Affordable Burial Services

The Traditional Funeral Service

Whether you are opting for burial or cremation services in Ottawa, a traditional funeral service begins with visitation and/or viewing before and possibly on the day of the funeral. Spending this time with your loved one allows you and your family the opportunity for a personal goodbye and starts the closure portion of the grief process.

Depending on your preferences, traditional burial or cremation services in Ottawa can be held at the funeral home, your church or other location of choice; keeping in mind the number of attendees. After the service, the casket will be brought to the crematorium or the cemetery. If desired, a reception is held at the funeral home’s reception facilities, or location of choice.

Service of Remembrance / Memorial Service

Choose a formal religious service or gather with family and friends to celebrate the life of your loved one. Ottawa burial services are generally held before the day of the memorial and if cremation service is chosen, the urn may be on display at the service if you wish. You may consider making up a display such as a memory board of photos or memorabilia that represent your loved one’s life and an open mic can also be arranged if you wish guests to share their memories. End the memorial service or gathering with a reception if desired. This type of service can be held at the funeral home, your church or location of choice depending on the expected number of guests.

Same Day Service – Celebration of Life

This can either be a formal religious service or simply a gathering of family and friends. Burial usually precedes the service or gathering. This service is held in the funeral home, church or other location, depending on the family’s preference and taking into account the amount of people expected to attend. If cremation is chosen, the urn can either be present at the service or not at the service, depending on the family’s choice. Memorial boards incorporating family pictures may be displayed along with memorabilia and/or treasured items of the deceased. Family and friends socialize, reminisce and enjoy the pictures and memorabilia present and sometimes there is an open microphone to share stories with everyone. A reception may follow the service or gathering. Interment of the urn usually takes place at a later date. The Same Day Service- Celebration of Life is available at all First Memorial Funeral Services® locations.

Graveside Service

Held at a mausoleum or cemetery of choice in the Ottawa area, your priest, minister or speaker of choice will conduct the service. Once the ceremony is over, a reception can be held so family and friends can gather to remember their loved one.

Immediate Disposition without Service

We offer affordable burial services in Ottawa without services or receptions that include having the deceased brought from the place of death to the funeral home, processing and procuring the documentation for death registration and securing the permit for burial, your loved one will be placed in the container of your choosing and transported to the crematorium for the cremation to take place.

Away from Home Arrangements

If you are traveling and the unexpected occurs, First Memorial Ottawa can help with transportation and logistics. For this service, it is best to contact your Ottawa funeral director who will act on your behalf to ensure your loved one is transported safely back home where the services of your choice and burial can be arranged. If you are traveling where language or culture may pose a problem, it is wise to see counsel at a Canadian Consulate or visit www.embassyworld.com.

Compassionate Help

With every Ottawa burial service package, loved ones have access to a complimentary 13 month subscription to our Compassion Helpline – a 24-hour service for those who need help navigating their journey through grief.

For more information on affordable burial services in Ottawa, contact us today.

Chinese lanterns Floating lanterns, have been a traditional part of many culture’s celebrations and holidays for generations. Lighting a candle for the deceased is a common memorial tradition, so it is fitting (and beautiful) to combine these traditions by lighting sky lanterns during or after the memorial service.

Funeral flowers come in all colors, styles, and designs. You can choose a particular flower or color as part of an overall theme. This can include hobbies, organizations and associations, sports, and much more.

Decorate in a way that expresses your loved one’s heritage, favorite sports teams, hobbies, military or charitable service, religion, or other interests. For someone of Irish heritage, think about throwing a traditional Irish Wake. For a hunting enthusiast, cover the walls with camouflage, leaves, and mounted trophies. Use Dallas Cowboys colors or Star Wars decor. Have photos of the inner city kids they mentored, or Habitat for Humanity projects, or volleyball teams they coached.

Dove Releases have become a popular way to end a funeral or life celebration. The release is a symbolic yet tactile way to help family members in the grieving process by a literal act of “letting go.” This adds a poignant sense of hope and beauty to the memorial service.

Buffets help keep the costs down, while still affording attendees the opportunity to share a meal together and continue to process grief, encourage the family, and share memories. You can also incorporate a buffet into the decorating scheme by asking attendees to bring dishes in an ethnic or party theme.

A balloon release allows everyone to participate in the act of “letting go”, and at very little cost. Provide small cards or bits of colorful construction paper with a hole punched in the corner. Allow guests to write a message, such as a treasured memory or a note expressing love or grief, and attach message to the balloon and release them together for a beautiful finish to the memorial service.

If you are planning on scattering cremated remains, think about incorporating the scattering into the service itself. You can hold a memorial service at the location of scattering, or plan the service so that it leads into the scattering at a different location.

Organize a slideshow of photos from all stages of the individual’s life. Be sure to include captions to show what year, or where, photos were taken, as it will help the memorial service attendees to piece together aspects of the person’s life with which they may not be familiar.

A cairn is a man-made pile of rocks, often used as a landmark. If you will be scattering remains, or even just conducting the memorial service in the great outdoors, having those present help in building a cairn in honor of your loved one will allow everyone to contribute during the service, and will also leave a landmark in memory of the departed which can be revisited by all.