You can call our Picaluna team at any time to discuss your particular situation, and start the funeral planning process.
Acting with compassion, care and respect, we make all the arrangements to transfer the deceased person into our care.
Our funeral arranger meets with you to help and guide you in creating a funeral that is meaningful, personal and within your budget.
We carefully organise and
professionally deliver a personalised funeral – one that’s totally aligned with your wishes and feels authentic to the memory of your loved one.
Are you searching for non-traditional funeral homes in Melbourne? Picaluna is all about offering genuine, personal funerals, helping family, friends and the community to honour, mourn, celebrate, heal and rejuvenate.
Our founders were inspired by some extraordinary images of a
cliff-top funeral for a still-born baby named Luna. It was heart-felt, community-lead and beautiful. Little Luna gave us our name. Grazie Luna.
(Italian: piccolina – little one)
Picaluna is changing the way funerals are done for the better. It’s a change that needed to happen. More personal.
More compassionate. And importantly, more affordable.
Picaluna is about community. Walking alongside the bereaved in their most significant time of need, is at the heart of what we do. We’re there for you, guiding, listening and assisting with whatever is needed to create the most meaningful
funeral possible.
We believe in giving back.
Picaluna donates 5% of our profit to your choice from one of our Picaluna Charity partners.
Picaluna’s team of funeral directors and funeral celebrants offer a wealth of experience and expertise to guide you in the creation of an appropriate funeral ceremony. Being a different style of Melbourne funeral home, we pride ourselves on our personal approach – we’re all about providing you with the right information and appropriate support to honour your person. We work in our communities and alongside end-of-life consultants, death doulas and palliative support workers to provide a continuity of care when you need it most.
At Picaluna, we believe in creating truly unique and personalised farewells. We’re a different kind of funeral home in Melbourne. We work together with families to create life celebrations or personal funerals that take place in meaningful locations. Whether this is your church, your backyard, a surf club, golf club or crematorium chapel. Picaluna funeral directors take the time to guide you through the funeral planning; to help inspire you in creating a beautiful farewell for your special person.
Picaluna does things a little differently to traditional Melbourne funeral homes; we see our role is to assist and empower families to create meaningful and authentic farewells that are aligned with their values… and at an affordable price. We are completely transparent with our pricing, sourcing everything at cost and applying a 35% Service fee to the wholesale cost of the funeral.
Whether it’s cremation services in Melbourne you’re after, or a burial, we’re here to help you farewell your loved one in a truly beautiful way, with our support and guidance at every step. Cremation cost starts from $3,135, with a Burial cost starting from $6,708
The livestreaming of a funeral ceremony brings family and friends together no matter how far apart they are. Picaluna provides sophisticated multi-camera options for livestreaming and webcasting. Whether in a traditional funeral home in Melbourne backdrop or a backyard, it can take place in almost any location. A high-quality recording is also available for download following the ceremony as a special reminder of the day.
Rating
When my beautiful Mother, June Harrison, passed away suddenly three weeks before Christmas my family were not only grieving but unexpectantly having to organise her funeral arrangements. As is the case with most families we really didn't know where to start. After doing some online research and talking to various Funeral Directors including Rachel Bracken from Picaluna Beautiful Funerals, as a family we all agreed wholeheartedly that we would be in good hands with Rachel. From the start Rachel was very professional, knowledgeable, compassionate, friendly and caring. Even though almost all arrangements were long distance, Rachel guided us through the planning process and other necessary arrangements explaining all the options and listening to our requests over many long phone conversations, she made herself available at all times and nothing was too much trouble. As well as all required arrangements, at our request Rachel organised Live Streaming, flowers and light luncheon refreshments at a beautiful Memorial Gardens location that our family had chosen, everything was perfect. Our Mother's funeral was a beautiful celebration of her life and we cannot thank Rachel and her lovely colleagues enough for their respectful, professional and caring guidance on the day. If any of my friends or family were to find themselves in the unexpected situation of having to plan a funeral, I would have no hesitation in recommending Picaluna Funerals. Thank you again Rachel, we will never forget your help, you are a beautiful caring person. Lyn.
I cannot rate Kerri high enough. She went above and beyond to make things happen smoothly. The care, compassion and consideration Kerri puts into her work made the whole process so special. I received many compliments on how well Kerri and her team worked together to create a truly beautiful service.
In the worst of times, Jacqueline and her team from Picaluna maid everything little bit easier. Every small detail was taken care of, Jacqueline was very respectful of our culture and religion. The care and compassion our family received was excellent, the team are simply beautiful and caring bunch of people. Very grateful for the service, so thank you! Highly recommended.
Shelly was an absolute angel in disguise! From the get go right through to the end of farewelling our loved one. She is one of the most gentle and caring people I have ever met and really went above and beyond in comforting us throughout the whole daunting journey. Heartfelt thank you Shelly!
Shelly has been great to work with through a difficult time. We found her to be friendly, welcoming and easy to to deal with throughout the process. Highly recommend.
Rachel Bracken was amazing. She went above & beyond with so much heartfelt sympathy & empathy for the family for my Mother in laws' funeral. Nothing was any trouble for her. She is so easy to talk to, it feels like we had known her for ages. I would thoroughly recommend her for any event.
I could not have asked for anyone better than Alexandra Kirk and Picaluna to arrange the Farewell to my wife. I had great hopes of the setting and the format of the ceremony, both of which were challenging. My hopes were realised and expectations exceeded. We live streamed the event for the benefit of family and friends in the UK. This was very successful. Alexandra brought a sympathetic, understanding and comforting personality to her role as celebrant which was appreciated by all in attendance. My words are insufficient to express my gratitude. Thank you Alexandra.
Kate brought warmth, compassion and a personal touch to the recent celebration of my mum’s life. I was so grateful for her guidance, thank you Kate.
Melissa and Picaluna arranged the cremation of our loved one and guided us through the process with great care, patience and compassion, especially as we had no experience beforehand. We are very grateful for their help and support.
So grateful to have met Vivienne and discovered Picaluna at the hardest times of my life. Thank you Vivienne for taking care of arrangements for both my parents. Your professionalism, your warmth, empathy and compassion is simply amazing! Thank you for keeping me updated on the journey and for seamlessly addressing the issue with the registration. Picaluna focus on respectfully organising and helping you celebrate a life well lived for your loved one. A truly touching experience...
PICALUNA'S AND KATE CUTTER'S PROFESSIONAL HANDLING OF MY WIFE JENNY'S FUNERAL WAS DONE WITH SENSITIVITY AND COMPASSION.DEEP GRATITUDE.STEVE CROSS.
We couldn’t have hoped for a better suited person to help us farewell our beautiful Nan. Kate’s patience, compassion and understanding was exactly what we needed in an extremely difficult time. Her flexibility with arrangements and intimate knowledge of the process helped remove any anxiety we had about being able to say goodbye to Nan the way she would’ve wanted. Thank you Kate
Kate officiated at both my mum and my dad’s funeral and I couldn’t have hoped for a better person in that role. She is genuinely interested in the life of the deceased and is extremely caring, helpful and professional in her approach. I couldn’t recommend her highly enough.
We wanted a 'non-Feneral' celebratory send-off for my wife who had requested nothing religious and no cremtorium, herse, etc.. Alexandra Kirk @ Picaluna guided us through the options available and together we created a magic day of 'celebration of life' exactly as my wife would have wanted.
I was so blessed to meet Vivienne from Picaluna Funerals, this was my first experience and I had no idea where to start. I can’t thank her enough for making my husband's farewell so special and running smoothly in the difficult situation of bringing him of home. We were all so impressed by Vivienne's professionalism but still remaining sensitive and caring. Her warm personality made everyone feel at ease, just like a trusted friend. A friend in England who watched the video said 'I am not sure if it’s the right thing to say - but we so enjoyed watching today - I felt that we were there with you’.
A big shout out to say thanks to everyone at Picaluna Funerals! After the sudden and unexpected death of my mother, Funeral Director and Celebrant Shelly Bennett, walked us through some options for Mum’s farewell. We are a large family and despite the many different opinions in the room, Shelly helped us to create a unique ‘one of a kind’ send off that was both fitting for Mum, but also respectful of our brother who has special needs. Shelly was considerate, organised and went out of her way to ensure that the venue was beautifully presented and that all the little flourishes we had in mind were thoughtfully executed. I simply can’t recommend Shelly and the team at Picaluna Funerals highly enough.
Very accommodating and efficient. Jacqueline was more than helpful and a pleasure to deal with in a difficult time. Would recommend. Thank you Picaluna and Jacqueline
Sarah took care of our family as we lost our mum this year. She is compassionate and brings a wonderful perspective to the end of life journey, as well as a sense of humour. Sarah was indispensable for us and is partnered with a lovely team of specialists who can support with all needs during this time. We are so grateful and will call on Sarah again in the future.
Julie was so empathetic -she gently guided us through the process when our mum passed away. She helped us work out how we said goodbye but listened to our stories about mum and captured the essence of her in the service. The family all came away with a feeling we did her proud. Thank you Julie - you really did make it special.
Our experience with Picaluna and the team at Picaluna was exceptional. Details were attended to, matters graciously handled and we could not have asked for anything to be done differently. 10 out of 10.
Sarah Tolmie recently helped to organise and was the celebrant at the memorial for my husband. She was very understanding & kind, ready to listen to what my husband had requested & I wanted for his memorial but she also had good suggestions that made the memorial even more special. Sarah wasn't pushy & was easy to talk to & empathetic to our feelings. A number of people mentioned to me afterwards about how Sarah beautifully conducted the service, & my family & myself were very pleased with how it went. Thank you Sarah & I have no hesitation in recommending her.
Sarah steered us through a very sad and stressful time with compassion and kindness. I recommend Sarah's services to anyone experiencing the loss of a loved one.
My family and I were so very grateful for all the support and guidance given by Sarah. She helped to make our celebration of my husband's life so very special and personal. Even the youngest children were catered for and were busy adding their touch to the coffin. From the bottom of my heart, I thank Sarah for all care and helping us through our challenging time.
Jonelle at PicaLuna could not have been more helpful and obliging in the attentive service she offered my family during a very difficult time. Nothing was ever too much trouble, and she was always proactive in pursuing our ideas and suggestions. We were especially touched by her and Lauren turning up to the service wearing red-and-yellow scarves in keeping with the Spanish theme of our father’s funeral. It was a lovely gesture that was very much appreciated by all. Thank you, Jonelle, for your no-fuss, calming, respectful and sensitive organisation of our event. We have no hesitation in recommending you and PicaLuna without reservation.
Thank you Sarah for the beautiful gift of ceremony you gave for our beloved Ludwig and the personal integrity in honouring him as we believed he would have desired. Your kindness and support during this time will not be forgotten either.....Peter
Our mother passed away in April of this year after being diagnosed with Acute myeloid leukemia 2 months prior. Having found Kate via Picaluna, Kate availed herself to come and spend sometime with mum, my siblings and me prior to mum passing. Kates kindness, compassion, understanding coupled with such a beautiful nature put us all at ease with the process that was shortly to follow. Upon mums passing, in a time where emotions were running in overwhelm, Kate assisted in making the process transparent and seamless with wonderful communication and generally going above and beyond in the organisation of the funeral. On the day, Kate acting as the celebrant, portrayed mum in the light that she deserved with a detailed and heart felt eulogy that resonated with all present on the day. With Kates caring and committed assistance we were able to achieve the most perfect farewell for our mother for which we are so grateful for. With eternal appreciation, David, Denise, Stephen.
Kate was absolutely wonderful as well as the rest of the team. Thanks for looking after Aunty Nell and Aunty Ann we couldn't have done it without you. William, Annette and Dennice
Sarah’s level of care, compassion and integrity was exceptional and most importantly authentic. She is able to have the perfect balance of respect and openness and listens to your needs but will also provide well thought through suggestions at a time when it’s hard to know what you might want and need. Sarah takes the time to get to know people and their families to understand what might be the best fit for them. Highly recommend Sarah — she loves what she does and that comes through in all aspects of her work.
Sarah Tolmie, so much more than a celebrant. Sarah managed my husband Bob’s funeral in 2009. I say managed as it would not have been the beautiful service it was had it not been for Sarah. Sarah was thorough, compassionate, organised and had the attention to detail required for such an event. Sarah knew exactly what she needed to know and who she needed to speak to so that when she spoke of Bob, she sounded as though she had known him all her life. It was a large service with many people attending, and it was Sarah who helped and guided me to ensure nothing was left to chance. It’s been 14 years since Sarah gave this amazing eulogy. I will never forget how she captured Bob so accurately and so beautifully. Missing none of the characteristics that make us unique and ensures celebrations of life, are great celebrations of life. This is where Sarah excels. Deb Merkenhof, Sydney.
Sarah Tolmie, so much more than a celebrant. Sarah managed my husband Bob’s funeral in 2009. I say managed as it would not have been the beautiful service it was had it not been for Sarah. Sarah was thorough, compassionate, organised and had the attention to detail required for such an event. Sarah knew exactly what she needed to know and who she needed to speak to so that when she spoke of Bob, she sounded as though she had known him all her life. It was a large service with many people attending, and it was Sarah who helped and guided me to ensure nothing was left to chance. It’s been 14 years since Sarah gave this amazing eulogy. I will never forget how she captured Bob so accurately and so beautifully. Missing none of the characteristics that make us unique and ensures celebrations of life, are great celebrations of life. This is where Sarah excels. Deb Merkenhof, Sydney.
We used Sarah as our marriage celebrant and she was amazing .. she supported us in creating the most magical ceremony , weaving in layers of meaning , love and family. We were reluctant to have a ceremony but Sarah’s insight and experience meant we never looked back . Our times with Sarah helped us to build a our relationship. Thank you for helping us to form a stronger bond and special memories.
Anne looked after our family following the passing of my sister Cathy. Her care and attention helped to make a very emotional and distressing time a little bit easier to manage. All of our family appreciated the support and knowledge that Anne provided. Thanks Anne
Sarah is by far, the loveliest and most compassionate funeral director I have ever met. We had a no service/cremation for my loved one. He was taken into care by Picaluna and Sarah not only organised the appropriate paperwork but also helped me with 'next steps' including the notification to Centrelink. Most importantly, I felt heard and understood by her in terms of my relationship with Ron and that really helped my grieving process. I highly recommend Sarah Tolmie as a Funeral Director and Celebrant and too, the Picaluna team.
It is really hard to put into words what Kate did for our family. She was everything we needed and more. She went above and beyond to make my dad's farewell a loving experience for all in attendance. It was the finer details, the care and compassion and her professionalism that set Kate apart. We knew from the first meeting that she was exactly who we would trust to help us through this process. We will be forever grateful to her.
Sarah’s kind, and gentle wholistic approach was so well suited to our farewell to Mum. She took the time to understand our needs and respectfully made space for us to reflect in a manner that brought peace, love and understanding for all. Thank you Sarah. Kind regards, Omar Abidin
Shelly from Picaluna was incredible, we lost our little girl and thanks to Shelly we were able to create a beautiful memorial that we will always treasure. Shelly was organised, sensitive, personal and professional. Nothing was ever too much, and her communication was always outstanding. We were so thankful to be introduced to Shelly, she really made the hardest situation that little bit easier. Thank you Shelly 💛💛
Our first meeting with Anne Lee @ Picaluna was a telephone conversation. She was warm, compassionate and re-assuring, and we immediately felt at ease with her. She took care of the logistical/procedural matters as required, but it was her ability to step into our home and immediately not only feel like an old friend but also be able to offer us suggestions (and alternatives) for my father’s farewell service so that it was tailored to suit him rather than follow a set ‘programme’ that really impressed us. The result was what my family and I felt was a beautiful & fitting farewell, tweaked to suit an almost 102 year old gentleman who had lived and seen much over his long life. We consider ourselves so very fortunate and cannot recommend Anne & Picalua highly enough to anyone needing to organise a farewell.
Shelley was fabulous and helpful for our mum's unique funeral. She helped make the day truly special for me and my sisters with no regrets a year later!
Based on my personal experience I have so much respect for Greg Inglis and his team at Picaluna. My family has used Picaluna three times. The first was a quiet personal family gathering for the passing of my father organised by Scott. When my mother passed recently she had a simple cremation which was handled perfectly by Vivienne. When my brother passed unexpectedly Vivienne again stood tall and organised a formal service which brough together a large number of his friends, family and colleagues for a wonderful commemoration of his life. Thank you to the whole team at Picaluna.
Anne was the most beautiful and wonderful Celebrant and Funeral Director I could have asked for. She was so lovely, warm, gentle and guided me through such a difficult and challenging time after losing my Mother. The service was everything I could have wished for and more, I put a lot of trust and faith in Anne and she made a difficult day such a beautiful one which I’ll never forget. So many family and friends told me that it was like Ann had known my Mother for many years and this is what made the service so personal, so relatable and so comforting. Thank you also to Jodie and the wonderful team at Picaluna, I can’t thank you enough for all the care and love you put into the service. Anne, I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful and caring soul than you to be the Celebrant and Funeral Director, thank you so, so much… I know my Mum would have been so happy and proud… ❤️❤️
I'd never had to organise a funeral before and when my mum passed away, I was heartbroken, grieving and dreading the process of saying goodbye. I researched a few funeral Directors in my local area, and I was drawn to Picaluna for its philosophy of creating genuine, personal funerals, helping family, friends and the community to honour, mourn, celebrate, heal and rejuvenate. When I called Anne Lee, I was nervous but within minutes I felt calm and knew I was in good hands. Anne made the process easy; I wasn't rushed to make any decisions, not once did I feel she was giving me a sales pitch, she genuinely wanted to help organise the most fitting of funerals for my mum. The funeral itself was perfect, the flowers, the music, the slideshow, everything. In fact, all the attendees said it was the most beautiful and amazing funeral they had ever attended. My mum looked beautiful in the coffin which for me was life changing, from that moment I wasn't scared of death anymore. I 100% recommend Anne Lee and Picaluna funerals if you are looking for that personal service and ensuring you give your loved one the sendoff they deserve.
I would highly recommend Picaluna Funerals ! Shelly made such a difficult time much more bearable and easier from the first phone call I felt I had reached out to an amazing group of funeral directors . Shelly is second to none when it comes to arranging a beautiful personalised service showing nothing but love respect and compassion . I could not have wished for a more special personal and loving goodbye for my mum Picaluna cared about all the circumstances including financial and made it so easy to afford such a memorable day to hour our very special mum , thank you Shelly thank you Picaluna
With the greatest pleasure and gratitude, I'll express mine and my families highest recommendation for Picaluna - Beautiful Funerals. And specifically the thoughtfulness, care, compassion and empathy, for Shelly Bennett our Funeral Director & Celebrant. From our first contact of inquiry and all the way through this difficult time, Shelly's guidance and deliberation, her care and consideration. Shelly's time and availability at any time for me and my family. With an added unexpected last minuet change in our arranged and booked church funeral, As some of our family got covid. Shelly with ease altered and arranged everything for us within hours, and our service remained spectacular and beautiful for our deceased loved one and our family, to a completely new venue, out doors. I cannot thank Picaluna enough for the choices of caskets. We chose a beautiful White Whicker basket for my Aunt and the spectacular array of flowers, driven in an antique Mercedes Benz. My family and I say again, thank you for sending us Shelly for guiding us through this difficult time. We couldn't have wished for a nicer, warmer person to help us through. Thank You to everyone at Picaluna and Shelly. Anne Colquhoun and Family
From the moment we met Shelly and she said "Lets all have a cup of tea" we knew that she had been sent to us for a reason. After our initial meeting, it felt as though an old trusted friend was taking care of everything for us. Shelly ensured that the day was everything we wanted and needed it to be. Thank you x
Picaluna is an excellent funeral service. You will be allocated a celebrant, we had Anne Lee who was just terrific. Caring. Professional. Just the right tone always. They will tailor a program that suits your wishes. Manage everything so you don't have to worry when you are already managing your grief. They are independent too which for us was important. With Picaluna you are not just a number but a person. They care.
Picaluna is an excellent funeral service. You will be allocated a celebrant, we had Anne Lee who was just terrific. Caring. Professional. Just the right tone always. They will tailor a program that suits your wishes. Manage everything so you don't have to worry when you are already managing your grief. They are independent too which for us was important. With Picaluna you are not just a number but a person. They care.
Anne is an amazing women. Does the best job with so much love and care.
Hi Vivienne, Thank you so much for your wonderful support. We are eternally grateful that you came into our lives at this difficult time. Lots of love from Paula and Sienna. ❤️🙏❤️
