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Plan the Celebration

To get the most time to plan and prepare a Life Time Capsule to share a special person’s legacy, you should start before there is a specific requirement. By starting today, you can make sure the celebration of life will be ready when it is needed.

As described in Nine Steps to a Celebration Step 3, the person in charge of a Life Celebration is the Producer. They do not have to do all of the work, but they need to make sure things get done.

1. Stay Organized

Before you start planning how you will celebrate the legacy of someone and what to include in their Life Time Capsule, make sure your process is organized.

Use a Task List

A great way stay organized while planning a Life Celebration is to create a list of things that will be included, when they need to be completed, who will be responsible for each item, and how they will be shared.

A spreadsheet is one way to keep track of the tasks needed to be completed and who will perform them. You can download a Task Organizer Spread-sheet

Remember, not all items on the spreadsheet need to be part of the celebration you are planning. You may also add other tasks that you want to track.

Use Technology

Long before people used computers on a regular basis, lives were being celebrated. But using the technology that is readily available today will make creating a celebration easier, save time, and allow for more options to be included.

The main piece of technology should be the computer used by the person in charge of the celebration. On that computer they should create a Master Files Folder using the name of the celebration.

For example: Celebrating Jim Shu.

This folder will include all files and folders needed for the Life Time Capsule. Ideally, the Master Files Folder should be backed-up to a Cloud file-sharing platform such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, Apple iCloud or someplace similar. People who are helping to create the tribute should be given shared access to only the files and folders used for their contribution to the celebration.

Within the Master Files Folder create a subfolder named Planning. Use this folder to keep your Task List Spreadsheet and other files used to manage the celebration.

In addition to the Planning folder, you will create other folders based upon what will be included in the life celebration. Photos will most likely be the name of one of the folders. Another will be Printing where design files for an event program and other paper items will be stored. If your celebration includes the showing of a video, a Projection folder will be needed.

Here is an example of Master Files folder named Celebrating Jim Shu:

Example of basic Master Files folder

As other elements are added to the celebration, other folders will be added to the Master Files Folder.

2. Decide Where the Celebration Will Take Place

If you are planning a Life Celebration that will be an in person event, start by choosing a place to hold it. The Life Celebration Producer, or whoever will be organizing the event, should have several dates in mind. That way, if no suitable venue if available for the first choice, the date of the event will change based upon location availability.

The basic requirements for a venue include: its ability to handle the number of guests expected to attend; how it will accommodate any food and drinks planned to be served; and how much physical space and supporting equipment it has to accommodate each celebration element that will be included. The minimum are the following:

3. Set the Date

Probably the most common date for a celebra-tion of life is a memorial service. In most cases, once you have that date, there is usually a very limited amount of time to prepare. Other types of celebrations can allow much more preparation time: a special birthday, a graduation, a wedding, an anni-versary, a retirement, or another milestone.

As mentioned in the previous step, the availability of a suitable venue to hold the event will affect the date it is held. Lock-in the date and time as soon as you can.

4. Invite Attendees

As soon as you know a Celebration of Life is planned, put together a list of who to invite. The more people on your list, the more potential help you will have available. Once you have the event date determined, prepare and send invitations out as soon as possible. If invitations will be printed and mailed, allow enough time for delivery. If they will be evites, the deadline for invitations to be sent can be later.

If the event will be coming up soon and you have only narrowed the celebration to several dates, let people on your list know. Use emails, texts, phone calls and/or social media to ask people to “Reserve These Dates.” You can send out a more specific invitation as soon as you have a venue chosen and the date finalized.

If the celebration you are planning is a memorial service, include in your invitation a request for people to provide the name and contact info of others they think should know about the event.

5. Decide What to Include

The minimum that an in-person celebration of life should include are:

There are many ways to honor someone, but as you plan what you will present at an event, think of what’s possible as a pyramid: At the top is the minimum you should prepare for. The more time you have to plan, the more you can include as you work your way down the pyramid.

Here are items that are included on the Task Organizer Spreadsheet:

Live Speakers

People who knew/know the person who is being honored (the Star) speaking briefly about the star’s life. Coordinating who will speak includes knowing what they plan to say, what order people will appear, and what time limit they may have. In addition to speakers listed on the event’s agenda, time is usually allocated for others to share their thoughts.

Photos and Memorabilia

An easel and/or table displaying photos and mementos, along with brief captions that explain their relationship to the Star.

A Printed Biography

This can be a single-page, a brochure, or a longer printed piece that includes text that summarizes the honored person’s life. If there is enough time, also include a few photos that represent different life stages.

A Video Highlighting the Person’s Life

If you have at least a week before the event, computer software can almost automatically create an effective display of photos set to music. As more time and resources become available a more elaborate video can include interviews with people talking about the honored person, and a narrator completing the story. Ideally, clips of the person being honored speaking about their life should also be included.

Online Resources

If you have more time to prepare, or many people to tackle individual tasks, you may also include links to online resources. These can include a website and links to shared files such as audio recordings, videos, photos and text documents, such as an eBook.

6. Create a Timeline

You can use the Task Assignment Spreadsheet to create a timeline for each item. As you set dates for different parts of a task, work backwards from the completion deadline. There is more detailed information elsewhere in this book about how long specific tasks can take, but here are some guidelines:

Live Event Speakers

Contacting people and getting them to commit to talking at a celebration of life can take anywhere from less than an hour to several hours spread over many days. The deadline for who will be listed as a speaker is when the event agenda is finalized. If copies of a printed agenda will be given to guests, make sure you allow enough time to have it printed. Keep in mind that not everyone who speaks needs to have committed in advance. Many people who may have been hesitant before the event are willing to talk once others have started sharing stories about the person being honored.

Photos and Memorabilia

Sorting and preparing photos to be displayed, and finding items to present that have special meaning to the person being honored, can take several hours spread over many days. Rely upon others to gather and prepare them for the celebration. Depending upon how many photos and items are to be displayed, allow a few to many hours. If photos are only digital, they will need to be printed to be included on a display board. If any mementos are too precious to display for fear of them being damaged or lost, allow enough time to take and print photos of them. For each photo and physical item write a brief caption, print it out, and attach it. The deadline can be the day of the event, just before guests arrive.

A Printed Biography

Preparing a single page handout can take a few hours to write, then a couple more to prepare for printing. A brochure that includes more text and photos will take several hours longer. More elaborate printed pieces, such as multi-page pamphlet or a book, can take many weeks to prepare. Whatever printed handout is decided upon, make sure to allow time for printing. Single-page handouts and simple brochures can be duplicated on a personal computer printer or at a local copy center. The print deadline should be no later than the day before the event. For anything that needs to be commercially printed, the deadline for preparing the print master can be one or more weeks before the event.

A Video Highlighting the Person’s Life

For a basic video much of the work is gathering photos, deciding which to include, and determining which order to show them. For photos that are not digital, allow time to scan them. Although computer software can virtually automate a slide-show set to music, the photos it includes may have to be adjusted digitally and the music has to be found and prepared.

After photos have been acquired, the minimum time it will take to prepare a video slide show will be several hours, and it can take many hours more.

The time it takes to prepare more advanced videos can take anywhere from a few weeks to months. That’s why it’s good to start preparing for a celebration of life long before an event has been scheduled.

Online Resources

Whether or not you are creating a website or links to unedited files such as text, drawings, photos, videos and audio recordings, the time it takes to prepare them can take many hours to many weeks. At the event you can have a display with a QR code that guests can scan to access the materials. As is the case with anything you wish to include as part of the celebration of life, it’s good to start preparing long before an event has been scheduled.

7. Assign People to Each Task

Remember, the person in charge of the Life Celebration (the Producer) most likely does not have the time nor all of the skills necessary to do everything. Even a relatively simple celebration can require the help of several other people. A more elaborate Life Time Capsule will benefit from getting many more people involved.

Read Next:

For ways to recruit other people to help create a Life Time Capsule that honors the Star of the celebration click here to read the next page: Get Help

 

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