Lotus Funeral Services celebrates ribbon-cutting after two years of construction and planning

Lotus Funeral Services officially celebrated its grand opening in Flagler County in October 2025, marking the culmination of a five-year dream for owner Nina Guiglotto. The new funeral home aims to provide affordable end-of-life services while offering unique touches designed to comfort grieving families.

A Long Road to Opening

Guiglotto began operating the business in limited capacity in May 2025, though licensing requirements delayed full operations until late July. The October ribbon-cutting ceremony came after two years of construction work to transform an empty rental space into a functioning funeral home.

“When I rented this space two years ago, it had nothing in it,” Guiglotto explained. “So I had to do all this construction. It was a long road. But here we are.”

The idea for opening her own funeral home developed approximately five years ago while Guiglotto worked in the funeral industry. “I just realized that I knew I could make a difference if I could open my own,” she said. “I wanted it to be an affordable place.”

A Different Approach

Lotus Funeral Services operates as a full-service funeral home, but with a key difference from traditional establishments: most traditional services are conducted off-site. This business model allows the company to maintain lower overhead costs and pass those savings to customers.

“That helps me have a lower cost. I can be more affordable because I do provide that as a service without having all that big overhead,” Guiglotto said.

The facility includes a coffee bar where families can take their time making decisions in a relaxed environment. Guiglotto noted that many people overspend during grief and later regret hasty choices made immediately after losing a loved one.

“I want them to have the time and the space,” she said. “A lot of people overspend when they lose a loved one, and they make decisions that they didn’t want to make.”

Additional Services

For those who pre-plan their funeral arrangements, Lotus offers memory boxes and video services for loved ones. These were ideas Guiglotto proposed while working for a corporate funeral provider, but the company did not adopt them.

“There are some unique services that I tried to offer in corporate, but they didn’t really feel those were the idea,” she said. “So here I am doing them on my own.”

While Guiglotto is not herself a funeral director, she employs Steven, a licensed funeral director required for the business to operate. Her staff also includes three additional women and another man who assists with cemetery offerings.

Botanical Memory Gardens

A separate but related entity called Botanical Memory Gardens provides an alternative to traditional burial options. The service allows families to memorialize loved ones by co-mingling cremated remains with soil to plant trees or flowers.

Families can plant these memorial trees in their yards or in potted plants. The company also plans to announce a partnership with a local location for a public memory garden in the near future.

“It’s a very affordable way someone can place their loved one as a tree or a flower to bloom on,” Guiglotto explained. “They don’t need that traditional headstone that’s expensive as well.”

The specialized urns, called “living urns,” are available for purchase on the company’s website. Guiglotto also offers to assist families with planting ceremonies at their homes.

Community Support

Despite rainy weather, the October ribbon-cutting drew an impressive crowd. Attendees included Flagler County Superintendent LaShaka Moore, County Commissioner Andy Dance, and representatives from the local sheriff’s department and chamber of commerce.

“I thought with the rain, we would have too much food and not enough people,” Guiglotto said. “But I am really surprised we’ve had a lot of people turn up and are really excited.”

The new business joins the competitive funeral service market in Flagler County, offering residents another option for end-of-life planning and services.