A funeral order of service is an A5 printed booklet given out to people attending a funeral. Its purpose is to enable everyone attending the funeral to follow and join in with hymns / prayers / songs during the service.
The order of service booklet is also the perfect place to include the wording of a special poem or reading, along with photos of your loved one and can act as a memorable keepsake that can be sent on to those who cannot attend on the day of the funeral. People will often put them up in their home following the service, to hold the memories of their loved ones near.
Funeral orders of service comprise of the front cover, the inside pages and the back cover.
The front cover usually consists of wording like 'In loving Memory' or 'A service to celebrate and remember the life of' and the deceased name. An image of the deceased followed by the date of birth and date of death. Finally, the location and date where the service will be held.
The inside pages are used for the running order of the funeral service usually provided by the vicar or funeral celebrant. It is common to include who is conducting the service, a welcome and introduction, hymns prayers and readings, eulogy and entrance and exit music.
The back page is usually reserved for the family to thank everyone for their attendance, any donations to charity and to provide the attendees with the location of the wake after the service. Usually there is room for additional photos as well.
Remember, the order of service is a functional document meant to help people attending the funeral service follow and join in where appropriate. Text should be clear and concise and of a suitable size to be easily read. If you want to add in some design touches to make it more personal it is best kept to the front and back covers. Alternatively more photos can be include in the form of a collage on the inside of the front and rear covers.
