Cemeteries are the newest wedding sites

BROOKFIELD, Wis., May 21 (UPI) -- Cemeteries such as the Wisconsin Memorial Park in Brookfield, Wis., have begun hosting weddings as part of a new service trend, industry officials say.

Stewart Enterprises Inc. spokeswoman Denise Westerfield, whose company operates the Brookfield cemetery, said funeral homes make an ideal wedding site given the changing perception of death in society, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Wednesday.

"Funerals are becoming much more a celebration of life than a dark event, so why not have your wedding at a funeral home?" Westerfield said.

Jessica Koth, National Funeral Directors Association spokeswoman, said a growing number of cemeteries and funeral homes have begun expanding their businesses to include everything from weddings to bar mitzvahs.

"It's something that more and more funeral homes are looking at, whether they're remodeling existing facilities or building new additions," Koth told the Journal Sentinel.