Information for those considering a direct cremation

Planning end-of-life services can be emotionally and financially challenging, with many legal and practical considerations. Direct cremations can be the most suitable choice for your loved one due to their flexibility and low costs.

Below, we'll cover the emotional and financial aspects of direct cremations to help you make an informed choice.

Significant Cost Savings Compared to Traditional Funerals

Typical costs that drive up the price of traditional funerals include embalming, viewing, an elaborate coffin, a hearse, limousines and processions. Direct cremations offer a more streamlined alternative that is cheaper while keeping everything necessary for a dignified farewell.

Your loved one will be transported in a private ambulance to the crematorium chapel in a wooden coffin instead of a hired hearse before an unattended cremation. Your family will then be handed the ashes to carry out your loved one's wishes.

Greater Flexibility and Control Over Memorialisation

Traditional funerals in churches or crematoriums are normally sombre, formal affairs that can be deeply upsetting for the deceased's family and friends. Without a set ceremony, you can say goodbye in a more relaxed environment that reflects your loved one's personality and wishes.

Whether they want their ashes scattered in their favourite park or kept on a shelf in your home, you'll have the freedom to pursue an individualised approach to honouring their life. If they feel uneasy about a traditional ceremony's formality or religious nature, they'll have peace of mind that they receive the right kind of send-off.

Simplicity and Reduced Stress During a Difficult Time

Your family may experience extreme grief after your loved one passes away, with feelings of shock, numbness, exhaustion and guilt. A long, complicated ceremony can compound some of these emotions and lead to arguments over the best way to respect their life.

By opting for a more straightforward process, your family can avoid the time-sensitive pressures of numerous decisions and focus on supporting each other. They'll be secure in the knowledge that respectful professionals are handling the cremation process before you choose how to say goodbye.

Environmentally Conscious Choices

Direct cremations can offer benefits over traditional burials. While cremation uses a large amount of fuel, the limited amount of space for burials is not a problem with cremation. And afterwards headstones and the perpetual maintenance of a grave site are not needed, conserving green space and avoiding overcrowded graveyards.

Your loved one won't be embalmed with formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals that leach into soil and groundwater. There's also a reduced carbon footprint when manufacturing a less elaborate casket, meaning fewer trees felled and less metal smelting. Using fewer vehicles, like hearses and limousines for mourners, can also lower CO₂ emissions related to saying goodbye.

Aligns with Personal Preferences and Modern Trends

Individuals who favour simplicity and dislike formal events are choosing direct cremations as a gentler alternative to traditional funerals. Cremation is increasingly accepted as a practical, dignified option.

Modern society is embracing more personal, individualised approaches to end-of-life. Direct cremations are well suited to this shifting culture, as they provide the freedom to scatter ashes or select environmentally friendly urns to personalise the experience as well as to say the final goodbye at a time and place of your choice.