Let Us Help You Celebrate Your Wonderful Life
It’s also the last opportunity to celebrate the life of someone special to you.
If a loved one has died and you’re planning a funeral, don’t be limited by tradition. History needn’t dictate the Venue or Ceremony style.
Funerals are changing to reflect your increasing desire for more celebratory Services. We offer a range of beautiful Funeral Venues across Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula.
There are many ways to honour your loved one with reverence and dignity. Let us support you in planning a respectful, loving yet special celebration of life funeral.
When planning with your family, here’s a list of 15 tips for arranging a Celebration of Life Funeral.
Choose A Fitting Ceremony / Celebration Venue
Remember the venue is more about the living than the deceased. A Venue that pays homage to the deceased’s interests, but also meets the comfort criteria, is perfect.
In a Celebration Of Life, you may consider venues often used for weddings as opposed to funerals. They are generally bright and more cheerful than a traditional chapel. These Venues can be perfect for this type of service.
Perhaps your loved one was involved in a Club of some type. The Club House may be a perfect location for the service.
Crane Funerals have held Services at:
- Yacht Clubs
- Wineries
- Fishing Clubs
- Wedding Chapels
- Other lovely Venues.
Just recently we held the very first funeral service at the Brighton Golf Club. The members who attended thought it was a great idea.
The possibilities of venue are many and varied. And it’s important to have the family discuss options before a decision is made. Maybe a particular colour was important to your loved one. Maybe a colour scheme at the venue could help add another nice touch.
Number of Mourners
Sometimes it can be difficult, but it is important to estimate a figure. Then you can more accurately determine the size of the venue that you require, as well as other things.
Day / Time of Service
A weekend Celebration may give more people a chance to come to the ceremony. Allow time for the preparation of Tribute DVD’s, music, service booklets, eulogies etc. Postponing the service an extra day or two where possible ensures all details are attended to with a loving touch instead of a rushed hand.
The time of day also may help determine refreshment / wake options after the funeral.
Funeral Notice / Family Tributes – Online and Newspaper
Crane Funerals offers an Online Obituary / Funeral Notice which can be a good way for people to find out while waiting for a notice in a newspaper.
You might consider calling a group of 10 – 15 people from your loved one’s life (relatives, colleagues, neighbours), and in turn ask them to call people they believe might like to attend the service.
Seed Packets
Our printing team can produce packs with your loved one’s photo and planting instructions on the package. This is a special way to spread the memory of a loved one who enjoyed flowers, gardening, or ecology.
Catering
We have an experienced caterer on hand, and our amazing venues have a variety of options to satisfy the fussiest palate.
Everything can be taken care of to allow you more time to spend with your guests:
- Cooking – from hors d’ouvre to a full meal
- Linen and cutlery
- Dishes and tables
- And of course the inevitable cleaning up
Sometimes an after-service function is to be held in the family home. Here something more laid back can be a good alternative. Maybe a barbecue? Or ask guests to “bring a plate” which is a good old Aussie tradition.
Flowers or Donations?
Often instead they request a donation be made to a favourite charity of the deceased. Since a decent bouquet of flowers costs over $50, this can be a much-needed revenue raiser for the charity.
Order of Service booklet
Of course, it’s a good idea to enter the names of the people who will be speaking during the service. You may like to include a favourite poem or saying of your loved one. Maybe a verse from the Bible, or a meaningful photograph or prayer.
These booklets can become quite elaborate but often a heartfelt, simple yet stylish option fits the bill well.
Celebrating Lives with Favourite Symbols
We recommend you consider symbols of a loved one’s life as part of the Celebration.
A favourite book, hat, or object can evoke clear memories of the deceased. Firm reminders of who that person was and what they enjoyed.
Consider too:
- A recipe book or recipe card
- A cherished scarf or bookmark
- Knitting yarn
- Or that doily Grandma always put under the teapot
- A bible opened at a favourite passage
- Or a bottle of Port if Dad enjoyed a “little nip” to ward off the winter chills!
Crane Funerals can assist you in printing copies of your Mum or Dad’s favourite recipe (as long as it isn’t a family secret of course!). Maybe Mum’s chocolate cake that could never be beaten, or Dad’s famous homemade tomato sauce.
Our staff can hand these out to mourners at the funeral as a lasting tribute and to thank them for coming. Every time somebody tries to emulate the recipe fond memories of your loved one will come creeping back for them.
Bubbles / Ribbon Dancers
Balloons have been shown to harm the environment when released, so we don’t recommend that practice.
Bubbles can be just as beautiful to watch float away in the wind. It also gets any kids involved in the service a little more. The bubbles can form an expression of reaching out and up to your loved one as a final farewell.
Ribbons can be an even more engaging alternative. Ribbon “dancers” are beautiful and require people to move around and have fun!
A group of people spinning and twirling a colourful long ribbon following is a sight to see. Kids may enjoy this also. And it can make for a nice “guard of honour” for the hearse to drive away through.
Butterfly & Dove Releases
We are can offer this service to client families through a 3rd party supplier. As well as butterfly releases if required.
Roles for family members / friends
You might like to have greeters at the door in addition to Crane Funeral’s staff. This can offer a little bit more of a personal touch. The Celebrant or Minister of course is an important consideration as they will be person seen the most on the day.
Pallbearers are important when the family choose to move the coffin either in or out of the venue. A clean-up crew might be necessary especially if you have a function at home. Spreading the responsibilities will make the day run more smoothly.
For the bookworms
A bookmark with your loved one’s photo or favourite poem printed on it might also be a nice touch here also.
Remember a hobby
A reminder of this given out to mourners can be a nice remembrance. If the deceased loved chocolate, then maybe you could put a bowl of favourite chocolates on the greeting table along with the funeral sign in book so that those with a sweet tooth could enjoy.
Hearse with a difference
In conclusion
There are many thoughtful ways to personalise a Service.
The possibilities are limitless when it comes to arranging a Celebration Of Life Funeral.
We believe families who personalise their loved one’s funeral can better work through the grieving process. We will always strive to make this special day come together as perfectly as possible and go off without a hitch.
Funerals can be as much a sad experience – or an uplifting, joyful celebration – as you and your family desire.
As one of Melbourne’s leading bespoke Funeral Directors, the funeral you arrange with us is your choice. No strict, long list of “Package” funeral options to wade through and be restricted by.
If you’d like more information, or need immediate no strings attached assistance, now is the perfect time to call (03) 5977 7198 or 0447 727 263
Alternatively, feel free to send us a message via our secure contact form if you don’t need to talk with us on the phone just yet.
D.V.A Pensioners / R.S.L Funerals. Returned service men and women (old or young) deserve nothing less than the very best in professional assistance. You will also receive special considerations / savings on our funerals. Feel free to call to discuss your R.S.L Funeral Services needs with us.
Our Clients Appreciate Our Warmth & Care
Listen To What Our Clients Have To Say
As you are sitting here reading this, you may be wondering how on Earth to cope with a death in your family too. This is the position my family found ourselves in when we lost our sister. We still think of how much peace of mind we lost finding it so hard to make a decision. Imagine how much easier it is, and how much better you’ll feel when you find a Funeral Director who just gets it. We hadn’t been to a lot of funerals as a family but could see that there were a lot of options available. My mother feels that you get what you pay for, and we were leaning towards a large well known Company we’d been referred to. That was when we happened across Crane Funerals. We were so glad we made the call. From the first contact the team helped us so much. They spent the time to get to know us and we knew they genuinely felt for our situation. We didn’t feel this same ‘connection’ with the larger Company we talked to, which really was important to us. Although we hadn’t heard of Crane Funerals before using their services, we were so glad we did. In the event of needing more funeral assistance in the future, our family will not hesitate to use Crane Funerals.
Kathryn, Parkdale.
We prepaid for my parent’s funerals 2 years ago. We chose Cranes based on reviews, and after meeting Damien when he came to discuss options at my parent’s house. When mum passed away recently, we called Damien and it was so reassuring to have him advising us and taking care of arrangements at a very difficult time. He was so patient and helpful in coordinating things and consulted us all the way. He was contactable at any time of the day and responded to calls and messages. The service went so well, and the respect shown by Damien and his team was so appreciated. Financially there was no surprises. My family would recommend Cranes wholeheartedly.
Peter Kennedy, Rye
We attended an RSL Service held by Crane Funerals recently. Everything on the day was done with the utmost respect and professionalism. Their personal service and attention to detail was amazing. Our whole family was so appreciative of the care and support shown by Crane Funerals. They made the whole situation so much easier to deal with and gave us a beautiful sendoff for our loved one, with everything exactly as we wished for and had discussed. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them for any DVA / RSL funeral, or any funeral at all. Thank you all again so much.
Frank, Montrose.
It is with much pleasure that I write this reference for Damian Meehan. Damian and I were work colleagues for quite some time with a Melbourne based Funeral Company. I found Damian to be an extremely likeable and caring person. He has built many lasting relationships not only with his work mates, but with the families of deceased persons. Damian has a knack with being able to help people in their time of need. Damian has skills far beyond the basic funeral care. He is a fully qualified embalmer and he takes pride in all his work in the mortuary and on funerals. You can be sure of getting a professional and caring funeral should you decide to employ the services of Damian and his Company. We wish Damian all the best with Crane Funeral Services.
Steve Bell , Somerville, Director, AAA Plaques.
It seems Funeral Directors do nothing but rip people off in their time of need but not CRANE FUNERALS. Damian put our minds at ease by taking over all our funeral problems and leaving us to mourn. After a sit down with him we felt a great weight life off our shoulders. The care he showed just put us a little more at ease. We knew it was going to be a hard time but somehow we managed to get ourselves through. Thanks Damian for all that you did. You went above and beyond what the last funeral director did. You were so caring and patient with us and really took the time to listen to what we wanted. We will never be able to thank you enough.
Annabelle, Wheelers Hill