Elegant Memorials Blog

Elegant Memorials now sells funeral program templates which allow you to change the color of the background with just a few simple clicks.

There are many ways of personalizing a funeral program from adding sentimental pictures and graphics to adjusting the size and style of font. Now, users can further customize a program by choosing templates that allow you to change background colors as well.

This option makes the funeral program templates more versatile by giving customers the opportunity to change the program’s colors to one more desirable. Many prefer to have the program highlighted with their loved one’s favorite color or a hue that will fit the theme of the funeral, memorial or Celebration of Life ceremony.

You can change a single color or create a beautiful gradient of colors. What’s great is that you can experiment to get whatever color scheme you want. Users can select to change the color of the borders, background and text.

Changing Background Colors
Changing the background color is easy:
1. Select the top lavender background box; right click and choose “Format Autoshape.”
2. Choose the “Colors and Lines” tab.
3. Click the down arrow on the fill color box and choose the color that you want.
5. Hit OK to save changes.
6. Do the same for the bottom lavender box.
7. Make sure to delete this box when done by selecting the edge of the box and pressing delete or backspace.

The backgrounds use autofill shapes, so you can easily change colors by accessing the shape properties.

Changing Border Colors
The colors of borders or picture frames can easily be changed to correspond to the rest of the funeral program’s color scheme. This can be done by:
1. Select and right click inside the grey picture box and choose “Format Autoshape.”
2. Choose “Colors and Lines” tab.
3. Under “Fill,” click “Fill Effects.”
4. Click “Picture” tab and select picture. Click OK.
5. Click OK to save changes.
6. Delete this box when done by selecting the edge of the box and pressing “backspace” or “delete.”

Make The Perfect Funeral Program ... It's Easy

• Professional Designs formatted using Microsoft Word or Publisher
• All test can be changed, including the program title
• Flexible Designs and Layout
• Instant Download and Live customer support

Choose a Program

One of the more somber, yet important, funeral programs to design are ones for a baby or child who died. Chances are his or her death was unexpected, so creating a funeral program to go along with what will most likely be an extremely sad affair will be quite difficult. But it's not impossible.

For starters, make sure to add as many images of the young one as you can to program as this will conjure up good memories. It is unnecessary to add a cause of death, unless the family insists. Also, don't forget to include everyone in the obituary that you use.

Keep the funeral program light-hearted. Seriousness during this time can only lead to more heartache by the family. A religious theme is a good idea if the family wants it. Some may be too grief-stricken to think of their children in heaven.

Finally, make extra copies, and give the immediate family quite a few copies to keep and reflect upon in years to come.

For more resources on planning a child's service or creating a funeral program for a child please see:

Planning a Child's Memorial Service

Children's Funeral Poems

Elegant Memorials now has two new designs available in the Bifold (Single Fold) Format.  They are "Purple Frame" and "Yellow Floral Border" Funeral Program Templates.  These templates feature decorative borders for a more simple and conservative design look.  As with all our templates, they are formatted with a cover photo and have enought room for service information, an order of service, poems, scriptures and additional clipart.  These designs are perfect for a funeral, memorial or celebration of life service. Check out these new designs and our other designs by clicking this funeral program templates link.

Funeral programs honor and celebrate the life of the deceased. Programs usually contain photos information about the funeral or memorial service, poems, scriptures and an obituary. The obituary can be a very imporant part of the funeral or memorial program or bulletin. Writing an obituary for the funeral program can seem challenging, but it doesn't have to be. Here are some tips to help you write the perfect obituary for your funeral or memorial bulletin.

1. Start off with a few key points, and build on it
You may have already written a short obituary for the newspaper or funeral home as an announcent. You can start with that. The short obituary probably already has full name, place of residence, date of birth and death, and funeral or memorial details.

2. Add in personal details
You can then include more details in describing the person's life. It can include hobbies, interests or special qualities that they possessed. Did they enjoy traveling or writing poetry? Were they well-known among friends and family for telling jokes? Did they work for a special cause? These are the kinds of details you can add to the standard obituary to help those attending a memorial service to remember the person's life.

3. List family members
This is an important and sometimes tedious part of the obituary. Of course, include the spouse of the deceased and their children. You should also list siblings. Depending on the size of the family, you may want to stop there, or you may continue and list extended family members.

4. Look at examples
There are many obituary examples on the internet. You can also consult the newspaper or funeral homes to read examples of obituaries to help you get started.

Elegant Memorials has many resources to help you write an obituary.

How to Write an Obituary

Obituary for Newspapers

Sample Obituaries

Working from home and owning a business has never been more convenient or easier to do. Because of today's advancing technology - and sometimes uncertain economy and job market -- more people are looking to self-employment as an option and are starting companies that you normally wouldn't expect to see. Creating printed funeral and memorial programs and is one of those companies.

Because there will always be funeral and memorial services, there is an equal need for funeral and memorial programs and keepsakes. Sometimes, basic funeral programs or booklets may be provided by funeral homes and included as part of the funeral costs. Design options are typically limited, so customers often use outside companies to create the programs that they want.

With so many families seeking outside companies for funeral stationery, a funeral programs business is a potentially lucrative venture. All you need to do is get started so you help others during their time of need.

Getting Started

You don't need a lot of seed money to get your business off the ground, but you should have some motivation and creativity. These guidelines provide an overall view of what you need to start a funeral program business:

1. Decide what type of service you want to offer: Will you create funeral programs for others and print them, or have them print their own? What styles, layouts will you offer?

2. Select a name: Look around online to get some ideas. You want a title that is catchy, yet speaks to the type of business you are in. If you want to form a corporation or LLC, it's best to seek legal advice on that matter, since the rules are different in all 50 states.

3. Get the proper equipment: Besides a reliable Internet provider and telephone service, you will want a good computer and printer. You will also need some word processing software such as Microsoft Word (PCs and Macs) or Apple iWorks' Pages for Mac users.

4. Use funeral program templates. Pre-designed templates will help you create beautiful program in a fraction of the time. For a minimal price you can instantly offer a wide variety of styles, themes and layouts without the hassle of having to design them yourself. Elegant Memorials offers many different funeral program packages to help you get started.

5.  Learn and understand the funeral and memorial business.  Although you will be providing a design and printing service, you will need to understand basic information about the funeral and memorial industry.  You customers will expect you to know the basics about funerals and memorials, and about the information that typically belongs in a program.  Do a little research about how funerals and memorials are conducted, and get some basic information about what poems, scriptures songs, obituaries and other important information that you will be including in the programs for your customers.

6. Draw up your price list: Look at comparable companies online to get an idea of how much programs cost. Make sure you leave enough room to make a profit, but don't out price yourself either.

7. Market yourself both online and in person: Get business cards and distribute them wherever you go. Create a website and Social Media pages, such as Facebook, Pinterest and Google Plus.

Believe in Yourself

If you have faith and confidence that your business can be success, then it probably will be. Make time to grow your business. All new businesses take awhile to get off the ground. However, you will only get from your business exactly what you put into it.

Here at Elegant Memorials, we help a lot of customers with their funeral programs. By far, the biggest issue when creating their program is lost changes.

When you purchase a template, you have to download (download is another word for copy) the template from our website to your personal computer. Usually a dialog box will pop up and ask if you want to "Open" or "Save". You always want to save your template. If you just open your template and start working on it, you can lose your changes.

1.  When downloading and saving your template, pay attention to where your files. The location of downloaded files may vary on different computers. Try to notice where your files are going. If possible, change the download location to your desktop, or to location where most of your commonly used files reside.

2.  Once you have saved your templates, open the file immediately. Use the "Save As" command to make a copy of your template. This leaves a clean copy of your template, so you can re-use it again. Give your newly saved template a descriptive name. This will make it easier to identify.

3. After you've made a copy of your template, Make a quick change (like adding a name) to your template, then "Save" and "Close" it. Re-open the template to ensure that your changes are saved. Doing this will ensure that you have a fully functional software, and not a read-only version.

4. When working on your program, save every several minutes, especially if you are making a lot of edits and adding lots of pictures. Don't rely on Autosave features.

Funeral program templates can save valuable time and help you create a well-designed funeral program keepsake. Following these tips can help things go smoothly.

The funeral program title is usually on the cover of the funeral program, and describes how you honor your loved one. The title also reflects style of the funeral or memorial service. Funeral programs are booklets or pamphlets that are given out at a funeral or memorial service. They can contain information such as the order of service or list of events, an obituary or life tribute, funeral poems, funeral songs, photos and other personalized information. Many people keep Funeral programs as keepsakes. There are many different titles that can be used for funeral programs, and other memorial keepsakes such as memorial bookmarks. If using a funeral program template to create your funeral program, make sure you can easily edit and customize your title to fit you needs. Listed below are some common funeral program titles that are appropriate for funeral, memorial or cremation services that are religious, secular or contemporary.

Celebrating Her/His Spirit
In Loving Memory
In Remembrance

Honoring the Life
Remembering the Life (of)
Celebrating the Life (of)
Homegoing Service
Homegoing Celebration
A Heavenly Departure
A Life Well Lived
Forever in our Hearts
Forever with the Lord

Rembering our Beloved

Precious Memories (of)

Do you want your funeral program to look like it was designed by a professional designer?  It's not as hard as you think.  Here are 5  tips and techniques you can use on your DIY Funeral Program that will make you program look like it was professionally designed

1.  Choose a good funeral program cover photo. 

A grainy, unprofessional cover photo will ruin a beautifully designed program.  If possible, use a photo from a professional photo studio, with the focus above the shoulders.  If you do not have a studio photo, try and select a photo that is clear with the focus on the deceased.  Also, choose a photo with minimal distractions, such as other people and distracting backgrounds.  For more information, see our article "Funeral Program Pictures"

If you have to use a picture that has other elements in it, consider having a professional edited.  A professional can remove unwanted elements from photos, as well as adjust lighting, shadows and colors.  You can also experiment with some do it yourself photo editing software such as Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Microsoft Paint and even Microsoft Word.

2.  Add Additional family photos and clipart

You can add additional photos, images and clipart to your programs.  Adding a portrait of the deceased engaging in his or her favorite activity, and adding family photos and photo collages turn your program into a cherished keepsake for friends and family. Funeral and Memorial Clipart can also help personalize your program.  Adding a color coordinated flower clipart or cross can give you program a very personalized and elegant look.  However, do not overdo it.  Too much clipart and photos can make your program look crowded and distracting.  Make sure you use a funeral program template that has enough pages to accommodate your clipart and photos.  Get more information about funeral program collages from our website.

3.  Experiment with Autoshapes

Microsoft Word autoshapes which are various shapes that you can draw on your funeral program.  You can then add photos and images to them to give your photos a "frame" effect.  You can display your cover photo in an oval by drawing an oval autoshape, and using the "fill" feature to add a photo. There are many autoshapes to choose from including hearts, stars, ovals, and wave banners.  Again, don't overdo it!

4.  Experiment with Fonts and Word Art

You can make your funeral program titles elegant by experimenting with font styles, sizes and colors.   Experiment with different fonts for your titles and headings.  You can choose different colors other than standard black to accent your program.  You can also capitalize the first letter of your title for a fancy "Drop Letter" style.  These fonts styles should be accent.  Make sure your main text is created in a very legible font so that it can be easily read.

5.  Use Quality Paper

Using thicker, quality paper can give you finished program a polished and professional look.  A paper's thickness is called its "weight" (stated in pounds). The higher the weight is, the thicker and more durable the paper. Higher weight paper also allows less light to pass through (less "showthrough").  You will also want consider other paper characteristics such as brightness, color, finish and texture.  For a detailed explanation of paper options, see our article "Funeral Program Paper".