Arranging authentic personalised funerals

Adding a personal touch can make the funeral feel more authentic. At Hansen & Cole Funerals, our experienced funeral directors can help you create a special funeral service as unique as the person who has passed away.

Many people wish to celebrate the life, loves, interests and emotions of the person they knew, while others take comfort in the “goodbye” elements of a certain faith or culture. Some choices will affect other aspects of the service, such as whether a burial or a cremation is required and which cemetery will be used.

Creating a personalised funeral with an authentic feeling can be as simple as including some of the ideas below, or adding your own personal preferences inspired by these ideas or by our Book of Ideas. Even a funeral that follows your faith or culture can have some or all of these special elements, which will make the service more unique and memorable.

Time and venue

• Consider the time of day for the service; perhaps a candlelit twilight service followed by a cocktail party is more reminiscent of the person?
• Choose a venue that reflects the person's life; a golf club, garden, beach, or the backyard at home

Create a theme

• Decorate our chapel with a favourite colour and personal effects
• Ask guests to wear a certain colour, hat or tie - something that reflects the person's style
• Create a colourful photo board to welcome guests when they arrive
• Show a life story through a DVD photo & music presentation
• Make a memorabilia display of personal items
• Musicians playing live music - bagpipes, harp, singer, jazz band or the like
• Release ceremony with doves, balloons or butterflies
• Take-home mementos for guests such as bookmarks, photo cards or a favourite recipe

A special coffin

• Decorate the coffin yourself with hand prints, special messages, signatures or your own drawings
• Have a custom built LifeArt coffin, personalised with photos, prints or scenery of your choice

For the family

• Bring your family pet to the ceremony
• Drive past the family home on the way to the cemetery or crematorium
• Video record or stream the ceremony for family interstate or overseas
• Keep a lock of hair

Military and sports

• Form a guard of honour
• Military honours; RSL tribute with poppies and Last Post included in the ceremony
• Ask team mates or club members to come dressed in uniform or club colours