A funeral order of service is a printed booklet given to guests as they arrive at a funeral or memorial service. It guides everyone through the service as it unfolds, carries the words of any hymns or readings, and — perhaps most importantly — gives the people who loved the person something to take home and keep.
It is one of the most personal things a family creates during the funeral planning process, and one of the most lasting. Done well, it captures something true about the person. Families tell us that years later, they still come across an order of service tucked in a drawer or placed in a memory box — and that finding it brings the person straight back.
What does a funeral order of service do on the day?
At a funeral, particularly one attended by people who are unfamiliar with the format or the venue, the order of service is a quiet, practical guide. It tells people when to stand and sit, what words to join in with, what comes next. It prevents the uncertainty that makes an already difficult occasion feel harder.
For services that include hymns, printing the words allows everyone to participate — not just those who know them by heart. For services with multiple speakers, musical pieces or tributes, seeing the running order in print gives the whole occasion a sense of care and intention that people notice, even if they cannot quite say why.
What does it become afterwards?
When the service is over, the order of service is what people take home. It is placed on a mantelpiece, kept in a drawer, tucked inside a memory box. For those who attended, it is a record of the day. For those who could not be there — family members abroad, friends who were too unwell to travel — it tells the story of a service they missed. For younger family members, it becomes part of a family history they can return to in years to come.
An order of service printed with care — on quality paper, with photographs that have been properly retouched, and a design created specifically for the person — is the kind of thing that feels worth keeping from the moment it is handed over.
What should a funeral order of service include?
There is no fixed rule, but most orders of service follow a similar structure. Here is what families typically include:
The front cover
The name of the person, their dates of birth and death, and a photograph. The photograph is often the most important decision — families sometimes spend more time on this than anything else, and rightly so. We can retouch photographs, restore older images, and work with pictures that were not taken professionally.
The order of proceedings
A clear running order of the service: the entrance, any welcome, hymns, readings, tributes, musical pieces, the committal and the exit. This is the functional heart of the booklet — it tells people what is happening and when.
Hymns and readings in full
If the service includes congregational hymns, printing the words in full means everyone can join in. The same applies to readings — some families include the full text so that guests can re-read them at home.
A personal tribute or biography
Many families include a short tribute: a few paragraphs about the person’s life, their character, the things they loved, the people they leave behind. This is not always read aloud — it is often simply there for people to read quietly, before or after the service.
Photographs throughout
A single portrait on the cover is traditional, but additional photographs inside — capturing different chapters of a life — make the booklet feel more personal and more complete. We can work with a small number of photographs or many, and advise on which to use and how to place them.
The back cover
Often a poem, a quote, a short message from the family, or a second photograph. Some families use the back cover for practical information — details of a wake or reception, or a charity in the person’s name.
How many pages do you need?
Funeral orders of service from Fitting Farewell are available in four sizes: 4, 8, 12 or 16 pages. The right choice depends on the content you want to include.
- 4 pages — suitable for a simple service with a short running order and one or two photographs. A dignified, understated option.
- 8 pages — the most popular choice. Enough space for the full running order, hymn words, a biography and several photographs.
- 12 pages — for longer services, or where the family wants to include more photographs, additional readings, or a more detailed tribute.
- 16 pages — for services with substantial content: multiple tributes, a longer biography, or a life well-documented in photographs.
If you are not sure which page count is right for your content, your designer will advise. It is one of the first things we discuss when we speak with you.
Paper and print quality
The paper an order of service is printed on matters more than people expect. A flimsy booklet feels wrong in your hands at a funeral. A well-printed one on quality stock feels right — substantial without being showy.
All Fitting Farewell orders of service are printed on 170gsm silk paper for the interior pages, with a 350gsm cover. The result is a booklet that feels considered and lasting — the kind of thing people keep, not discard.
Making it personal
The most memorable orders of service are the ones that feel entirely like the person. A photograph taken somewhere they loved. A nickname on the front cover. A poem they would have chosen themselves. A design theme built around something they cared about — a garden, a sport, a place, a colour.
None of these things are complicated to include. They are simply the result of someone listening carefully and designing with intention. At Fitting Farewell, every order of service is designed around the individual — we do not start from a template and adapt it. We start from the person.
We can also include a QR code in your order of service that links to something meaningful — a Spotify playlist of the person’s favourite music, a memorial page, a video tribute, or a family photograph album. When my father passed away, we created a playlist called Lifetime of Memories — songs from different chapters of his life — and linked to it via a QR code on the order of service. Guests could find and return to the music long after the service, in their own time, in their own way.
How we work with you
Our process is straightforward, and designed to take as much pressure off you as possible.
- You get in touch. By phone or via our contact form. You speak directly with your designer — not a call handler.
- You share your ideas and photographs. Tell us about the person. Share any photographs, readings, hymns or themes you have in mind. We will guide you through the rest.
- We design your order of service. Your designer creates a bespoke design specifically for you. You receive a proof to review before anything goes to print.
- You approve the proof. We make any changes you request. Once you are happy, we go to print.
- We print and deliver. Printed to the highest standard and dispatched for next-day UK delivery. Your order may arrive any time up to 6pm.
The full process — from first conversation to delivery — typically takes three working days. Every price includes bespoke design, print and delivery. There is nothing extra to pay.
How much does a funeral order of service cost?
Prices vary depending on page count and quantity. A full breakdown is available on our pricing page. All prices include VAT, bespoke design, print and next-day UK delivery — there are no hidden extras.
Ready to get started?
If you would like to talk through your order of service — or if you simply have questions and are not sure where to begin — we are here. Call us free on 0800 612 6484 or send us a message and we will get back to you promptly.
You can also browse our design gallery to see examples of orders of service we have created for families across the UK.
You may also find these guides useful: choosing funeral readings, how to write a eulogy, how we print orders of service, and memorial cards explained and personalised memorial cards.
