Planning a funeral can be overwhelming. A funeral director will assist you with pulling together all the information and arrangements required, but there are times where you may wish to plan the memorial service yourself. The funeral service checklist below will help you plan the day whether you want a church service, to use a crematorium or arrange a wake.
Church Service
- Research and choose a suitable location and time for the ceremony to take place. (For a list of NAFD locations click here).
- Identify the person you want to officiate the service, whether you want this to be a member of the clergy, a celebrant or a family member.
- Set the type and tone of the service you’re looking for. Do you want it to be a celebration of life? Are you looking for a religious, spiritual or humanistic service?
- Identify any music, sermons, prayers, readings eulogies, memories, photos or videos that you might want to share. Consider whether you need the means to project photos or videos onto a screen or wall during the service.
- Decide on the order and timings for the funeral service.
- Speak to any individuals who may want to do readings, share their memories or give a eulogy.
- Do you want live music? Do you want recorded music? If so, what would you like? Does this match the tone you’re setting for the funeral?
- If you want flowers at the service, make arrangements with a florist for floral arrangements.
- Do you need any equipment to provide the service you require? This could include speakers, a projector, a screen, device(s) to play video or audio. Check with the venue to see what is included within your package.
- Do you need to consider a live stream of the funeral to allow those to attend to pay their respects? Verify with the venue whether they can provide this service with cameras they may have
If this funeral service checklist has helped, let us know!
