There are several important decisions to make when funeral planning. But by following this funeral planning guide, you can gain a better understanding of our funeral planning services. The main decisions you’ll need to make are your disposition method and the details of the funeral service.

Our staff is here to help you find the best options that fit your funeral needs. When funeral planning, it’s important to think about the best ways to honor your loved one’s life, as well as the best ways to help everyone grieve and honor their life. There is no right or wrong when it comes to personalizing a funeral service.

Every life is unique, so every funeral service should be as well.

Below we’ll lay out the different things to consider when funeral planning and what to expect when funeral planning for the first time.

For your end-of-life arrangements, you can choose burial or cremation. For burial, you can have an immediate burial with no visitation or service, a traditional burial with a visitation and service, or a graveside burial service in addition to or instead of a traditional funeral service. You also can choose to have a private viewing and no public visitation.

As for cremation, you can absolutely have a visitation and funeral service like you would with burial, and we encourage you to do so. Similar to burial, you can have a direct cremation with no visitation or service, a visitation and/or funeral service before the cremation, or a funeral service after the cremation.

Some things to consider when deciding whether a burial or cremation service is right for you is any religious, cultural, or personal beliefs. You also should consider any specific requests by the person whose life is being honored.

For both burial and cremation, we encourage you to have a visitation and funeral service. Not only does this honor the life being remembered, it also gives those who are grieving a comforting and supportive environment to begin their grief journeys. Although grief is different for everyone, the service provides a place for everyone to support one another. 

At the arrangement conference, our knowledgeable staff will help you choose what options best fit your funeral needs. We will provide you with our general price list and payment options so you have a basic idea of the cost of our funeral planning services.

We also will work together to find unique and meaningful ways to personalize the funeral service. By hearing about your loved one’s life story, their personality and interests, and your memories with them, we can write an obituary that reflects who they were and create a funeral service that truly honors their life. So, we ask that you bring along any important information about your loved one for writing the obituary and completing necessary documents.

Your funeral service can be held at our funeral home, a church, or another meaningful location depending on your religious, cultural, or personal beliefs. For the service details, there are many ways to personalize the service, such as with music. If you plan to play music, decide what songs you wish to play. You also want to choose an officiant for the service, pallbearers — if applicable, and who will say the eulogy.

Some other ideas to add a personal touch to the service are the post-funeral food and drinks, memorabilia displays, flowers, service location décor, photos and video tributes, small memorial gifts for the funeral guests such as a poem or memory stone, and any other unique ideas.

Oftentimes, families may choose to have a celebration of life for their loved one. This is like a traditional funeral service, except it’s a more celebratory event than somber and provides more opportunities for personalization.

When choosing a burial service, determine whether you want an above-ground burial in a mausoleum or a traditional in-ground burial. Then, you can choose from our variety of casket options. Also, decide on a gravestone and what text and décor you want on it.

Another option for those who want an environmentally friendly option is a green burial. For a green burial, there typically is no embalming and you use an eco-friendly burial option, such as a burial shro

When choosing a cremation service, we encourage you to have a visitation and funeral service. You can have both of these before or after the cremation takes place. We have a large selection of urn options to choose from, as well.

You’ll also need to decide if you’re keeping, burying, or scattering the cremated remains. We also can place the cremated remains in multiple urns for several family members. If you plan on scattering the ashes, make sure you have permission to do so in your desired location.

After the funeral planning process is complete, it’s time to focus on your grief journey and honoring your loved one. Our funeral home offers a variety of grief resources to help you find healthy ways to cope with your loss. We also can suggest local grief counselors and support groups if you want some one-on-one or group support. Rest assured that our staff will make sure the funeral runs smoothly, so you can focus on grieving your loss and beginning your grief journey.

We also can help you and your family find meaningful ways to honor your loved one’s life. Through memorial products and DIY mementos, you can personalize a memento or create something special to always remember your loved one by. We also can help you plan a memorial service to honor your loved one’s memory on their death anniversary, birthday, or another significant date.

Are you ready to start planning a funeral service? Get in touch with our staff below, so we can begin helping you plan a service that is truly meaningful and memorable.

Although we want to say that you should pre-plan your funeral now, you should do it at a time you’re mentally and emotionally prepared to plan a funeral. However, since death can be an uncomfortable topic, you may never feel completely ready to take on this task, but it still needs to be done.

Another factor that plays a role when your funeral planning is your loved ones. To prevent your spouse, children, or other loved ones from taking on the financial and emotional burdens of funeral planning, you can pre-plan your funeral and express these wishes to them. When the time comes, they'll be grateful that everything is already planned out and can focus on coping with their grief and honoring your life.

By pre-paying and pre-planning your funeral, you can make all your funeral decisions at once. This way, you have more time to choose the funeral details and payment option that is right for you. And, if you change your mind, you can adjust your funeral plans at any time. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions regarding funeral planning or adjusting your current plans.

By pre-paying for your funeral, you relieve your loved ones of that financial burden. If you're unable to make a single payment, there are several alternative funeral payment options to choose from. Our staff is here to help you find the right payment option for your financial situation.

Pre-paying also protects your family from any future inflationary trends. You can rest assured that your funeral cost will stay the same, no matter the rising costs of inflation. This also saves you and your family money in the long run. Instead, those saved funds could be put toward a memorial or donation to a charity that you’re passionate about.

No matter your financial situation, our staff has the knowledge and experience to plan a funeral for all budgets. Whether it’s an elaborate celebration of life or a more intimate, simple service, we’re here to help. Please contact us to discuss your funeral pre-payment options.

Our staff at Otto Redanz Funeral Home are happy to help you pre-plan a funeral service that honors your life and will help your loved ones on their grief journeys. We’re proud to serve Niagra Falls, NY and  surrounding areas, and look forward to many more years of honoring lives and supporting those who are grieving.

When working with our caring and knowledgeable staff, they will help you craft a funeral service that truly reflects who you are. By learning your interests and the little details about you, they can assist you in pre-planning a personalized funeral that fits your wants and needs.

If you have any questions or are ready to start pre-planning your funeral, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. One of our staff members will be happy to help you start this process and discuss your funeral pre-planning and pre-paying options.