How to make a funeral program

You can make a funeral program in one evening, even if you have never designed anything. This guide takes you through it step by step: what to gather first, what goes on each page, how to edit a template in Canva or Microsoft Word, and how to print it at home or at a print shop.

Pick a design and finish tonight

Edit in Canva (a free account works) or Microsoft Word, print at home or at a print shop. Instant download.

If you get stuck at any point, email hello@memorialpaper.com. We will help you finish.

Before you start: gather these

Everything goes faster when the details are in one place before you open the template. Ask a family member to help you collect:

Their full name, and the name people called them.
Their dates: the day they were born and the day they died.
A photo you love. One where their face is clear and they are looking toward the camera works best. A photo at least 1,200 pixels tall prints sharply at program size; recent phone photos are big enough. For an old print, scan it, or photograph it lying flat in daylight without the flash.
The service details: the date, the time, the place, and the name of the person leading it.
The order of service. The officiant, celebrant or funeral director will confirm this with you.
Names of pallbearers, readers and musicians, if you want to list them.
A short life story, or the obituary if one has already been written.
A poem, verse or quote. Our page of funeral poems and verses has ones you can use freely.
Reception details, and where to send donations if you are asking for them instead of flowers.

Don't wait for every detail. Start with what you have and fill in the rest as it arrives.

Step 1: choose a template

Pick a design and let it do the layout. A template already has the pages in the right order, type at a size older guests can read, and a place for everything on the list above. You change the words and the photo. Nothing else needs to move.

Our funeral program templates come as a Canva template link and a Microsoft Word file, with a how-to guide. The Pressed Garden funeral program is a four-page program: one Letter sheet, printed on both sides and folded in half to 5.5 × 8.5 inches. It has a matching prayer card and welcome sign if you would like the set to match.

Canva or Word? Canva works on a phone or a computer, a free account is enough, and family members can edit together through a shared link. Word is familiar and works offline; it is best on a computer. Both give you the same program.

Step 2: fill in the front cover

The cover carries five things: a title line, their photo, their name, their dates and the service details.

Title line. "In Loving Memory of" is the most common. Others: "Celebrating the Life of", "A Service of Remembrance for", "Forever in Our Hearts".
Photo. In Canva, tap the middle of the photo, choose Replace and pick your picture. In Word, right-click the photo and choose Change Picture. If it looks stretched, use Crop and then Fill.
Name. Their full name. If everyone knew them by another name, put it in quotation marks or save it for the life story.
Dates. "March 14, 1941 – September 30, 2026" or simply "1941 – 2026".
Service details. The day and date, the time and the place, each on its own line.

Step 3: write the order of service

The order of service is a list of what will happen, in the order it happens. Each line names the item and, if you like, the person leading it. A typical list:

Welcome and opening words
Hymn or song (by title)
Reading
Reflection or eulogy
Music
Prayer or moment of silence
Closing words
Reception to follow

List hymns and songs by their titles, and readings by name or citation, for example "Psalm 23" or "Remember, by Christina Rossetti". If the service is long, a shorter list on the program is fine; the person leading the service will guide everyone through the rest. For sample orders of service for different kinds of service, see our funeral program format page.

Step 4: write the life story

On a four-page program the life story has one inside page. About 150 to 250 words fits at a readable size. If you have the obituary written for the newspaper or the funeral home's website, shorten it rather than shrinking the type.

If you are starting from nothing, write it as you would tell a friend who never met them:

Where and when they were born, and to whom.
What they did: work, home, the things they made or grew or fixed.
What they loved, and one or two true details that sound like them.
Who they leave behind.
One line about how they will be remembered.

A sample opening, for a fictional person: "Eleanor Rose Whitfield was born on March 14, 1941, the second of four children. She trained as a nurse, kept a garden that fed half the street, and never once lost at cards."

Step 5: finish the back cover

The back cover usually holds three short things:

A poem or verse. Up to about 16 short lines fits. Our poems and verses page has ones that are free to print.
A thank-you. For example: "The family of Eleanor thanks you for your presence today, and for the kindness shown to us in recent weeks."
The reception. "Please join us for refreshments at [place] following the service." If you are asking for donations instead of flowers, add one line: "In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to [organization]."

Step 6: check it

This step matters more than any other. A program is read by everyone and kept for years.

Read every name and date aloud with someone else following along.
Check the spelling of family members' names, especially the ones you type less often.
Check the service time and the address against the funeral home's or the venue's own details.
Look at the photo at full size on the screen. If it looks soft, try a different one.
Print one copy and read it on paper. Mistakes hide on screens.

Step 7: save a PDF and print

In Canva, choose Share, then Download, then PDF Print. In Word, choose File, then Save As, and pick PDF.

At home. Print on Letter paper, both sides, flipping on the short edge, then fold in half. Cream or white cardstock, 80 to 100 lb (216 to 270 gsm), feels like a proper program. If your printer struggles with it, use the heaviest paper it accepts, or have a print shop print it. If your printer prints one side at a time, print page 1, put the sheet back in and print page 2; try it with one plain sheet first to learn which way your printer flips. Fold along a ruler's edge for a crisp fold.

At a print shop. Bring the PDF on a USB stick or email it ahead. Ask for Letter, double-sided, flipped on the short edge, folded in half, on cardstock. Call first to ask about their turnaround, the cutoff for same-day orders and how they would like the file.

How many. One for every guest you expect, plus a dozen extra. People take copies home for family who could not come.

If you run out of time

A short program is still a good program. The cover, the order of service and a thank-you line are enough. The life story can be read aloud at the service instead, and the poem can go on a prayer card later.