make out a will or a funeral plan, leaving their loved ones to guess at what they might have wanted. While making plans for your own funeral can be sad at first, it can also be freeing to know that everything will be handled the way you want once you pass on. While many people make a list of music or decide where they want their final resting place, there are some things that can be all too easy to overlook. A few of these things are:
Flowers: Flowers can be a nice way of showing respect, but they can also be extremely costly. If you've ever had to send flowers for a birthday, anniversary, or for any other reason, you are probably already aware that even a relatively small arrangement can cost hundreds of dollars. Instead of spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on flowers that may only be used for a few hours, perhaps you might instruct that you would prefer for funeral goers to make a donation to your favorite charity.
Headstones: If you are opting for a burial, now is a good time to start deciding what kind of headstone you want as your marker. Simple headstones can be both elegant and affordable. Larger, figural headstones may cost more but can also show more personality. For example, if you enjoy baking, you might have the back of your headstone engraved with your favorite recipe so that future visitors can still get a taste of your best cookies or your awesome cake.
Coffins: While headstones are always going to be visible above the ground, coffins are obviously meant to be buried. As such, you need to decide whether or not it's actually worth spending the extra money on a mahogany coffin with wire inlays or if a less expensive wood will be just as nice. Some people are even opting to eliminate the casket or coffin almost entirely. The funeral home allows a display coffin to be used for the funeral itself but then the body is moved to a very plain and untreated wooden box for the burial. Since the wood is untreated, this is sometimes considered to be better for the environment, so it may be something to consider if that's important to you.
To learn more about planning elements of your funeral, talk to businesses like Maurice Moore Memorials.