Whilst most people are comfortable sending out invitations for happy or celebratory events such as birthdays and weddings, they are less sure about notifying others about a funeral service, which is why funeral directors are often asked about the best way to do so.
Advising how the deceased’s family can best notify other family members, friends, colleagues, and others is one of the many ways a funeral director can help and support those who have recently lost a loved one. Notifying the funeral service might not seem to be the most critical aspect of arranging a funeral compared, for example, to the service order, the hearse, and the funeral type; however, it can nonetheless cause the family stress.
So, how might a funeral director or the staff at a funeral company liaising with the family advise how the funeral service notifications should be done? Here are some of the best ways to notify others about and invite them to a funeral service.
Individual Vs. Public Notifications
The first point to note is that, unlike weddings and birthday parties, not all invitations to a funeral service must be made individually. Making public announcements and notices providing details about the funeral service is feasible.
The ways by which you might make public notification of a funeral service include a notice in your local newspapers, posting the details on social media, including those of the deceased’s social media accounts, and informing groups or memberships that the deceased belonged to. In many cases, public means to notify people and private invitations will be the best option.
Identifying Individuals
We will assume that those family members closest to the deceased will be involved in organising the funeral service, so the individuals we are talking about here are the wider family, friends, neighbours, work colleagues, and others known to them both professionally and socially.
One difficulty might be compiling an accurate list of people the deceased would have wanted at their funeral. Hopefully, they created that list before their passing, but if not, you have to do some research.
This is where the deceased’s contact lists in their address book, phone, email, and social media might all help, as well as asking others if they believe any specific individuals should be invited.
How To Notify Individuals
Given modern communication methods, there is no shortage of ways to contact individuals to notify them of the funeral service. However, some might be more time-consuming and less convenient than others.
Phoning each individual is likely to take the longest time; however, if more than one family member makes the calls, it can reduce that time. However, the risk of phone calls is that some information might be misunderstood, noted wrongly, or given in error, so we advise that written forms of notifications are used for those reasons.
The option for written funeral service notifications includes printed invitations sent by post, email invitations, and messages sent via social media on which the deceased regularly communicated with others.
What A Funeral Service Notification Should Include
The ideal funeral service notification should be concise, simple, clear, and respectful. Ask your funeral directors for advice if you are unsure what wording to use or include. The main details usually had in a funeral service notification are listed below.
- Deceased’s Name
- Picture Of Deceased
- Dates Of Birth And Death
- Dead Family’s Names (Spouse/Partner, Children)
- Town/Residence
- Place Of Employment
- Funeral Service And Wake Details: Locations, Date, Times
- If Flowers Are To Be Sent And If So Where
- Details Of Donations (If Applicable)
- Contact information