Cremation urns are the heart of many memorial services, so having them displayed beautifully is important. You want your loved one’s urn to be the center of attention at the service. Here is how to easily create an urn display table that incorporates the decedent’s personality and spirit.
Cremation Urn Display Table Ideas
Capturing your loved one’s personality through an urn display table takes a little planning. Gather photographs of the deceased and a few personal mementos. Then add flowers to surround the urn for a display celebrating your loved one’s essence. Mourners will appreciate the opportunity to linger while revisiting their own memories with the deceased.
Display Table Ideas For A Memorial Service
We memorialize our loved ones for two reasons. The first is to pay respect and honor to the deceased. The second reason is to give our hearts time to heal. Having the “busyness” of planning a funeral or memorial service helps us find meaning in the first week after death. It’s a confusing and shocking time. So the mission to give our loved one’s a good send-off helps us begin to grieve.
1. Choose A Stand Or Table
The first step in creating a cremation urn display table is to select the table or stand where the urn will reside during the memorial service. The funeral home will have choices for you. Or you may bring something from home, too.
A stand provides a smaller space for the urn and maybe a bouquet of flowers. This option is an elegant statement all on its own. For instance, the simple urn below is surrounded by white roses. Behind it stands a row of candles for an extra touch of elegance.
Another option is to choose a larger table where you can display photographs and memorabilia in addition to the urn. Both a stand and a table make good options. It comes down to what works best for your family.
You may also decide to have a cloth over the table. It affords you another step in personalization. For instance, if the deceased was a quilter, you could use a small quilt as a table cover.
2. Gather Photographs Of The Deceased
Gather photos of the deceased to display. It’s nice to have 2 or 3 framed photos on the table with the urn. In funerals I’ve directed, I’ve suggested that the family also make a photo collage on sturdy paper. Placing the collage on an easel, off to one side, will keep the stream of mourners moving.
It’s nice to have a selection of images from throughout the decedent’s life. Although you may remember her as Nana, perhaps another mourner has fond memories of Nana’s younger version as a competitive tennis partner.
When my mother died, my Dad, my sisters, and I enjoyed going through pictures together to select the best ones for her memorial. In addition to a display table, many funeral homes create a slide show of your loved one. So photographs of the deceased play a large role in the memorial service.
3. Select Personal Memementos
Adding personal mementos to your cremation urn display table takes it to the next level. Memorial guests will appreciate the chance to linger near the urn while remembering their own experiences with the deceased.
The ideas for creating a personal display are limitless. Add pieces of a collection the deceased had. Or choose items from a hobby. Let your loved one’s personality shine here.
- For a baker: Display baking pans, rolling pin, and cookie cutters. Make copies of a special handwritten recipe for mourners to take home.
- For a knitter: Knitting needles, yarn, a work in progress.
- For a fisher: Rods, reels, fishing flies, tackle box, pictures of the BIG catch.
- For a golfer: Golf balls, tees, favorite sun hat. Have enough golf balls or tees for guests to take one home.
- For a sportsperson: Football, softball, tennis ball, team jersey, or even a TV remote for armchair quarterbacks!
- For a musician: Musical instrument, favorite sheet music. I love the look of these roses laying on the sheet music. It lends a certain poignance to the display.
- For a traveler: Passport, camera, travel photos, a small suitcase.
- For a veteran: Boots, dog tags, camo hat, flag. Your veteran is entitled to a flag, so ask your funeral director for details.
As you can see, there is no limit to the number of urn display table ideas. The more you personalize the display to your loved one’s personality, the better.
It can be healing for your family to sort through Mom’s recipes to select one to give out. Or you may be especially comforted by choosing two or three of Grandpa’s fishing reels to display. The act of choosing these mementos can help you through the beginning of the grieving process.
4. Choose Flowers To Surround The Urn
It’s nice to have a selection of flowers surrounding the urn on your display table. Your florist can help you choose the right colors and flowers to best represent your loved one. Flowers add not only beauty but hope as well.
These flower arrangements can be simple with a couple of roses in a vase near the urn. Or they can be elaborate circular presentations that the urn fits down into. Either choice makes a beautiful display.
Having flower arrangements near the urn display table is also a good idea. Choose standing easels and sprays to complement the urn.
The color of your flower choice also has meaning. Take a look at this list to see which flower color best suits your loved one:
- White flowers: purity and eternal love
- Red flowers: strength, love, and devotion
- Yellow flowers: friendship and hope
- Blue flowers: peace and serenity
- Orange flowers: warmth and joy
- Purple flowers: grace and feminity
- Green flowers: nature and renewal
5. Select Flameless Candles
Most funeral homes and public gathering places have discontinued the use of regular candles. Instead, flameless candles are a better choice for your urn display table. They add a peaceful and uplifting presence, so do incorporate them. You can tailor the candle holders to your display for a coordinated look.
Display Table Ideas for A Home
Creating a cremation urn display table at home is very similar to creating one for the memorial service. In fact, you can literally transfer the contents from one setting to the other.
Read my article, “Is There Energy in Cremated Remains?” for more information about keeping a memorial urn at home. There are valid reasons for keeping remains at home. But there are also very good reasons for giving the urn a permanent resting place outside of your home.
Floating Shelf Display
Floating shelves make beautiful display areas. Place the urn with a photo of the deceased and a live plant for an instant focal point. Adding a plant to the display brings balances life with death.
Floating shelves are a nice way to have the urn in a place of honor without worrying about accidentally knocking it over when cleaning.
By the way, urns are sealed shut. So you don’t need to worry about knocking over Dad and spilling his ashes everywhere. That’s a thing that only happens in the movies.
Memorial Table
Another idea for displaying an urn at home is to have a memorial table. The table can be a replica of the display for the memorial service. It can also be a setting where you change the decor seasonally.
Some people may love the idea of switching out pictures, flowers, and memorabilia regularly. It may give you a feeling of closeness to your loved one. While others are satisfied by creating one display and then leaving it alone.
Memorial Or Meditation Room
Having a meditation or memorial room is another way to honor your loved one in your home. This room could contain a small urn display table and a comfortable chair for reflection. You may also feel comfortable bringing in a yoga mat or meditation pillow to sit quietly with your loved one. The choice is up to you.
Conclusion
Creating a cremation urn display table for your loved one’s memorial service or in your home helps you celebrate the life of the deceased. Selecting the items on display can give you and your family a sense of hope during your sorrow. The act of sorting through pictures, collections, and hobby items starts you on the road to fully recognizing your loss. It helps you begin to grieve.
Incorporating your loved one’s personality into your display offers a chance for reflection, mourning, and even hope for future connectedness. Try these cremation urn display table ideas for your loved one’s memorial service.
- Select a table or stand.
- Gather photographs of the deceased.
- Select personal mementos from your loved one’s hobby or collection.
- Choose an item to duplicate for mourners to take home: a recipe, words to a favorite poem, golf tees.
- Choose flowers to surround the urn.
- Select flameless candles for an extra bit of elegance.
