Grief & Celebration belong in the same room

When somebody dies, it can feel strange to even use the word celebration. But celebrating someone doesn't make their loss any less painful. It simply gives everyone the chance to remember why that loss hurts so much in the first place.

We grieve because we loved.

And a celebration of life is one more way of showing that love. It's a chance to bring together the people whose lives were touched by them family, friends, neighbours, colleagues, old school friends, teammates and people you may not even realise had their own special relationship with them. Because one person can mean something completely different to hundreds of people. When everyone comes together, you start to see the whole life.

There is no rule book

Some families want a celebration immediately after the funeral.

Others want to wait a month, six months or even longer.

Some want an intimate afternoon with their closest family and friends. Others want a packed room, live music, a bar and everyone dancing until closing time. Neither is more meaningful than the other.

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What would feel right for them

If they hated formal occasions, don't give them one. If they lived in football shirts, nobody needs to turn up in black. If their perfect Sunday involved a BBQ, a beer and their favourite playlist, perhaps that's exactly what their celebration should feel like. There are no rules here. Just their life, their people and your memories.

One last expression of who they were

A Last Hoorah isn't about creating a perfect event.

It's about creating a personal one. One where you walk into the room and immediately know whose life you're there to celebrate.

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They would have absolutely loved that

That's what we want you to say when the day is over.

Not that it followed tradition. But that it felt like them.  Laughed at the stories. Approved of the food. Rolled their eyes at the photographs you chose. And been amazed to see all the different people whose lives they touched together in one place.