Family and friends have paid tribute to Melbourne stabbing victim Masa Vukotic at a funeral at Springvale Botanical Cemetery, describing her as a funny, happy and sparkling teenager.

The 17-year-old was attacked and killed as she went on an early evening walk through a park in Doncaster, in Melbourne’s east, on March 17.

Hundreds of mourners gathered to farewell the Canterbury Girls Secondary College student in a service led by a priest from the Serbian Orthodox Church at the cemetery’s Boyd Chapel.

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Her white coffin was led into an empty chapel behind her brother and sister, who held a white cross and a framed photo of the teenager at the front of a procession of mourners.

Her mother and father followed their daughter to the front of the chapel, where pink roses were laid on top of her coffin.

Many wore touches of pink, Masa’s favourite colour, including her school friends who wore ribbons in their hair.

Her father, Slabvuljub Vukotic, said the pain was unbearable.

Masa Vukotic, 17, was killed in a Doncaster park. Photo: Facebook

“It’s hard, it hurts, it’s unbearable, but we will try to be brave and courageous like you were,” he said during the service.

“I promise we’ll try our best. You’ll live forever in our memories and in our hearts.

“I promise I will come to you one day. Until then my heart will beat for you.”

Best friend Madison Stone said Masa’s smile was like a hundred fireworks lighting up the sky.

“There was her fierce competitive spirit and her drive to always be the best and get exactly what she wanted when she wanted it, which often proved difficult but always rewarding when you saw her whole aura shift into contentedness,” she said.

“She was Masa and Masa was funny and epic and loud and boisterous and manic and happy and hellish and by far the most beautiful person in the whole wide world to me.”

A statement read on behalf of her family said Masa’s life was too short but she had many breathtaking moments.

She was described as a perfectionist who excelled at everything she did and wanted to be a lawyer.

“Since birth she was bursting with life, vitality and passion. She was 17, sparkling, outgoing, funny and intelligent and just simply one of a kind,” her family said.

Masa loved a performance art called cosplay, where participants wear costumes to represent specific characters or ideas.

“Masa had more costumes and accessories than anyone. She would take her mum shopping and she’d always find another dress to bring home to add to her ever-growing collection,” her family said in the statement.

A memorial for murdered schoolgirl Masa Vukotic at Koonung Creek Linear Reserve in Doncaster. Photo: AAP

“She had the skill to take selfies like no other. She was indeed the princess of selfies.

“Masa has touched all our hearts, even those who did not know her. We’ll miss her beautiful smile, her funny little mannerisms, and the sparkle in her big eyes.

“Masa we love you. You will be in our hearts forever.”

The service included a slideshow of photos of the teenager from when she was a baby to recent trips overseas, many illustrating her playful nature and her love of dressing up.

The final slide paid tribute to the social media campaign urging people to change their profile pictures to a pink square in her honour.

When it faded to black, mourners were invited to kiss or bow to the coffin as they made their way out of the chapel.

Family and friends could be heard sobbing outside as they left to accompany the coffin to the burial site within the cemetery grounds.

The teenager’s death has been met with an outpouring of grief, and the scene of her death in the Koonung Creek Linear Park has become the site of a floral tribute.

Sean Christian Price has been charged with the teenager’s murder. He has been remanded in custody to face court again on June 16.