We at Lighten believe that it is never too late to plan a memorial. Online funeral services can be held weeks, months, or even a year after a loved one’s passing. This added time can provide you with opportunities to plan an event without the potential stress of feeling rushed, to hold the memorial on a significant date in your loved one’s life, and the time to focus on creating a celebration that is truly unique to your loved one’s life. In this article, we are touching on a few considerations when scheduling online funeral services.
Scheduling Online Funeral Services
Post COVID, families are finding reasons why hosting an online funeral, virtual memorial, or Zoom celebration of life is the best option for their friends and family over holding an in-person service. In other words, online funeral services are not just a “COVID thing” anymore. Among many benefits, virtual memorials can ease the stress of needing to make last-minute travel arrangements. Many of us are familiar with being in the position of having to drop everything to buy a plane ticket or arrange for a road trip to attend a funeral. It’s not always possible to re-arrange work or childcare schedules, meaning some friends and family members who would have liked to otherwise attend will not be able to. Outside of long-distance travel considerations, there is more flexibility for those traveling short distances as well. For example, without the need to rush out the door after work, virtual memorials can be held on evenings during the week. Online funeral services allow those who wish to be able to attend the ability to do so in a way that is convenient.
Planning for a Significant Date
Because virtual memorials allow you to break free from the custom of holding an in-person gathering within a week of a loved one’s passing, they provide the option to choose a date that is significant to your loved one’s life. And opting for this date of significance can make the event that much more personalized to your loved one.
Birthday or Anniversary
If you choose to hold online funeral services on a date like your loved one’s birthday, wedding anniversary, or other milestone in their life, you can tie elements of this special day into their online funeral services. For example, the service might open with a song that was played at their wedding. Or you can create a slideshow of pictures marking their birthdays over the years.
1st Death Anniversary
While tradition may make us feel like we should host a memorial sooner rather than later, it is not uncommon to wait a year. And you may have a variety of reasons for doing so. It eases the stress of planning an event during what may be an already stressful or overwhelming time. There is space for you and your friends and family to gather both their thoughts and memories about your loved one, so that they may bring more joyous sentiments to the celebration of your loved one’s life. And holding an event of togetherness and remembrance on the anniversary of your loved one’s death can be an uplifting way to mark what may have otherwise been a hard day for you and your friends and family.
Taking the Time to Plan
No matter when you decide to hold online funeral services, Lighten encourages you to feel free to take as much time as you need to plan an event that is deeply personal to your loved one’s unique personality and identity. An added benefit is that you can give your friends and family plenty of notice so that they may be able to join you in celebrating your loved one’s life. If you would like help in creating a virtual memorial, Lighten can help.
