For many families, choosing and buying an urn is one of the most important and significant parts of planning a cremation and laying a loved one to rest. However, many people are unsure of when the best time to buy an urn is.
If you’re looking for guidance, here’s all you need to know about the two main time frames for buying a cremation urn.
Option 1: Buy the Urn Before You Need It
While some people aren’t comfortable with the idea of buying an urn before it’s needed, it can be a much less stressful option. The majority of people who buy urns in advance are those suffering from terminal illness or approaching their later stage of life. For these people, buying an urn in advance offers many benefits.
Why Buy in Advance?
Buying an urn in advance is often cheaper because there’s plenty of time to shop around and find a good deal. Since you won’t be in a rush to receive the urn, you also won’t need to pay extra for expedited shipping. On top of cost savings, buying an urn before it’s needed brings many people peace of mind. They take comfort in knowing that their families won’t need to go through the logistics of finding the perfect urn while they’re grieving.
What are the Downsides?
Of course, this option isn’t without its downsides. One of the main disadvantages is that it’s difficult to inscribe an urn purchased in advance. Most urns are inscribed with a loved one’s date of passing, but you can’t have this date inscribed while the person is still alive.
However, if you do choose to buy an urn in advance, you have a few solutions available: opt for no inscription, choose an urn that can be inscribed at a later date or decide on a general inscription with no date of passing.
Option 2: Buy the Urn When You Need It
People choose not to buy an urn in advance for many reasons. Some feel uncomfortable dealing with death before it happens, while others may not have the time or money to plan ahead. In other cases, a passing comes suddenly, leaving you to plan a funeral and cremation you didn’t expect.
Thankfully, buying an urn only when it’s needed isn’t uncommon, so you have multiple options to choose from if you find yourself in this scenario. The two most common options are to buy an urn from your funeral home or to buy one online.
Why Buy From the Funeral Director?
One of the easiest and most stress-free options is to buy an urn through your funeral director of choice. They will usually have an online or offline catalogue for you to browse through, and some funeral homes will have a selection of urns you can view in person. Funeral directors often have wholesale deals with urn suppliers, so you should be able to find an affordable option without difficulty.
Why Buy Online?
Alternatively, you can buy an urn online from an independent supplier. Expedited shipping can be costly, but you’ll have an infinite number of options to choose from. This makes online urn shopping the ideal for families in search of an urn that perfectly fits their loved one’s life and legacy.
What are the Pros and Cons?
Buying an urn after your loved one’s passing doesn’t have to be stressful. In fact, gathering together with friends and family to select the perfect urn can be a helpful part of the healing process.
However, you should be aware that you may not be able to get a highly personalised urn on time if you don’t purchase in advance. Hand-crafted wood and ceramic urns, for example, can take over a month to produce.
If having an artisanal urn is important to you or you’re struggling to make a quick decision, you can often rent a temporary urn from your funeral director or agree to receive the cremains in a cardboard or plastic box to give you more time.
If it’s time for you to say goodbye to a loved one and you’re looking to begin the process of funeral arrangements and urn selection, Cremations Only can help. For experienced and compassionate funeral direction services, call us at 1300 311 747 or view our urns and funeral options online.