How to plan a celebration of life or memorial service, step by step
If you have been asked to organise this, you are probably doing it while grieving too. This guide goes in the order things happen: the first decisions, the program, music, food, the memory table, the slideshow, collecting photos from everyone, the day itself and what comes after. The planner below turns it into a checklist with timings you can print.
A free printable celebration of life planner, with timings
This is a celebration of life checklist you can tick through on screen or print. It is built around about three weeks, which is a common gap, and the timings count back from the date you enter. If the date is sooner, do the first group first and combine the rest. Printing hides the rest of this page, so you get the checklist on its own.
Add the date and each group shows the day it falls due. Leave it blank and you get the timings only.
Celebration of life planner
As soon as you can
Two weeks before
One week before
Two or three days before
The day before
On the day
Within a week after
Within a month after
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First decisions: the date, the place and who leads
How to plan a memorial service starts with a short conversation with the people closest to the person. Ask what feels right: something small and private, or open to everyone who knew them. Everything else follows from that.
Then choose a date that the key people can make. If there is a funeral director, celebrant or venue involved, ask them first, because their availability often settles it. Choose a place that is easy to reach, with parking, step-free access and, if you want a slideshow, a screen and speakers. A garden, a club house, a favourite restaurant or a family home can all work, and a place that fits the person usually feels better than a formal room.
Decide who leads on the day. It might be a celebrant, a family member or a friend who is comfortable speaking. The person leading does not need to say much. Their job is to welcome people, introduce the next part and close. Agree a rough budget and who is paying before you book anything.
Memorial service planning: the program or order of service
A short, clear order is easier for everyone, including the people leading it. A common shape is a welcome, one or two readings, a life story or eulogy, a piece of music, some time for shared memories and a closing. Print it on a single card so guests know what to expect.
Share the eulogy between two or three people if you can. One tells the life story, another shares a memory from a friend or colleague. It takes pressure off any one speaker. If you want an open microphone, tell guests ahead of time and ask one trusted person to keep time.
Readings and music
Choose readings that sound like them: a favourite poem, a passage from a book they loved, or something they wrote themselves. Give each reading to someone who was close to them, so it comes in a familiar voice. Tell readers how long they have and send the text in advance.
For music, pick a piece for the start, one for the middle and one for the end. Live music from a friend or a choir is lovely if you can arrange it, and a recorded song they loved works just as well. Ask the venue how music will be played and bring a backup copy.
Food and drink
Food gives people a reason to stay and talk, and that is often where the best stories come out. A caterer, a venue menu or dishes brought by family and friends are all fine. Serve something they were known for if you can, and print the recipe on a card people can take home. Ask guests about dietary needs in the invitation, and confirm numbers with the caterer a week ahead.
The memory table and the photo board
A memory table holds a few framed photos and objects that say something about them: a pair of glasses, a fishing lure, a recipe book, a medal. A short card beside each explains why it is there. A photo board puts many pictures in one place, usually from childhood to recent years, so guests can walk through a life.
Ask family for objects and photos early, and print before the last week, since shops can be busy. Mount the prints in the order of their life, and leave space for guests to add their own.
The slideshow
A slideshow is one of the most loved parts of a service, and one of the hardest to finish on time. Decide the runtime first, then work out how many photos fit. At six seconds a photo, 50 photos run five minutes and 100 run ten. For a service it is usually a set piece with one or two songs. For a celebration of life it often runs on a loop on a screen near the entrance while people arrive and eat.
Test it on the venue's equipment before the day and bring a copy on a USB stick. The funeral and memorial slideshow guide has the full steps and a table of runtimes.
Collecting photos and messages from everyone
This is one job among many, but it feeds three of the others: the slideshow, the photo board and the keepsake the family ends up with. The best pictures of someone are often on other people's phones, and asking for them one by one in a group chat takes days.
A QR code or link makes it one message. With Our Event Album, relatives and guests open the link on their phone, choose photos and videos from their camera roll, add a written message if they want to, and upload to one private album. There is no app and no account, so it works for an uncle who avoids technology and for a cousin overseas. Videos can be up to 60 seconds each. Only people with your link or QR code can open the album, and it is not listed on Google.
Put the link in the invitation so photos arrive before you need them, then print the QR code on a sign at the entrance or on the order of service for people who add theirs on the day. You can look at the live demo album first, and the memorial photo sharing page explains the set-up. A digital funeral guest book works the same way for written messages.
What to do at a celebration of life on the day
Here is an example running order for about two hours. It is a starting point, not a rule. Cut what does not fit and give more time to what matters to your family.
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| 45 minutes before | Helpers arrive. The memory table, photo board and QR code sign go up, and the slideshow starts on a loop. |
| 15 minutes before | Doors open with quiet music. Guests sign the guest book, scan the QR code and find a seat. |
| Start | A short welcome from the person leading. Say what will happen and roughly how long it will take. |
| 5 minutes in | A first reading and a piece of music. |
| 10 minutes in | The life story or eulogy, from one to three people. |
| 30 minutes in | Open microphone. Gentle limit of two or three minutes each, with one person keeping time. |
| 60 minutes in | A closing reading, a moment of silence or a last song. |
| 70 minutes in | Food and drink. The slideshow keeps looping and people talk. |
| About two hours in | Thank everyone, say where the photo link is, and let people stay as long as they like. |
Hand a few small jobs to friends so the family can be present: someone to welcome guests, someone to look after the slideshow, someone to collect cards, and someone to stay near the family in case they need anything.
Afterwards: keeping and sharing everything
Photos tend to keep arriving for weeks after the day, so leave the album link open. When things are quieter, download the album in full resolution and keep a copy on your own computer. Hosting on Our Event Album runs for six months from the date of the service, and you can add 12-month hosting at checkout.
Return borrowed photos and objects, thank the people who spoke and helped, and put the guest book and cards somewhere safe. The files are yours to print for a book, use in a later tribute or share with relatives who could not come.
One payment per event, no subscription.
Planning a celebration of life, answered
How far ahead should you plan a celebration of life?
There is no rule. Some families hold a service within days and others wait weeks or months so people can travel. The planner on this page counts back from your date, and if the date is close, do the first group first and fold the rest together.
What is the difference between a memorial service and a celebration of life?
A memorial service remembers the person without the body present and often follows a set order. A celebration of life is usually more relaxed, with more stories, photos and time to talk. Families mix the two, and what you call it is your choice.
What do you do at a celebration of life?
Most include a welcome, a few readings or stories, music, a slideshow or photo display and food afterwards. Many add an open microphone, a memory table, a guest book or a keepsake for guests to take home. The example running order on this page shows how these fit into about two hours.
Who should speak at a memorial service?
Two or three people is enough: one for the life story, one with a memory from a friend or colleague, and sometimes one more. An open microphone lets anyone else add a few words. Ask people ahead of time and tell them how long they have.
How do we collect photos and messages from everyone?
Share one link or QR code. With Our Event Album, guests and relatives open it on their phone, choose photos and videos from their camera roll, add a written message if they like, and upload to one private album. There is no app and no account, and videos can be up to 60 seconds each.
Can people who could not attend add photos?
Yes. Send them the same link. Photos from relatives overseas and ones people find after the day go into the same album.
Who can see the photos?
Only people who have your link or QR code. The album is private and is not listed on Google.
How long are the photos kept online?
Hosting runs for six months from the date of the service, and you can add 12-month hosting at checkout. You can download everything at any time, so keep a copy of your own.
Is the planner free, and does it save my ticks?
It is free and needs no sign-up. Ticks are not saved if you close the page, so print it, or print it to PDF, and tick it on paper.
Related pages
More on planning and remembering.
