Arranging a Funeral

You may have come to this website because you have a funeral to arrange, now, soon, or further into the future. To do so is a tender task, perhaps bringing up feelings of sadness, loss, confusion, isolation, overwhelm and love.

We aim to help you find the best possible way to say farewell, from the time you contact us until after the funeral.

You will get the time and information to think and explore. You will be given clear costs. You will be as in control of the process as you wish with our support. We accompany and gently guide you through this journey. Whether you are looking for a natural or woodland burial, a church service or Catholic Mass, an informal family run funeral, a crematorium funeral or whatever feels right, we can help.

There’s a number of broad areas for you to think about:

  • Whether the person left any requests or wishes regarding their funeral
  • If a choice has been made between cremation or burial, and where that will take place. We hold many funerals at our beautiful Riverstone Hall by the Dart river.
  • The style of funeral – traditional or contemporary, formal or informal – the coffin, cars, venue, flowers
  • How to make the funeral individual, to reflect the character, values and beliefs of the person, their fundamental nature
  • To what extent family and friends want to be involved, with the arrangements, caring for the person who has died, during the funeral on the day
  • After the event – the wake, memorial stone, ashes, memorial ceremony, bereavement
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    Gentle, Thoughtful & Inclusive

    Find out about how we can help you.

    What to do when someone dies

    It’s nearly always a shock when someone dies, even when the death is expected. In the case of an unexpected death it is likely that the […]

    The Ceremony or Service

    It is the funeral ceremony that everyone remembers. The person who has died takes centre stage for the last time and those attending may begin to […]

    Religious, Unaffiliated, Secular

    For the funeral of a person with a particular faith or religion we will support you fully in your wishes to appoint and co-ordinate with the […]

    Coffins, urns & hearses

    You can choose a coffin, urn, hearse and flowers that suits the style of the funeral and character of the person. Browse through the following sections […]

    Funeral Costs

    We are proud to be awarded Fair Funerals Funeral Director Of The Month for April 2017. Their principals are that funeral directors: recognise that funerals can be expensive and many […]

    Green funerals

    A green funeral often includes a ‘natural’ burial in woodland or meadow, but it may also be seen as a funeral in which the family and friends […]

    Funeral Venues

    A funeral ceremony is often held at the crematorium or in church. But the crematorium can feel pressurised for time, so it is worth thinking about […]

    Personal Styles

    Whether traditional or contemporary a good funeral reflects the character, beliefs and values of the person who has died. This may be a traditional funeral in a church, […]

    Family involvement

    Funeral Flowers

    At Heart and Soul Funerals we think that beauty is a vital element of the funeral. The giving and receiving of flowers is an important and ancient […]

    When should it be?

    Generally funerals are held between one and three weeks after the death. Deciding when a funeral should be held will probably take into consideration things like: […]
    • Alan
      Thank you both very much for all your arrangements and contributions last Saturday. The whole day was a rich fulfilment of Jean's wishes, and enabled a very varied "congregation" to join in, just as Jean had envisaged. The skilful blending of symbolic candles, sung and spoken words and the chosen music was really powerful and reminiscent for so many people of their connections with Jean, and one another: and the immediate transfer of the video to Ann enabled her to bring even the distant family into the spirit of the day. The burning fire on arrival and the ceremony on the hillside emphasised the element of naturality, not forgetting the excellent refreshments to round off the day.
      Alan
    • Jude Bishop
      Thank you so much, Simon, for all the thoughtful and kind attention you, Lilah and Hannah gave us as we prepared for Dad’s funeral. I particularly appreciated: Lilah’s respectful kindness when she came to collect Dad and when we sat with him at Riverstone; The text messages from you, which felt very holding; The time you gave us to help prepare for the ceremony; The steady presence you provided as you gently steered us through the ceremony; Being given the candle afterwards which I often light; And not least, your sense of humour!
      Jude Bishop
    • Anne Kimber
      Thanks so much for everything you did to help make Pauline’s send-off really special. Everyone loved the venue, layout, and how the ceremony was conducted, and the coffin was wonderful – they were all quite amazed by it! The catering was brilliant and well worth the hassle to get it looking so professional. Everyone was hugely appreciative of the end result. I think Pauline would have greatly enjoyed the occasion. Who knows, maybe she was up there somewhere looking down on us with a twinkle in her eye!
      Anne Kimber
    • Thank you very much for arranging and creating the space so that we could have my mother’s funeral in exactly the way that felt right for us. It was a great way to say goodbye in an intimate and family-friendly way, and for us to affirm our connection with each other and with life.

    Contact

    Call us or send us a message for a chat or to arrange a meeting with no obligation