FUNERAL PROGRAMS : HOW TO HANDLE DESIGNING, PLANNING AND PRINTING

When you are planning a funeral or a memorial service, templates for previous funeral services and programs will make the process of preparing and planning more manageable, unlike when planning from scratch and bereft of ideas. Memorial and funeral services do not differ much from themselves, except for placing the deceased in a coffin in front of the event location. Instead, the deceased may be cremated already, and the urn containing the ashes placed in the same position a coffin would have been.

Although funeral services may take place between three to five days after death, funeral and memorial services can be scheduled a few months after death because the deceased has probably been cremated. The reasons why families can plan a memorial instead of a funeral are different. Still, regardless of the choice, it's generally a good idea to start with various types of funeral templates to help you plan the order of service.

Templates for the Order of Service

The planning and order of funeral and memorial services depend on the deceased's religious inclination and their family. Different religions perform different types of services, so it is good to first talk to the church clergy, be it a minister, a priest, a rabbi, or otherwise. They have experience with such and will help with the planning. If you are not interested in a religious service, however, there exist other funeral order templates to follow. Usually, the service will follow an order akin to this:

Greetings From The Compere or Minister

This will include an introductory speech made on behalf of the family to thank those present at the service to pay their respects to the deceased. This part can include reading Bible verses or a secular description of events in the deceased's life, not necessarily from a religious perspective.

• Offer Guests The Chance To Recount Stories And Memories

Friends, colleagues, neighbors, and everyone present at the service is given time to share a story or a special moment they shared with the deceased. Some comperes also evince their sincere condolences to the family during this period.

• Music

Musical performances can be presented after the introductory speech and before the guests are given a chance to reminisce. They can watch special readings and be presented before the compere or minister gives the closing speech.

• Closing Rendition

In a traditional funeral and burial, the closing speech usually contains information about the funeral and an open invitation to the guests by the family for the reception after burial.

Funeral Templates For Programs

When guests arrive at the church or funeral event, programs will often be made ready and available for delivery and sharing to them. The brochures contain the order of service you have planned to follow. These funeral proposals usually do not include specific times, usually just the time the program is to begin. Funeral programs may contain the burial location in addition to the items listed in the order form above, the place of burial, and reception to take place afterward.

In addition to the order of events, funeral programs usually contain songs or verses and may also have an obituary with a photograph. Several funeral templates offer a space where some people are mentioned, for example, the pallbearers, soloists, and musicians who will perform at the reception.

Sizes and Printing of Funeral Programs

Funeral programs or memorial programs, for the option of memorial services, are simply pieces of paper measuring 8.5 by 11 inches, have texts printed on both sides, and can be folded in half. You can also print programs on an 8.5 x 14-inch paper (also known as legal-size paper) and folded into three for a booklet-sized program.

All these are dependent on the amount of information you choose to include in your program. Templates and program paper sizes are decisions that a funeral director or designer can help you to make. You can also shop online at a variety of sites that specialize in helping to create funeral and memorial programs, and you can browse and select to your heart's delight.