Broadway Showtunes and Soundtracks for a Funeral Service

Broadway Musical Selections for Funeral Music Note: When available, links are provided to listen to and download digital versions of suggested songs (in MP3 format) from Amazon.com. The typical price per download is 89&#162 to 99&#162.


etiquette for planning a funeral

Etiquette for the Surviving Family: Planning the Funeral

Arranging the Funeral Now that Your Loved One Has Died A funeral is a formal service of remembrance with the body present, in either a closed or open casket. Your funeral director or clergy can advise you on many aspects of etiquette relating to the actual funeral service. If your loved one hasn’t preplanned, you will need to make a number of decisions:


Attending Funerals

Attending Funeral Services: Your Funeral Etiquette Questions Answered

The Day of the Funeral or Memorial Service Should you attend the funeral? Unless the obituary says it’s a private service, then you can assume the public is welcome, and you should go. Until you’ve lost a family member yourself, you won’t understand what a comfort it is to the family to see “a full church [and] the pews packed with people who also care for and remember the deceased. … The family knows that attending a funeral is inconvenient, and that’s why they’ll never forget that you came.” (from The Art of Manliness)


Throw Your Own Great Funeral on ‘Create a Great Funeral Day’

Inspired by the movie “Get Low,” Funeralwise.com’s sweepstakes and survey offers funeral planning prizes Chicago, IL, October 18, 2010 — Funeralwise.com suggests individuals think about throwing their own funeral on Saturday, October 30, the 11th annual Create a Great Funeral Day. To help, Funeralwise.com is offering free funeral planning and cash prizes to survey participants who share their views about “living” funeral services.


Funeral Planning Checklist

Must-Have Items for A Funeral Planning Checklist

Until you go through the funeral planning process, it’s hard to imagine how many decisions are required. To make matters worse, all these crucial decisions must be made during a time of loss and grief. When you preplan, your family avoids the stress of guessing what you would have wanted. A well-thought-out funeral planning checklist […]


Fake Obituaries

Fake Obituaries: A Troubling Trend

You might remember flipping through the newspaper obituary section or watching your parents and grandparents do this while telling stories about the familiar names they spotted. In fact, before social media, obituaries were the primary way we kept up with the passing of friends, neighbors, and acquaintances. Indeed, throughout history, preparing an obituary has held […]


After The Funeral

Summer 2023 As if planning the funeral weren’t enough, once the arrangements have been made and the service has taken place, there is still a lot to consider, especially if you are named as the estate executor. If you are thinking about your own funeral arrangements or helping a loved one, it can be extremely […]


Funeral Potatoes

The Magic of Funeral Potatoes – 10 Fascinating Facts

It started with a simple search–funeral potatoes. Since our funeral food pages are popular, we thought our readers might enjoy a pithy little feature highlighting our recipes and funeral food customs. Having crossed paths with an article or two about the traditions behind potatoes at funerals, that seemed like a good place to start.  Hailing […]


Funeral Celebrant or Funeral Director

Funeral Director or Funeral Celebrant: Do you need both?

Most of us know what wedding officiants do. They work with couples to design the perfect wedding ceremony and then conduct the proceedings. But did you know there are also funeral officiants—professionals who are trained to help plan and conduct funeral ceremonies? These experts are called Funeral Celebrants. What does a Funeral Celebrant do? Funeral […]


Talking About Your Funeral Plan

Talking About Your Funeral Plan

DOES YOUR FAMILY KNOW WHAT YOU WANT? You’ve probably heard us say that the best time to plan a funeral is before you need it. The same goes for talking about your funeral plan with your loved ones. It doesn’t do much good to have a plan in place if no one knows about it. […]


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