Wedding, funeral available under one roof

THORNTON, Colo., March 29 (UPI) -- A new business in Thornton, Colo., offers to help shoppers with their wedding and funeral needs under one roof, the venture's owners say.

Larry Tabler and his wife Andrea say their Highline Circle of Life Center will hold funerals, weddings and even handle cremations all in the same 6,000-square foot building, The Denver Post reported Sunday.

"It's the new paradigm in the funeral business today," said Tabler, who has 42 years of experience in the funeral business.

"We have learned to be flexible," his wife added.

The Tablers agree a growing number of their clients prefer non-denominational services for significant life-and-death events.

Steffani Blackstock, Colorado Funeral Directors Association executive director, said the Tablers' multipurpose center makes sense given the commonalities between funerals and weddings.

"Weddings and funerals are the two major events in life," Blackstock told the Post. "You use flowers for both; you use ministers for both; and it's the one time when everybody comes together."

The center opened in November and features a chapel capable of holding nearly 150 guests to either a funeral or a wedding.