The Marie Curie Cancer Care Bereavement booklet
If you are planning a funeral, our Bereavement booklet includes information on how to help you, including:
- registering the death
- selecting a funeral director
- arranging a funeral without the help of a funeral director
- having separate burial or cremation, funeral and memorial services
- paying for the funeral
- the service
- including children
- including a family member with dementia, a mental illness or learning disability
- associations of funeral directors
- organisations which can provide further information and advice about funerals
- organisations which can provide advice on religious or secular services
The Natural Death Centre is a national organisation that aims to support those dying at home and their carers. It offers advice and information on funeral arrangements, in particular inexpensive, DIY and green funerals and woodland burial grounds. It publishes The Natural Death Handbook, a comprehensive guide to DIY funerals.
Funerals UK provides practical advice on wills and funerals, and information on companies which can provide a wide range of services such as funeral directors, florists, and unusual funeral services or ceremonies, for both conventional and more alternative funerals.
If I Should Die has a section about arranging a funeral, including personalising the funeral and writing a eulogy.
The BBC website provides information about possible options for funerals and links to other useful BBC webpages and external websites.
Funeral in print provides useful information about personalising a funeral service and writing a tribute, as well as offering two booklets - for religious and non-religious services - with a range of poems, readings, songs and hymns.
Some books that may be useful when planning a funeral:
The classic All in the end is harvest is an anthology for those who grieve (editor Agnes Whitaker)
Poems and readings for funerals (editor Julia Watson)
In loving memory (editor Sally Emerson)
We need to talk about the funeral (Morrell and Smith)
“Time to go: alternative funerals – the importance of saying goodbye”
This book by Jean Francis provides over 30 detailed examples of actual funeral services and arrangements – some including traditional or religious elements and others more ‘alternative’ – for inspiration. It also provides contact details for practical information related to each example.
Registering the death
For information about register offices click:
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Associations of funeral directors
The National Association of Funeral Directors and the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors provide information about local members of their organisations.
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For advice on religious or secular services
You will find churches of all major Christian denominations in your local Yellow Pages directory.
The United Synagogue can provide information about Jewish services.
The Muslim Council of Britain will provide details of a local contact.
Contact The Buddhist Society for further information.
The British Humanist Society is a national organisation that can provide an officiant for non-religious funerals as well as advice on organising the ceremony.
Please note: Marie Curie Cancer Care provides links to third party websites where appropriate and is not responsible for the availability or content of any of these linked sites.
