What is a cremation ceremony?
A cremation ceremony is a type of funeral service that takes place at a crematorium, where family and friends gather to say goodbye before the cremation happens. Unlike an unattended direct cremation, where there’s no service or attendees, a cremation ceremony gives people the chance to come together, share memories, play music, read poems or eulogies, and honour the person who has died in a way that feels personal and meaningful.
It’s usually led by a celebrant or religious minister, but how it runs is entirely up to the family, with no set rules or traditions to follow unless they choose to. With Aura, you have a choice of two types of cremation ceremonies: fully attended and intimate funeral.
Intimate cremation ceremonies
An intimate funeral with Aura is a quiet, thoughtful way to say goodbye. It’s a chance for 15 close family and friends to gather for 10 minutes a crematorium’s chapel and pay their respects in a way that feels right.
There’s no pressure for formalities or large crowds. Instead, it’s a personal ceremony usually led by the family, but sometimes by a celebrant or minister. It is shaped around the wishes of the family and the life of the person being remembered.
With gentle support from Aura’s team, it’s a chance to honour someone’s memory with warmth, simplicity, and space to reflect.
Fully attended cremation ceremonies
A fully attended funeral allows for more attendees and more time.
It is an up to forty-five-minute ceremony which may include music, readings, poems and visual tributes. Taking place at a crematorium of your choice, the service is usually led by a religious minister or a celebrant with the family in full control of how the service should run, and the number of guests that can be invited is limited only by the crematorium’s maximum capacity – which is often over 100 people.
What happens at a cremation ceremony?
With Aura, a cremation ceremony gives families the opportunity to create a service for their loved one, that is a befitting tribute to remember them by. It can be a send-off that is as simple or as special as you want it to be.
Working closely with the celebrant or religious minister, if desired, and our dedicated team of Aura Angels, the family chooses how they would like the service to run. There is no funeral director present to influence proceedings, which means that the ceremony is private, special and personal, and it is fully led by either the religious minister or celebrant, or the family.
Loved ones can share photos, video clips, sing and listen to eulogies, funeral poems, songs, hymns or readings. There is no set formula to follow, which is the beauty of a cremation ceremony with Aura.
With no formal procession, hearses or limousines, the person who has died will be taken privately to the crematorium before the service, and will be resting in the chapel when the guests arrive.
How much does a cremation ceremony cost
An intimate cremation ceremony with Aura costs a total of £2,095 which includes the cremation fees, a simple coffin, administration and paperwork support and for a nominal fee, the hand-delivery of your loved one’s ashes to your chosen address. For a fully attended service, it’s £2,695.
The cost for either also includes full Aura Angel support in preparing everything for the ceremony, including uploading your chosen music to the crematorium’s system and helping the family to prepare readings, poems, visual tributes and a eulogy, if that’s what the family would like.
There may be additional costs depending on the circumstances surrounding a death, such as urgent collection fees and oversized or bariatric coffin fees, but our expert Aura Angel support team will guide you through these if they are required.
What’s the difference between a cremation ceremony and a direct cremation?
A cremation ceremony includes all of the services of a direct cremation, including bringing the person who has died into our care at our state-of-the-art facilities, a simple coffin, and cremation fees.
With a direct cremation, there are no attendees and no service to attend, and the family does not have a choice of where the cremation can take place.
A cremation ceremony, on the other hand, includes the option for an unlimited number of guests to gather at a crematorium of the family’s choosing. A cremation ceremony with Aura also includes a roughly forty-five minute service, remembering the person who has died in a special and deeply personal service.
Cremation ceremony with Aura
Here at Aura, we help families to focus on paying tribute to the life of someone they love, in a way that feels right to them.
But we also understand that those first stages of grief after we lose a loved one can bring some of the most difficult days that a person can face. That’s why we have a dedicated, professional team of Aura Angels to guide you through the process from start to finish.
Our Aura Angels will talk to you, listen to you, celebrate life with you, and mourn with you. They will take you by the hand and help you through the process step-by-step, or step back and let you lead the way. In whatever way you need them, whenever you need them, our Aura Angels will be there.
Whether you would like to arrange a simple direct cremation so that you can celebrate your loved one’s life when the time feels right, or a fully attended ceremony to bring the most treasured people together for one final goodbye, Aura is with you.
Choose to celebrate and remember a life in the way that feels personal and true.
