Ten funeral programme mistakes — and how to avoid each one

Why these small things matter

The programme is the one thing from the day that people take home. A grandchild will find it in twenty years; a cousin who could not travel will ask for a photo of it on WhatsApp. So a name spelled wrong, or the wrong hymn on the page, is not a small typo — it is the version of the day that lasts. The good news is that every mistake here is preventable with ten quiet minutes and one other person's eyes. Read on for the ten, grouped so you can check them quickly.

Names, hymns, and the family list

The words carry the most weight and the most risk, because they are what people read most closely — a mourner looks for their own name and the name of the person who died. Check every word against something official, not from memory or a group chat. Memory is generous and wrong; it fills in the spelling you expect to see. The three errors below are the ones families notice at the graveside, when it is too late to change them.

• The misspelled name. Type the full name exactly as it appears on the ID or death certificate, then have someone read it aloud against that document — surnames like Nomvete, Oosthuizen, or Naidoo are easy to get subtly wrong.
• Wrong hymn or song numbers. Numbers get transposed. Confirm each number against the actual hymn book the church will use that day, not a different edition, and check the choir is singing the same one.
• A family member left off the list. Blended and extended families are easily missed. Write the surviving-family list, then read it aloud to an elder of the family who can say who is missing — before it prints, not after.

The people who make the day run

A programme is a plan on paper, and paper does not run a service — people do. It only works if the people named in it have seen it and agreed to it beforehand. The most painful print errors are not typos; they are a printed order the minister quietly changes, or a director of ceremonies who first sees their misspelled name from the front of the church. Confirm the people before you confirm the page.

• The order never confirmed with the minister. Send the draft order of service to the minister or priest and get a 'yes' before printing — clergy often move the sermon, sacraments, or prayers, and the printed order must match what actually happens.
• Too few copies. Count the mourners you expect, add the relatives arriving by taxi or bus whom you cannot count, and print extra — running out at the door is worse than a small stack left over.
• Forgetting the programme director. Most South African services are led by a programme director. Confirm who it is, spell their name correctly, and make sure they have seen the order before the day, not for the first time at the pulpit.

The photo, the fold, and the print shop

Layout and printing are where a careful plan quietly goes wrong, and almost always the night before, when everyone is exhausted and the shops are closing. These three are the most common, and the most avoidable if you leave yourself one day of margin. None of them needs design skill — they need a test copy in your hand and a little time you protect on purpose rather than surrender to the last minute.

• The photo nobody recognised. Choose a clear, familiar photo — not the most flattering studio shot, but the one people knew them by. Check it is high enough resolution to print without going blurry; a WhatsApp-forwarded image is often too small.
• Margins and fold errors from DIY layout. Keep text well away from the fold and the edges, and print one test copy at home first — folded in your hand, mistakes jump out that the screen hides. Our programme editor keeps the margins and fold safe for you.
• Printing the night before at the only shop open. Load-shedding, a jammed machine, or a closed shop can undo everything. Approve the final file at least a day early, and know one backup print shop's hours — do not depend on a single Sunday-night counter.

The one habit that prevents most of them

Nine of these ten come down to one missing step: a second pair of eyes. One person makes a programme alone, at midnight, and their tired brain reads what it expects to see rather than what is on the page. Give the final proof to someone who was not involved in making it — ideally someone who knew the person well — and ask them to check it slowly against the documents. Then run this list before you send the file to print.

• Full name checked aloud against the ID or death certificate.
• Birth and death dates correct.
• Every hymn or song number matched to the right hymn book.
• Order of service confirmed by the minister.
• Programme director and readers named and spelled correctly.
• Surviving-family list read aloud to an elder.
• Photo clear and high resolution.
• One test copy printed and folded by hand.
• Enough copies for travellers and latecomers.
• Final file approved a day early, with a backup print shop known.