Victoria Raimes: Wacky funerals.. what a way to go!

But if you've paraded the coffin through the streets in a hearse fashioned out of a Bentley, asked the guests to wear every colour of the rainbow and ordered a gravestone in the shape of a Stormtrooper, friends and family are going to find it hard not to turn their tears of sadness into tears of laughter.

It seems a strange concept, but colourful and quirky funerals are the new black.

Today, giving a friend or family member a send-off is more about having a celebration. Gone are the days of slabs of grey granite, black garments and matching hats and wooden coffins: now funerals can be fun.

Examples of smile-cracking funerals are on the rise across the UK, and Edinburgh is no exception.

Whether you fancy a coffin or gravestone with stripes, spots, great big pictures of your beloved pooch or covered in clan tartan, your final wish is the funeral director's command.

Recently, one East London family made sure their husband and father travelled to the afterlife in style – in a one-ton granite tombstone made to look exactly like a BMW.

Another couple commissioned a pair of coffins to look like canal boats. One dance-mad young lady opted for a giant ballet shoe.

And local man Fraser Ewart, from Musselburgh, fashioned his father's hearse out of one of his beloved Bentley cars.

Superintendent Jane Derby, who works at the private Seafield Cemetery, explains that people no longer want to spend their final day with a loved-one in mourning.

She says: "You find some people like to party, have a laugh instead of getting all serious. We've had all sorts of requests, some quite bizarre ones. The one that sticks in the memory most was a family who wanted their dad to be buried with his mobile phone. Switched on.

"I laughed and said OK, but I warned them that I wasn't sure about the signal.

"We are finding that we're getting more and more unusual requests. People aren't just going for quirky, they're being eco-friendly too. We get far more wicker and cardboard coffins.

"I've also seen a motorbike hearse, coffins painted in football colours and tartan coffins.

"Nowadays, people want to celebrate more than mourn. What better way to mark their life than with an unusual gravestone? Although you can imagine that some things would be inappropriate, I've never turned away an idea in my 12 years of working."

Michael Turnbull, author of The Edinburgh Graveyard Guide, says that immigrants may have something to do with the more adventurous funerals and decorations seen in today's society. He explains: "People coming to Britain from abroad have their own rituals and ceremonies. People from the Philippines, in particular, have a different attitude to death. They sing over the coffin, tell stories and make quite an elaborate show of things. Now some of these practices might have filtered through to us."

Despite the jolly nature of such celebrations, Mr Turnbull adds that over-decorative memorials can also attract unwanted attention.

He says: "There is a lot of vandalism in graveyards now, and bold displays could be targets. It also seems a little unfair that such gravestones are only available to the affluent. It's a pretty expensive business."

Although the idea of marking a loved one's passing with a unique coffin or stone might seem a fitting farewell, Tim Purves, of family-run funeral directors William Purves, in Bruntsfield, says it can be difficult to gain permission to erect a wacky statue.

He says: "I've seen some wacky hearses including a double-decker bus and a motorcycle hearse, but when it comes to headstones, the council and many cemeteries do have to stick to tight rules. Although anything and everything does seem to go as a headstone, there are restrictions on what you can and can't build. Generally, a memorial can only be the width of a regular gravestone and they can't be more than four feet high.

"Although you see some towering headstones in some of the older graveyards, it's a safety risk to have a tall one now. You don't want to experience a death by gravestone."

OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MOURNING

Funeral practices vary hugely around the world ranging from the celebratory to the macabre. Here's how some other cultures mark the passing of their dead.

Ghana: Ghanaians are often buried in 'fantasy coffins' hand carved and painted in all manner of shapes representing an aspect of the deceased's character – like a fish for a fisherman or a car for a driver.

Tibet: Some Tibetan Buddhists leave the bodies of their loved ones on a mountain top to be eaten by animals, especially birds of prey, in so-called "Sky Burials".

USA: The "Jazz Funeral" tradition in New Orleans features a brass band marching with the family to the cemetery playing sombre hymns and dirges with a switch to more upbeat music after the burial.

Bali: Some cremation ceremonies among Hindus are almost like carnivals with festive floats parading in local streets. The body has generally been buried beforehand, often because it takes so long to organise the cremation.