How long is the wait for a funeral in Scotland?

[whatthehellnpw]

I've heard that funerals in Scotland are a lot quicker than England which is around 2-3 weeks at the moment. Does anyone know what the average time is currently? We are meant to be getting married abroad on Friday 19th and just wanting an idea of things. Thanks!

IME it will depend on the availability of the chosen service, like a crematorium

Crematorium or burial? Will there be an autopsy? Sorry for your loss but too many variables to know.

Elderly in hospital so I'm guessing very straight forward. Crematorium.

I suppose I'll have to wait and see and maybe change our flights. I really hope we can still get married on that date.

IME it is usually between 1-2 weeks. Hopefully the date will be known this week.

Sorry for your loss.

Has the body been released to the funeral directors? In a recent family death which was straightforward it was only a matter of days. Then it was more a case of when could they get a booking at the crem. We had options using different crematoria. Also needed a celebrant. Took about a fortnight, mainly because of the lack of capacity at the crematoria.

My granny died in May and her cremation was exactly 2 weeks after death. I guess it depends where in Scotland you are and how busy it is, our crematorium is currently closed and the services are being held elsewhere, then the bodies cremated separately, it's a bit of a shambles!

It used to be quick pre covid. If no post mortem required it could have been within 3-5 working days.

Since then it seems to be a lot longer like at least 1-2weeks but some places can still be up to 3wks. I've found cremations seemed to be longer than burials.

Totally depends on where, your local funeral director could advise.

My dad died on 1 August (suddenly and unexpectedly at home but didn't need a PM as he'd been in contact with the GP the day before). His funeral (crematorium) was on 17 August. Could probably have had it earlier but wanted it at a specific crematorium to and on a Friday afternoon to allow people to get there from far afield.

It also depends on if there's going to be a purvey and the availability of locations for that.

This was Glasgow.

My Uncle died in May, funeral was 10 days later, but they wanted a particular celebrant and crematorium.
It didn't seem long to me though.

My husband's funeral took a month...but it was during Covid and one of the two crematoria in the area was closed for refurbishment. A fortnight is more normal in Scotland.

I would just arrange the funeral for a date that suits you. If they can’t do it before, then wait until you come back. I don’t think it will necessarily mean any greater cost. Alternatively, you could have a private cremation and then a service/event celebrating their life later on

Where I am if you die on a Monday your funeral will done and dusted before the Friday.

Uncle died in mid March and funeral was 3 weeks later. Getting the death certificate from the hospital to the registrars took a few days which delayed registration. Then making sure the crematorium and somewhere for the purvey we're available was a bit of a challenge.