Ideas for Hosting a Celebration of Life Ceremony

Displaying belongings of a deceased loved one

When a loved one dies, the pain of grief can lead to depression and even anxiety. Celebrating life can help you heal from loss by giving your mind something positive to focus on, as well as conveying your love for the person who has passed away. In addition to that, a celebration of life ceremony will provide you with a sense of closure, it’ll comfort your loved ones, and will allow you to honor them.

This blog post will provide ideas for hosting a celebration of life ceremony.

 

Gather Your Family

When planning a celebration of life event in the memories of a deceased loved one, it’s best to gather as many people as possible. They’ll want to share their memories and grief stories too, and contribute to the event. If it has been decided that there will be several speakers—such as friends, family members, clergy, or religious leaders—decide who will speak and what they will speak about.

 

Set a Theme

Check out any potential themes for the event because this can help give the ceremony some meaning and purpose. It’s also important that you pick out a suitable venue for your ceremony according to the theme and purpose. Don’t forget about any special items that will need to be included in your ceremony such as photographs of the deceased person.

 

Consider Your Budget

You will need to think about how much money you want to spend on the event and whether you want it to be formal or informal. A celebration of life event doesn’t necessarily have to be too luxurious or extravagant. There are many ways to save on the event without having too much to spend.

 

Personalize the Event

It is important that the ceremony be planned specifically for each individual so that it can reflect their personality and way of life. For instance, if the deceased one was passionate about a particular thing, or left behind some legacy, make sure you talk about it in the event.

 

Use Multimedia and Music

It’s also important to communicate what sort of music you would like for the ceremony and whether you’d like a video to be played at the event or not. If you don’t want a video or if there isn’t one that’s available, then it might be best for you to prepare another presentation, such as a slide show.

 

Talk about Their Heritage

Bonds of love are strengthened by shared memories of the past, interests in shared activities, or through kind words and deeds exchanged with one another. You can honor a deceased loved one by talking about their legacy and heritage. You can talk about a shared set of traditions or a surname or even a hometown that was once home to them. You can also write about their heritage and how it impacts your life. If you’re not sure about their heritage, a genealogical research company can help.

If you’re in Ireland and wish to learn more about your Irish roots, hiring a professional genealogist can help. You can also hire their services to arrange a celebration of life event for your loved one. At My Ireland Family Heritage, we have experts with years of experience in Irish genealogy research. We are also offering Irish ancestry and genealogy tours. Get in touch with us to find out more.

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Review of My Ireland Heritage Tours Presented on Trip adviser Oct 2024 By • Family TomBarron2013 New York City, NY2

Once in a lifetime experience

Oct 2024 • Family

We highly recommend My Ireland Heritage for anyone who wants to learn and be guided to their Irish “roots” and much, much more. Sean Quinn and Ian Darragh of My Ireland Family Heritage have deep knowledge or the areas we wanted to visit in Meath, Sligo and Kilkenny. While we knew about one side of the family history back to 1690, there was nothing known about the other that arrived in the US in the 1870s.

Ian, Sean, and Nicola did thorough research on our localities and locations from which our ancestors left for America in 1849 and later. In addition, Ian and Sean did separate day-long “recons” in advance of our time with them, seeking out local people and the specific properties with maps and whatever records still available. Their results were absolutely outstanding! In both our cases, they found and took us to our still-existing cottages and shops from the early 1820s.

It was so enjoyable to be with Ian for three days and for a special day with Sean. Whether it was the Newgrange World Heritage sites 5,500 years old , the Battle of the Boyne 1690 , or the local cemeteries and churches of our ancestors. Ian was especially attentive to my wife throughout the travels after she twisted her ankle in a rain-soaked old cemetery.

Throughout the process of trip preparation over months to giving us the final, wonderful books of Meath and Sligo, Aisling was highly professional and responsive with all the many details. The bound books she prepared are treasures! Thanks to all for truly exceptional experiences.

Newgrange World Unesco Site 5500 years old
Battle of the Boyne 1690 AD
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Entrance stone at Newgrange

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Review of My Ireland Heritage Tours Presented on Trip adviser by Shelley L @ sjlively

Exceptional in every way!

Over the last few months of preparing for our trip, every single detail was meticulously attended, not only professionally, but helpfully, and in such a friendly manner, that I felt as if I knew Sean, Aisling and Ian before I even stepped off the plane.

The amount of work these wonderful people put into our personal history is mindboggling. My mother was an avid amateur genealogist, and had worked for decades to bring to light the trail our family took, but our resources are limited.

Sean knows exactly where to look, and was able to fill in so many gaps that had eluded us for generations. Some of the information he found, unbeknownst even to him, actually solidified the findings we had amassed over the years. Ours was a family in coal mining – I only found on our tour that they had originated from a mining area, and their arrival on the  border coincided exactly with the decline in the mining industry in County Wicklow.

I would have been overjoyed simply with the knowledge of why they left when they did, about 12 years before the famine. Breaking through our brick wall of great grandparents even farther back on the family tree was a dream come true, but to be able to set foot on not only the area they lived, and find that the house is still there was overwhelming. Seeing the family church and cemetery where our ancestors and extended family still rest is a truly moving experience.

The care taken by this company in each and every aspect of the journey cannot be overstated. Only about 2 weeks prior to my trip, Sean contacted me to let me know that he had also stumbled across some of my husband’s family name in the process and included them as well in his research. How often can anyone say that they not only got what they paid for, but more than they ever imagined? I can say that. They were even kind enough to answer a few follow-up questions after my return home, as I was so stunned on my tour with Ian that I didn’t think ask at the time.If you have the opportunity to make the trip to Ireland, contact My Ireland Family Heritage before you go.

If your family was there, Sean will go above and beyond to find them. Even without family, contact them anyway. Ian is a walking encyclopedia of history, and so fun to talk to. Aisling will make sure every “I” is dotted, and every “T” is crossed.  Thank you so much for the trip of a lifetime, and the opportunity to pass on everything we have discovered to future generations

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