Nowadays, more and more people are using funeral memorials to celebrate life. These celebration of life funeral services are modern, light-hearted and personal experiences that represent our loved one who has passed away and gives us a chance to reflect on the life they have lived.
Traditionally, the success of a memorial relied on how simple and organised the funeral service is. For family members, every detail matters — from the music being played throughout the service to the right flowers being used and displayed, and the powerful eulogy shared by family and friends.
What we’ve found today is that many families are opting for a more personalised and customised approach to funeral memorials, so they become more than just a service, but a celebration of life that they can look back to.
Families who want to keep the funeral memorial light and meaningful may choose to showcase home videos and slideshows of their loved ones to reminisce the good old times.
Some may opt to do away with the traditional service completely and come up with their own bespoke way to say goodbye.
There is no right or wrong way to conduct these celebrations, but there are certain important aspects that we have found to help make them as meaningful and memorable as possible.
A great way to celebrate the life of a loved one while involving family and close friends is by setting up a memory table.
A memory table gives you a visual representation of a life well-lived, highlighting important life events and memorable tokens of your loved ones.
All you need is to set up a special table where family members and close friends can put in little objects and mementos that remind them of your loved one who has passed on. These can include old photographs, photo albums, medals and awards, heirlooms, trinkets, and many other meaningful objects that visually highlight the unique life.
Special memorabilia such as memory stones, pocket charms and candles can serve as wonderful giveaways as they give mourning families a sense of comfort in having something to hold on to —a physical object they can keep at home or carry with them, reminding them of that special person in their lives.
Pocket charms can be given to every family member or extended family and friends who meant the most to the person who has passed. Pocket charms can have keychains as well, which make them perfect to always carry around.
Some families take comfort in having something to care for. The use of seeds, plants or succulents, which represent life, can be another way to commemorate the passing of a loved one or to give as a gift at funerals.
Instead of flowers, sympathy and memorial plants can serve as a tribute to a well-lived and long life even after the funeral service is over.
And because green plants symbolise life, it makes them ideal for showing your respect to the family. Some great choices are white flowering plants such as Gardenias, Azaleas, Peace Lilies, and Orchids.
Another great way to celebrate someone’s life is through a remembrance video that showcases their important life events and milestones.
You don’t have to worry too much about the challenge of editing videos. In these family events, a collection of home videos are perfect as they are candid and more personal.
We’ve even seen some people creating videos of themselves for a pre-planned funeral. They take the time to thank family and friends or leave important messages for those they love. People value being able to say what they need to say to the people they love, which is why they choose to do this
ahead of time.
Setting a theme allows you to personalise funerals even further. This can also make planning a lot easier in outlining the activities, choosing the food, and the music for the memorial. A theme gives you structure and a code by which to do things, making it easier for the guests to follow through.
You can personalise themes according to the life of your loved one. Examples you can use as a guide are military honour themes, a pilot and hangar theme, an art or spoken word poetry theme for someone creative, a music event, or even a gig where people can play their favourite music.
Whichever theme you choose, you can trust that doing so allows you to celebrate your life or someone else’s in a way that stays true to who they are.
Should you choose it, funerals don’t have to be sober and solemn affairs. There are many different ways to pay our respects and say goodbye and many forms of modern funeral services to choose from.
Personalisation is key to making a funeral as meaningful and memorable as possible. With a little creativity and some thought put into it, you can make funeral memorials into an event worth reminiscing with all the special people in your life.
