tips for planning a funeral for yourself

What You Need To Know About Using A Vase In A Memorial Service

When you are planning the memorial service for your lost loved one, you may want to honor them in a way that captures who they were and the things they loved in this world. If they loved the finer things in life, you may want to include a fancy memorial vase in the funeral. It can help add an element of physical beauty to the service while allowing mourners to share and honor the deceased person in a lovely way. This is excellent for both funerals and cremation services. 

A Memorial Vase Defined

So just what is a memory vase? A memorial vase is a decorative vase that is large enough to hold a folded piece of paper from everyone who attends the memorial service. All mourners are invited to write down their favorite memory of the person who passed away prior to arriving at the service.

There is a time during the ceremony where people are invited up, row by row, to each read their memory aloud. After they do, they put the piece of paper in the memory vase. At the end of the funeral, the memory vase is then given to the closest relative to the deceased, whether that's a widowed spouse, the children of the person, or another loved one. It can be a great present that's cherished.

Tips for Making the Most of the Memorial Vase Ritual

If you decide that you would like to use the memory vase idea in a funeral that is honoring a lost loved one, you should try to put a lot of thought into the best way to include it in the ceremony. Here are some tips for making sure it goes smoothly.

  • Be sure to let people know about it in advance, so they have plenty of time to think about a memory they'd most want to share with others and give in writing to the immediately family.
  • Let people know that participation is entirely optional; nobody should feel obligated to participate in the ritual if they don't want to do it.
  • Consider offering memory prompts if someone may be unsure of what kind of memory to share; offer a few options if you decide to do memory prompts.
  • You may want to have a fancy label on the memorial vase or, if the materials allow, engrave it with the person's name and what the significance of the memorial vase is.

Finally, be sure to customize the memorial base ritual to what works best to be a tribute to the person who passed away. Also, it's important to consider those who were closest to your lost loved one and how they may be comforted by the memorial base and how it's implemented in the funeral or cremation service.


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