Everything you need to know about writing a funeral announcement card

Why send a funeral announcement card?

A funeral announcement card, also known as a funeral invitation, is used to announce the passing of a loved one to your family, friends, and acquaintances and to invite them to the funeral or memorial. We understand that organising and inviting people to a funeral can be the last thing you want to do at this time, which is why we’ve put together a short list of the essential details to include in your funeral announcement card template.

Three details to include in your funeral announcement card:

1. Last name of the family announcing the passing.
2. First and last name of the deceased.
3. Residence of the deceased.
4. The date in which the deceased passed.
5. The date, time, and location at which the funeral or memorial service will be held.
6. The location of where the wake will be held if there is to be one.

Additional details you may wish to include:

A funeral announcement card is primarily used to invite guests to a funeral or memorial service being held for your loved one. However, they are very personal to each family and as such different families will include a differing amount of detail. Some families see the funeral announcement card as an opportunity to create a more concise version of an obituary and therefore choose to include more personal details, such as last place of employment, then families using an announcement card as an invitation to the deceased’s funeral or memorial service.

The information you include may also differ depending on who you’re sending the funeral announcement card to. It can be useful to include the names of the extended family especially if you will be sending the card to someone who is only acquainted with a member of the surviving family. You may also wish to include a photograph of your loved one to make your announcement card truly personal and because many people like to keep the card as a keepsake in memory of the deceased. If you’re planning a service where the dress code deviates from the traditional funeral wear, then it is a good idea to let your guests know ahead of time so they can ensure they have something appropriate to wear.

At Utterly Printable, our funeral announcement cards are fully customisable so once you have decided on the level of detail you wish to include then you can edit your chosen design to reflect this. Many of our designs also give you the opportunity to include a favourite photograph of your loved one to make this announcement card truly intimate. Below, we have included some word templates to give you an idea of how you may wish to structure yours as we know may families struggle to think of the perfect wording.

Example 1: traditional funeral announcement card wording

The Stevenson family
are sad to announce the passing of
Mr James Stevenson
On Saturday 28^th February 2020
A service will be held on the 9^th March 2020 at 11am
St Marys church, Windsor
Refreshments will be served
After the service
At the George Inn, Windsor
We hope to see you there to celebrate James’ life with us.

Example 2: a more detailed funeral announcement card

The Stevenson family
are sad to announce the passing of
Mr James Stevenson
On Saturday 28^th February 2020
James is survived by his loving wife Kate and children Max and Olivia.
A memorial service will be held on the 9^th March 2020 at 11am
St Marys Church, Windsor
with refreshments served afterwards
At the George Inn, Windsor

As many of you know, James was an avid fan of Arsenal football club and as such we ask guests to kindly wear an item of red clothing in honour.
In lieu of flowers please send any donations to
St Michaels hospice, Windsor

 

Hopefully that will make life easier when it comes to using our online funeral invitation maker.

It’s worth noting at this point that we also have some other items in our range of printed funeral stationery that will help with your day. Firstly, we have our funeral order of service booklets which come with 4, 8 or 12-pages for you to fill. Secondly, for after the funeral, we have our range of funeral thank you card designs which are incredibly simple to design online. And finally, as an alternative to classic funeral invitations, we have our new collection of digital funeral announcement cards, designed to be sent out by WhatsApp and/or text message. Inviting people to a funeral by WhatsApp has never been so simple.