Why Have a Memorial Service Instead of a Funeral?

The responsibility of putting together a loved one’s final arrangements is often a difficult and stressful task. You’re already dealing with the loss of a person you cared for, and you are just beginning the grieving process. To have to make such important decisions on top of that is not easy. If they have chosen cremation services near Glenview, IL, as their method of disposition, you will have a few different options for their services. This could range from a simple, direct cremation to a having a full viewing and funeral prior to cremation. Many families will do something in between, having their loved one undergo cremation and planning a memorial service at a later day. Here are some reasons why you might wish to do this for your loved one. 

The main difference between a funeral and a memorial service is whether the bodily remains of the deceased are present or not. At a funeral, the person’s body is typically held in either an open or closed casket throughout the service. Afterwards, they are transported either to the cemetery for burial, or to the crematory. For this reason, a funeral must take place relatively soon after the person’s passing. It often requires embalming services as well, particularly if a viewing is to take place. On the other hand, a memorial service takes place without the person’s body present. It can look very similar to a funeral in every other way, although it doesn’t have to. 

Many people choose to have a memorial service for their loved one because of the extra freedom it allows for planning. Rather than being constrained to the week or so after the person’s death, you can preplan a memorial service for any time in the future. Maybe they wanted their services to take place outside, or somewhere during the warmer months. Perhaps there is a lot of family and friends who live far away, and they need extra time to make travel arrangements. It could be that you want to include a scattering ceremony with the memorial service, and need to be able to plan around the desired location. Whatever the reason may be, by choosing to have a memorial service instead of a funeral, you allow yourself that extra time to make arrangements. It can also relieve some of the stress from you and your family’s shoulders, by not having to make those snap decisions in the midst of processing your loss. 

To learn more about your options for funerals and memorial services, you can get together with your provider of cremation services near Glenview, IL. They can give you advice on which path might be better for your family, and they can also help you to make the arrangements that you need. If you don’t want the pressure of preplanning a funeral in the days after the loss of your loved one, you might consider putting together a memorial service later on, instead. That way, you can take the time you need to plan a meaningful tribute to their memory that family and friends can attend. Talk to us.