...She invested time in learning about Brett and what our family’s hopes were in celebrating him. I was planning this celebration of life from another city as we emerged from the pandemic and after so much distance was looking to include family and friends in comfortable and meaningful ways. Diana organized a celebration that allowed for the best in-person and on-line experiences. The result was the perfect venue to reflect Brett’s vibe, feature musical performances, accommodate for varying comfort levels with spacing, and live-streamed with a recording. The technical needs of our musicians were varied and added complexity. Diana and her team were able to navigate it all!
Diana’s knowledge of venues and relationships with relevant vendors in and around Toronto was immensely helpful in presenting options that would meet our needs for this unique celebration. Diana was able to support our favourite local florist; leverage online invitations and reminders; share a photostream with custom music; thoughtfully display personal items on memory tables; help us support our preferred charities; arrange beautiful photos of the event; and translate our vision for a unique program. We hosted a large and complex event, that we wanted to feel intimate and personal and Diana had just what we needed at every step. Having Diana as our sole point of contact was efficient and allowed us to focus our attention on the personal details, leaving the event planning to her and her team. We appreciated her organized and transparent approach, communicating and sharing the level of detail that met our needs along the way. Hosting a celebration of life is an important step in the healing process. Having support from Diana and her team meant that I could be fully present to honour and celebrate my brother. Diana is the ideal blend of a caring funeral director and meticulous event planner, who understands the unique needs of her clients. A call to Diana would be the first step I would recommend to anyone planning such an important and personal event. Immense thanks to Diana and her team."
...I was able to relax and experiencing the moments with everyone who attended. She brought patience and calmness to all of us and we were able to share my mother with friends and family via zoom. Thank you again Diana for your professionalism, expertise and mostly, your kind heart."
...Given all that goes on when one loses a family member l was overwhelmed trying to organize Dad’s memorial. Having a planner to take care of the details and steer our family through the process of organizing an in-person celebration and finding a venue, and then having to regroup and go online with yet another set of COVID lockdowns, was invaluable. Diana and her staff virtually (and in person) held our hands and walked us through the process of pulling together materials, curated photos, flowers and a virtual memory table, great visuals and the plan of service. The online service COLT put on for us was seamless, supporting speakers and keeping the proceedings moving. We have had so many compliments since the service, on Diana as MC, the flow of photos, memories and speakers. In the end moving online turned out to be the best thing for our family and friends. Relatives and friends from around the globe were able to participate, in a way they wouldn’t have otherwise. We were grateful for how connected everyone felt during and after the service and the very meaningful connection we were able to make with one another around the world, providing that real sense of closure for many. I would recommend an online celebration with Celebration of Life to anyone looking at a way to memorialize or celebrate a friend or family member."
...Diana's professionalism, efficiency, compassion, accessibility, and attention to detail created for us an event that many of our guests (close to 200) said was the most beautiful and meaningful Celebration of Life they had ever attended.
Diana took care of every detail for us and guided the family through the difficult tasks that needed to be done in preparing for the event. She was patient, caring and helpful in everyway. We did not have to worry about arranging details with the venue, ordering flowers, food service, or keeping to schedules as the event unfolded. Diana did it all. She supported us when we were struggling, and was there with a glass of water or kind word when we needed it, and put together a memory table and audio visual presentation that made the Celebration a beautiful tribute to my husband.
Having Diana and Celebrations of Life take care of creating a meaningful and memorable event meant no one in our family had to experience any stress or pressure at the Celebration, we could all be there to focus on sharing our time and memories with friends and family.I would highly recommend Celebrations of Life Toronto to any family who wants to honour and pay tribute to a loved one they have lost. Diana makes the unbearable barrable, and brings beauty and peace to the event. Thank you Diana from us all."
...We needed to gather soon, despite COVID-19 restrictions, to share our grief and to remember the good times.
Knowing that he had a very small family and many friends in Canada and the US, we decided that a virtual celebration of life was the best way to remember him.
We knew that the celebration had to include photos and favourite music. Several friends expressed that they wanted to give tributes representing different aspects of his life. Friends as far back as elementary school wished to attend. The challenge was to bring it all together via Zoom but how…?
I wanted to work with a local Canadian company. I found Celebration of Life Toronto during a Google search.
It proved to be the perfect choice. Diana Robinson provided a very calm perspective, based upon her years of expertise as a funeral director. She listened intently and offered sound guidance on the order of service.
We did not need the trappings of a conventional funeral and she completely understood. She has a passion for helping those left behind. She made an effort to learn about David’s life. Diana quickly drafted an invitation design. She and her team assembled a meaningful photo show, backed by music selections that we provided.
She worked with her technical team to enable 200 friends to link into a webcast.
The whole Celebration of Life was recorded for those who were unable to join us. I have subsequently received many emails and calls thanking us for such an appropriate and touching memorial. I sincerely appreciate that Diana made this possible."
...in a way that we could celebrate all that he gave to us and the world, and how happy he made his family and all who knew him. Diana is thoughtful, caring and extremely well organized. She took the time to really get to know our loved one, so that each part of the celebration day reflected his life perfectly. The members of the Celebrations of Life team were always kind and patient and put their heart and soul into their work. "
...people search to find how they can celebrate the important milestones of life such as births, weddings, significant anniversaries and deaths. A ritual by definition is “something you do when there is nothing you can do,” and that is often exactly what people wonder on such occasions: “What should we do?”
Diana Robinson has many years of experience organizing and facilitating outstanding, creative, and inspirational celebrations for people at significant and sometimes difficult events in their or their family’s life. A meaningful memorial can be the first step in a healing process. When facilitated by someone with compassion, care and understanding, it can make your celebration of life for yourself or for a loved one, both comforting in the moment and memorable into the future.
Let Diana bring her experience, her personal attention to detail and her empathy to your celebration of life."
...Yet a memorial gathering was necessary to let her friends and colleagues pay tribute and also deal with their shock at her untimely passing.
The venue was an automatic choice: the Tea Room at Montgomery’s Inn, a historical site in Toronto where both my friend and her mother had been staunch volunteers.
Then I had the great good fortune of connecting with Diana Robinson of Celebrations of Life Toronto. Diana absorbed every detail I told her about my friend and all my thoughts about what would be suitable at the gathering, and then she read between the lines.
She broke down the daunting prospect of planning a celebration of life into a finite series of decisions, and demonstrated various options in each case.
In all communications, she was sensitive, perceptive, clear and thorough. Diana designed a beautiful digital invitation for the gathering. She provided an evocative video loop made from the photos, images and written material I delivered. She worked with me on preparing a distinctive memorial bookmark for the guests to take home. She finalized a pleasing and practical menu with her caterer. She designed a meaningful Memory Table display of items chosen to represent my friend’s life. She worked with her florist, Wild North Flowers to provide exquisite decoration of the room.
She helped me plan the shared-memories part of the event, which offered guests the chance to tell the group their stories about our departed friend.
On the day of the gathering, Diana’s foresight, care and expertise paid off.
The room was elegant, the music soothing, the food and drink delectable, the organization of all elements meticulous yet unobtrusive.
Many guests commented that our friend would have been delighted.
It was a pleasure at every stage to work with Diana. I can’t thank her enough for turning this dreaded obligation into service to the memory of a most deserving person."
...From the moment Diana became involved, we felt a sense of relief at having a knowledgeable and trusted partner to help navigate the details of such an important day of reflection and celebration.
Diana was empathetic, conscientious and thorough. She listened with an open heart and transformed what she learned about our friend into a touching celebration that honoured our dear friend and told the story of his life with warmth and joy.
Diana made excellent recommendations, and found a perfect space which she transformed with creative personal touches unique to our friend. She helped incorporate the talents of family and friends who wished to make contributions to the day.
Diana was impeccable in her attention to detail, from music, food, décor, and timing of the event, to providing important resources for grieving children and spouses.
The celebration of life gave family and friends a cherished moment of remembrance, while being exactly the type of event our friend would have wanted. I would highly recommend Diana’s services."
...She has a clear and sensitive communication style; she listened with empathy and an understanding of what I was going through. Being able to trust her with the details was a relief during this difficult time. The celebration of life was described to me as “elegant, moving, and personal,” which was all that I could hope for.
In a time of profound sadness, the celebration of my husband’s life, the energy in the room, was uplifting."
...The process was daunting, depressing, and burdensome. Then I found Diana at Celebrations of Life Toronto! She took over where I left off and not only made the journey simpler, but brought style and grace to my mother’s celebration of life.
Through concise, thoughtful, and compassionate communication, we worked together to envision a celebration my mother would be proud of. The execution, down to small details, evoked my mother’s spirit so much that it felt as though she was there with us blessing the night with her approval.
I am so overwhelmingly thankful that I found Diana to help create something much greater for my mother than I ever could have alone. I recommend Celebration of Life Toronto’s services wholeheartedly to anyone who wants to create a beautiful and uplifting event in memory of their loved one, while making the process so much easier on themselves."
