Everything You Need to Know About Planning a Celebration of Life or Memorial Service

A celebration of life is a memorial gathering built around who someone was, rather than around a fixed funeral script. There is no required order of service, no required venue, and no required timing. That is freeing, and it is also why most families are not sure where to begin.

This guide walks through the six questions we hear most often at Venue on Lake Lily in Maitland, just north of Orlando, in the order they usually come up:

1. Who plans it and what you can hand off
2. How long it should run, with a sample hour-by-hour timeline
3. What is served, from grazing tables to a plated meal
4. The typical format, as a six-part order of service
5. Where to hold it, comparing home, church, restaurant, and event venue
6. When to schedule it, from days after to a year later

Start anywhere. Most families work through them in this order.