What an obituary is
A written obituary usually includes the full name, the dates, where the person lived and worked, what they loved, who they leave behind and the service details. It is often published by a newspaper or on the funeral home's website. It can be several paragraphs long and is meant to be read carefully.
What people mean by an obituary video
Some people mean an obituary read aloud or shown as text over photos, often a minute or longer. Others mean a short video version of the death notice, with the name, a photo and the service. The first is closer to a tribute; the second is very close to an invitation or announcement video.
What an invitation video does
An invitation video is about half a minute. It focuses on the facts people need: who died, the dates, and when and where the service is. It has one photo and a short line from the family. It is meant to be sent by text, email or Facebook and read on a phone. This site makes these, and announcement videos without service details. See how to make a funeral invitation video and the funeral announcement video.
Using both together
A common pattern: the family writes an obituary for the funeral home's website or the newspaper, and sends a short invitation video to friends and family. The video can end with a line such as "Read Margaret's full obituary on the Oakwood Funeral Home website." The video cannot link directly, but people know where to look.
Words from the obituary
A sentence from the obituary can become the family line in the video: "She loved her garden, her grandchildren and a good mystery novel." Keep it short so it fits on the screen. More ideas in funeral invitation wording.
When you need something longer
If the family wants a full life story with many photos, that is a slideshow or tribute video, which this site does not make. See slideshow vs invitation video.
Where each one is seen
An obituary is usually read on a website or in a newspaper, often on a computer and sometimes days later. An invitation video is usually watched on a phone, in a text thread, within minutes of being sent. That shapes everything: the obituary can be long and detailed, the video needs to be short and readable at a glance. Thinking about where people will see each one helps decide what goes where.
Practical tips
Write the obituary first if the family wants one, because it collects all the facts in one place. Then take the name, dates and service details from it for the video, and check them once more. The two should never disagree. If the obituary is published by the funeral home, its website address is a natural line to mention at the end of the video. For more on what the video should say, see what to include in a funeral invitation and death announcement wording.
A short example
Video line: "Margaret Ellis, 1941 to 2026. She loved her garden and her grandchildren. Funeral Saturday, October 18, 11 AM, Grace Community Church, Springfield. Full obituary on the Oakwood Funeral Home website." Five lines, with the obituary one search away. If the family has not written an obituary, that is fine. The invitation video does not depend on one. A name, the dates, a photo, the service details and one line from the family are enough for people to know what happened and where to come. An obituary can follow later, when the family has time and energy to write it.
Before you choose
- Does the family want to tell a story or share details
- Is there a written obituary already
- Which line from it fits the video
- Where can people read the full text
About these guides
Written by Funeral Invitations, in plain language, for funeral directors and families. If anything changes about the videos or the price, we update the guides.