What to Include on a Celebration of Life Invitation

What Should be Included in a Celebration of Life Invitation?

Deciding on funeral arrangements is not an easy decision to come by. A celebration of life service is becoming an increasingly popular option among families. Though planning them is an easier task than a traditional funeral service there still remains many decisions to be made about them, including the invitations and how you will send them. This blog explains why invitations are important and the different methods of sending them in the age of technology. 
Things to include on a celebration of life invitation: 
  • Name of the deceased 
  • Photo of the deceased 
  • Birth date and death date 
  • Where the celebration of life is being held 
  • What time it starts at 
  • Any important information if the celebration is themed or will have an activity (For example: If the deceased was a baseball fan you could request that guests wear their favorite baseball jersey or if the deceased loved gardening you could plan a gardening activity that would require guests to wear something they would not mind getting dirty or to bring gardening gloves/tools) 
  • Any favorite quotes of the deceased or song lyrics 

Why is it Important to Send a Celebration of Life Invitation?

It is important to send a celebration of life invitation to those invited to the service because it will serve as an important reference point for many things. As mentioned above, there could be a particular theme or activity that is important for guests to know about ahead of time and would need to prepare for the celebration of life. A physical invitation could also serve as a memento to some of the people attending. They could save the invitation and hang it somewhere that is important to them or put it in a keepsake box as a reminder of the deceased. 

Celebration of Life Invitations in the Age of Technology

Though a celebration of life announcement is important, the form of it can be flexible. In the age of technology, communication about an event can happen over a number of ways depending on how formal or informal the event is. 
E-Mail
Using an e-mail is a fast and cost-efficient way to pass on the invitation and information needed when sending out a celebration of life announcement. This also makes it easier for guests to ask for clarification or other questions about the event. Tip: Create a special, separate e-mail account to keep track of all correspondence in regards to the celebration of life event so nothing gets lost in a regular, everyday e-mail account
Facebook Group
Another popular option in event planning is creating a private Facebook group in which you can invite the people you wish to attend or a public one where anyone can see the details. This is a very informal and casual way of invitation and lacks the ability to provide a keepsake like a traditional invitation would, but a Facebook group also allows those to share stories and photos with the deceased where as a traditional invitation would not. It is also easy for guests to ask questions about the event either privately to the group creator(s) or publicly on the group feed. 
Website
Depending on how large the event is an event website could be worth investing in. An event website is another option that allows people to visit and rsvp for a celebration of life and find out basic information about where and when it will be held. Some website providers give options to include stories or pictures which would be a beautiful place to highlight the deceased’s life story and include pictures. 
What is important to remember when designing a celebration of life invitation is that it fits what the deceased would like. The event is in remembrance of them and all aspects should embody what made them special and unique. For more help planning a celebration of life, contact us or check out our other reference page on celebrations of life by clicking the button below.
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