We would be honoured to support you in organising a heartfelt tribute to your loved one – whether that’s a traditional funeral service or a memorial-style service held after a direct cremation. Click below to find out more.
Despite having a no service cremation, you might still feel the need to do something important to commemorate the life of your loved one. A memorial is a commonly used term to describe a funeral that doesn't have a coffin. It usually happens after cremation and is meant to give a place for family and friends to come together, remember, and pay tribute to the life of the deceased without the body being physically present. This is a service we offer as part of our flexible Bare Funeral offering.
Just with any funeral, such an end of life service should be a reflection of someone’s unique life. The words of the service and music played reveal the individual and their life. But there is more that can be done to create that personal touch, where someone’s personality, interests and life can be reflected in just an extra touch or two.
Below are 12 suggestions that could be included in a service, or afterwards at the wake. Just one of these ideas can bring that personal touch.
As part of our flexible Bare Funeral Service, our team can help arrange and conduct a memorial service, while we take care of the cremation process. To find out more, visit the Bare Funeral webpage or call us on our 24/7 hotline 1800 071 176.
Planning a service that's right for your loved one
Remember an end of life service in all its elements is your way of saying thank you to someone special for their unique life. It is one of the last physical acts you can do for someone. It is a way to ensure that someone’s life is recognised and remembered.
Perhaps one of the below ideas is the right one for you:
- Create a memory table
- Releasings
- Give a small thank you gift to attendees
- Wear special colours to the service
- Display photos
- Present music a little differently
- Record memories
- Memory sharing jar
- Open mic
- Decorate the venue
- One-of-a-kind flowers or personalised decoration
- Personalise refreshments
1. Create a memory table
Set up a table at the front of the service space or in the foyer where items representing your loved one’s life can be displayed – photos, trophies, certificates, favourite knick-knacks, artwork, items representing their favourite hobbies, such as a fishing rod, garden tools, a football, favourite clothing items – anything really.
2. Releasings
At the end of the service release balloons, doves, butterflies, bubbles or paper boats in a river or the ocean.
3. Give a small thank you gift to attendees
The options here are endless. A small gift could be a postcard, bookmark, seeds or a seedling, a flower, a memorial stone, CD or USB of the deceased favourite music, bag of loved one’s favourite lollies, or favourite chocolate bar, a memorial candle. If the deceased loved to read bring along their collection of books for people to each take one to read. An item of the deceased jewellery if they had a large collection or craft item they had made. You could also print and give out a favourite recipe or few recipes that the deceased was known for. As I said here the options are infinite and can be a way for everyone present to take home something that really reflects the deceased.
4. Wear special colours to the service
This could be the individuals favourite colour or the colours of their sporting team. This is something so simple yet it brightens the day and it looks so special seeing a sea of one special colour amongst all the people present.
5. Display photos
This can be in creative ways such as photo boards, hanging on a line of string, hang from balloons, a table of all their framed photos from around the house, photos scattered around the tables in the function room, so people can see different photos wherever they move to.
6. Present music a little differently
There may be someone – a family member or friend who could sing or perform a piece of music during the service. Live performances are always so very personal and special. If particular songs or genres were important to a deceased you could have words printed for a special song that everyone sings along too. As long as it is a song people would know and you have someone to lead, a group singing together can be a beautiful way to unite people and bring a release of feelings.
We’ve created this Spotify playlist to give you a few ideas for some suitable songs you might like to include in your loved one’s memorial. Our article Songs for funerals and memorials has more music options, too.
7. Record memories
Have a memory table where people record their own memories of the deceased. This can be done in many different ways and is so much more touching than just getting the attendees signatures. This is something that is lovely to have set up during the wake, where people can take time to record a memory. Memory recording can be in a memorial book, on tags or notecards, on memory stones, on a large board, a memory tree, placed in memory jar.
8. Memory sharing jar
At the wake, place a jar on the table full of strips of paper with questions about the deceased. People can pick them up and answer them with each other and swap stories. This is a great icebreaker for conversation during the reception time.
9. Open mic
Have an open Mic session during wake where anyone can come and say something. This allows for people to feel involved and for public grieving. Another alternative is to have a video camera, or voice recording device set up and people can go along and record a memory or tribute privately, which the family of the deceased can look at or listen to afterwards.
10. Decorate the venue
Simple things can be done to make the venue feel more personal and welcoming. Quilts made by the deceased on the pews, favourite flowers of the deceased around the room, items from their home scattered around, balloons in a favourite colour, ivy or greenery strewn around, piles of their favourite books from home…just anything that says – this represents the person we are remembering today.
11. One-of-a-kind flowers or personalised decoration
Even though the coffin is not present at the front of the service often the cremated remains will be, or a photo of the deceased. Still decorate this area at the front of the service, as this can bring that personal touch. Have your florist make the flower arrangement to represent an item – football, butterfly, favourite bird, rainbow or anything your imagination can think of. Have flowers, greenery from the deceased garden. If they loved gardening, have an arrangement of vegetables. If flowers were not really their thing, decorate with something more personal – favourite books, sheet music, dvds, bottles of drink, memorabilia items, shoes – we could go on.
12. Personalise refreshments
Have refreshments of the deceased favourite foods – recipes they were known for or even just their favourites. Meat pies for a footy loving person, Hire a Mr Whippy van for someone who loved their ice-cream at the beach, have a high tea, a popcorn machine for a movie lover, whatever represents the deceased.
Final thoughts on planning a funeral service after a direct cremation
These are just a few ideas to help you plan a funeral service after a loved one has been cremated. Of course, it may just be that you don’t want any extras like this and a most beautiful farewell can still be created and presented without something beyond the usual.
After a loved one dies is a time of grief and stress, but sometimes being involved in putting something extra together for a service can keep you occupied and your mind and energies busy at a time when you often feel lost for something to do. You may also have extended family or friends who ask what they can do to contribute. Giving someone one of these tasks to organise can help them feel included.
Let us help you say goodbye on your terms, by providing a high-quality funeral service at an affordable price. We would be honoured to support you in planning a ceremony that’s right for you and your family with our dedicated funeral team.
Learn more about Bare Funerals by clicking the below button, or call 1800 071 176.
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