Memorial Funeral Plans

In planning a funeral, there are many details to tend too. For each stage of funeral planning, there are some items to note in a checklist below:

1. Make time to start planning. {There are decisions to make, people to gather information from, and items to purchase. Planning needs to start because there are decisions to make, people to gather information from, and items to purchase. It can be a big undertaking and could take some time. It can be an overwhelming process right now but if you enlist the help of a close friend or family member you will find it can be supportive for you.

2. Look for instructions from the deceased and follow them if its possible.

You may want to take the instructions to the letter before the service rather than finding them afterwards even if your not able to follow the instructions to the letter.

3. Get help. It would be beneficial for you to ask a small group of close family members or friends to help you in the tasks needed to be taken care of.

4. Note the places in which the deceased lived, worked, and activities involved or locate a resume for your loved one.

5. Now you can decide whether you want a religious or secular service as well as where it will be located at. Do you want this service to only have some limited religious aspects or do you want it to be held with a particular denomination's tradition. Perhaps you prefer a completely secular service with no religious affiliations. Where you plan on having the service can determine the type of service you will have.

6. It would be a smart idea to think about how much control you want over the creation and planning of the service.

7. Decide how formal you would like the service to be. Reflecting on how formal the deceased was as well as the community around you would be a good start.

8. The personality of your loved one should be thought about as well. Note what she was known for, hobbies, accomplishments, musical tastes, friendships, or other service in the community.

9. Do you want both a Memorial Service and Funeral Service or just one? The difference would be that in the Memorial Service there is no body but in the Funeral Service, the body is present in a casket.

10. Now you will need to decide who will attend the service and when it will be. It might be a good idea to formulate a death announcement and write a short obituary for the local paper. It just so happens that people who read the paper will come to a service if they were acquainted with that person.

Other helpful sites:
memorial candles
funeral songs
funeral poems