Press "Enter" to skip to content

How To Plan a Celebration of Life Event

Celebrating the life of a loved one that has passed is an incredibly emotional and sometimes confusing time. If you’re already feeling overwhelmed, then you may find it difficult knowing where to start with planning an event to celebrate their life. To help you, we’ve created this post listing all you need to know when planning a celebration of life event. Keep reading to find out more.

Planning The Ceremony

During the celebration of life ceremony, this will be where you can ask people to speak if they wish to discuss the life of your loved one, their memories and recite poems or songs. You will need to arrange who will officiate the ceremony if this is not part of your venue package. You could consider creating a video that can be shown during the ceremony featuring some special moments from your loved one’s life or family members discussing them. Consider including poems, scriptures, or songs that you know your loved one enjoyed and would like to be included in the ceremony. If you’ve got family members or friends that aren’t able to attend the ceremony, then consider filming it to send to them after so they can still feel included. 

Location And Venue 

The location and venue you choose need to be located in the right area for you and your guests to attend easily. It also needs to hold the number of guests attending the ceremony. The ceremony could take place in a different venue to where you choose to celebrate life afterward. You could even choose to hold this part in your own home. Make sure it’s a place that your loved one would have appreciated. Maybe they had a place you know they would have favored? 

Guests And Invitations

One of the first things you’ll need to do when planning the celebration is to start organizing a guest list. As well as the guests you know to invite, try and think of any people your loved one would have wanted to be there. Once you’ve got your guest list, you can send invitations. Greenvelope offers plenty of different options for designing your celebration of life invitations so you can find inspiration. Make sure to include all the information your guests will need to know, such as:

  • Who it’s in memory of 
  • Date and time 
  • Location and venues
  • And RSVP information 

Be sure to keep track of your RSVPs to make sure everyone is accommodated for the day. 

Creating A Memory Book 

As part of the celebrations for the day, why not include a touching tribute to your loved such as a memory book? You can ask all of your guests to include a memory or message they have for your loved one. It will help everyone to celebrate their life and will give you and your family something to look back on remember them whenever you need to. Other options include a memory tree or memory cards in a box or jar. 

Donating To A Charity 

A touching way to help celebrate a loved one is to donate to a charity. You can also ask for donations from guests during the celebrations and speak about the charity of choice. The chosen charity can be something close to your heart, or maybe your loved one had a favorite charity you know they would love to support. 

Flowers 

Flowers are a traditional and beautiful way to celebrate your loved one’s life. Try and include flowers that they loved or maybe a color scheme with their favorite colors. You don’t have to go traditional in your choice of flowers and colors. You could include flowers that follow the season in which the celebration is being held and vibrant, happy colors such as yellow, pinks, and oranges. Make sure to book ahead with enough time for the florist to be able to provide flowers for the day of the event. 

Music 

You can include music both during the ceremony and afterward when people mingle and share memories. Try and create a playlist of music that will include some of the favorite songs of your loved one and songs that would make them smile. Music and even dancing are great ways to celebrate the happiness that your loved one brought to everyone’s lives. You can use your own sound system and playlists for music. Or you can work with a DJ to come up with the perfect choices for the day, so you don’t have to worry about controlling it yourself. 

Entertainment 

Another option for music and entertainment is to hire a live band or professional to play music for the day. Perhaps your loved one had a particular favorite or talented friend they loved to listen to? As well as celebrating the memory of your loved ones and what made them happy, it will also provide entertainment for your guests on the day. 

Featured Image by congerdesign from Pixabay