Why I Decided To Become A Celebration Of Life And Memorial Event Planner

I've had this idea since my grandparents passed to be an event planner for celebrations of life and memorials. Then over the last few years, friends (very capable friends) were planning celebrations of life for their parents and felt very lost and overwhelmed. Since I’ve been a wedding planner for 10+ years, they asked for advice on things like which vendors to hire, what time the event should start, what type of food to serve, and more. I’ve kept coming back to this idea in my head and heart over the years and finally decided to do it!

If we haven’t met yet, I’m Lindsey Nickel. Born and raised in the East Bay, I’m a wedding planner turned celebration of life planner based in Napa, California. I’ve planned 100+ events since 2010 and I specialize in celebrations of life (and Napa weddings). I help grieving families throughout the San Francisco Bay Area plan meaningful celebrations of life, without feeling even more stressed out. Suddenly, things you didn’t think you cared about become important. That’s where an event planner comes in to provide you with options, help you make decisions efficiently, and manage the event planning.

Milou and Olin Photography

Suzanne Karp Photography

I've been spending a lot of time since the start of this year working on researching the dying industry, interviewing friends who had parents pass recently, building a website, etc. I wanted to be sure that I was providing what people said they needed but didn't include services they wanted to handle within their family.

Besides unofficially helping a few friends, we had our first official client on a warm June day in Orinda, California and the celebration of life had 300 guests (the photos are below). It was such a joy to help this kind and warm family, and I knew as soon as it was over that I wanted to keep planning celebrations of life and memorials for families in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Milou and Olin Photography

Milou and Olin Photography

Some questions that you might be thinking:

Are you still planning weddings?

Of course! The celebrations of life seem to be the perfect counterbalance to weddings.

Are you planning celebrations of life only in wine country?

As long as the venue is in the San Francisco Bay Area, we would be happy to plan that event. Thanks to email and video calls, event planning from afar in different time zones is pretty simple.

Maybe you have another question…

Hop over to the frequently asked questions page.