Since I just finished with all of the funerary events for my FIL, I thought I would post about a table I set up. It seemed to be quite a hit and the guests liked it a lot.

It was a remembrance table. I pulled all of the photos of my FIL I could find out of photo albums. I bought a bunch of frames - some from the dollar store, some from WalMart, some from GoodWill. My theme was black and silver, and I painted a bunch from Goodwill black with spraypaint. I found some nice silver ones at the craft store as well that weren't too expensive. The frames didn't all match each other, but they coordinated and looked nice.

I put some shoeboxes on a table and covered it with gray fabric. I had some black fabric that I used to accent the table as well. The boxes created "lift" so all of the photos weren't at the same level. With FILG's help, I was able to get some violets (state flower of his birth) and yellow jessamine (state flower of SC, where he died) and put them at either end of the table as well.

I even had FIL's birthcertificate with his footprints on it! I put that at one end of the table and then a progression through life. At the other end, I placed a journal and some pens with the note, "Please leave a favorite memory or message for FIL's children".

I did print out some captions on cardstock and folded them so they would stand (like place cards) explaining the who and where of some of the earlier photos.

It was simple, but it really helped us as we looked through the pictures, framed them, and talked about them - and his friends at the reception could see the highlights of his life. And, we have a book of messages from his friends!

Head over to Shannon's for more Works for Me Wednesday Tips!


And, check out my guest post on my sister's blog, Leave the Lights On!

Labels: Works For Me Wednesday