Planning a memorial service or a celebration of life can be tough, especially when you are trying to do it all virtually. To make it easier for you, we have created a detailed guide on planning your virtual memorial service or a celebration of life.
The first step to planning a virtual memorial service or a celebration of life is to choose your date and time. No different than an in-person memorial service or a celebration of life, you have to pick a date and time to have the virtual event. We have a couple of tips about picking your date and time. First, do not worry about trying to accommodate everyone’s schedule. Trying to accommodate everyone’s schedule can make planning more stressful and confusing. If some family members work shift work, such as at hospitals, you may choose to accommodate their schedules. However, most important is to pick a date that works for the deceased’s immediate family.
Tip number two is to think about planning the virtual memorial service or celebration of life for the evening. Most people will have finished work for the day around 6 p.m., so choosing a time in the evening might be best. Tip number three is, when possible, give yourself time to get everything together prior to the service or celebration; we recommend 3-5 days. This way, you can give everyone the date and time, and still have time to plan out the details.
Delegating roles out to multiple people can relieve the stress of having to run the entire service by yourself, which means more family and friends can feel involved. Below is a list of rolls we sugar you have. More roles can be added to fit your service or celebration to fit your needs.
This person will host and moderate the virtual memorial service or celebration of life.
It's a good idea to have a minimum of two people speak at the event. Having multiple people speaking will provide a greater variety of stories and memories of the deceased. It also helps ensure that the virtual memorial service or celebration of life will not be too short. However, having too many speakers can make people feel like they do not have enough time to speak or can have people tuning out. We suggest having the virtual memorial service or celebration of life organizer suggest a few people speak.
Most of the time, the speakers will write their speeches, eulogies; however, to include more family members or friends, you can have multiple people collaborate on what to say. This ensures that everyone feels included, even if they are not speaking during the service or celebration.
For a virtual memorial service or celebration of life, it would be a good idea to have a technical person who understands the platform you are using to host the event.
Use an online platform to share the celebration of life or memorial service details. These can include a memorial company such as Keeper, or you can make an event on Facebook with the details on how to attend the virtual event. It may be possible to add this information to the obituary on the funeral homes website.
There are a large number of video conferencing, such as Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Skype, etc., available for people to use. We suggest that you use the one you are most familiar with. If you are not sure, there are many resources that compare the qualities of each Program. Make sure to read participant numbers and time limits the programs have for their free versions.
Since you are holding a virtual service, it would be a good idea to send online invitations. Online invitations can be sent by email, through social media, text message, etc. No matter your invitation format, make sure you include every detail and clear instructions. This will help you avoid having to answer the same questions over and over.
Consider personalizing the decedent's service by using a slideshow, videos, or any other type of memorial tribute.
It's a good idea for all of the host, speakers and technical person to do a practice run in order to ensure there are no technical problems.