When Chris Lewis died, his grieving family hosted a celebration true to the Rockhampton man's life.
"We just wanted to personalise it, make it a bit more uplifting instead of just the plain coffin and everyone's always sad," daughter Chelsea Lewis said.
The family chose to have their loved one's casket designed with his favourite sports team and beverage of choice.
"He was Parramatta Eels obsessed, loved them, even though they don't seem to win very often," Ms Lewis laughed.
"When everyone saw that [the coffin] they thought, 'Wow, this is really Chris — like it's really showing us who he was'."
A growing number of families and individuals are personalising coffins and end-of-life ceremonies, according to central Queensland funeral home owner Colin Dean.
"We're becoming more personalised than we are traditional," he said.
Not a 'usual funeral'
Mr Lewis, 52, was diagnosed with leukaemia last year and passed away this month.
"He didn't want anything fancy," Ms Lewis said.
She said the decision to make the ceremony genuine to her dad was worth every dollar.
"We just wanted to make it a bit more happy instead of so down," she said.
"Everyone knew how much he loved [the Parramatta Eels] so it just made it much more perfect.
"It wasn't as sad as the usual funeral."
Guests cracked open a cold one at the end of the ceremony.
"Everyone was happy to grab one and do a cheers for him," Ms Lewis said.
Civil celebrant Leanne Smith said Mr Lewis's service was an example of a growing trend.
"It's relevant, it resonates, and it's not sad," she said.
"There's so much sad that goes on, you don't have to make it sadder than it already is."
A growing trend
Ms Smith, who has been a celebrant in the central Queensland region for about 14 years, said she had noticed a tendency towards coffins that made a statement.
Ms Smith said she had everything from football team colours to brand name biscuits.
She said a family chose a biscuit coffin for their loved one who was "a prankster at heart who had a passion for Monte Carlo bickies".
The woman's children said it was the most appropriate coffin for her.
"Families really appreciate the opportunity to reflect the person that they're saying farewell to and acknowledge the things that they'll remember about them and treasure those memories," Ms Smith said.
"I guess the rules are, there really aren't any rules."
Ms Smith said, beyond the aesthetic design, many families also opted for unique rituals.
"It's also not unusual to have an opportunity during a service for people to come forward and make a handprint on a coffin or to grab a Sharpie and write a message on them," she said.
Ms Smith said most guests unaware of the unconventional proceedings found comfort in the surprise.
"I think they view almost with a little bit of relief, 'Oh, it's OK to smile, it's OK to participate in this, and it's OK to remember a person well'," she said.
"It's still respectful, but you can see that it eases some of the tension that always associates sad events.
"A lot of times when people come to a funeral service, they just sit there but there's lots more opportunity to be part of what's going on — and it's not scary."
'Something to tell their story'
After two decades in the funeral industry, Mr Dean said more families were stepping away from tradition.
He said it was a combination of a multicultural community, a younger generation, and improved technology that had boosted demand.
"You don't have to have flowers on the top of a coffin, we can have a fishing net or a pole or a hat or something just to tell their story," he said.
"These people who drank with [Mr Lewis] were good friends with him, actually got to say that farewell the way he would've liked it — over a drink and not just over tears."
