Planning a memorial service for someone that you love is a very hard thing to have to do. The most important thing that you have to think about it is how you want to represent to the guest, the life of the person that you are honoring and what they meant to the world. At this time you will be of course overcome with grief for the loss of your loved one, and at the same time you need to make sure that you do the best job that you can for the service. Let's take a few minutes and offer some tips on how to decide a theme for a memorial service.
It is important that before you get started with the planning of the service that you take at least a half a day to deal with your own feelings of loss. You will need to make some major decision about how bets to honor your friend and you do not need to make them while dealing with strong emotional waves. After you have dealt with your emotional needs you can start out by thinking about the kind of person your friend was and how you could best describe them if you had to in one word. This one word that makes up the essence of who your friend was is the foundation of the theme for their memorial service.
Secondly, you will want to pick a tone that is in line with the way that your friend lived their life. If they were an energetic, outgoing an vibrant person who loved every minute of life and all that it had to offer then you might want to celebrate their life with a party. If, however, they lived a very conservative, traditional and somber life then you might want to have a more classic service such as a wake or remembrance circle.
So you have established the basic concept and the tone of the service not you have to decide the very important aspect of where to have the service. In this case let the spirit of your friend guides you. Where is a place that they loved? Was there a certain spot that moved them, that they drew power from in their life? Did they speak of a favorite childhood place or of a vacation spot that they longed to visit but perhaps never had the chance to? These are all great places to have the memorial service for your friend.
So you have a concept, a location and a tone. The last thing you need to worry about is the guest list. Is this service to be by invitation only or should it be open to the world and all whom new the honoree. Either way is appropriate and this decision will again be based on the life the person lived. Were they a private person in their life, one whom only had a select circle of friends and family or were they a highly public person who loved the world and called everyone a friend?
It is hoped that you will be able to use these tips on how to decide a theme for a memorial service to not only plan a get together that is in the best memory of your friend but also will help you to get through the pain of their loss easier. Losing a friend is tough, but remember that life does go one and they will forever live on in the hearts and minds of those whom they loved and the life they left behind will be a tribute to their existence. The service is a chance to celebrate them. Good luck.
It is important that before you get started with the planning of the service that you take at least a half a day to deal with your own feelings of loss. You will need to make some major decision about how bets to honor your friend and you do not need to make them while dealing with strong emotional waves. After you have dealt with your emotional needs you can start out by thinking about the kind of person your friend was and how you could best describe them if you had to in one word. This one word that makes up the essence of who your friend was is the foundation of the theme for their memorial service.
Secondly, you will want to pick a tone that is in line with the way that your friend lived their life. If they were an energetic, outgoing an vibrant person who loved every minute of life and all that it had to offer then you might want to celebrate their life with a party. If, however, they lived a very conservative, traditional and somber life then you might want to have a more classic service such as a wake or remembrance circle.
So you have established the basic concept and the tone of the service not you have to decide the very important aspect of where to have the service. In this case let the spirit of your friend guides you. Where is a place that they loved? Was there a certain spot that moved them, that they drew power from in their life? Did they speak of a favorite childhood place or of a vacation spot that they longed to visit but perhaps never had the chance to? These are all great places to have the memorial service for your friend.
So you have a concept, a location and a tone. The last thing you need to worry about is the guest list. Is this service to be by invitation only or should it be open to the world and all whom new the honoree. Either way is appropriate and this decision will again be based on the life the person lived. Were they a private person in their life, one whom only had a select circle of friends and family or were they a highly public person who loved the world and called everyone a friend?
It is hoped that you will be able to use these tips on how to decide a theme for a memorial service to not only plan a get together that is in the best memory of your friend but also will help you to get through the pain of their loss easier. Losing a friend is tough, but remember that life does go one and they will forever live on in the hearts and minds of those whom they loved and the life they left behind will be a tribute to their existence. The service is a chance to celebrate them. Good luck.
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