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Why Think About Funeral Wishes

Article written by Rebecca Hillier

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Why Is It Important To Think About Your Funeral Wishes In Advance?

Whilst thinking about your funeral may be a difficult thing to do, making decisions about your funeral while you are still alive will not only ensure you get the funeral you want, but it also really helps to make a difficult time a little easier for loved ones when the time comes to arrange your funeral.

We regularly see families who do not know if their loved one wanted a cremation or a burial, and not knowing this makes arranging the funeral even more emotionally difficult as families are left guessing if they are making the right decision on your behalf, and can be left with feelings of guilt about whether they made the right decision.

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5 Reasons Why It’s A Good Idea To Start Thinking About Your Funeral Wishes

1.  Peace Of Mind For You And Your Loved Ones

Planning your funeral wishes ahead of time allows you to take control of your final send off, and relieves your family from the some of burden of making difficult decisions during an emotional time.

Knowing your preferences will provide them with clear guidance and peace of mind when it matters most

2.     Honouring Your True Wishes

Your funeral is a personal reflection of your life, values, and beliefs. By planning ahead, you ensure that every detail aligns with your wishes, the format and style of funeral service you choose, the coffin, the funeral songs and readings, as well as your final resting place.

You have the power to create a meaningful tribute that resonates with your story and celebrates your life on your own terms.

3.     Financial preparation

Funeral costs can be overwhelming and unexpected. When you plan in advance, you can explore and understand the financial options available, and make decisions today about how your funeral will be paid for.

Planning ahead also allows you to explore prepayment options with a Prepaid Funeral Plan.

4.      Easing Family Stress

When a loved one dies, grieving family members are often left to guess what their loved one would have wanted for their funeral.

By documenting your preferences, you remove uncertainty and disagreements, allowing your family to focus on supporting one another rather than making rushed decisions under pressure. Our Funeral Wishes form has been created to guide you through the process of documenting your funeral wishes.

5.     A Thoughtful And Responsible Choice

Taking the time to think about and document your funeral arrangements demonstrates care and responsibility for those you love.

It’s a final act of love, ensuring your family can celebrate your life without added stress or worry. Your forward-thinking decision helps them honor your memory with clarity and confidence.

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Choosing The Right Funeral Director

Choosing the funeral director that you wish your family to use for your funeral when the time comes is one of the most important and helpful decisions you can make in advance.

The right funeral director will offer more than just services, they will provide comfort, compassion and understanding and will hold your family’s hand throughout every stage of the arrangement process and on the day of the funeral, and will ensure you get a unique and fitting send off.

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About Hilliers Funeral Service

The Hillier family has been caring for the people of Swindon and it’s surrounding areas for four generations since 1923.

Today Mark and Rebecca Hillier lead an experienced team of funeral professionals who will treat you and your family with the utmost care, compassion, empathy.

Our way to is to spend time getting to know your family and finding out about you as a person as this allows us to show your family all the ways we can create a truly personal farewell.

No matter what type of funeral you decide, big or small, we always go the extra mile to make sure your family have all the guidance and support they need at every stage.

And with us, our care and support doesn’t end on the day of the funeral. Our Bereavement Care Service is available free of charge to help families through the difficult grieving process.

Our team
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Our Clients Give Us 5 Stars

We are very honoured that many of our clients like to tell us how the service they received from us made them feel. We’d like to share some of these comments with you below.

  • Avatar Leah Whitaker 09 February 2026 ★★★★★
    Hilliers have been amazing from start to finish.
    So compassionate and caring. From the way they took my grandad in their care from leaving the house, to the chapel of rest to the funeral.
    Cannot recommend Hilliers enough.
    Thank you all     … read more for being so kind and caring.
  • Avatar Debbie Carnan 4 weeks ago ★★★★★
    We cannot thank the team at Hillier’s Funeral Directors enough for the care, dignity and compassion they showed our family during such a difficult time. From the very first phone call they were kind, patient and completely understanding … read more of what we needed.
    They handled every detail with professionalism and respect, making the whole process far less stressful than we expected. Nothing was too much trouble, and they took the time to explain everything clearly and gently.
    Their support meant more to us than we can properly express and it was comforting to know our auntie/sister was in such caring hands. We would highly recommend Reece and Neil to anyone needing a funeral service carried out with warmth, dignity and true compassion.
    Thank you so much from Debbie, Lucy and David..
  • Avatar Rachel Coughlan 30 January 2026 ★★★★★
    Jo and the team at Hillier's made a horrible situation bearable. We live out of county and the transportation of our loved one was seemless. All our wishes were meet without exception. Every email (and there were lots), were answered … read more immediately. We cannot fault the service we received and at a very reasonable price. Thank you to everyone involved, much gratitude from Rachel & the Driscoll Family.
  • Avatar Sandy Woodage 3 months ago ★★★★★
    I would like to highly recommend this branch of Hilliers who helped with laying my Mum to rest. From start to finish they were consistent and attentive. Tracey and Sue were our key contacts and I can't recommend them highly enough … read more for the support and care they took in guiding us through such a difficult time. Their kindness and thoughtfulness was very much appreciated. The funeral was a very lovely tribute to my Mum and very personal. In addition the flower display for Mum's coffin was the best I've ever seen. It was absolutely stunning.
  • Avatar Z 07 November 2025 ★★★★★
    Incredibly Polite and Sincere. They assisted us with our requests, for my late brother -with so much dignity and humbleness (it actually brings tears to my eyes, just recalling how patient they were).
    Thank you.
  • Avatar Cynken 3 months ago ★★★★★
    My family and I would like to thank all of you at Hilliers including Sophia for making our daughters funeral such a beautiful and comforting occasion to us. Your excellent professionalism greatly eased our pain at losing her and it has … read more left us with some lovely memories of her life and her passing.
    The website you provided to follow her funeral attracted positive comments from those who followed it. We had originally been advised that Hilliers were quality and when we told friends in Swindon who we had selected they all agreed we had made a good choice – how right they were, from your initial advice and throughout the process we felt we were in good hands.
    Thank you very much to you and all your staff for your hard work to make the day so successful.
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The Hillier Promise

  • To care for you and your loved one as if you are members of our own family
  • To be open, honest and truthful in all we do
  • To always deliver excellence and go the extra mile
  • To give back to the community we live in and are part of
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Our Funeral Homes

Hillier Funeral Service is one of Swindon’s oldest family businesses.

We have three funeral homes covering Swindon, Wroughton, Royal Wootton Bassett, Purton, Chiseldon, Wanborough, Cricklade, Lydiard Millicent, Highworth, Fairford, Lechlade, Shrivenham and local villages.

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Talk To Us About Your Funeral Wishes

If you would like to talk through funeral wishes, or would like to understand more about what choices and options are available to personalise your funeral, please get in touch and we can help you not only with documenting your wishes, but also give you advice and guidance on how best to discuss your wishes with your loved one.