What is a Graveside Service?

What is a Graveside Service?

Understanding Burial Services

Burial services have long been the traditional way to care for a loved one’s remains when laying them to rest. Our experienced and professional staff will be here to assist you every step of the way. From making sure you understand what’s included in a burial service to helping you select products and services, we will be by your side throughout the entire process.

You may be asking yourself, "What's done at a graveside service?" The answer is completely up to you. Traditionally, a graveside service has a person leading either a sermon or speaking about the deceased. There is often time for individuals to give their memories or tell stories of the deceased. The casket will then be lowered into the ground or burial vault and there can be a reception that follows. Whether you are planning for yourself or for a loved one, the service can be made as traditional or unconventional as the you see fit.

There are many decisions to be made when arranging a burial ceremony for a loved one or pre planning a service for yourself. Two of the most important decisions are selecting a cemetery and the actual plot within its grounds. Other decisions to consider when arranging a burial service are selecting the headstone or marker and writing an epitaph to be inscribed on it.

Of course, if you need assistance with any of these decisions, our caring staff would be happy to assist you.

Benefits of a Burial Service

One of the most common questions we get asked is “why choose burial over cremation?”. If you are undecided we have provided a list of benefits of choosing burial to help simplify your decision. There is a wide variety of reasons why someone would choose burial, however the reasons listed below are what we have found to be the most common. 

Permanent Gravesite to Visit

One of the main benefits of choosing burial is that it provides a permanent gravesite or mausoleum for families to visit. For many people, having an allotted space at a cemetery where they can physically go to visit their loved one helps with their grieving process. Visiting the grave at the cemetery is considered by some to be a sacred event and allows them to feel a connection to their loved one. For some families, this is a major advantage of burial over cremation.

Traditional

Burial services tend to be the more traditional choice, and if you or your loved one are more conventional, then this would likely be the choice for you. It is very common for people to consider burial the default method of saying goodbye, and honoring their loved one. For most people, when they think of a funeral they generally envision a casketed burial service following the ceremony. 

Natural & Peaceful Setting

Many people find cemeteries peaceful, beautiful, and are just a natural fit as a final resting place. What better place to celebrate the life of a loved one than under the open sky, beneath trees, or beside flowers? No matter the cemetery that your loved one's burial service is held at, the emotional and spiritual comforts of the natural surroundings will be keenly felt.

Being Alongside Your Loved Ones

Another benefit of burial is that it offers the ability to lay to rest alongside your spouse, family members, or other significant loved ones. For example, if a husband passes away and is buried, his wife will likely be buried beside him so they can be alongside each other for eternity.  

Quite often families choose to prepay for a set of plots so they can all be laid to rest beside each other. When purchasing a burial plot in advance, you can usually purchase a single plot, companion plots or double depth plots, both of which are typically meant for a married couple, or family plots, which is when a small area of the cemetery is dedicated to one family. This sense of being alongside your loved ones is a strong benefit of choosing burial for some.  

Types of Burial Services

Traditional In-Ground Burial

In-ground burial is the most traditional burial option. Often, the body is first embalmed because the family wants to hold a visitation where the casket is open. However, embalming is not required.  

In-ground burial consists of 5 components:

1) Casket - Holds the body of the deceased.

2) Gravesite - The plot or space where your loved one will be buried.

3) Headstone and Grave Marker - These two burial monuments generally contains: 
  • The deceased’s name 
  • Date of birth and death 
  • Words of identification such as mother, son, brother, friend, etc.  
  • A quote of importance to the deceased 
  • Religious or philosophical sayings 
Burial headstones are upright granite monuments usually found at cemeteries, where grave markers are flat bronze plaques placed on a granite stone base usually found at memorial parks. 

4) Burial Vault - Used to support the soil above and around the casket. Often they are made out of concrete and lined with plastic.  

5) Gravesite Preparation & Maintenance - A plot needs to be dug into the ground and later back-filled. Some landscaping work may also be needed to restore the gravesite’s original appearance.

Mausoleum Burial

Mausoleum burial is a method associated with more privacy and a sense of prestige. Mausoleum burials see the internment of the deceased within a free-standing building. A mausoleum is a building that memorializes deceased individuals and provides a secure enclosure. When choosing to place your loved one in a mausoleum their casket or vault will never come in contact with the earth, as they are within an above-ground structure. This also ensures that the burial site will always remain clean and dry, allowing you to visit your loved one in any weather conditions.

A mausoleum can be of two kinds - A community mausoleum or a private mausoleum.

The main difference between the two is that a community mausoleum includes multiple deceased individuals that are not necessarily related, whereas a private mausoleum is built by request for a single family. Private mausoleums are typically for larger families that wish to remain together and are much more costly.
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