A memorial service is one of the best ways to honour a deceased loved one. The service gives friends and family an opportunity to mourn the deceased and remember the good times they shared.
In the extract below, you will learn how to plan and execute a memorial service for your loved one.
Invitations
Send invites to close friends and family. If the deceased was a public figure, invite members of the public to the memorial service through the obituary. The invite should include the date, time and venue of the memorial. You may also include the day's program and a small map to guide people that are new to the area.
Venue
You may opt to hold the memorial at the deceased's home, place of worship or rented grounds. You could also hold the service in areas where your loved one had a sentimental attachment to. For instance, if he or she enjoyed water sports such as swimming, surfing or fishing, you could hold the service at a beach.
When planning the venue, you will need to make considerations such as accessibility, availability of parking space and amenities such as washrooms.
Theme
Choose a theme that summarises the life and times of the deceased. A memorial service is not only a time to mourn your loved one but also a time for guests to reflect on their personal lives. Your guest speakers should align their speeches to the event theme.
Program
Below are a few tips to help you prepare a program for the memorial:
Catering
After the memorial, close friends and relatives could meet for a few hours to condole with the immediate family. It may be challenging to plan the ceremony and cook for guests. Therefore, engage a caterer to prepare and serve meals. Ask the caterer to provide a variety of meats and starches. A vegetarian dish would also be an excellent addition. For the drinks consider sodas, water, beverages and some cocktails.
The primary considerations to make when planning a memorial are the invites, venue, theme, catering and program. Ask your funeral director to plan the service if you are overwhelmed by grief.
Share29 July 2019
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.