Top Tips for Planning Funeral Receptions
It is common practice for bereaved families to have a reception after a funeral service. The reception, or repast as it is called in some quarters, offers the opportunity for family and friends to meet in a more relaxed environment. People can use the medium to offer tributes, share stories, relive memories, and recount experiences, in a bid to celebrate the life of someone they held dear to their hearts.
The reception can be a simple gathering or an elaborate evening. It could be held at a family home, pub, restaurant, or banquet hall. Whichever suits the family, some level of preparation and planning will be involved.
A number of factors need to be taken into consideration when making plans for the post-funeral reception.
Who will organise the event?
You may decide to plan the reception yourself if you feel you are in the right frame of mind. If it will be too much of a task, you can handover the planning to a family member or friend. An alternative would be to consider a funeral home.
When it comes to funeral homes that offer the additional service of hosting post-funeral receptions, Exithere.com is one to consider. They have over three-and-half decades of experience in the hospitality industry, making them well placed to offer you the perfect location, entertainment, and catering to suit your needs.
What location will be best for the reception?
The choice of venue will be determined by the number of guests expected at the event. A number of options are available, including the following:
- A family home
- A friend’s place
- A pub
- A restaurant
- A banquet hall
- A hotel
- Parlour of a funeral home
- A local park
What are the menu options?
This will also depend on the number of expected guests. To save time, energy, and resources, you may want to ask family and friends to make a variety of dishes available. This should be supplemented by a number of assorted drinks.
How can you make the event unique?
As the reception is a celebration of life, you may want to bring elements that would make attending guests have fond memories of the deceased. There are a number of ways to introduce these personal touches, including the following:
- Displaying artwork or book collections that were cherished by the deceased
- Having the deceased’s favourite food included in the menu
- Playing the deceased’s favourite music
- Displaying a tribute video
- Having family and friends pay tribute to the deceased
Should the venue be decorated?
Without exhausting too much energy and wasting resources, you could use the tribute flowers to decorate the reception venue. This will brighten up the place, add a personal touch, and lift the gloom a little.
Nobody feels good when a loved one passes on. No matter how bad the person’s life may have been towards the end, you will always feel that a part of you has gone with them. The departed soul was a member of your family, and family is all that matters. It is appropriate therefore to celebrate the life of the deceased. Having a good funeral and an even better reception is the right way to go!
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