Planning A Reception After A Cremation Service

When a family you know is hurting because they have lost a loved one, all you want to do is reach out to them and take away their pain. That’s not at all possible, but you can support the family with compassion and by lending a hand. Perhaps, for example, you will offer to host and plan the reception for the family after the memorial service is complete. If your offer is accepted, you might wonder what you should do next. The Tacoma, WA cremation provider has advice for you and you can also call for more suggestions at any time.

Ask What The Family Wants

Once your offer is accepted, ask what the family wants from the reception and give them time to talk and think about it. They might want a certain venue, a certain type of meal, or something else to be includes and you should honor whatever they ask. Or, they might tell you that whatever you do is fine and in those cases, you can provide a meal in any way you feel would be fitting for the situation.

Set A Budget

As the person in charge, you want to know what you have available to spend. If the family is covering the costs, perhaps you have a set budget to work within anyway. That can help you figure out what the options are. If you have offered to cover the costs, or you have a community group stepping in to take care of things, you will still want a budget so you know how much you have available for food, venue costs, and other such things.

Choose The Venue

The venue where you hold the reception can make it everything you want it to be, so it’s important to choose wisely. You will want to consider where the family is having the memorial service so you can get something that is at least somewhat close by. You also want to think about how many people will attend, what type of food options you want, and so on. You could have the reception in a home, a community center, a local church, a restaurant, or a variety of other locations.

Food Options

The options you have for food will depend on where you are holding the reception, what your budget is, and what the family has said they want. For something nice, but less expensive, you can do meat and cheese trays along with chips and desserts. Simple can work just fine and you want to have something that everyone would enjoy. If you are having a hot, sit down meal, there are endless options for that as well.  

Ask For Serving/Clean Up Help

There are likely plenty of other friends who want to help, so ask for some people to come early to set up, some to serve, and some to stay late and help you clean up after Tacoma, WA cremation services. Many people are going to want to pitch in, so just ask.