Celebration of Life Ceremonies
After cremation, many people are left wondering about what, if anything, meaningful they can do to honor their loved one and the life that they lived. If you have recently lost an important person in your life, we suggest looking into holding a celebration of life ceremony. These types of ceremonies are exactly what they sound like, but there is so much more to discover as well! If you’re interested to learn more, read on! Our cremation services in Daytona Beach, FL are affordable and highly recommended by all who work with us. Give us a call or stop by for a visit so that we may answer any questions and concerns you may have!
Guest List
One of the first things you’ll want to do when planning a celebration of life ceremony is to come up with a guest list of who will be invited and in attendance. We suggest collaborating with close family and friends when deciding on a guest list. It could help to think about the people that your loved one cared for and loved in life. Be sure that you are able to give guests ample amount of time to plan ahead, especially if they live further away from where the event is taking place. Doing so will ensure that guests have the opportunity to take off of work and plan accordingly in order to be in attendance at the service. Additionally, it’s always a good idea to avoid inviting those who may cause any sort of conflict. A celebration of life ceremony is supposed to be a more light-hearted version of a funeral service, so it’s best to avoid adding any negative energy into the space. Once you’ve figured out a headcount of who will be in attendance, you are then free to pick a space that can accommodate everyone accordingly!
Planning the Service
After you’ve managed to get the guest list all worked out, it is then time to think more about the celebration of life ceremony itself. While it is not an absolute requirement, many of these events are led by officiants, who are there to speak, say a few words about the deceased and their life, and usher the ceremony along. It is not required to have an officiant, but if you’d like your celebration of life ceremony to have a more official feel, then it definitely could help to have an officiant on hand. If you decide on having a more informal ceremony, which is completely acceptable, then it could help to come up with a personalized program ahead of time so that you can pass them out to guests and inform them of what to expect throughout the service.
Activities
Next, you’ll want to come up with an idea of what guests will be participating in during the service. Many people opt to present a video memorial of the deceased in which pictures, videos, and music play in order to honor the deceased and who they were in life. Additionally, many people choose to have guests participate in adding onto a memorial board so that later on there is a personalized memorial of the deceased created. Unlike funeral services, at celebration of life ceremonies there is typically food involved, so it could be meaningful to have someone cook some favorite meals of the deceased beforehand so that guests can indulge while remembering their loved one. Again, there is no right or wrong way to have a celebration of life ceremony so it’s important to go with whatever works for you and your family.
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