Our Services & Prices
Included with all our services is our signature service:
- Professional services of our Licensed Funeral Directors and staff, who are on-call 24 hours a day to assist
- Arrangements are made in the comfort and security of your own home - where you are in control of the funeral arrangements and there's no pressure to make decisions
- Transfer of the deceased from the place of death, with no additional charges for any after hours or weekend transfers
- Sheltering of the deceased at our facilities in the Lower Mainland
- Obtaining the required documentation to register a death and obtaining the required permits and death certificates
- Delivery of the cremated remains (if applicable) and death certificates back to you
Each service option also includes the staff to organize and attend any service, and all vehicles required for transportation of the casket to the service and cemetery.
We are a locally-owned and operated, Canadian company, and we operate our full-service funeral home and crematorium.
Simple Cremation
With a Simple Cremation, there are no formal ceremonies. The cremated remains and death certificates are returned in person to the family. If you wish, you can still select many of our other services such as visitations, obituaries, or extra death certificates.
Included in our Simple Cremation package is our signature in-home arrangement, transfer of the deceased from place of death to our crematorium, on-site cremation, and return of the cremated remains and death certificate to your home.
We can also create an Alternatives Event™ for you at a later date. We offer a wide array of urns and a unique variety of memorial keepsakes.
Memorial Service or Celebration of Life
A Memorial Service is a ceremony held at a location where the deceased and casket are not present, but where the urn containing the ashes may be present. At Alternatives, we will arrange all the details that allow you to celebrate the life of a loved one: reserving facilities and a member of the Clergy or celebrant, catering and reception, placing obituaries, and arranging for guest books and flowers.
We will ensure you have a variety of options to choose from to create the celebration or service you want.
Funeral Service
The Funeral Service is held at the church or other facility of your choice prior to the burial or cremation. The casket is present in this Service Option. We will work with you and your clergy member or celebrant to help arrange a date and time convenient for all at the church or other facility.
We will also reserve facilities and arrange catering for a reception, if desired. We also place obituaries, both in newspapers as well as our online obituary service. We will arrange for flowers, guest books, and service cards. Should you require, we will also arrange for transportation, such as limousines or town cars. We also handle the arrangements for viewing and cemetery burial or cremation.
Graveside Service
A Graveside Service is the ceremony of interring a casket or urn in a cemetery of your choice without any church service. A Clergy or perhaps a celebrant helps perform a burial rite while family, friends and pallbearers are involved as active participants.
Alternatives will arrange the details for you, and assist you in personalizing the service in any way you see fit, from a shoulder carry of the casket to a dove or balloon release and live music at the graveside. We can make even a simple burial a unique and memorable event.
Alternatives Event™
Some families without any religious affiliation find that a formal funeral or memorial service feels out of sync with the deceased and themselves. And the recent trend toward “celebrations” can feel uncomfortably close to a “party” for some people. As a result, more families than ever know what they don’t want, and are left wondering what to do.
To address this situation, Alternatives created a completely new and unique service option: the Alternatives Event™.
Our Licensed Funeral Directors and Event Planners will design and present theme proposals to the family, and will preside over the order of service on your behalf. The content of the Event will be customized for your family, and often held in a unique facility or location relevant to the deceased’s life. And here’s another key distinction: unlike most ceremonies at which attendees are merely spectators, an Alternatives Event™ encourages involvement and participation.
Example of an Alternatives Event™:
We arranged for one family’s Alternatives Event™ to be held in a hangar at a municipal airport in honour of a deceased pilot. The Event was staged in a hangar, and we catered a barbeque – a favourite of the deceased – outdoors on the tarmac for guests to enjoy. We also stationed a bartender dressed in a flight attendant’s uniform at an open bar, and arranged for the family to arrive by helicopter bearing the ashes of the deceased so that the guest of honour would be present. We also organized a fly-by of restored World War II aircraft to serve as the finale for the Event.
Guests also had an opportunity to fly and land radio-controlled helicopters in exchange for donations to the deceased’s charity with the amount based on accuracy of flight. The result was a completely involving and interactive event that proved truly meaningful and memorable to everyone who took part and attended.
Sounds very different from a funeral or memorial service, doesn’t it? Perhaps now you have a better idea of what your family would want.
And when it comes to cost, you’ll find it surprisingly affordable. Please contact us for pricing details.
Green Services
We offer services and products that not only create a meaningful funeral or cremation experience, but that also minimize the overall environmental impact on Mother Earth.
We offer sustainable death care services that result in the reduction of carbon emissions, toxification, and waste. From caskets and urns made of biodegradable materials, to environmentally friendly embalming methods, and alliances with Green Certified cemeteries, we strive to aid in the reduction of carbon emissions, conserve natural resources, protect our staff and preserve our habitat. Learn more about our Green products, including caskets and urns.
Sea Scattering
Introducing "Sea Scattering of Cremated Remains" - an annual, eco-friendly service offered by Alternatives for just $95. This unique service includes scattering your loved one's ashes in the ocean by boat. As a special memento, families receive a certificate of the ceremony featuring the GPS coordinates of the scattering location. Additionally, an online link provides access to a photo of the scattering day and a heartfelt video of the urn being lowered into the water, ensuring families can cherish the memory of this significant moment.
