Five Commemoration Ideas for Cremation

15 June 2022
A photograph of an elderly couple, seated and visible from the shoulders down, as they flip through a photo album together.

Cremation is a respectful, considered choice to honour a loved one.

As part of the process, you should also consider what your loved one would have liked you to do with their ashes, as there are quite a few options to consider.

A life-honouring service

Celebrating the life of a loved one with a service can be a chance for a personal, meaningful tribute, and they can be as unique or traditional as you like.

Traditional services can include a funeral director, who will arrange the details and logistics of the funeral, while a unique personalised service can be customised to the characteristics and interests of your loved one.

Services can be held from a few days or weeks, to a few years following cremation. If your loved one's ashes are being interred or scattered in the years following the cremation, you may wish to mark the occasion with an intimate service tailored to their wishes.

Family and friends mark the interment of a loved one's ashes at an honouring life service
An intimate service can be held to mark the interment of ashes years after a cremation.

Memorials and burial

Choosing cremation can provide you with the time to plan the best way to memorialise your loved one in a way that remains true to their legacy. Whether it’s on-site at one of our interment locations, or in a personal keepsake, choosing the best way to memorialise your loved one need not be rushed.

Available at each of our locations across Melbourne, a Rose Garden Memorial is a popular choice for commemoration. Over 300 roses line our gardens for an elegant, peaceful way to honour your loved one’s memory.

Scattering ashes

If your loved one wished for their ashes to be scattered, choosing the perfect location can be challenging. Many families choose a location that was significant in the life of their loved one, like their beloved garden, or favourite beach.

You are not required to secure a permit for scattering ashes in Victoria, though it’s a good idea to check with the local council when choosing a location. If your desired site is privately owned, you must gain permission.

Scattering ashes at sea does not require a permit.

When the time comes to scatter your loved one’s ashes, make sure you’re considerate of those around you if you’re in public, and pay particular attention to the strength and direction of the wind to avoid unintended results.

Alternatively, our two scatter gardens at Springvale Botanical Cemetery and Bunurong Memorial Park offer a quiet, secure place to say goodbye. Springvale's Garden of No Distant Place also offers the opportunity for a personalised, hand-painted memorial message in the Book of Remembrance.

A photograph of flowers in full bloom at the Garden of No Distant Place at Springvale Botanical Cemetery
Scatter gardens like the Garden of No Distant Place at Springvale Botanical Cemetery can provide a quiet, serene place to farewell a loved one.

Other Tributes

Cremation urns are a traditional form of commemoration, suitable for interment, display, or storage. Urns are available in various materials and sizes to suit each purpose and family.

There are other, more novel options as well, like creating a piece of jewellery from a small portion of your loved one’s ashes which can be passed down through generations as a family heirloom, or getting a tattoo with some of your loved one’s ashes mixed into the ink.

You can also plant a memorial tree in a private garden with your loved one’s ashes underneath, and add a small plaque to memorialise them in that place.

Splitting Ashes

You may choose to split your loved one’s ashes to allow for more than one memorial, in more than one location. This allows family members or friends to commemorate their loved one in multiple ways or across several locations.

In most cases, you won’t have any trouble transporting your loved one’s ashes interstate or overseas, but if you’re travelling by plane be sure to check with the airline first, as they may have specific requirements for how you transport your loved one’s ashes on board.

A photograph of three cremation urns against a white backdrop.
Cremation urns are available in various materials and sizes to suit each purpose and family.

There are many options for honouring your loved one after cremation, from the traditional to the unique, depending on how your loved one wanted to be remembered.

If you need any advice or further information, do not hesitate to reach out to our team.

Back to Top