The cost of a funeral depends on your choices and preferences. Our fee for professional services, the cost of the casket and the other expenses for the funeral vary according to the services you select and use. Before we can give you an estimate of costs specific to your needs we ideally need to meet with you to talk through your options and find out exactly what you are looking for. We are always happy to have this initial meeting with you at no obligation and if after meeting with us you don’t want us to continue as your funeral director that is your decision.
Funerals & Tributes
A funeral invoice is usually made up of three sections. The casket, our fee for professional services and other charges which might include; flowers, catering, cemetery or cremation fees, paying the celebrant or minister, service sheets, slideshows, and other AV requirements, newspaper notices, paying doctors and the like. We think it is important to recognise that as funeral directors we often make payments on your behalf to a number of third parties involved in the funeral process so our invoice is not exclusively the cost of using our services. Rather, we offer you the convenience of only having to worry about one invoice at the end of the process rather than having multiple accounts to settle.
When Eagars is engaged by a family to arrange and conduct a funeral service, we charge a professional service fee.
This is a fixed charge for engaging our company and reflects the overall amenities, guidance and expertise that we provide. Depending on individual needs these services may vary from family to family. The fee covers and makes available to the family all of Eagar's resources, professional guidance, after care bereavement service, our time and availability whenever needed.
Some families may choose to arrange various elements of the funeral themselves. In this case our team does not relinquish any responsibility and will always follow up with any given provider to ensure that items or services are delivered correctly and on time. This means that the overall quality of the funeral experience remains our priority, underpinning our primary role to ensure that all aspects meet or exceed your expectations.
At Eagars we offer funerals that are tailored to your requirements. We don’t have set packages or try to fit you into a set style of funeral. We want to work with you in creating a memorable funeral and this includes working to a budget if required. Hence, what a funeral costs can vary from family to family. To illustrate this we offer 5 examples of a funeral and how the choices made can vary the cost: The pricing below is correct as at May 1, 2023.
The family want a very simple gathering at our Te Henui Chapel. The service is to be led by family and a private cremation will follow. They do not wish to have a formal photo tribute but provided us with photos on a USB that will scroll over as family share memories. A granddaughter will bring flowers from the family garden to place on the casket as they arrive. At the conclusion of the service everyone is invited to the have tea and scones in the lounge. Having placed their loved one in the hearse and said goodbye, we have then taken their loved on to the crematorium for a private cremation. Later the family will collect the ashes to take home. They are expecting about 25-30 people. A notice will be placed in the newspaper after the funeral directing the community to the tribute page that has been set up for them to leave messages.
The family want the service at their local church, led by their minister. After the funeral service everyone will have the opportunity to placing petals on the casket as their personal goodbye before the hearse leaves for a private cremation. Refreshments will be served in the church hall. The family choose a raised lid rimu stained casket with a large colourful casket spray. We prepare a slideshow for the family along with service sheets which include the words to the hymns to be sung. They are expecting about 100 people. We place one notice in the newspaper prior to the service. Following the cremation, the ashes are to be returned to the family to inter in a plot at the cemetery.
The family want to have a funeral at our Te Henui Chapel followed by refreshments in the chapel lounge. The service of farewell is to be led by a local celebrant, it is to be live streamed and we are going to prepare service sheets and the slide show. They choose a tasman pine casket with rope handles and we have put them in touch with the florist to help them create a meaningful arrangement that includes some personal items that are important to the family. They select private cremation. They are expecting about 150 people. One notice is placed in the newspaper. Following the cremation, the ashes are to be returned to the family.
The family want a funeral at the Taranaki Racecourse on a Saturday. Horses are important and they want to reflect this in the service. The family want to have their loved one at home for several days before the funeral service. The service is to be led by a local celebrant and at the end of the funeral service everyone will move to the Cemetery for a burial. After the burial everyone is invited to return to the race club for refreshments which includes a few drinks. The family select a mid-priced casket. The family have already spoken to a florist about what they would like regarding the flowers for on the casket. We are creating the service sheets, but one of the grandson’s is going to create the slide show. We will
organise AV equipment and sound system hire for the venue. As there are family and friends who are unable to travel for the farewell the funeral service is to be live streamed. They are expecting about 150 people for the service and refreshments afterward.
The person who died did not want to have a funeral. They did not want to cause any fuss or bother for those left behind. Wanting to respect this decision the family opted for an unattended funeral. This meant, after meeting with the family to determine their wishes, we collected the person from the rest home or place where they died, brought them back to the funeral home, placed them in a very simple casket, took care of all the legal requirements such as gathering the medical and cremation documentation and permissions, registered the death, and then proceeded with an Unattended Funeral. There was no viewing, no notice placed in the paper, no flowers, no service sheets.
*Cremation only. Burial costs dependant upon cemetery chosen.
It would be our hope as funeral professionals that this family despite not having a formal funeral service would find an opportunity to do something on their own to mark this life. This could be as simple as gathering at home and sharing memories or going out to dinner as a family or having a memorial service at another time. With an Unattended Funeral, options exist for the family to have viewing, spend time with the casket, or have a memorial service later. In such instances our professional service fee is different to reflect the additional services used.
| No Fuss Farewell | Church Service | Chapel Service | Saturday Burial | Unattended Funeral | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | $9,704 | $13,599 | $16,111 | $28,150 | $3,880 |
| Casket Selected | $1,435 | $2,650 | $2,010 | $2,180 | Included (Upgrade available) |
| Professional Services | $6,080 | $6,080 | $6,080 | $6,080 | $2,786 |
| Embalming | - | - | - | $830 | - |
| Weekend/Holiday Fee | - | - | - | $700 | - |
| Transfer home | - | - | - | $220 | - |
| Temporary Grave Marker | - | - | - | $90 | - |
| Minister/Celebrant | - | $250 | $650 | $650 | - |
| Organist/Musician | - | $150 | - | - | - |
| Verger | - | - | - | - | - |
| Church/Venue Hire | $790 | $150 | $790 | $625 | - |
| Memorial Book | - | - | - | $160 | - |
| Web Streaming | - | - | $625 | $850 | - |
| Service Sheets | - | $475 | $562 | $562 | - |
| Design and Setup Fee | - | $155 | $155 | $155 | - |
| Slideshow | - | $395 | $395 | - | - |
| Flowers | - | $350 | $350 | $350 | - |
| Catering | $300 | $1,700 | $2,625 | $3,000 | - |
| Lounge/Venue Hire | - | - | Included | Included | - |
| Audio Visual Hire | - | - | - | $3,500 | - |
| Newspaper Notice | - | $150 | $150 | $150 | - |
| Medical Referee | $120 | $120 | $120 | - | $120 |
| Death Certificate | $38 | $38 | $38 | $38 | $38 |
| Cremation Fee | $936 | $936 | $936 | - | $936 |
| Burial plot | - | - | - | $4,579 | - |
| Interment Fee | - | - | - | $2,628 | - |
| Council Weekend/Public Holiday Fee | - | - | - | $803 | - |
Getting in Touch
A meaningful funeral is a personalised funeral – one that is a tribute to the life that was lived.
