How to Integrate AV Technology in Alternative Funeral Venues
For generations, traditional funerals in the UK were almost always held in churches, crematoriums, or chapels. Today, families are increasingly looking beyond these traditional spaces. More families today are drawn to alternative funeral venues - places that feel personal, meaningful, and reflective of a life lived.
Recent research shows that 57% of UK funeral directors have seen an increase in requests for services outside of religious settings, with nearly half attending a non-traditional ceremony themselves in the past year. This shift speaks to families seeking something more reflective of individuality; a farewell shaped around the person.
In this article, we’ll explore how alternative funeral venues can equip themselves for delivering memorial services in a way that adds value and ensures seamless delivery.
The Emotional Significance of Alternative Venues
The rise of “alternative venues” (from community centres and museums to sports clubs and woodland clearings) reflects a desire for services that feel connected to the lives being honoured.
Choosing a venue isn’t just about location; it’s about memory. These places often hold stories, ties, and symbolism that make the service profoundly personal. Being surrounded by familiar or meaningful settings can help mourners feel comforted, reinforcing the sense of connection that grief can sometimes fracture.
By providing discreet, reliable AV support, Obitus ensures that the significance of the venue is matched by the clarity of the service, helping everyone feel present.
A community centre funeral might suit a family who has always been active locally, while a natural burial ground offers peace and a sense of connection with nature. Others choose to gather at a small chapel, a favourite burial site, or even a sports club or museum that held special memories.
Exploring Alternative Funeral Locations
Community Centres
A community centre funeral often carries a sense of familiarity - places where families have gathered for celebrations, milestones, and local events. They’re versatile and welcoming, but rarely designed with funeral AV in mind.
Here, Obitus makes things simple.
In centres used regularly, the Maestro Lite Fixed offers a discreet, always-ready solution: music, tributes, and livestreaming delivered from a slim, touch-controlled system that fits the space naturally. With this solution, the community centre can equip itself for other events outside of funerals such as weddings, birthdays and an array of life’s big moments.
For occasional or one-off services, the Maestro Lite Portable can be carried in and set up in minutes. It adapts easily to both modest halls and larger auditoriums, ensuring voices, music, and memories are shared with clarity.
Small Chapels
Small chapels are intimate, traditional, and often chosen for their sense of closeness. But their limited size can make acoustics challenging, and not every chapel has equipment to share tributes or livestreams.
The Maestro Lite Fixed has been designed with these chapels in mind - compact, elegant, and easy to use, it ensures that every word and image is heard and seen without overwhelming the space. A thoughtful small chapel AV system can preserve the chapel’s simplicity while making sure voices and music reach everyone present.
Where chapels are used less frequently or need added flexibility, the Portable version offers the same professional quality with the reassurance of a quick plug-and-play setup. In both cases, families can feel confident that the intimacy of the chapel is preserved while nothing is lost.
Outdoor or Iconic Venues
Some families choose truly unique spaces for their funeral service - from botanical gardens to sports clubs or even museums. These outdoor venues offer a strong personal link for family and friends, but also bring logistical challenges: unpredictable weather, dispersed guests, and power constraints.
The Maestro Lite Portable is designed for these off-site conditions. Weather-resilient, compact, and self-sufficient, it carries music, words, and tributes clearly across the space. Whether it’s a shaded garden or a football stadium for a lifelong fan, the Portable system ensures the service feels just as heartfelt and connected as it would in a chapel.
Natural or Historical Sites
There is something deeply moving about holding a service in a woodland, or within the walls of a historic mansion like Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park. These spaces carry an atmosphere and character that can be great for welcoming friends and family, but often lack reliable acoustics or infrastructure to deliver .
Obitus’ Maestro Lite range adapts to these environments. The Fixed version is ideal for dedicated small rooms or chapels within such venues, providing professional AV in a space-conscious design.
The Portable version is perfect for mixed indoor-outdoor layouts, carrying sound and visuals wherever they are needed. Both options support the venue’s natural beauty rather than competing with it, helping families focus on memory and meaning.
Overcoming Alternative Venue Challenges
Every space brings its own considerations:
A memorial service in a historic hall may echo in ways that make hearing difficult.
A celebration of life at a burial site or natural burial ground might lack power or shelter.
Families choosing to organise a DIY funeral setup (or even fully arranging a DIY funeral themselves) often need reassurance that the service will still feel smooth and connected.
This is where the right support matters.
Obitus’ systems are flexible enough to adapt quietly in the background - whether for traditional cremation services, woodland burials, or funeral homes.
For directors, celebrants, and family members or friends, this means less worry about the practicalities of sound or visuals, and more space to focus on what matters most: being present in the moment.
Benefits of Obitus’ AV Solutions for Alternative Venues
Licensed music on demand: Over 300,000 PRS-tracked tracks and hymns are available both online and offline meaning no need to worry about connectivity in remote spaces or older buildings.
High-quality sound and visuals: Clear, concert-grade audio and HD displays eliminate poor acoustics in halls and chapels.
Flexible deployment: Fixed systems for chapels and permanent venues; Portable systems for outdoor or changing locations.
Inclusive live streaming and recording: Ensures loved ones near and far can be part of the service. And when live streaming is not available due to location factors, our offline recordings can be accessed post-service for 28 days.
Professional support: Obitus configures systems and provides ongoing support.
Portable units run independently: Fewer issues in outdoor spaces or rooms where power supplies are limited.
Who is the Maestro suite great for?
Funeral Directors & Officiants
Funeral directors are often responsible for coordinating ceremonies across a wide range of venues — from chapels and crematoriums to community halls and outdoor sites. Each location presents different challenges, from limited acoustics to lack of equipment.
The Maestro Lite range takes the uncertainty away.
With the Fixed system in a chapel or funeral home, directors can offer families a reliable, always-ready AV solution. And with the Portable version, they can confidently manage services in less conventional venues, knowing that professional audio, visuals, and livestreaming will work seamlessly every time.
Celebrants
Celebrants are increasingly asked to deliver services in alternative and sometimes remote locations. A village hall one day, a woodland glade the next - no two settings are the same.
The Maestro Lite Portable is designed to support this flexibility, giving celebrants the reassurance that wherever they are asked to lead, they’ll have clear audio for their words, easy access to music, and the ability to share visual tributes.
For celebrants working regularly with smaller chapels, the Fixed version provides a simple, discreet AV setup that’s ready whenever it’s needed. Both options give celebrants the freedom to focus on guiding families, rather than worrying about the technology.
Families
For families, choosing an alternative venue is often about creating something more personal and reflective of their loved one’s life. A community centre, a football ground, or a woodland can hold special meaning, but these spaces don’t always come with the facilities needed for a service.
With the Maestro Lite range, families don’t need to worry about sound carrying across the room or whether tributes can be shared with those who can’t attend in person. The systems ensure that every detail, from the music to the livestream, is handled with dignity and care, so families can focus on being present in the moment.
Venues
Every family deserves a service setting that feels right for them. Whatever the choice, the venue plays a central role in shaping the atmosphere of the farewell.
With the right planning and support, these spaces can be transformed into places where music, words, and memories are shared with clarity and dignity. Obitus works in partnership with venues across the UK to provide exactly that. From installing reliable, always-ready AV systems in chapels, to offering portable solutions for more flexible spaces, our support helps venues deliver services with confidence.
Some locations within the Obitus network are recognised as SuperVenues. These are sites that go beyond the essentials, offering customisable settings, advanced digital technology and enhanced audio-visual setups to accommodate larger groups or more bespoke funeral arrangements.
4 Steps to Integrate AV in Alternative Funeral Venues
Step 1: Consult Obitus to set up your Maestro Lite system
Collaborate with the team to understand your venue’s needs and configure the right solution.
Step 2: Deploy the system on-site
Place the Maestro Fixed in chapels or community rooms, or bring in the Maestro Portable kit for flexible or outdoor venues.
Step 3: Configure audio and visuals with Obitus support
Select meaningful music, prepare tribute slideshows, and test livestream settings.
Step 4: Run a test before the service
Play a track, test the microphones, and ensure everything is running smoothly before guests arrive.
Ready to equip your venue to deliver seamless services?
Alternative funeral venues are no longer rare exceptions - they are becoming a central part of how we say goodbye. These settings give families the freedom to create services that reflect individuality and meaning.
With Obitus’ Maestro Lite range, every venue becomes a place of connection. Families can hear, see, and share in the service, no matter the space. For funeral directors and celebrants, these systems provide the reassurance that technology simply works, leaving you free to focus on guiding families through funeral arrangements to ensure the moment is .
When every detail matters, Obitus ensures that love, memory, and togetherness remain at the centre of the day.
FAQs
Which system should I use for a small chapel?
The Maestro Lite (Fixed) is compact, discreet, and always ready, making it perfect for chapels and small indoor venues.
What about community halls or outdoor locations?
The Maestro Lite Portable is designed for flexible spaces and outdoor settings, offering professional AV support you can take anywhere.
Do I need technical expertise to run these systems?
No. Obitus pre-configures each system and provides ongoing support. On the day, setup is simple — just plug in, test, and focus on the service.
Can you hold a funeral in any venue?
Not every venue is automatically suitable for a funeral, but many non-traditional spaces are available with the right permissions. Community centres, gardens, sports clubs, and historical sites often welcome private hire for memorial services. Families should check with the venue manager and ensure the space can accommodate accessibility, parking, and the respectful atmosphere needed for a funeral.
Do alternative funeral venues cost more than traditional ones?
It depends on the venue. Some community halls may be very affordable, while iconic or historic venues can be more expensive to hire. Additional costs to consider include catering, AV equipment, and livestreaming if the venue doesn’t already have facilities.
How do you make sure everyone feels included in an alternative venue?
The key is planning. Think about accessibility for older guests or those with mobility needs, ensure seating is comfortable, and consider sound and visuals so that everyone can hear and see clearly.
Livestreaming is also a helpful option for relatives who can’t travel. By addressing these practical details, families can create a service that feels inclusive, no matter where it’s held.
