Choose A Cemetery Near Church End Or Change Borough Below
The majority of cemeteries are run by the local authority in each borough. It is important to know that: with the exception of private cemeteries where any person may be laid to rest
Burial prices are complex and will be charged differently for residents/non-residents
Private cemeteries permit any person to be buried in their cemetery
The prices shown here are for residents of Brent, though you can change the borough below
The information in each section is intended as a guide to give you an idea of what is possible. By no means are most of these requirements and if you have any questions regarding this information or anything else, you can contact our team at any stage
Our team is on hand to guide you through the full process whenever you need us. We will provide you with expert local knowledge and advice across Brent and surrounding areas, as well as coordinating as much of the cremation planning for you as we can
The funeral procession route to the funeral is entirely at your discretion. Our team can meet you directly at the funeral location or alternative you may wish to include:
Meeting at your home first & following the hearse
Inviting neighbours/friends to come and pay respects
Driving past their favourite pub or local landmark
Keeping it simple and meeting directly there
Limousines
We can provide chauffeur driven limousines to transport up to six family and friends within each vehicle. Our cars will take you to any requested location after the funeral.
FUNERAL PLANNING
Funeral Officiant
A funeral officiant will help you to plan and create the service content for your love one’s funeral. They will spend time listening to you, learning about your loved one and building a structure for the day. We can help you to find a suitable a person. This may be a:
Religious Officiant: Such as minister, vicar or priest who will lead a specifically religious ceremony
Funeral Celebrant: A celebrant is non-religious but can include some religious content such as hymns and prayers
Humanist Celebrant: A humanist celebrant will specifically only lead a fully non-religious service
CEMETERY BURIAL
The Paperwork
In order for a burial to go ahead, the required legal paperwork must be submitted to the cemetery at least 3 days prior to the funeral date. We will help you to gather and prepare each of these documents for the funeral.
Death Certificate - Provided by the registrar following completion of the registration process
Certificate for Burial - Often referred to as the 'Green Form' and also provided by the registrar, authorising the funeral to go ahead
Application for Burial - This form is specific to each cemetery and will detail all of the choices for the burial such as the type of grave, size of coffin and the applicant details
Proof of Address - Unless the burial is taking place in a private cemetery, the cemetery will require a proof of address (such as a Council Tax bill) to show that the applicant and/or the person who has died is a resident of the area
CEMETERY BURIALS
The Ceremony
You will always have between 30 and 60 minutes to conduct a service for your loved at the graveside, which is where the committal will take place as the coffin is lowered. Many families also choose to hold a service at a different venue first. This may be the chapel at the cemetery or perhaps a local Church beforehand. Some of this things you may wish to consider for the service are:
Music & Hymns: Traditionally an organist may play however like with all aspects of the funeral, you can personalise this however you wish. It could be your loved ones favourite songs, a live singer, a jazz band or anything you choose. We will coordinate and book all music for you.
Eulogy: This can take whatever format you wish. You may wish to share some of your own personal stories, have people submit some beforehand and have them read out, or offer the opportunity for anyone to speak on the day.
Digital Tributes Depending on the facilities at the venue, you may wish to display a single photo, a slideshow or even to play a video during the service
Poems & Readings You may like to include one of your love ones favourite poems or a specific reading from the bible
Order of Service: Once the content is ready, our team can design and then print your order of service for the day
FUNERAL PLANNING
Carrying The Coffin
Family members helping to carry the coffin can be an important and powerful moment for some people. If requested, our team will provide full support and guidance on the day to anyone who may wish to, so that this can be done in a safe manner. There would need to be either 4 or 6 people carrying the coffin.
Alternatively, of course, we can provide our own professional pallbearers who will carry your loved one's coffin for the funeral. Should a family decide that it is too much for them to carry the coffin on the day, our team will be able to step in and take their place alongside the other bearers.
CEMETERY BURIALS
Headstone and Memorials
Following a burial, we must allow the ground to settle for 12 months before erecting a full memorial headstone. This provides you with plenty of time to consider the wide range of options available. We work closely with a local stonemasons who can advise you on everything from the type of stone, shape of the memorial or the type of inscription.
Temporary Wooden Cross Grave Marker
During the initial 12 month period as the ground settles, we can provide you with a temporary wooden cross to mark the grave. The cross comes with personalised plaque which can detail any inscription you choose.
Lawn Grave Memorial
Some cemeteries have what is known as "lawn grave" sections. This is where the headstones will follow the same or a similar style and are surrounded by a grass lawn area. We have a range of memorials suitable for this style of grave.
Full Headstone & Kerb​
The traditional and most common form of a memorial is the full headstone and kerb in front of the grave. There are lots of different styles and options here so is best to speak directly with a memorial consultant to advise you through
Cremated Remains Grave Memorial
Following the internment of ashes you may also wish to place a smaller memorial on the grave location. There are again many options for these smaller memorials and our team can take you through what is available
CEMETERY BURIAL
The Committal
The final moments as the coffin is lowered into the ground are known as the committal and can be an important moment of closure. Typically this moment may be marked with a specific reading or prayer from your officiant, however there are many ways you may wish to say a final goodbye such as:
Family lowering the coffin: With guidance from our team, your family members may wish to complete the final act of lowering your loved into their final resting place
Scattering Earth: Often after the coffin has be lowered, you may wish to take some soil from the box provided by our funeral conductor and scatter this into the grave
Laying Flowers: Most flowers are placed on top of the grave after it has been filled, however you may wish for attendees to mark the moment by sharing a single flower such as a rose into your loved ones grave
Grave Back-filling: Whilst the filling of the grave is often completed by the cemetery team as we all step aside, at some cemeteries it is possible for family members to back-fill the grave after the coffin has been lowered
FUNERAL PLANNING
Memorial Page
Our memorial pages are a convenient and easy way for you to communicate all of the necessary information about the funeral to everyone attending or following along online. We can create the page for you or alternatively we can provide you with logins to the website so that you can add, edit and update any of the content at any time.
Photos & Tribute:You can share some information about your loved one's life together with a personalised tribute or obituary
Funeral Details: The page allows you to add all of the funeral details and easily share these with everyone who will be attending the funeral
Memories: You can, and others, can share memories at the bottom of the page including photos and stories
Donations: We can add a donation button link for you directly to a just giving page raising funds for your loved one's charity
Live Stream: If you are streaming the funeral live online then we will provide access to the live stream directly from the memorial page
CEMETERY BURIALS
Live Streaming The Funeral
You may also wish to consider live streaming the funeral using our professional streaming service. There are a number of benefits of using this service including:
The cameraman is mobile and can capture the full event including procession and outside the chapel
Able to cover multiple locations including a church service, graveside or venue other than the chapel
Filmed using a broadcast quality and professional camera, with a download copy provided afterwards
We will host and display the live stream of the service directly within your loved one memorial page making it very easy for everyone to access, and without the need for any IT literacy
All paperwork and administrative processes taken care of
When a person dies, the paperwork, admin and everything you need to do can feel overwhelming. We are here to take some of the pressure off and to try and make everything as simple as possible. Our support includes:
Booking with Crematorium, Cemetery or Burial Ground - We will liaise with your chosen venue to book the funeral. This may also include support hold a funeral ceremony at an alternative location.
Liaison with Doctors - If required will liaise with doctors on your behalf for completion of medical cremation certificates known as Cremation Form 4 and Cremation Form 5
Funeral Paperwork - Depending on your choice of funeral, we will also advise and help you to complete the necessary paperwork, such as the cremation application or burial application forms.
Fulfilling Your Funeral Choices - Using our online funeral planning platform, you will be in control to make all of the decisions around the funeral together with your chosen officiant. Once you have confirmed your choices with us, we will liaise with all third parties as required to ensure that everything is in place for the day. This includes everything from a bespoke selection of coffin or hearse, to your choice of flowers or music for the day.