Ashes Water Ceremony
Your ashes water ceremony, your choice. The water is a great choice for a ceremony and many opting for this find the presence of water comforting afterwards.
Before you start to worry, you should know it is legal to scatter ashes in rivers and in the sea in the UK. For more detail please click here: Law
However, you may not have experienced an ashes ceremony, or you may been to one that was a bit hurried or unplanned. So here is some advice that will help you create the perfect ash scattering ceremony.
First consider
Firstly, you need to think of is where would be appropriate.
When you have your chosen location, you may need to consider whether you want to do it from a beach/shore or a boat - here is some thoughts on the choices - Scattering on water
You might want to carry out the ceremony from a boat
You need to select a date and time; anniversaries are particularly poignant. The time of the ceremony should be considered if you have chosen somewhere that gets busy and you want privacy e.g. a beach. Sunrise and sunset can be quieter and add to the sense of ceremony
Then consider who should be there, just close family? Friends too?
What to do on the day
Because it is entirely up to you it can seem daunting, so what we have done is put together an example Order of Service Free download: Order of Service (this comes printed with our Ceremony Sets).
The order of service below has added hotlinks that will point you to some additional information.
Ashes Water Ceremony: Order of Service
- Music
- Welcome
- Readings of Poems for Scattering Ashes, or Words and Quotes
- Reminiscences about that person
- Eulogy - a talk focusing on the achievements of the deceased - their loves, pleasures, the meaning of their life
- Scattering or Burying the ashes – How to Scatter Ashes. For a truly memorable event use one of our Ash Scatter Ceremony sets (below)
- Symbolic actions
- Placing promises notes on the water
- Light floating candles
- Scatter petals
- Quiet reflection or prayer
- Final thoughts, perhaps their favourite phrase or saying
- Words of goodbye
Ashes Water Ceremony Sets
Ashes Water Ceremony Set - Deluxe
Water Ceremony Set
- Water Urn suitable for one person Journey (these float a while before sinking) with an inscription included, or an – Octavian (these urn submerge quickly suitable for deeper water)
- Rose petals 2ltrs
- An extra large set (24) of ‘Promises’, this is a box of notelets that are specifically designed to dissolve quickly on impact with water. These are for you to write final messages and words.
- 3 Floating Candles which will definitely bring additional symbolism to your ashes ceremony and will look stunning in the water.
- 4 Floating Paper Flowers
- Order of service
- A set of 12 invitations so that you can invite family and friends to the ceremony.
- Ceremony Certificate – a scattering ceremony record,
- Guide Book – ‘Celebrating the Life of a Loved One: what to do with their ashes’
- Ceremony Bag for easy transfer of the urn to your location.
- Water Urn suitable for one person – Octavian (these urn submerge quickly suitable for deeper water) or Journey (these float a while before sinking).
- Rose or Delphinium petals 1ltr
- A box of ‘Promises’, this is a box of notelets that are specifically designed to dissolve quickly on impact with water. These are for you to write final messages and words.
- Ceremony Certificate – a scattering ceremony record