Personalizing Cremations

Personalizing cremations in Beltsville, MD is part a major part of the funeral process. One misconception that causes people to hesitate to choose cremation as their funeral option is that no services – memorial or funeral – can be held if someone is cremated. That’s not true. Personalizing cremations is an integrated part of saying goodbye to someone you love.  

With cremations, there are many options available that can remember and memorialize your loved one.   

One option is to have a funeral service. You may or may not choose to have a casket viewing of the deceased (if you do, it can either be the cremation casket or a casket rented from the funeral home just for the viewing). If you don’t, and it’s before the cremation has taken place, then it will follow a traditional funeral service format, which usually includes secular and/or religious readings, eulogies, and music. If you have the funeral service after cremation, then the urn is usually displayed at the front of the room where the service is being held. 

Another way to personalize cremations is to have a memorial service. These usually take place after the cremation and are designed to be more casual and flexible as the deceased is often remembered in stories and memories. 

You can also personalize cremations by setting up a display that reflects hobbies or personal interests that were important to your loved one. Ideas might range from artwork they did or crafts that they created. Some people are avid sports fans, so you can display the sports memorabilia that your loved one collected. Use your imagination to create a personalized display that captures the essence of your loved one.  

Cremations can also be personalized by creating photo tributes to the deceased. You can do this with a beautiful cardboard background, using pictures that capture key moments in your loved ones live. Write a little bit underneath each photo to give it context (date it was taken, what was happening at the time, and why it’s important) and to make it a special display. You can also create a digital photo album using PowerPoint. PowerPoint lets you add audio, so you can narrate the photo album, or you can simply add some music that was special to your loved one. Once you’ve created the digital photo album, you can set it up to play automatically and you can also save it as a video file that can either be uploaded to YouTube (you’ll have to create a channel) or saved on flash drives for people who may want a copy.  

A fourth way to customize cremations is by the urn you choose to hold your loved one’s cremains. Urns can be engraved or have plaques added with things that highlight your love one’s personality, traits, and interests.  

Even after cremations, you can further personalize and honor your loved one’s memory. You can have an invitation-only ceremony to scatter your loved one’s ashes in the place they chose or a place that was significant to them. You can also turn some of the cremains into jewelry that you can wear all the time.  

If you’re interested in personalizing cremations in Beltsville, MD, you can speak with our empathetic and experienced staff at Donald V. Borgwardt Funeral Home, P.A. You can visit us at our funeral home at 4400 Powder Mill Rd., Beltsville, MD, 20705, or you can call us today at (301) 937-1707.