Having to organise a funeral reception isn’t a task that anyone would wish to do.
At a time of grief, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you suddenly have to look for the perfect venue and organise everything that comes around the same time as visits to the cemetery and crematorium. Everyone’s family has their own way of doing things, and the wishes of the deceased must also be respected.
If you are unsure where to even begin when it comes to planning this, we hope that this guide can help you to get everything sorted in a quick and stress-free way.
What Type of Wake Reception Are You Having?
What type of wake reception will I have? is the most important question you have to ask yourself. You will need to take into consideration the wishes and traditions of family, as well as any wishes the deceased may have communicated previously.
Wakes can be broadly split into two main types: private and public. A private wake is where only immediate family and friends attend the place, and people are usually personally invited. This is a small affair and can happen either in the family home or at an outside venue, and might be immediately after the funeral or a few hours later.
A public wake is open to anyone who attended the funeral and gives them a chance to talk to the family, give their condolences, and also celebrate the person’s life. If you choose to host this public wake reception, it is important that you print where it will be in the death notice. Notices can be put out in local newspapers but are also increasingly found online so that people who live further away have easy access to all the relevant information.
Where Are you Having the Reception?
Venue will be the next thing that you will need to consider. Depending on how many people you are expecting, you may need to hire out a sizeable venue to accommodate everyone.
Many wakes happen in church halls, but they aren’t to everyone’s liking and so hotels and even pubs are also popular choices of venue. While numbers will help you to decide, knowing whether you are going to serve food or have any entertainment can also affect your venue choice. Wake receptions are now much more common as a way to celebrate a person’s life rather than mourning them.
Depending on your needs, you are sure to be able to find a wake reception venue for hire in London that will suit the type of event you wish to hold.
Are You Serving Food?
Whether or not you will be serving food will all depend on preferences and family traditions. At some wake receptions, everyone provides food themselves, with attendees bringing plates of sandwiches and deserts for everyone to share.
There are a selection of venues which won’t allow providing for yourself, whereas many venues will provide food in a buffet style for people to grab and snack on. The right venue for you might do one of these, or you may organise a sit-down meal at the location you would be hosting from.
If you are looking to serve food of any type, talk first with your venue. They may cater in-house which means that there’s one less thing for you to worry about. This is the best course of action if you require food. When looking for venues, enquire if they can also cater so you can go down this route.
Can You Have Entertainment at a Wake
Reception?
The answer is yes, you can have anything that you feel is appropriate to have.
This may be musicians, a slideshow of pictures, or even people taking to a mic and telling their favourite stories of the deceased. Anything is permitted. Many people now wish for their funeral to be a celebration of life, and so encourage entertainment and laughter.
Depending on your culture, having a drink at a wake reception will also be part of this as a toast to the memory of the deceased - wakes no longer need to be a sombre affair, and so if you feel that you would like songs to be played and stories shared, then you should go ahead and organise this entertainment.
Other Ideas to Remember the Deceased
If you are looking to do something to memorialise the deceased at the funeral reception, then there are lots of ideas out there that allow the guests to get involved.
These include having a memory jar, tree, or book where people can write down their favourite moments and things that they learnt from the person. These would both be great mementos for the family to have and give everyone the chance to see how loved their family member still is.
If you are playing music, have a list of the deceased favourite songs. You can then decorate the venue with photographs of the person and items of special significance to them.
These all can help to lift the mood and make the event once that is more focused on remembrance than on sorrow.
Main Things to Remember
No matter what type of reception you go for, be it private or public, in a sports hall or in a hotel, it’s always going to be a difficult thing to have to organise. The main things to remember is to consider not what other people expect, but what you and other family members want from the day. Perhaps you’ve been left instructions from the deceased to follow? If this is the case, then honour them by following their final wishes and giving them the wake reception that they envisioned.
Search
