A funeral program is a treasured printed memorial for a loved one and can be referred to as an obituary program, funeral pamphlet, or funeral bulletin. Funeral programs are printed keepsakes that highlight a loved one's memory by including information and photos within its contents. It is an important and tangible keepsake that is handed out as a token of the final celebration of life and are offered in many different layouts.
Funeral programs are referred to by many different names depending on your culture, where geographically you live or is called by a matter of preference. Some common names this final celebration of life printed memorial can be called is a funeral bulletin, order of service program, funeral pamphlet, or obituary program. No matter what it is called, the premise remains the same.
The funeral program is a hand out that is distributed at the funeral or Memorial Service to all attendees and family members. It is short representative of the loved one’s life and will highlight milestones within the obituary which is often included within its pages. Other key items for inclusion may include photographs, achievements, and/or awards.
Because every funeral service is different, Funeral Programs are offered in a variety of styles and sizes. The choice may be a personal preference to the folded presentation or dictated by the amount of text and photos to be included within the service program. Some examples of the styles may be a Funeral Brochure trifold, gatefold, graduated fold, flyer, or the traditional bifold programs. They are available in paper printed on letter, legal or tabloid sizing. The larger paper sizes do cost more in printing costs so you should take that into consideration when selecting which size is right for your program.
There is no right or wrong thing to include within a funeral program. The important thing is to include what the surviving family things is appropriate to honor their loved one’s life. Some families may choose to share a lot of photos and text, while others may prefer not to. Other items may include the funeral obituary, the order of service information, loving tributes submitted by the family, memorial poems and encouraging scripture verses. You may also elect to include photos from milestones within the life of the deceased or only include a recent and younger photo.
Programs may range from a 4-sided presentation to as much as a 32-sided program. Each sheet of paper is equivalent to 4 sides (the left and right side on both sides). For example, if you print on 2 sheets of paper, that would become an 8-sided program because each sheet of paper contains 4 sides. This can be a little tricky to comprehend but you can visualize this concept by actually folding a piece of paper in half. The amount of pages you create will really depend on how much information you plan on sharing at the final celebration of life service.
Keep in mind that the more sides or “pages” you have in the finished funeral program, it will add to your print cost as well as the size you decide to print it on. Some printing companies may also charge more for a unique type of funeral program fold such as the gatefold or graduated style presentations. If you are printing locally, it is a good idea to contact your printer prior to deciding which layout you choose so you can know in advance if you will have additional costs because of the type of layout.
Our diagram below shows you what a typical funeral program will include. Using a DIY template can greatly reduce the amount of time needed to create one from scratch. The results achieved with funeral program templates from our online superstore are professional and will properly give honor to your loved one.