Help and support news

Coffins have had a place in funerals for thousands of years and still play an important part in most funeral services. The huge range of coffins available means that it is possible to consider your loved one’s final wishes, from eco-friendly materials to custom colours and designs.

A memorial creates a focus for memories but with less burials, people are looking for new ways to ensure that their loved ones are remembered.

There are two important venues involved with most funerals: The venue for the service and the venue for the wake. Both should be right for you.

Talking more about death is a good thing, but there is a clear difference between encouraging private, purposeful conversations around the fulfillment of final wishes and idle banter that risks disrespecting the bereaved.

Sending flowers as a tribute to the deceased is less common than it used to be, with many families now asking for charitable donations in lieu of flowers.

Direct cremations, when the deceased is collected and taken directly from the place of death to the crematorium without a viewing or funeral service, are becoming more popular.

A pre-paid funeral plan is an ideal way to plan ahead for your funeral. With funeral prices rising faster than inflation and interest rates, there is no guaranteed that money saved in other ways will pay the costs of a future funeral.

A quick look at the musical pedigree of six of the most popular song choices at modern British funerals.

What clothes do people choose to wear for their own funeral? Do you need to be in your Sunday best, or are attitudes to dressing for our own final send-off changing?

Social media looms large over modern life. But at a funeral, its potential to upset family and friends, both during and after the service, is very real.

Traditionally, there was really only one type of funeral in the UK, but with British society more diverse than ever, funeral formats are far less fixed.

Grief is one of the most powerful emotions we experience as humans and it can be very difficult to discuss a loss with others. Writing is a tried and trusted method for helping people come to terms with the sorrow they feel at the death of a loved one.

Many of the once-strict social conventions surrounding funeral services have relaxed and, along with the choice of funeral music, one of the biggest changes has been in what people wear.