Kat,
Were there any hobbies that you could play off of?

Hmmm, I've been to so many funerals & I really can't even remember any centerpieces at the tables---If you're talking about the place where a dinner will be served, they usually will put something on the tables---If not, maybe just some candles---Don't worry about that Kat!

Hugs to ya, Donna (^_^)

ummm.. fishing... traveling, card games ( a long time ago, not lately) gardening, tomatoes and pumpkins he loved! lol and his little pond that the racoons terrorized!

Donna... I haven't seen it either. WE are having the service and the reception with food at the WS SEnior Center that he was on the board of and raised so much money for their remodel. There will be tables for his friends and loved ones. Lee is planning food for 200.....

I helped cater a dinner, where we put one fresh tulip on each table. No vase...just the tulip with a little babies breath over the stem. It was quit simple and elegant. It lasted through the dinner and there were no worries about what to do with the flowers after.

I go along with no need for centerpieces. After all, this isn't a party. There was none when we had an after the funeral reception at a restaurant when my mother died, nor for my sister-in-law, where the reception was in a room at the funeral parlor.

Kat, just put a few carnations on each table---pretty & simple!

hugs, Donna (^_^)

Another thought, for later....

My mom passed away this last Thanksgiving, and I took some rose petals from a bouquet after they'd dried and put them in a beautiful cut glass sugar bowl.

Kat, we've never used centerpieces at a memorial luncheon and sadly we have had many in our families. It's a time where healing and remembrance takes center stage, not the decor.

Maybe you could just make copies of a picture you really like of your dad, and put it on each table.
Leslie

Leslie beat me to it. I was thinking of making small photocopies and tucking them into the flower arrangements. Maybe use different photos in each? The plastic picks that hold cards in flower arrangements work well at holding photos too.

If you really want something simple and inexpensive, how about glass bowls full of water, with cranberries floating on top. Float some tealight candles in there with the cranberries and maybe a couple of small photos around the bowl. I've even done this with large canning jars, Kat, and people remarked how pretty they thought it was. If you really wanted to get going, you could do a different little theme at each table, a stuffed raccoon at one (toy stuffy, of course) some scattered playing cards at another, etc.

I think a memorial service is kind of like a party, a celebration of a life. Your Dad seemed like a happy man and I bet he would love his service to turn into a bash.

A small flower arrangement or potted plant at each table would be nice. When MIL died, her daughters went through all the photos they could find and made a large photo collage. It was about two feet by three feet. Seeing MIL as a schoolgirl, a young bride, and with her four granchildren was just wonderful.

I have not seen centerpieces at a Bereavement dinner as well but I have a thought.
You could print out a lovely 'fact sheet' for lack of a better word..wih datelines and facts about your dad- from where he was born, his career, his marriage & his siblings & children...his hobbies, etc. There could be a wallet size photo of him at the center top of the paper. They have a parchment type paper at the office supply stores. You could get them copied onto this type paper & then roll them up-scroll style & tie with a piece of ribbon. Have a stemmed bowl or vase as your centerpiece & place the scrolls in there for guests to take. You could even add 1 fresh flower of choice, tucked into the ribbon..maybe buy a few bunches at the grocery store and use them?

Okay I've been thinking about this and this just keeps coming back to me...OH GOOD GRIEF, you are grieving, you do NOT need more stress in your life right now. I don't care what his girlfriend wants to do, if she thinks the tables need a centerpiece, let her do it. Take care of the picture thing..which is wonderfully healing, and yourself, don't worry about the entertaining part of making a centerpiece.

Hugs to you still

Vickey-MN

If you are able to make copies of a picture or pictures of your Dad you could fuse them to a tall pillar candle and have that as the focus with some simple flowers around each candle...if not and it were me I would just go with the simple candle and a simple bit of florals around each one.
Suzan J

You could write a brief thank you note on the computer from the family thanking everyone for coming to celebrate his life with all of you and place it in the center of each table.

But I like the suggestion of one tulip and some baby's breath.

Keep it simple, very very simple.

My thought is little picture frames..even dollar store...that you can put snap shots in...and place one on each table...

or something very similar to the postcard you made using My Kamren...words, dates, accomplishments..with his picture...