Here's the question nobody warns you you'll have to answer, usually about two days before the service: how many booklets do we actually print?

The short answer: plan for one booklet per couple or household, plus ten to fifteen keepsake copies. In practice, that works out to roughly 60 to 75 per cent of your expected guest numbers.

So for a service of 100 people, 70 to 75 booklets is comfortable. For 50 people, print 40. For a very small family service of 20, print 25 — at that size, everyone takes one home.

Now, the longer answer, because a few things genuinely change the number.

Couples share, strangers don't

At most services, couples and families sit together and share a booklet. But if many guests are attending solo — colleagues, club members, neighbours — the sharing rate drops and you'll want closer to one each. A big community funeral for someone well known locally behaves very differently to an intimate family service.

Count the people who can't be there

This is the one families most often forget, and most often regret. Keepsake copies matter for:

Family overseas or interstate who can't travel
Anyone watching by livestream
Elderly relatives or friends in care who can't attend
The grandchildren who are too young now, but won't be forever

Posting a booklet to someone who couldn't be in the room is one of the kindest things you can do in the weeks afterwards. I'd rather see a family with fifteen spares than one who ran out.

Running out versus having leftovers

Let me make this easy: leftovers cost a few dollars. Running out means someone's oldest friend went home without one. Print generously. In fifteen years of design work I have never once heard a family say they wished they'd printed fewer.

A quick guide

Small family service (up to 30 guests): print for everyone, plus 5–10 keepsakes
Standard service (50–100 guests): print for 70% of guests, plus 10–15 keepsakes
Large community service (150+): print for 60–65% of guests, plus 15–20 keepsakes
Livestreamed service: add a copy for every household watching remotely that you'd like to post one to

What if the numbers change late?

They often do. Funerals come together in days, and RSVP culture doesn't really apply. This is why I always confirm final print numbers with families as late as the schedule allows, and why printing a round number up (not down) is the safe call. If your funeral director or printer needs numbers early, give them your generous estimate rather than your hopeful one.

The part I can take off your plate

Every booklet package I design includes 50 printed copies, with more available at cost — and I'll help you land on the right number for your service when we talk. If you're creating your own booklet with one of my templates, the same maths applies: just give your local printer the count above.

One less decision to carry. That's the whole idea.

How Many Order of Service Booklets Should You Print?