If you're preplanning your own funeral or are arranging services for a friend or family member, you might be thinking of foregoing the usual church or religious service or graveside memorial. A funeral should be appropriate for the deceased but should also allow surviving friends and relatives a way to grieve and honor them. Note a few suggestions for unique and memorable funeral and memorial services.
1. Slideshows or home movies
Why have a boring speech given by someone who may not have even been familiar with the deceased when it's so easy to show slideshows or a home movie from a computer and projector? You can set this up at a funeral home and put together a collage of photos from the deceased person's life, or you can ask others to contribute their memories of that person on video and then splice them together.
2. Releases
Releasing something at the grave of your friend or in a public park or beach can be a good way for attendees to feel a sense of release themselves. This might include releasing helium balloons (where legal and safe), releasing doves or even butterflies. There are many companies that specialize in such release ceremonies or in providing the things you need for this occasion, so you don't need to worry about inflating dozens of helium balloons yourself before the funeral service. Floating lanterns are also often used at funeral services and these can be a good touch for a nighttime service.
3. Memorial stones
Before a service begins, you might have a table with flat river rocks and permanent markers and ask each guest to write out a memory or special quote or poem in honor of the deceased. You can then use these to plant by the graveside or take them to a river, canal, park, or so on, and leave them in their honor.
4. Volunteer day
If the deceased had a favorite cause, you might arrange a volunteer day in their memory rather than a standard funeral. This can be working at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter, building homes, working at an orphanage, cleaning up a public park, and so on. Make sure guests understand what is involved so they can dress properly and make plans for childcare and the like, and consider choosing a cause that is neutral and that can be supported by everyone. Consider that some guests may not like volunteering for a certain political candidate with whom they disagree or working in a church that is not theirs.
Share23 October 2015
Planning a funeral can be extremely hard. You want to send off your loved one in style, but at the same time, your grief may be so heavy that it feels impossible to figure out the best way forward. Hi, my name is Julie. If you have recently lost a loved one, I offer you my condolences. I lost my mother and husband within the span of a year and became skilled at planning funerals. I know how hard it can be so I wanted to help others with organisation, decoration and other issues. I hope this blog helps you. Enjoy reading and thank you.