How to use this guide
A program is short — a cover, an order of events, and a few lines of thanks — but each part asks for words at a moment when words are hard to find. This guide walks through the program section by section, with examples you can use exactly as written or change until they sound like your family. Every line here has been written to be read aloud.
If you are still deciding what the service itself will hold, our guide to planning an order of service comes first; this one gives you the words to fill it.
The cover
The cover carries a heading line, the name, the dates, and the place and time of the service. The heading line sets the register for everything inside:
"In Loving Memory of [name]"
"Celebrating the Life of [name]"
"A Service of Remembrance for [name]"
Beneath the name, the simplest date line is the years alone — 1943–2026. The service details sit lower and smaller:
"[Day, date] at [time] · [place, city]"
The welcome
Some families open the inside pages with one or two lines of welcome, above the order of events:
"Thank you for being here with us today, as we remember and celebrate the life of [name]."
"We are grateful to everyone who has come to honor [name] — those who traveled far, and those who have been close beside us all along."
Introducing readings and music
Inside the program, each part of the service gets a short label — what it is, what it is called, and who is giving it. A consistent pattern keeps the page calm:
"Reading · 'Remember' by Christina Rossetti · read by [name]"
"Music · 'What a Wonderful World' · for quiet reflection"
"Eulogy · given by [name], her eldest son"
A word after the reader's name — her eldest son, his neighbour of forty years, a friend from choir — tells guests who is speaking without anyone having to explain from the front.
Acknowledgements and thanks
The back cover usually carries a few lines from the family. One is enough; three is the most a back cover wants to hold:
"The family of [name] thanks you for your presence today, and for every kindness shown to them. It has meant more than they can say."
"We are grateful for every card, call, and quiet act of care these past weeks. Thank you for holding us up."
"Special thanks to the staff of [place] for the gentleness and dignity of their care."
Inviting guests onward
If there is a reception, the invitation usually closes the program — the last thing guests read before the service begins:
"Please join us afterwards at [place], where we can be together a little longer."
"The family invites you to share refreshments and memories at [place], following the service."
If the family would rather gather privately, a program can simply end with the thanks — no explanation is needed.
Two habits that help
- Write the way they spoke. If [name] never once said "passed away," the program needn't either. Plain words, warmly meant, always read true.
- Read every line aloud once. The program will be read in a quiet room at a tender hour; anything that sounds wrong spoken will feel wrong on the page. Then have a second person check every name, date, and spelling against a document rather than memory.
When you are ready
Solace Paper makes order of service programs — templates you can edit yourself, and programs we prepare for you, checked letter by letter against exactly what you send. The collection opens soon at our Etsy shop.