195 N. Buffalo Grove Road
Buffalo Grove, IL
60089
8851 Skokie Boulevard
Skokie, IL
60077
Memorial Services
Memorial Services
What is a Memorial Service?
A memorial service is a ceremony that memorializes and honors the deceased after the body has been buried. A memorial service has the meaning of any other type of funeral service - honor and pay tribute to the deceased. The memorial service often takes place weeks or even months after the death has occurred.
Memorial Service vs Funeral
The biggest difference between a traditional funeral and a memorial service is that the body is not present in a casket at a memorial service. Both traditional funeral services and memorial services have structure, and both bring the community together in support and remembrance. However, a traditional funeral service is much more structured and formal. A traditional funeral service is generally regarded as more religious so it is often led by a rabbi, whereas a memorial service can be led by a celebrant or master of ceremonies. Memorial services often allow for each guest to participate to some level, where guests of a traditional funeral are really just there to observe and reflect.
Why Choose a Memorial Service?
Here are some of the most common reasons people choose memorials for loved ones over other types of funeral services:
- We find the most common reason people choose a memorial service is that they want the extra time to plan a ceremony. Since a memorial service can take place after the body has been buried, there is no rush to organize a ceremony. Immediately following a death, some families are not emotionally ready to have a ceremony – They need time to grieve. Relatives and friends that live far away can organize their schedule to travel for the memorial service.
- Often those less religious choose to have a memorial service because traditional funerals are more often associated with religion.
- Memorial services tend to be less expensive than holding a traditional funeral.
Memorial Service Ideas
A key component of a memorial service is personalizing to highlight your loved one’s values and passions. Here are a couple of ideas you could incorporate into a memorial service to help display your loved one’s personality:
- Some Type of Photo Collection or Display
With the advancement in technology, we see a lot of photo slideshows or some type of video tribute. However, we still do come across old-fashioned photo collages.
- Memorial Releases
Increasingly, many memorial services conclude with some type of release – a butterfly release, dove release, or lantern release. It is quite beautiful to see these releases and they help represent a time of transition – “the family and close relatives are letting go of their loved one”.
- Music
Music seems to be a staple at many events and this is no different for a memorial service. Many families like to play the favorite songs of their loved ones.
- Food & Drink
You can personalize a memorial service by serving some of your loved one’s favorite dishes and beverages.
- Showcase Your Loved One’s Hobbies & Favorite Items
For example, for a loved one that enjoyed traveling you could create a showcase that included a passport, luggage bag, some souvenirs he/she picked up, and a map marking all the places he/she had traveled to.