Here at funeralOne, we believe that a funeral should be a unique, one-of-a-kind celebration of life…  that’s not a secret to anyone who knows us.

From our websites to our products, we reject the idea of a boring, templated funeral that feels the same as every other service you’ve been to. Instead, we believe every funeral should reflect the person whom it’s celebrating. After all, funerals are a final opportunity to honor a person’s life and all of the things that made them the person they are ﹘ the music they loved, the hobbies they had, and most importantly, the many meaningful memories they made.

But how exactly can you inject a little personality into a traditional funeral service? We’re glad you asked! We’ve scoured the internet for some of the best ways to celebrate and honor a person’s life (from their birth, to their graduation, to their wedding), and we’ve come up with 11 amazing personalization ideas that should be brought into the funeral profession:

Photo Displays

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1. A Unique Photo Frame: Step away from the traditional bulletin board or family collage that is displayed at your funeral home, and instead give your families a custom way to show off all of their loved one’s photos in a simple, yet beautiful way. Simply hang some wire length-wise across an old photo frame, and hang up your family’s photos with colored clothespins. Not only would this be a great way to showcase your families’ photos in a unique, unexpected way, but it would also make an easy, inexpensive gift to surprise your families with.

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2. A Memorial Candle: The idea of lighting a candle in someone’s memory can be a very comforting, physical task for those who are grieving. But don’t just use any boring, typical candle. Instead, take some of the photos that the family provided, print them on transparent contact paper, and transfer them right onto glass candle votives. (Instructions here.) It will make for a beautiful photo display, and a nice keepsake after the funeral.

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3. Seasonal Christmas Ornaments: We all know that the holiday season is a busy time for funeral homes. However, you can take advantage of your seasonal decorations at your funeral home and incorporate your funeral personalization right into your decor. Simply print off some photos that were provided by your families, pop the top off of a clear Christmas ornament, and slip the photo inside. You can even put in extra slips of paper that detail specific memories or traits about their loved one.

Memory Holders

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4. A DIY Memory Jar: One of the most special and memorable parts of a funeral for the immediate family of the deceased are all of the memories and stories that are shared. However, these memories are just as important to the healing process 1, 5 or even 10 years after the funeral, so why not preserve them? Simply provide a memory jar at a funeral so that attendees can fill in their favorite memory or story about their loved one, and their stories can be read forever by their family.

5. A Personalized Memorial Website: Another beautiful and long-lasting way for people to share and read memories about their loved one is through an online memorial page. Our f1Connect memorial pages are the perfect place for friends and families to share stories, photos and videos of their loved one, while also honoring them by lighting a candle in their memory, sending comforting flowers and gifts to their family, and finding information about their funeral service. And the best part? These memorial pages stay on the website forever, so people can always look back when they want to reflect on the life of their loved one. (See an example page here.)

If you are using the f1Connect website platform, you already have memorial pages built in that are ready to be used and loved by your families! Encourage them to share the most important memories and stories of their loved one with these question prompts:

• What is your favorite memory that you shared with your loved one?
• What memory of your loved one always makes you laugh or smile?
• What story do you want to be remembered about your loved one?

To learn more about the features of f1Connect and the benefit of online memorial pages, check out this article on the REAL value of social memorial websites.

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6. A Support Card Book: In the days and weeks following a death, many families receive a wonderful and thoughtful amount of sympathy cards. While this is a great way for loved ones to show their support for the family and share their memories of the deceased, these cards are often easily misplaced in the hectic days that surround planning a funeral. Therefore, offer to create a bound book out of these cards (instructions here), so the family can easily refer back to the comforting words of support when they need them most.


7. Life Tributes: Funeral directors know that the healing process does not end after the funeral service is over ﹘ and neither should the memories. That’s why we created our Life Tributes software, so you can create world-class personalization products specifically for your families. From Hollywood-style videos to personalized print items, your families will feel comfort in the tributes your funeral home creates for them, for days and weeks to come.

Personal Mementos

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8. A Handwritten Plate: Sometimes a photo or a video is not enough to capture some of the best memories of a loved one. Maybe they are best remembered through a loving note, or through one of their delicious signature recipes that they used to cook up in the kitchen. Now you can have these memories preserved as well, through shops (like Custom Sepia) that allow you to make custom plates out of a loved one’s treasured notes.

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9. Signature Jewelry: For those who may want a personalized, unique item that can be kept a little bit closer than their kitchen, you can also have a person’s signature or a line of their handwriting made into beautiful jewelry. Whether families choose a few words from a card that their loved one once wrote them, or even just their name, they will be able to wear it on their sleeve always.

Personal Celebrations

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10. Daily Affirmations: Every single person grieves in their own unique way, and some days are harder than others ﹘ no matter how long ago the loss may have been. Therefore, sometimes just a daily piece of encouragement or reassurance to your families can mean the world to them, and can make them feel like there is light at the end of the tunnel. Write them cards with encouragement and advice that will help them through the hard days (“open this letter one year from now” or “open this letter on their birthday”). Or even encourage them to sign up for Daily Email Affirmations ﹘ a feature on our f1Connect website platform that will send them encouraging emails from your funeral home every single day for 365 days. You would be surprised just how big a difference these little messages can make.

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11. “In Memoriam” Events: If your family really wants to make their loved one’s funeral personalized, why not host an event that their loved one would really want to attend? For instance, if they are a card shark, host a game night in their honor. If they loved being outdoors, host a picnic or a memorial hike. If they still want a traditional funeral, encourage them to make a gesture on behalf of their loved one that will celebrate their life. For instance, the pet family above made a donation of tennis balls at their pet’s favorite dog beach!

What ways does your funeral home go above and beyond to personalize your families funerals? We want to know! Tell us in the comments below.

Also be sure to check out Life Tributes today if you want to take your funeral personalization efforts to the next step.

Rilee Chastain

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