6. Add service details
The actionable part. Verify every date and time with the funeral home.
Checklist
- Visitation: day, date, time, venue, address
- Service: day, date, time, venue, address
- Committal or graveside details
- Reception location, and whether all are welcome
- 'Private service' stated explicitly if applicable
- Livestream URL and availability
- Flowers or donations preference, with a link
- Every detail read back to the funeral home
List each event separately: visitation, service, committal, reception. Give the weekday as well as the date — people plan by weekday.
Include full venue names and street addresses. Mourners paste them into a map, and 'St. Mary's' is not enough in a city with three.
If a service is private, say so plainly. This stops well-meaning friends arriving at a closed funeral.
Publish livestream links, and say whether the recording stays available.
State what to do about flowers. Naming a specific charity with a working link raises far more than a vague appeal.
Tip Confirm times by phone, then read them back. A wrong service time is the one error that cannot be fixed in time.
Avoid Don't publish a family home address as a venue unless someone will be there. Empty houses named in obituaries are a known burglary target during funerals.