Vale Royal Crematorium unveils new initiative to personalise services

Vale Royal Crematorium has said it is now offering new ways to make the funeral services of loved ones “more uniquely personal”.

Following the installation of a new projection system in its chapel, the emblem of someone’s favourite sports team, or badge from a club or society that they belonged to, can now be projected onto the catafalque during services.

Site manager Dave Haslam said: “Vale Royal Crematorium is committed to doing everything we can to make final farewells uniquely personal. The way in which people want to say their goodbyes has changed over time, with many families choosing not to have a traditional service and seek, instead, ways of personalising the ceremony, often turning them into a celebration of life.

“Our latest initiative means we are well placed to be able to meet these needs. If, for example, mourners have been invited to wear a particular colour of tie, accessory or football shirts, we can support this by projecting appropriate imagery onto the catafalque and even lighting the catafalque area in selected colours.”

He added: “Originally we were looking at projecting images onto the voile and curtains, and the idea developed from there. We can potentially project any image, emblem or logo, as long as we have a good quality, clear, image to project in a legible manner.

“We know that families take comfort from ceremonies which feel just that little bit more personal and unique to the individual being remembered. We also know that sport is a life-long passion for many local people and we hope that our finishing touch will help bring this aspect of their lives into their final send offs.”

Vale Royal Crematorium can also accommodate a variety of other personalisation requests, such as specific chapel decorations, music, photography on its digital screens, bringing a family pet along, releasing doves or accommodating other vehicles requested by families instead of a traditional hearse.

Haslam added: “Our warm and welcoming chapel is an ideal blank canvas for making it uniquely personal to the bereaved and their loved one. It can be dressed to reflect their loved one’s favourite colour, sports team, hobby or something else they loved.”