5 Different Ways to Personalise Your Loved One’s Funeral
Funeral memorials serve a variety of purposes. They offer us the chance to say goodbye and provide an opportunity for friends and family to gather to support one another through the grieving process. One of the primary reasons we go through the time, effort and expense of holding a funeral service is that we want to honour the life of our loved one who has passed away.
Historically, funeral plans involved turning to religious traditions to provide us with a framework. While religion is still an important consideration, many people look to personalise funeral memorials to properly reflect the person’s life. This includes incorporating hobbies, interests, and passions into the service. Below are some ideas and examples on how you can do this.
1. Photo Collages
For many loved ones, it can be cathartic to look for old photos of family member for their funeral. Many personalised funerals today include visual elements to tell the story of the person’s life with images. Funeral directors can assist families with deciding how they want to display photos of their loved ones including enlarging photographs for display, designing a collage by hand and creating a digital slideshow.
2. Display Personal Belongings
Another way to personalise your loved one’s funeral memorial is to display personal belongings. Consider their hobbies and passions. Did they have a favourite sports team? Favourite film or book? A favourite season? Did they play a musical instrument? Did they serve in the Defence Force? By displaying personal items, the funeral can better reflect your loved one and what they enjoyed and valued in life.
3. Incorporate a Special Activity
A great way to personalise a funeral service is to incorporate a special activity into the service that reflects your loved one’s hobbies, passion or job. Some examples include:
- Paddle out on the water for a surfer
- Motorbike funeral procession for a biking enthusiast
- Memorial hike for a lover of hiking
- Memorial service on a boat, dock or at the beach for a lover of boating or fishing
There are creative ways to incorporate your loved one’s hobbies when some type of procession or activity isn’t practical to do as part of the service. For example, you could hand out bags of seeds for guests to take home and plant for someone who loved gardening.
4. Personalised Flower Arrangements
A meaningful way to personalise a funeral memorial is with a custom flower arrangement. This may involve choosing your loved one’s favourite flowers or plants. Other times, you can organise arrangements to create a specific mood. The type of flowers you select can be sentimental. A yellow tulip is commonly associated with cheerful thoughts while red roses convey respect, love and courage.
5. Tribute Video
When considering personalisation options, another great idea is to share your loved one’s life story with a tribute video that you can broadcast at the service and to others who may not be able to attend. Ask family members and friends to send pictures and videos to include. This helps to spark conversations, memories and stories amongst attendees. After the service, the video can serve as a keepsake for loved ones.
Personalised Funeral Services in Western Australia
At Hetherington Funerals, our experienced and compassionate team can help you create a truly personalised, meaningful funeral that best honours your loved one. For more information or advice, please contact us on (08) 9459 2846, submit an enquiry on our contact page or look at our funeral services here.