Funeral Services Throughout The Greater Wellington Region
We provide funeral services on-site at our Lower Hutt premises, as well as at other venues across the Wellington region including Upper Hutt, Petone, Wainuiomata and Wellington central and suburbs.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions on our facilities or on what we can provide for you and your family.
Email info@croftfunerals.co.nz or call 04 569 7072.
Our Funeral Directors will support you closely to enable us to arrange and direct the funeral service of your choice.
We endeavour to accommodate the wishes of the bereaved family from the very first point of contact. We believe our success as Funeral Directors is due to remaining true to our caring, traditional values and our dedication to providing a personalised and unique service, respecting your wishes.
We are here to serve as your adviser, organiser, administrator and supporter
Our Funeral Directors ensure your funeral service choices are arranged with sensitivity and compassion and reflect your wishes for your loved one’s life celebration and final departure.
Email info@croftfunerals.co.nz or call 04 569 7072.
When a loved one passes over, whether sudden or expected, there are certain legal and medical requirements that need to be carried out. We can attend to most of these details on your behalf, allowing the least possible disruption to you and your family.
Our Funeral Directors are on call 24 hours a day, available to you whenever a loved one passes over. Our role is to relieve you from the stress and pressure of organising the funeral. We will guide you, with integrity and discretion, through all legal requirements and family wishes to practically develop the funeral of your needs.
There are many details requiring decision-making whilst arranging a funeral, but you needn’t feel overwhelmed. We are here to support and guide you every step of the way to ensure your wishes are met and required legal documentations are met.
It is helpful to talk about the ways to include family and friends early on, so they are included and able to participate, with time to prepare and reflect in their own personal way.
Funeral considerations
There are many ways of commemorating, celebrating, and honouring someone’s life. Some suggestions to consider to personalise the funeral:
- Choosing people to speak at the service
- Choosing your own personalised music
- A reading, poem, song or recording by a friend, family member or commercial artist
- Having photographs or personal items displayed at the service or catering venue
- Having a memorial book for people to register their names and provide personal messages
- Having the person return home, allowing family personal time to share memories and farewell their loved one in their own personal way. This may be for a short time, or until your loved one departs on the day of the funeral service
- Spending time visiting to reflect and personally farewell the person who has died at the funeral home by placing items of importance in the casket or just reminiscing over special times, allows for important closure.
Other considerations are:
Our funeral services are customised to accommodate your needs. We provide small, large, private or memorial services, military, or state funerals and repatriations. Please contact us to discuss the options.
Burials and cremations can either involve a funeral service or not. During our personalised time of arranging and meeting with you, we will identify and put together specific requirements reflecting all of yours and your loved ones wishes. See more information below.
Funeral services are a very personal event and people will often have different ideas on the way they wish to reflect at the final memorial. The funeral order of service booklet typically provides a schedule of the ceremony and a keepsake for those attending the service.
The service sheet may include hymns, songs, poems, readings, photographs, or anything else you would like to include. We will work with you to create a unique commemoration of your loved one’s life. This can be kept as a special continued memory of the person we are here to farewell.
Croft Funeral Home has two ceremonial hearses: a Rolls Royce or Chevrolet.
Croft Funeral Home is privileged to be supported by our independent florist, Kelly Sutton from Kelly’s Flowers, for families to personalise their floral tributes.
Our central Lower Hutt chapel seats 100 people, with the ability (with additional seating), to accommodate an additional 50 people. An adjoining catering lounge is available following the funeral services, allowing for a time to reflect, continue to share memories and share in refreshments.
We have contacts with churches and public facilities in Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt and the greater Wellington area, enabling flexibility of a funeral venue to provide for the needs of the family. The Hope Centre for example, can cater for up to 800 people. Upper Hutt venues include the Heretaunga Christian Centre in Lane Street (for up to 400 people) and the Silverstream Retreat (for up to 350 people, with three venues available onsite). We also conduct funeral services in Petone, Wainuiomata, Wellington and surrounding suburbs, with public venues for hire. Wellington venues include Old St Pauls in Mulgrave Street, Wellington (with catering facilities available at the Thistle Inn, or the Loaves and Fishes Hall) and The Pines Chapel in Houghton Bay (for up to 100 people) and with additional venue onsite, up to 300 people, with onsite catering available.
Some people may prefer to use their own family home, farm, community hall or marae to farewell their loved one.
You can choose whether you wish to have a Christian service, or one conducted by a civil celebrant.
This is a time in the service where family and friends can reflect on the lifetime of the person we are here to farewell. These photos are displayed during the funeral service, enabling everyone to reflect on personal memories set to your chosen music.
Croft Funeral Home offers a Livestream service through ‘One Room’ for family and friends you wish to invite who cannot physically attend the service. One Room livestreaming is available if the Funeral Service is onsite at our Chapel, otherwise an independent videographer can be engaged for you to provide the service required for those unable to attend.
If an independent provider is engaged, we will send a personalised link to view the service prior to the funeral taking place.
Should families require a USB download of the service, our funeral directors will arrange these for you.
Choosing the right music and songs for your loved one’s funeral will personalise the service and pay tribute to their life in a lasting and memorable way. We can help you to create a personalised music selection as a tribute to the person who has passed away.
A eulogy, or funeral speech, is given at a funeral to commemorate a person’s life. It is an important way of saying goodbye and can often provide comfort for those who are grieving. Eulogies help remind everyone of favourite memories and provide a legacy to their loved one.
The officiant or celebrant conducting the funeral service, will introduce the tributes, prior to inviting family and friends to share their time of reflection to farewell the person we are gathered to say goodbye to.
Search for the person by name to leave a personal message at Tributes Online.
See a range of caskets available in various styles and materials from wood to woven wicker. If you want any help choosing a casket, contact us, our funeral directors are happy to help.
Catering can be arranged for services at Croft Funeral Home or any offsite venue. We have a selection of caterers who can help with family’s requests and special dietary requirements. Please enquire.
Post funeral memorabilia is available for families who would like to engage our services in organising thank you cards containing a personalised message of gratitude which reply to the cards, letters and flowers and personal support received from family and friends following your recent bereavement. There are many other services available such as urns, monumental memorials, or Internment of Ashes. Please feel free to contact us if you require assistance to arrange any of these services.
We are here at any time to personally guide you in any decision making with the funeral services and arrangements you need help with, providing independent assistance to answer challenging questions.
Additional considerations
If you’re visiting the Wellington area (specifically Lower Hutt) and need accommodation, we would suggest Green Gables, The Boulcott Lodge, The Sebel or the Angus Inn. These all provide suitable accommodation within close proximity to Croft Funeral Home.
If urgent travel and/or an urgent passport is required, Croft Funeral Home can assist you by providing a letter verifying the family members passing. An email address can often speed up this process. Often one can book a seat on an airline accessing specials that are at a better rate than the compassionate rates. The airlines have strict guidelines for this process so it can sometimes be better to use a travel consultant instead of booking online to take advantage of compassionate travel opportunities.
Those families experiencing a sudden or unexpected passing will need to call our office, to engage our services. This will allow us to assist you by notifying the appropriate professionals, alleviating the stress on you and family so you can focus on each other. Once you are ready, we can begin to arrange the farewell of your choosing.
Initially we will require the next of Kin’s contact numbers, the deceased’s doctor’s details, or medical provider (Hospice or Hospital) and solicitors details which will then help us to direct the required information to the appropriate persons concerned for completing the needed documentation.
If the coroner is involved with confirming the cause of death, a contracted transportation service is engaged to transfer your loved one to a local coronal examination centre to ascertain the cause of death. This transportation provider will be a funeral provider in your local area, though not always your personal chosen company. Please be assured you are free to engage a provider of your choice that you are comfortable with once the coronial release is complete. Your chosen provider will contact the coroner, on your behalf and arrange to bring your loved one into their care once medical proceedings allow.
Contact the Department of Internal Affairs. They can give you information on:
- Requesting a death certificate
- Questions asked when registering a death, including how a death is registered.
With your involvement, our Funeral Director will coordinate these administration tasks for you.
What happens to ashes after cremation?
Croft Funeral Home will care for the ashes until we receive written instruction from the family member appointed to arrange the funeral as to the final resting place of the loved one.
We are happy to assist you with options to enable you to make the best decision in this regard, allowing for the permanent closure and final resting place.
What are some possible options for ashes?
Contact us at Croft Funeral Home to discuss options.
If you are intending to take your loved one’s ashes overseas
Customs require a letter confirming the contents of the urn and identity of the person from the funeral director. Please contact us regarding this facility if required.
What does the New Zealand law allow?
The placement of ashes needs to follow the law of the local authorities with upmost sensitivity to the use of the land. Local cemeteries provide several options, however registration and purchase of the facility chosen is required.
You may inter or scatter ashes on your own private land. To inter or scatter ashes on public land, permission is required.
Croft Funeral Home is a member of the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand and adheres strictly to FDANZ codes of ethics.