Ash scattering ceremony. Your ceremony your choice. The great thing is that it is entirely up to you, a special occasion to commemorate the life of a loved one. With a little thought and preparation your ceremony to scatter their ashes, will be meaningful, memorable, heartfelt and dignified. It is a fantastic opportunity to give them send-off they would have wished for.
Before you start to worry, you should know it is legal to scatter ashes on land as long as you have the landowner's permission. For more information please click here.
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
- First you need to think of is where would be appropriate
- Then when you have your chosen location, you made need to seek permission from the landowner
- 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 quitter 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
Ash Scattering 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
- Shaking hands or a hug
- Make a promise, plant promises notes
- Light candles or lanterns
- Scatter petals, seeds, plant flowers or bulbs
- Planting a tree
- Quiet reflection or prayer
- Final thoughts, perhaps their favourite phrase or saying
- Words of goodbye
Ash Scattering Ceremony Sets
Ash Scattering Ceremony Set - Deluxe
Ash Scattering Ceremony Set
- Scatter Tube.
- Rose Flower Petals 1ltr
- A set of 12 invitations so that you can invite family and friends to the ceremony.
- A box of ‘Promises’, this is a box of notelets that are made of biodegradable paper with wildflower seeds in them so that when you bury your ‘promise’ the wildflowers will grow in their place, a lasting memorial.
- Ceremony Certificate – a scattering ceremony record,
- Guide Book – ‘Celebrating the Life of a Loved One: what to do with their ashes’
- Seedballs – butterfly friendly seedballs to plant either on the scattering spot or at home in your garden.
- Ceremony Bag for easy transfer of scatter tube to location.
- Scatter Tube
- Rose Flower Petals 1ltr
- A box of ‘Promises’, this is a box of notelets that are made of biodegradable paper with wildflower seeds in them so that when you bury your ‘promise’ the wildflowers will grow in their place, a lasting memorial.
- Ceremony Certificate – a scattering ceremony record
Remember to record the ceremony in your family records for future generations (a ceremony set contains one of these)