A Guide for Arranging A Funeral, Memorial Service or Life Celebration


When planning a final farewell for a loved one, you will need to either arrange a funeral service or a memorial service, to honour, mourn and celebrate their life. Engaging the services of a funeral director such as Picaluna, will assist families and communities to create a beautiful ceremony, understand the person, telling the story and quality of their life. 

To help you plan for your family and friends to say goodbye to the people they love, we have provided a guide and summarised some important things to consider when organising funerals and memorials.

A Funeral vs Memorial Service 

The main difference between a funeral and a memorial service is that typically the coffin is present at a funeral, but not at a memorial. However, an urn containing the ashes could be present at a memorial service. Funerals will occur shortly after the death, normally within 10 days. People will often have both funeral service and then plan for a memorial service a week or month after the burial or cremation. 

A memorial service will provide you with more personal options beyond a traditional funeral and Picaluna Memorial Services can help you plan:

  • A Professional Funeral Celebrant will help you organise and conduct a highly personalised ceremony and they will be there to support you throughout the process, for both a funeral and a memorial.
  • A venue for your funeral or memorial service should be authentic and have meaning for the deceased, their family and friends.  Some venues you may want to consider when planning your funeral service in Sydney could include an outdoor funeral in surf clubs, golf clubs, parks, beaches or in your own home. ‘Authentic’ doesn’t have to be a different venue; if the deceased was a devout Catholic, then an authentic venue would be their local parish with a full requiem mass.

Adding A Personal Touch 

Funeral and Memorial services provide a perfect opportunity to honour and celebrate the life of the deceased. You may want to decorate the venue with personal items that reflect their life; these may include:

  • Childhood photos.
  • Pictures of their favourite pastime.
  • Anything made by them such as art.
  • Their treasured possessions.
  • You can also play the loved one’s person's favourite music.
  • Serve their favourite food and drink at the wake

Checklist For Planning The Event

Picaluna brings experience, their approach is authentic, transparent & compassionate. They assist families and communities in creating a beautiful ceremony, understanding the person, and telling the story and quality of their life.

It is important to understand the emotional needs of the people attending a funeral or memorial service.  They may want to share their experiences and memories with the departed loved one and so you should consider the following checklist

1. Reflect on the story

Begin to think about what was important to your loved one, their passions, friendships, relationships, and values. When you reflect on this with us, it will help us mourn, honour, acknowledge and celebrate their life.

2. Gather photos

It would be good if you could put together all of the photos you had on a USB if you wish to order a slideshow or order service booklets.

3. Bring any clothes, if required

You don't need to provide clothes as we can make alternative arrangements. However, if you are wanting us to dress your loved one in particular clothes, please bring them along.

4. Choose interment type

Likely, you have already communicated to us whether you have chosen burial or cremation. If you have not already, we will need to know this when we meet.

5. Key contact people

Throughout the arrangement process, you will need to specify key people who will perform important roles in authorising and making decisions regarding the funeral of your loved one. It is important to think about who will perform these important roles as listed below:

a) Informant: The informant is the person who will supply information about the deceased, may provide authorisation on key documents and is likely to receive the invoice for the funeral arrangement. This role is required.

b) Next of Kin: The next of kin may be required if there is no executor or there are key decisions that the informant is not able to authorise. This role is optional but may be required depending on your unique circumstances.

c) Executor: The executor is a representative appointed by the deceased who will carry out the wishes of the deceased. This person may authorise key documents and will receive an invoice for the funeral arrangement.

No matter how you wish to shape the event, Picaluna funeral directors in Sydney offer genuine, personal funerals, helping the community to honour, mourn, celebrate, heal and rejuvenate



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