How to Plan a Graveside Ceremony

Video Transcript

"A graveside service in of itself is not very difficult to plan. But there are a lot of, there are a number of elements to that graveside service that you need to consider when planning the graveside service. What type cemetery is involved in this graveside service. Is it a memorial gardens where it has, which has flat markers or tombstones. Which would allow you to cover those and place seatings and tents and individuals to stand. Or is it one that has the upright stones and it is, is it a cemetery that is flat in nature or is it one that's on a hillside that would have difficulty for someone sitting in a chair, placing a tent and those type things. Those are the first things you need to consider. But once you've determined where it would be and what the site will look like, then there's usually, you want to make sure there's adequate number of chairs for any elderly or the older people that may be attending the graveside service. And then the service itself you have to route you a path to bring the casket in from the hearse over to the graveside itself. Then once the casket is placed and the family is there and everyone is seated then you would much like a service in a funeral home chapel you would someone to speak which may be the families minister or the deceased favorite minister. Or someone that is a friend of the family that knows the deceased, someone that could tell some stories or some times that they have had with the person that has lived. To give a little memorialization or some type funeral ceremony held there at the graveside. Once the ceremony part of the service is over with then usually the family will need to decide, do I want to stay while the grave is being serviced, while the casket is placed into the graveside and while it's covered with dirt or would they prefer to leave or maybe just walk around in the cemetery and visit with their friends while those things are being done. Usually part of the service, the servicing of the grave will take anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour for the personal from the cemetery to service that grave. So all of these are the components of the graveside ceremony that you need to consider when planning a graveside service."