5 Tips on Planning For a Funeral When You're Pressed for Time

If you are in the process of planning a funeral, then be aware that there are a lot of decisions that you are going to make along the way. What’s worse is the fact that you are in the process of grieving due to the loss of a loved one. This is especially true for those who have not expected the immediate demise of a family member who died as a result of a tragic accident. You might be pressed for time, but don’t worry for there are ways on how you can organize a funeral service successfully without the need for any professional intervention.

Another thing to consider is the financial expenses that come with planning a funeral service. It really is not an inexpensive event, so be prepared to spend quite a big amount of money. For a religious funeral service such as a Christian funeral service, you need to look for a casket for the body of the deceased to be placed. Caskets do not come cheap these days although this will depend on the design and the materials used. Add to that is the very costly memorial service that would require a lot of preparations. But do not let these things discourage you. After all, you are doing it for a loved one and of course, you just want the best for them, right?

Hire a Funeral Director

The first thing that you should do when a loved one died is to look for a funeral home that can assist you with everything that you will need. There is a funeral director that can help arrange everything for you, including the memorial service.

For example, for an Anglican order of service or even a Methodist order of service, the director can help in looking for a minister for the religious service. Also, you need to decide where you will hold the funeral service. You can choose to do it in your home or in the funeral home, but you need to spend more if you plan to do it on the funeral home.

As soon as you meet with the funeral director, you will be given with a general price list of the products and services you are expected to pay for the funeral service. Once you have made the selections, you will be informed of the total cost that you will pay and they will also ask you to sign a contract. The contract contains everything, including the funeral arrangements and all of the responsibilities that the funeral home is bound to provide you.

Usually, it will include the funeral mass program which they will organize for you. It also details the financial obligations that you are expected to pay them. If there is something that is not clear to you, then make sure to ask the funeral director about it.   

Some people will try to save money by not hiring a funeral director. But remember, you are pressed for time so the best option is to hire a professional who is well adept with the processes involved.

Contact your Religious Leader

If you want to have a religious funeral service for the deceased, then you better contact your pastor, minister, priest, rabbi or spiritual leader to help you in organizing the religious funeral service. For a Catholics, a mass will be held in memory of the deceased person. In this case, Catholic memorial cards will have to be distributed. The cards will contain the details about the funeral service that will be celebrated on the final day of the wake. It will also have the name of the deceased, as well as the date he died including the date when he will be finally laid to rest.

Memorial Service cards at FuneralPamphlets.com

There will also be memorial invitation cards that need to be distributed as some sort of a formal invitation for friends and relatives to come to the funeral service and pay their final respects to the deceased. In some occasions, the family might also prepare in memoriam cards in honor of their dearly departed.

Since it is a Catholic funeral service, the card will sometimes come with images of the cross, a picture of a saint that the deceased patronized, and an image of Jesus Christ and/or Virgin Mary. These Catholic mass cards will also have an image of the person who died, and sometimes his favorite passage from the bible.

Prepare the Program Invitations for the Service

Those who will decide to hire a funeral director will not have to bother about the funeral programs. But sometimes, the funeral homes will not include in the funeral package the funeral service or if it is included, it might cost a lot of money.

Those who are trying to save might as well just organize the funeral service on their own. And as mentioned previously, there are memorial service invitations that need to be handed out to guests who are expected to take part in the celebration. There are also mass cards that will be distributed, as well as a copy of the program that will take place during the funeral service.

Since you are pressed for time, the best option is to go online and download the funeral service program template. Sometimes, printing companies would take several days and even weeks to print the program for you, especially if you need a huge amount of them. But if you go online and create your own program with the help of the template, you can do it in within a day or even less than that. There are also sample funeral order of service templates that can serve as your guide for the flow of the funeral program.

Send Out the Invitations as Early as Possible

Usually, for a religious funeral service such as a Christian funeral service, it will be held on the final day of the wake, which is about a week from the date of the demise, except if they need to wait for some relatives who are abroad. But regardless of when the service will take place, it is best to send out the memorial invitation cards as early as possible.

Also, ask them to RSVP you so you will know how many guests to expect during the funeral service. Remember that you will also need to prepare meals and beverages for the guests so it will help if you will know in advance how many people will be coming for the service.

A eulogy will be part of the program so you need to inform guests ahead so they can prepare their speech. In case you didn’t know, a eulogy would involve standing in front of everyone sharing stories about your experiences with the deceased person. Funeral eulogies are also present in an Anglican or Methodist order of service, as well as other religious funeral services. So make sure to send out invites as early as you can so those who are tasked to offer a eulogy will have enough time to prepare their speech.

Another reason why it is best to send invites early is for the minister to be able to free up his schedule on the day of the funeral service. As you know, religious leaders are often busy so they might not be able to accommodate your request if you inform them at a later time.

Create a Checklist

There are just so many things that you need to prepare for a funeral service so in order not to miss out on something, it is best to create a checklist. This is especially true for those who do not have any plans to hire a funeral director. The checklist should list down everything that is needed for the funeral service, which includes the paperwork that need to be prepared, like the death certificates, coordinating plans for the burial, obtaining proper permits, filing for relevant benefits and insurances, and even details about the funeral mass program.

These are very important things which some people tend to miss out on, especially if they are pressed for time. A few days before the funeral service, refer to the checklist and check to see if you have forgotten something.

Planning a funeral service is definitely not an easy task. The process can be overwhelming especially if this is the first time you will ever organize a funeral and more so if the death of your loved one is due to an accident which everyone in the family are not prepared to accept. There are also lots of emotions involved. Everyone might be getting emotional since you will be grieving for the loss of a loved one. But keep in mind that death is something that we all cannot avoid so the best that you can do is to go on with your life. With the help of these tips, you should be able to prepare the funeral service in the best way you can even if you are pressed for time. 

Related Reading:

A Complete Memorial Service Program Guide
Using the Internet to Plan for a Funeral

How to Make In Memoriam Cards