How to Plan a Memorial Service

Commemorate the memory of your loved one with a dignified memorial service. A memorial service is a ceremony where you celebrate and honor the life of the deceased without the body present. Mourning and saying goodbye is difficult. However, with the support of friends and family, it’s easier to go through. If you’re wondering how to plan a memorial service, this blog post will provide you with tips on how to make this time easier for you.

You can have a more personalized memorial service, to make sure it’s more meaningful and personal. Many families nowadays look for something more significant to them than traditional services, for this reason, it’s crucial you find a funeral home that will adapt to your personal needs and budget. Memorial services can be held days, weeks, and even months after the death, allowing you to plan and gather friends and family at a convenient time.

Checklist to plan a memorial service

This checklist is meant to help you plan the memorial service and have everything ready beforehand. Nonetheless, we understand how difficult this process is, so don’t hesitate to contact one of our representatives to take care of the details for you.

When and where: There is no rule that specifies how soon you have to hold a memorial service after death. You can take your time to decide the type of service you’d like to have and other details. Once you’ve decided on the budget and type of service you’d like to have, setting a location, time, and date is the next step. It’s common practice to hold these services at churches, homes, and funeral homes. It’s also possible to have multiple memorial services if you’d like to have an additional one for distant relatives, friends, and acquaintances.

Guests: Defining the amount of people assisting is crucial to determine the venue and its size. You can start by adding the names of everyone that you think would like to be there. Once you start writing them down, you’ll remember more people along the way. Once you have the list, notify them. You can also publish the information about the memorial service along with the obituary if you’d like.

Flowers & decoration: Flowers are a great way to show sympathy, condolences, and love to the person that passed away. Take into account the preferences and personality of the deceased to make the decoration more personal. You can also decorate the service with photographs and possessions to help everyone connect with the person you’re honoring.

Food & refreshments: Sharing food after a service provides guests with a relaxed atmosphere and casual setting to interact and comfort each other. Some families prepare the food themselves and others have the service catered. Whether you’d like to have a full meal to share or less formal finger foods and beverages, planning this ahead will take away a lot of the stress at this time.

Choose who will lead the service: Pastors, ministers, and religious leaders tend to perform these tasks. However, if your loved one wasn’t religious, you can either hire a funeral celebrant to lead the service or ask a relative or loved one.

It’s important to know how to plan a memorial service for your loved one. With Funeral Caring USA you can rest assured you’ll have sympathetic funeral services at affordable prices.