Tips for Planning a Funeral Reception

After your loved one’s funeral, you may to decide to host a funeral reception. While there is no obligation for families to do so, these events can be wonderful events for friends and family to gather, share stories of the deceased, and begin to heal. If you are considering a reception after your loved one’s funeral, here are some tips from directors of funeral homes in Milan, TN. to help in the planning.

Set the Location

Many families choose to host the funeral reception in their home or that of another family member. If you do not have a home that will accommodate the number of guests expected, or you simply do not wish to hold the event in your home, there are several alternative options.

Some of these include restaurants, coffee shops, churches, funeral homes, parks, community centers, event spaces and more.

Set the Date

Although it is common practice to hold the reception directly after the funeral, you certainly do not have to. Some families may choose to hold it later in the day or evening or even a day or two later.

One thing to take into consideration are the guests who are attending. If they are visiting from out of town, they may have a limited amount of time they can stay. Therefore if the reception is a couple of days later, they may not be able to attend as they will have to return back home.

If you would like to hold a reception days later, one option is to hold a public reception directly after the funeral so that everyone may attend, and then hold a smaller, more intimate reception for family only a few days later.

Choose the Menu

Most guests will expect some sort of food at a funeral reception. How elaborate you wish to go with it is entirely up to you. Some families may decide to serve light refreshments such as sandwiches and fruit and vegetables trays. Others may choose to have a full meal catered in from an outside company. If you are trying to keep costs down, you can even ask guests to each bring a dish and have a potluck reception.

Enlist Others to Help

With planning a funeral , plus all of the other things that need to be taken care of when we lose a loved one, you are going to have a lot already on your mind. Reach out to others to help you with the reception. You can delegate activities to them to help break up the task. This will help take some of the burden off of you and allow you to not feel quite so overwhelmed. 

Final Thoughts

Just as funerals play an important role in the healing process, funeral receptions do as well. While you certainly do not have to host one, they can be very beneficial to those who attend. If you are wanting to host one but worried that it may be too expensive or stressful to plan, just remember to keep it simple, and ask others to help.

If you would like more information on funeral receptions or other services provided by funeral homes in Milan, TN, please reach out to us anytime as we are happy to answer any questions you may have.