Personalized Remembrance Poem

A custom personalized remembrance poem written about your loved one is very popular.

If you find this overwhelming, an option  is a Funeral Celebrant, who is specializes in creating  and presenting a unique, personalized   service for you.

If the gathering is more like an open house with mingling and conversation, the family can gather the attention of the attendees quite simply and ask for tributes and respects be paid by those who wish to speak.

(I am not a fan of this open mike concept.  Sometimes no one has prepared anything to say, and there is an awkward silence.  Other times, people stand up and start rambling with very little thought put into it.  Sometimes they talk more about themselves then the deceased! )

My recommendation for this type of informal format, is to ask people who were special to the deceased, ahead of time,  if they would be willing to say a few words – 3 to 5 minutes maximum.  If they do not feel capable of it they can decline, but if they do, they then have time to prepare a story or two.

These tributes can also be made personal by reading some writings of the deceased including blog or facebook entries, reciting a favorite poem or reading.

Spiritual touches can be added by family members lighting a candle in memory of their beloved.   The music can be favorite hymns.  Many times people request the 23rd Psalm.

It is important to remember that in planning a memorial service it can be exactly what you want and what you think your loved one would have wanted.  There really aren’t a lot of rules…

Finally, a wonderful addition to the closing of the memorial program is with a memory takeaway.   It can be something as simple as a ribbon to wear in memory, a packet of memorial seeds.