Urns ~ Place me right in the middle of the table

I was recently asked by a funeral director to lend some advice in displaying urns at a memorial service.  I went browsing for an urn and found this treasure at the Urn Garden.  

Creating a Memorial Table ~ Leave the rectangular table in the storage closet.  You can rent a round table for roughly $8.00.  Give it a try and I think you might just like the look. You can also rent table linens from any rental company in your town.

~ Consider using a 60"round table. Use a 120" table linen to the floor.

~If space is an issue then use a 48" or 54 " round table. Use a 108" table linen to the floor. 

~ Colors

Pull colors out of the urn when choosing a table linen.  Ask the family what was the deceased favorite color.  If someone chose this urn, I would not be afraid to use corals, reds, blues, or browns in picking out the table linen.  The worst color you can use is white or cream!  It will wash out the urn.  Make the table look rich in color.  For a plain urn, you could use linen that had some pattern. 

~ Elevate, Elevate, Elevate 

The urn is your most important object on the table and it needs to be raised.  You can use items under the table linen to build a riser.  If you have something attractive that will raise the urn, then place it under the urn.

~Lighting
Nothing worse than a memorial table with  inadequate lighting.  If you have pin spots, angle it right on the urn.  If you do not have good lighting, then start asking your boss for a bar of track lighting to be installed.  If your track lighting is not right in the middle of the room, then move your table to where the track lighting or pin spot lighting is...and light your urn!

~Interaction

A round table encourages people to walk around the table and interact with other guests.  The table can hold more objects and create a larger focal point.  You can place pictures around the table and have the ugly backs of the frames facing the urn.  There is no back side of an urn, so show off the whole urn.

~Candles

Exceptions to the rule.  If you have an evening memorial, then break out the candles.  Use many candles around the urn.  Not just a couple candles, make a big statement.  Prep the family on how the table is going to look.  However, if it is noon time and you are in your funeral chapel, then cluster candles around the urn.  Make an impact.

~Photographs

Start photographing your memorial tables.  This is a great point of reference to show the family's in the arrangement room.  Start offering different levels of memorial tables.  Just show them some ugly memorial tables photos , and then show them some over the top tables, and I am sure you will have an upsell! 

~Flowers

Keep the flowers low on the table.  Do not place a large arrangement or spray near an urn.  It overshadows the urn, and the urn is the main focal point.

Remember the family is looking for your guidance.  If you act confident, then the family will relax and follow in all your footsteps.