Scout Out The Area In Which You'll Scatter A Loved One's Cremated Remains In Advance
When you're planning to scatter a loved one's cremated remains in a public area, you want to do more than just show up with some family members and friends in tow, open the urn, and shake out the remains. While you must always get permission from the proper authorities before organizing this sort of ceremony, it's also a good idea to carefully scout out the area in advance — often, by making repeated visits to the area. Doing so will help you to avoid any surprises that could affect the sacred nature of this ceremony. Here are some things to assess during these initial visits.
Solitude Of The Area
You generally don't want to organize a ceremony in which you're scattering a loved one's cremated remains unless you feel that the area will offer you some solitude. The best way to check this detail is to visit the area a few times to see how it feels. For example, if you're thinking about scattering the remains at a beach outside of your city, you want to get a sense of how crowded this area will be. Scattering the remains with several beachgoers around you is a lose-lose situation, as your family's privacy will be disturbed and the beachgoers might understandably not be thrilled with your presence, either.
Accessibility
You also need to scout out the accessibility of an outdoor area that you're considering for the post-cremation service. You might not have any trouble navigating a rugged network of paths to scatter the remains on a favorite hiking trail of your deceased family member, but not everyone who would plan to attend the ceremony will feel the same way. This can be a challenge, but you'll ideally need to come up with a location that people with mobility issues, if such individuals are present among the group that will attend the ceremony, can get to.
Weather Conditions
While the weather on the day of your initial visit and the day of the ceremony to scatter the cremated remains might be different, visiting in advance can give you some indications of what weather issues you might encounter. Arguably, the biggest concern is the wind. You might have a seemingly perfect spot in mind for this ceremony, only to notice that it's windy. You don't want the remains blowing onto people in attendance, so you'll either have to figure out a way to set up so that the wind is behind you, or perhaps consider another location.
Speak with a company like Final Care Cremation Services to learn more.