<p>&nbsp;</p> <p>As people entered the beautiful historical Vizcaya Mansion the guestbook stood beside a video screen.&nbsp; Music played in the background as the photo montage video displayed peaceful nature scenes.</p> <p>Parked in front of the mansion was a 1936 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud limousine that could seat fourteen passengers.&nbsp; Floral pieces were carefully arranged throughout the room.&nbsp; Seating for a hundred and fifty people had been setup theatre style.&nbsp; All of this was business as usual for this popular venue with one exception.&nbsp; Instead of an altar for the bride and groom, in the front of the parlor between two antique candle stands, there stood a casket.</p> <p>The beautiful Vizcaya Mansion has been voted the number one wedding venue in Sacramento.&nbsp; Fewer people know that it has also hosted several funerals.</p> <p>For the last 40 years weddings have been held in beautiful settings that often reflect the interests and passions of the bride and groom, while funerals have been held in funeral homes, cemetery chapels and places of worship.&nbsp; Now that is starting to change.</p> <p>It is little surprise that the baby-boomers would seek out the same personalized settings for their funerals that they had for their weddings.&nbsp; As funeral attendees entered the Vizcaya Mansion one person after another commented "This is so much nicer than a funeral home."</p> <p>Mandel Funeral Services of Northern California opened in August of 2006 as a mobile funeral home.&nbsp; How to come to families to plan and arrange funerals was easy to figure out.&nbsp; The question was where to hold a service for those without a place of worship or not wanting a cemetery chapel?</p> <p>The Mandel staff spent several weeks on the computer searching for wedding venues, then calling to see who might allow a funeral service.&nbsp; By the time they were done they had a list of over 80 locations throughout Northern California.&nbsp; The list included places like car museums and wineries which offered free wine tasting for attendees.</p> <p>When Mandel first called the Towe Car Museum he asked to speak to the manager.&nbsp; The receptionist asked "What's this regarding?"&nbsp; He told her he wanted to know if the museum would be willing to host a funeral.&nbsp; She responded; "You have to speak to the manager."</p> <p>After a brief discussion with the manager it was agreed there was no reason a funeral could not be held at the venue.&nbsp; To ensure there was no misunderstanding Mandel said; "So you have no problem with our bringing a casket into your car museum?"&nbsp; Her answer was; "Heck, you can bring the hearse in if you want."</p> <p>In the last two and a half years Mandel Funeral Services of Northern California has held services in wedding facilities throughout Northern California.&nbsp; This has enabled them to provide customized meaningful funeral services to twelve Northern California counties.</p> <p>They have used park district buildings, veteran halls and community centers to name a few.&nbsp; If it had not been for a scheduling conflict they would have even had a funeral at AT&amp;T Park for a man who was a Giants' fan.&nbsp; Along with unique and beautiful venues they have integrated other touches associated with weddings.&nbsp; Butterfly and dove releases, catering favorite foods and live streaming over the internet are some of their special offerings.</p> <p>Currently these settings seem to attract funerals for younger people.&nbsp; The concept is different and definitely non-traditional, but as the baby-boomers age it is likely that this type of service will fill their needs in a unique and special way.&nbsp;</p> 2009-04-28T18:15:03Z -8.23456 636 4387 true 19 28973 for-weddings-and-a-funeral 11 2009-05-02T18:11:31Z 2009-05-02T16:15:12Z

Weddings have been personalized for over 40 years. As baby-boomers age we are starting to personalize funerals.

1 2009-05-06T03:46:42Z