How to Plan a Memorial Service

A memorial service is a great way of remembering a loved one who has already passed away. Even if that loved one has died, a memorial service is a celebration of that person’s life when he or she was still alive.

A memorial service is different from a funeral service. A funeral service is done before the funeral rights and the body is still present while a memorial service is done without the body of the loved one. If the body underwent basic cremation, the urn may be present during the service.

In planning a memorial service, these are the things that you have to bear in mind:
• You have to set the date and time. It could be weeks or months after the death.
• To save money and to add more impact to the service, some people conduct the memorial service during the first year death anniversary.
• Choose a venue for the service.
• Estimate the number of people who will be attending the event.
• Most memorial services are held in churches or community centers. Make sure that the venue is available on the date that you chose.
• Once the date and venue are set, make a guest list for the event.
• If you want a small and intimate memorial service, you can just choose to send out invitations to the family and close friends.
• If your late loved one was a public servant, you can just have an announcement printed on the newspaper.
• You can invite more people depending on how far you can stretch your budget.
• Make sure you inform guests ahead of time so that they can work around their busy schedules.
• Get someone to lead the service from the late person’s family members, clergymen or close friends.
• It is also good to involve the rest of the family in the planning process.
• Assign them to different errands like choosing funeral songs, flowers, guestbook attendants, candle lighters, ushers, readers, and speakers.
• Plan the program including the speakers, the songs, video clips and more.
• If a family member is a photographer, you can save money by not hiring an outside service for the photos.
• Also make sure that you order food and drinks for the event. Have people serve the food after the memorial service has ended.