Preparing the funeral arrangements for a loved one is a distressing process for those grieving their loss. It can help relieve some stress if your loved one leaves details about their preferences. This will often be detailed in their will. 

The primary objective is to pay tribute to the person you love and ensure their personality is apparent. A carefully thought-out order of service will present a reflection of the individual’s life and give attendees a lifetime keepsake to keep the person’s memory alive. 

Loved ones can have an order of service printing done professionally in order to allow concentration on other aspects of the funeral arrangements or work on the stationery personally. Working through the order of service brings fond memories of your loved one, a reminder of the life they lived. 

If this is your first experience with an order or service, it’s important to become familiar with what it consists of and how to ensure it best represents the person you’ve lost.  

Creating A Funeral Order of Service 

Many people assume an order of service is a booklet consisting of poems and hymns to follow along with when attending a funeral. The idea for this stationery is to serve as a memorial that loved ones and close friends can look back on over the years to remember the person’s life. 

It pays tribute to the individual, reflecting their personality through photos, songs, and passages distinct to their likes and preferences. The book provides guests with the schedule for the day, so there’s no confusion on what to do or where to go. 

You can follow a basic guideline when creating a funeral order of service or alter the outline to create a more personal effect. Regardless of whether you follow a template or stray from the guidelines, the result will be unique to your loved one; no two will be the same. 

The following is a standard order of service, how each page is set up, and the details included. 

The front cover 

You want to avoid overwhelming the cover with too many elements so that the focus fades into the background. Your loved one and their details are what guests are interested in seeing. Essential information includes the following: 

• A photo that best represents the person everyone knew 
• Their full name, including nicknames they might have gone by 
• The dates they were born and passed 
•  for the individual from loved ones, concise but poignant 
• The funeral service location and date and time 

Most family and close friends will choose a recent photo for the book so that more people will associate with the person they knew. Some will choose younger pictures to reflect who the individual was at one time or give insight into their personal life by presenting a photo of them involved in a hobby or other activity. 

The day’s schedule 

A few pages inside the booklet are set aside to lay out the day’s schedule. Guests will know what to expect as the day progresses without confusion about where they should be or what to do. With this part of the order of service, you will include the following details: 

• The order of service will let guests know when they can anticipate the arrival of their loved one based on the entrance music that will be played at that time. This will be included in the schedule. 
• Many loved ones will include lyrics to the hymns and songs to be sung during the service for anyone unfamiliar with the music, allowing guests to join if they choose. 
• Poems and passages are read throughout the funeral service, and the names of those reciting these are added to the schedule.  
• The blessing or committal 
• In some books, the name of the song that closes the service will be included. 

In many cases, the deceased family member has requested the funeral details, often with the writing of their will. Guests are given further insight into their loved one’s personality by the music and passages the individual selected. 

The schedule doesn’t always follow this particular guideline. The funeral director and the person leading the service will assist with this aspect of the order of service to ensure the details are correct. Go here for guidance on arranging a funeral. 

Personal touches 

In this section, family and intimate friends add pages that will give guests a different view of their loved one, a look at their life other people might not have seen. These are details that only those closest to them will have. Some things to include as personal touches can consist of the following: 

• Family and intimate friends will have photos from different stages in their loved one’s life to include in the book. Those closest to them will enjoy reminiscing with guests intrigued by the part of the individual’s life they didn’t know. 
• Adding quotes from a favorite song, book, or poem will reflect the person’s personality and, again, stir a conversation on why these quotes might have meant so much or what they might have meant to them. 

When creating an order of service, a priority is to decide upfront if you want it professionally printed or prefer to do it yourself. When professionally done, templates are often used to develop the book requiring a particular layout. 

Final Thought 

The farewell page is typically kept simple. The objective is to close the service with final thoughts on the person who passed. This is accomplished using a photo different from those in any other part of the order of service. It should be recent and at a good point for them. 

With this page, guests and anyone who sent condolences should be thanked. It’s also an opportunity to invite people to donate to a charity in the individual’s memory. 

A professional printing service will handle these details if they become overwhelming so you can focus on other aspects of the funeral arrangements. This helps to relieve some of the stress involved when making arrangements while distressed over a loss.