Eternally Loved Celebration of Life Testimonials

Some thoughts from those who have utilized the various services of Eternally Loved:

L. A.

I was very fortunate to find Melissa and Eternally Loved recently. She was friendly, sensitive and knowledgeable in planning our celebration of life. More than that, she is personable, responsive and adaptable. She excels in anticipating and managing any potential pitfalls inherent in planning an event. It's no exaggeration to say that "we could not have done it without her" -- it's true! On a very short timeline, Melissa was able to organize many albums of photographs, resolve the sudden unavailability of our venue, locate/arrange an alternate location, ensure that all guests were informed and deal with a multitude of questions and decisions. She also singlehandedly organized audio and video for a location with no electrical source. I am incredibly grateful to have met this consummate professional and had the opportunity to work with her; I recommend her without reservation.
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Rumi Haque

Melissa @ Eternally Loved there are not enough words to express the gratitude in my heart for what you create for my family during a time of deep pain. We called Melissa after our son passed unexpectedly. I had no idea what I needed or where to start. Melissa has the ability/talent to take all that indecision and create something magical.
I never felt uncomfortable or that she just wanted my money. I knew she truly cared about what she was doing. This care showed in the details of my son's memorial. She took on not only me but all the crazy ideas I had and wove them into a magical tribute to my son Paul.
Thank you, Melissa, for giving me one last beautiful memory of my Son Paul.
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Kurt Kicklighter

Melissa is a precious and rare combination of caring, creativity, organizational ability and follow-through. At the most difficult time in my entire life, she was a Godsend and worked with me to create a moving and memorable tribute to my wife. She matched photos to a narrative poem I created that could not have been more touching or appropriate. She and her whole team (celebrant, videographer, florist) listened to what I wanted to do and made it glorious.
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Ted Haggblade

I give 5 stars to Melissa.
She did a great job for us and I’m very pleased with virtually all aspects of our Celebration. I normally don’t write reviews but here goes. We held a celebration of life for our daughter this spring. We live out of state, but we wanted to hold the celebration in San Diego where she lived.
Our daughter was a young adult, so we wanted a true celebration that matched her spirit of having fun and laughing and for all her friends and family to remember all the good stories. I found Melissa through the internet and after a quick conversation it was clear she provides was what we were looking for. Melissa is a great mix of providing ideas and listening to what we wanted.
We knew a few things we wanted such as a “fun” atmosphere, ice cream, etc. but never having gone through something like this before there was a lot is planning ideas we relied on from Melissa.
If we didn’t have a strong opinion or have an idea on what to do on a particular aspect of the event, she was good about telling us what had worked well at other events. There are several things I really liked about Mellissa and her approach.
1) it was all about us and our daughter.
She understood the difficult time we were going through emotionally and listened to what we wanted 2) If we didn’t know what we wanted, Melissa had at least one or two recommendations.
3) She kept us on track from a timeline standpoint.
Our event was 5 months following our daughter’s passing, so we had quite a bit of time, but announcements needed to be sent, reservations made, etc. etc. and Melissa made sure we never missed anything.
4) She was always on time.
If she said she was going to call at 9:00 a.m. the next day you could set your clock by it.
5)
On the day of the event she kept in the background, but she was moving the whole time.
She made sure everything was set up in advance and during the vent she was running around to make sure it was smooth for all of the visitors. Melissa and the celebration of life event we held for our daughter was a bright spot for us during a very difficult period.
We were very pleased with how everything turned out.
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Anthony Ferrara

Melissa went above and beyond in helping pull together my mother's celebration of life. Living in Washington and planning a celebration of life in San Diego was a daunting task, but Melissa was able to step in and help orchestrate a truly amazing event for my mother. Melissa listened to our goals and visions and was able to bring together all the necessary components and allowed us to host a beautiful celebration for my mother!
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Christa Armendariz

Melissa was wonderful to work with, she helped plan a memorial on the beach for my aunt. She was well organized, thoughtful, and took time to get to know more about my aunt in order to make the memorial feel special and personal. The event was beautiful and she left us nothing to worry about!
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Recomended

Tyler Grayson

Everything Melissa touches turns to gold whether it's a celebration of life or a fifty year anniversary. I've attended several events that she has put on and can attest to her professionalism and care when it comes to her clients. Way above the mark!!
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Julia Parker

After working many different parties/events I've experienced a variety of different styles and personalities. Working with Melissa has been one of my top experiences. She is thorough, resourceful, organized, honest and just a genuinely good person. Her communication prior to the event was outstanding and I could tell she had thought through every detail. She was going to make this comfortable not only for her guests but for me as well.
She's very down to earth but is also creative and has some inventive ideas for making events unique and very lively. It's the tiny details that show how much she actually cares about the people who will be attending. I was also impressed with the range of vendors she had included and they were all great to work with as well. You can tell she puts so much effort into the pre-event planning and I think it made all the vendors feel more comfortable and at ease. You can also tell that she's straightforward which I think is important when it comes to planning and discussing so many details that need to be considered. I really enjoyed working for Melissa and I look forward to any upcoming opportunities to work with her again.
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Debra Schanck

I am so happy to write this review for Melissa Rainey and rate her services for Eternally Loved!

In July 2015 Melissa helped me create the most beautiful and memorable celebration that I will hold as one of my dearest memories of my life! She helped me to celebrate me!

Melissa took the stress of planning off my shoulders and attended to all of the largest and smallest details, from decorating, party supply rentals, photography (Ella Walker) food services, entertainment, kiddie corner of toys and treats, balloons, and acquiring a facility to hold my event in. I can tell you that this was absolutely what made my celebration come together as beautifully as it did!

Melissa was there every step of the way! From helping with food service, keeping me aware of the time, and my friends can tell you…I am usually late! But I wasn’t late in any part of my celebration and my friends and family still talk about the beautiful celebration that was had by all that day.

I have also attended other events that Melissa has facilitated. A passing of a dear friend. As difficult a time as it was, I was so honored to be a part of such a special day and way of honoring the way our friend lived and who he loved and all who loved him. It was just so beautiful and beautifully presented.

Thank you Melissa for your service to others and for sharing your gift of celebrating lives!

Love, Debra

Recomended

Vicki Hillard

I have been to many events planned by Melissa & I am happy to recommend this business to anyone interested. She is very thorough & pleasant to be with.
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Victoria Cowan

I have had the opportunity to be a guest and experience a few events that Melissa collaborated; one was a birthday and the other was a celebration of life. Both events were manned properly, excellent service, all decorations were elegant and on Que. Melissa's attentiveness to the guests questions and needs were taken quickly and responded to in a timely manner. Her expression of love for the families involved for their person of celebration was seen exquisitely in her mind as she expressed color, devotion, art and her experience in her decor and agendas that followed each celebration. I myself am planning to use Melissa for my wedding planning coming up in 2017. She is talented, educated, filled with excitement and holds a true heart for serving her clients.
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Recomended

Tim Roderigues

Even though the name implies helping with a "celibration of life" they do much more than that. Eternally Loved, helped me with a celebration of a mile stone in my life and they were amazing. I started with a simple idea to celebrate a milestone in my life, but then the "party" somehow grew out of hand and became overwhelming for me. I was simply going to forget about it and cancel the party, because it was just to much to deal with I asked for help and Melissa with Eternally Loved stepped in helped me out. Her hard work, guidance and ideas in all aspects from the smallest detail to the large aspect of the event was invaluable to me. They turned an overwhelming nightmare into an event that was enjoyable by everyone. If you are thinking about "celebrating" just about anything, Don't wait until you are stressed and overwhelmed, just call "Eternally Loved" for help.
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Recomended

Tom Ladegaard

After losing a loved one you can't grieve & plan a memorial celebration at the same time. If you take on event planning it will delay the grieving process & take you out of the moment on the day of the event. Melissa handles the event planning for you so you can be in the moment & honor the memory of your loved one. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Melissa.
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Recomended

Athena H

Melissa was so helpful in planning our mom's celebration of life after her passing. Melissa stepped in just under 2 weeks before our set date and was always three or four steps ahead of our own thought process (and caught/suggested things we hadn't even considered yet). We can be quite particular in our preferences and vision and she did a great job of respecting that and supporting us. She is very fair, direct, talented, professional, quick to start, and always in communication with updates. You can tell she genuinely cares about helping with the process and goes out of her way to be of assistance. We would definitely recommend her to anyone planning an important event especially when you and your family are feeling overwhelmed and grieving. We also have to say that her slideshow was incredible and she made a bunch of edits and a couple of different versions to get it just right for us. We can't say enough about how great she was to work with. Thank you, Melissa!!
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Recomended

Diane Malone

Melissa stepped in with very little notice to help us organize and provide ideas for our mother's celebration of life. She is a real pro, and put the polish on all the arrangements. The service was beautiful and meaningful. What a comfort to have such a beautiful memory. We are grateful for and highly recommend Melissa's services.
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Recomended

Tricia Johnson Gilmore

Melissa was wonderful. From the gate she listened, she sympathized, she supported. I honestly don't know how we would have honored our mother without Melissa's help. Melissa is a calming, creative, loving person who rolled with last minute changes due to people, weather, and our whims. We highly recommend Melissa.
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Recomended

Leonard Mata

Mellissa coordinated my friend's celebration of life recently, and she did an amazing job. She was involved in every planning detail, and she was there on the day of the event to work from beginning to end. The event was beautiful in every way, and there was absolutely no stress placed on the family members regarding the execution of the event plan. No way she does this for the money! This is obviously a passion for her. We are very grateful to her.
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Recomended

Rob Chansky

My sister and I were living out of town so Melissa was left to plan and arrange everything. It all went without a hitch and we couldn't be happier with how it turned out. Our mother's celebration of life was professional, had a lot of lovely staging touches, like I could just say "I would have put a little glass of seashells just there, yes". (At least I might have said that if I'd thought about it. But I didn't have to because Melissa did all the thinking for me. Honestly, I was probably her laziest customer, not getting back to her in time, not wanting to make decisions so she'd have to instead. She dealt with my laziness with the utmost professionalism.)
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Stephen Silva

I am writing this 5 star review for someone who truly went above and beyond to assist me and my family in our time of grief over my brothers passing. Melissa Rainey from Eternally Loved, handled everything from the flowers, slideshow, décor, candles, tables, set up and break down, pictures, music, caterer and reverend who led the service. Melissa made CD's of songs to give away to family and friends and set up a play list for after the service during the reception. Every detail was respected according to our wishes and given Melissa's extensive experience, she was able to ask questions and make suggestions because she has helped others before me. Her gentle nature and kind attention to my brother's life really showed in every detail. It was truly breath taking and so honoring of the person he was and the life he lived. We sent him out in style! I am sure he was there and enjoyed seeing us gather in his memory with love in our hearts! Thank you Melissa. Because you took care of the details, I was really free to be present and in the moment with my family and friends. Working with you on the memorial service so helped me to remember the very best parts of my brother's life and grieve in the process.
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Recomended

Melanie Ho

Melissa provides an amazing service. In dealing with the emotional and physical exhaustion of grief, it was a great comfort to know that someone else was taking care of all the large and small details for my dad’s celebration of life — from the playlist to tissues on the table to setting up the memory tables to liaising with the venue to finding and coordinating with our officiant. We only had two weeks to plan — with Christmas and New Years during that time period — an event for 200 people and Melissa embraced that challenge wholeheartedly.
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Recomended

Matthew Becker

When my mother passed suddenly, I was overwhelmed with everything that had to be done. I wanted to host a celebration of life but did not think I could pull it off. Luckily, I found Melissa and her company. Melissa did all of the work and made a difficult process much easier.
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Ryan Monell

I wouldn't have anyone else plan my event. Melissa Rainey does an amazing job. She is thorough an meticulous in her wok. She takes all the pressure off when planning an event. Call her first!
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Recomended

Marc Tkach

A few weeks ago my brother passed away suddenly, my family was in mourning and I needed to put together his service from the other side of the country. I found and called Melissa and she really made what seemed impossible come together in a matter of days. She found a minister (Blair Tabor) that our family took an instant liking to and she arranged so many details that we would not have considered on our own. As a result we were able to have a beautiful service for my brother attended by nearly 100 people. She is not only fast and detail oriented but cost conscience and friendly. I felt very lucky to find her.
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Shelby Springer

Melissa came in and saved the day like a guardian angel. We were so overwhelmed with having to plan a large virtual memorial during the pandemic and Melissa was able to meet all of our needs and more. She went above and beyond to make the event meaningful. I am grateful she took on the challenge of a virtual memorial and helped us honor my dad in the way he deserved. I would recommend her 100 times over.
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William Hird

It was quite refreshing to find someone who actually does what they say they can do. Melissa was very professional, adaptable, and punctual in planning our celebration of life event. With our event heading for a train wreck, we employed Melissa who quickly took control (in a positive way), and turned it around in a very short time frame. She was able to re-direct our train wreck into a wonderful event for everyone. Her knowledge, experience, attention to detail, and ability to quickly improvise as conditions changed, proved to be invaluable. Reasonably priced and worth every penny for her services.
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Marjorie Scott

Highly recommend Melissa and Eternally Loved to help with any event. She really does a lot of work and has a special talent in finding cost cutting ideas while not sacrificing what we wanted. Actually, the amount of money she saved us with vendors and items we would have paid double for if it weren’t for her, the savings was more then the cost to hire her! So happy she’s out there with her knowledge and kindness and ability to help everyone.
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Megan Payne

Melissa was so helpful, amazing, and an angel. So grateful for her hard work and dedication to helping people. Losing my husband was devastating and Melissa helped me, and my family and friends honor him at a beautiful place she found. I want everyone to know that she is trustworthy, kind, patient and knows what to do to make a celebration of life memorial successful. I have had many friends text me and call me after saying that was the best way to honor him.
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Mary Streshly

The Streshly Family is eternally grateful to Melissa for helping us create such a beautiful celebration for our father during such a trying time, especially with the pandemic creating so many logistical issues. She expertly navigated all considerations in a very no-nonsense, professional, yet compassionate manner. Melissa is extremely organized saving us invaluable time while we coordinated decision-making and planning between family members in different cities and states. She didn't start with throwing out lots of overwhelming suggestions, but rather she gathered as much information about my dad, our family, our thoughts about how we want him remembered before starting any planning. This proved very helpful and made us feel like she was one of the family and really cared about honoring dad. Melissa is very experienced in planning many types of memorials and celebrations and is extremely knowledgeable about venues and locations in San Diego and was very patient as we visited and vetted several possibilities. Melissa is flexible, cool under pressure and doesn't miss a beat if there are last minute changes and made sure nobody in our family had to deal with any issues so we could fully participate in our father's memorial. The ceremony was perfect down to the last loving detail - the food, the service, the memory table, the flowers, the music, pictures, sound system, program pacing & layout, seating. Every guest gave us wonderful feedback. I highly recommend Melissa Rainey to help you with your difficult, yet cherished celebration of life.
Mary Streshly and Carolyn Driscoll
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Shane Glass

Melissa is a sweetheart and a terrific businessperson that took care of all the details to make a memorial of my late wife that everyone enjoyed. From helping do a slideshow, suggestions for the service, food and catering, directional signs outside, help with guests, filming the event, taking, pictures, flowers, memory boxes. Everything. Having a memorial is a very difficult process and I am so glad I did not have to make it happen alone thanks to Eternally Loved and Melissa!
Thank you.
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Kimberly Wright

My sisters' Memorial was so beautiful because of Eternally Loved. Melissa was extremely organized,creative,kind ,responsive and easy to work with from start to finish. She put together a slideshow with music that was wonderful for all the friends and families to watch after the service and during the reception. Also, dealt with the pastor and staff. Programs,memory table, flowers, and much more was handled by her. My sister loved reading books and she designed a bookmark for everyone to take home. And it had a Snowman silver charm attached because my sister loved Snowman. During the most difficult time for our family she took care of everything for us and made it a beautiful service.
Thank you Melissa.
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Recomended

Meredith Tisbert

I went to a celebration of life put together by eternally loved about a year ago. It was moving to say the least. The event was put together from start to finish so flawlessly, it was truly a beautiful day. I remember thinking that when I do pass I hope my family honors me this way and not in the traditional ceremony. The idea of celebrating life instead of morning the loss is such an amazing way for a family to help their loved one cross over. I recommend this company very highly. If you find yourself in that unthinkable situation definitely give them a call I know I will. Very professional and thoughtfully planned.
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Recomended

Mike Clements

It takes special people to assist others in their time of loss and grief and Eternally Loved has proven themselves to be caring, empathetic and able to handle the broad and small strokes required to host a meaningful celebration of life. They have my admiration and unequivocal recommendation -- for sad or happy occasions and everything in-between.
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Recomended

Martha Lima

Being a part of an Eternally Loved occasion is an amazing experience. Melissa plans weddings, birthdays, graduations you name it. She's very detail oriented and a true professional. I have two birthday parties coming up and I wouldn't even consider using someone else. Eternally Loved Rocks.
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Recomended

Kevin Sanders

I recently contacted Eternally Loved to help me plan a living celebration for my mother. Due to the medical condition of my Mom, we needed to plan this event within one week's time. All I can say is WOW WOW WOW. I found Melissa's company on line and reached out to her after contacting a few other people. Eternally Loved was so efficient, compassionate, responsive and made what most would consider a difficult event such an amazing experience. My Mom felt absolutely loved and cherished and to have close to 100 people get together and to plan such an incredible evening on such short notice, I would ONLY recommend Melissa and Eternally Loved. I can assure you that I will be contacting Melissa again for future events. This was a 5 star experience and everyone that attended could not believe the level of sophistication and detail while managing to keep costs UNDER BUDGET. Thank you Melissa!! You made this one of the best days and memories of my life and for my Mother!!
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Althea Sheppard

Thank you to Eternally Loved and Melissa Rainey! During one of the darkest times in my life, I could 100% count on Melissa to help me through the celebration of life event. I had never heard of it before, but it was something my father wanted. Melissa made a beautiful and special tribute to him possible, and I will always remember it as a very bright spot at a very dark time for me and my family!
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Recomended

Jeanine Rodgers

Melissa did a fantastic job for our Celebration of Life yesterday for my parents!!! Her memory tables brought them to life and looked amazing!!! She was extremely easy to work with and very hard working at a very reasonable cost. I lived out of town and Melissa helped set up flowers and pictures for a memorial at Miramar National Cemetery and also set up 2 memory tables, a memory box and take home book marks at the Estancia luncheon we had afterwards. She took the stress out of these details for me. I highly recommend her for as little or much help you need for your Celebration of Life!!!
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Recomended

Lori Hudson

After losing my mother in June the thought of trying to plan anything was overwhelming. Finding Melissa and Eternally Loved was a gift from above. She made the entire processes of planning and executing the Celebration of Life with 125+ guests just about effortless. We loved the entire event and I know that my mother would have too. Our guests were blown away by all of the thoughtful details, that never would have been executed without Melissa. She planned a wedding reception level event in 30 days. I would not only tell others to use her, but I would use her myself to plan another event.
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Recomended

Linus Madi Emma Ewell

Wow! I hadn’t planned on hiring an event coordinator for my mom’s memorial event, but I’m so glad I did! Melissa created such an amazing event to honor my mom's memory. She paid very close attention to detail so I just had to show up and enjoy the guests. The little touches she thought of made it look and feel so amazing. I highly recommend this business for your memorial events. It was worth every penny. Thanks, Melissa, for making a truly memorable day for our family!
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Recomended

Debra Schanck

Ann Premazon

Melissa is awesome and caring. She is organized and was very aware of my budget! Event went off with out a hitch. I truly was resistant at first...Did not think it was necessary to hire her...So glad I did. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
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Kvictv Private

This review for Melissa is long overdue. It was difficult. Not because of the job well done. More so a devastating reminder of the loss of our 23 year old son to leukemia.

Last November, our son won his battle against cancer and went into the loving arms of God. Since he was receiving treatment outside our home area of San Diego, we decided to wait a bit to have his Celebration of Life in order for all his friends and (our) family to be able to attend.

Since we did not know where to begin, we began to search for someone who could help us put this together on the internet. After reading a few reviews on each listing we found, we decided to put our faith in Melissa to help us put together a grand celebration that our son deserved knowing we were expecting well over 500 people to attend.

Contacting Melissa was easy. She is a very good listener. She listened and asked questions at the appropriate times - allowing us the time to express our grief in midst of discussing our plans.

After signing her contract (and giving her the required deposit), which is rather straightforward and without hidden charges, Melissa was off and running with helping us arrange this beautiful event.

She took charge from the very beginning. Not in a pushy way. Just gave us an outline of what needed to be done and a timeline for each item. She allowed us to participate in the things we wanted to be an active part of and took charge of things which we didn’t want to deal with.

Ours was a rather large event (relatively speaking), and with over 500 guests and 1000+ live viewers (yes, we had it broadcasted live), we initially had our doubts of Melissa’s capabilities. After all, she’s just one person we thought. How can she put this all together, we thought. To our pleasant surprise, this is exactly what she did.

Melissa is EXTREMELY organized. She knows when to push, and when to back off. Her communications skills are extraordinary - keeping us apprised of all the items in our checklist. This included the following: Invitations, social media, floral arrangements, coordinating with caterers, musicians, the church and its staff, parking (valet attendants), dove release, setting up of tables and floral arrangements, breaking down, post-celebration cleanup of the church grounds, memorabilia tables, program printouts, layout of seating for guests and family, audio/video checks, rehearsals of performers and speakers, lighting and many telephone calls and emails back and forth to so many who were involved in putting this celebration together. She really put in the time - probably more than what we had agreed to in her contract.

She even offered to pick up family and friends from the airport just so we would not stress about the many details that went into this celebration. She kept on telling us, “let me take care of everyting so that you can be with your friends and family in celebrating your son”. Being a businessman, this was hard to do in the beginning; but I chose to “let go” and trust Melissa.

Let me just say this. She was amazing. As sad as the occasion was, the celebration turned out amazing and HUGE success - one which our son deserved. Melissa took charge of everything. She was there the day of super early. Making sure all was set up correctly and in the end of the ceremony broken down in a timely manner per the venue requirements. To date, we have had hundreds of guests tell us they have never seen a Celebration of Life like the one we had for our son; that, that is what they would want for themselves when their time comes. Melissa was a huge part of this and we are ETERNALLY GRATEFUL to Melissa and her business Eternally Loved. Melissa, sorry for this long overdue but well deserved review. We hope we never have to use you again in the near future, but for what you offer, you are an angel to those who are grieving and don’t know where to begin. With love. Jim, Bonnie, Jessica, Sandy, and our entire family. Blessings.

Recomended

Shelby SK

Susan Kownacki

WOW! Where to begin…..Nov. 17, 2020 my only child died unexpectedly, @lexa, and when I reached out to Melissa, I was 3 years into divorcing my husband of 37 years. ( I volunteer that as many emotions were happening). I put a FB shout-out if anyone knows of an event planner. My friend, referred me to her friend whose daughter passed and hired Melissa for her memorial.
This ended up being a Godshot for me. Because of Covid and the encouragement from @lexa’s colleagues, friends, and Melissa, Melissa and I planned on an in-person “Celebration of Life” and began venue search and dates. We shot for October as the venue I selected was full and eventually selected August, 2021. One of Melissa’s numerous professional qualities is her attention to detail and timelines.
Melissa frequently asked for my opinion and feedback. I found I was involved in all the decision-making and occasionally I changed my mind which was always well received. I never felt I was expected to agree with every selection in fact, I sought Melissa’s feedback often.
Since her passing, I received dozens of letters from over the world and as I tried to explain her personality and accomplishments, Melissa and Gayle ( fantastic Officiant) let me share these messages with them. And they both gained a richer description of @lexa.
Because I have many ACCOLADES for Melissa and working together for several months, I’m offering if you want to email me, I’ll give Melissa permission. I’m a straight shooter.
@lexa’s “Celebration of Life” was phenomenal and perfection….more than I anticipated! It was Aug 27, 2021 at The Birch Aquarium. Approx 150 in person and equal numbers on Zoom. The constant comments to me are is was exactly right for @lexa, really felt positive and a true “Celebration of Life”, everything was beautiful and enjoyed all the details and the memory table, loves giving away @lexa’s jewelry and book. It truly captured my @lexa
For me, worth hiring a videographer ( got the video within 2 days) and now on YouTube. If you want to view how it might look, I can get you the title for YouTube.
PS Melissa is very mindful about your budget and will confirm prices and/or offer other suggestions
AGAIN, please request my email for any questions, etc.
Gratefully to Melissa (and Gayle)
B. Susan Kownacki
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In July 2014, my soul mate and life partner was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. Over the next 7 months, he was involved with chemotherapy treatments, doctor appointments, transfusions and other necessary appointment and along with my full time job, I was his supporter, caretaker, appointment keeper, planner and personal assistant for every aspect of his life. I was provided the gift of extra energy and it came from my dedication and love for Vince. I was intent on Vince’s final months to be the best possible and for things to be as smooth as possible without his need to worry or want for anything.

On January 31, 2015, Vince took his last breath, and I felt an exhaustion that came from those months of service to him. I was also struck with a deep sense of loss, pain and sorrow that came from the realization that he was no longer here. This is when Melissa Rainey entered my life with the sensitivity and energy to do what I was not able to do…plan for his memorial service.

Melissa gave me room to be involved with any part of the ceremony that I wanted, and there were some areas that I couldn’t do. I wanted to create a slide show, and I knew the location of where he wanted his memorial service to be held. We knew that we needed room for at least 300 people, as Vince was loved by many. Melissa took care of all the areas of the service that I would not have known how to do. She put together all the pieces of the puzzle that were necessary for a beautiful event. She found the best prices for the brochures and flower arrangements for the service. I gave her the pictures and verses that I wanted on the brochure. I knew I wanted food, but Melissa acquired a wonderful caterer as well as started a funding account so that it would not cost me anything. She took charge and planned an amazing service with speakers, coordination with the church, chaplain involvement, coordination with family and a release of doves. I only needed to arrive at the church and do my part of the service in the eulogy.

I would not have been able to coordinate and organize the “Celebration of Life and Love” if Melissa was not there to organize everything. She was truly a gift to me during a time when I needed support and direction. She was dedicated for things to go as smooth as possible and effortless for me on a day when I was immersed in emotion and focused on my loss. The end product was memorable, tasteful and something we all could carry with us.

Marsha Mathews
Murietta, CA

Melissa did a great job coordinating with vendors to ensure that our family memorial service went according to plan. She arrived early on the day of the event to set everything up, confirm that work orders were filled correctly, and acted as the point of contact for all purposes. We appreciated having someone carry the weight of the logistical components of this event so that we could focus on our family’s needs.

Linaja D.
Anza, CA

We worked with Eternally Loved to pre-plan a “Celebration of Life” event. I thought it would be uncomfortable and emotional but it wasn’t. Melissa walked us through the whole process, from determining the kind of event we wanted and selecting the venue to assembling the mailing list and photo slide show. She helped us make selections for every aspect of the celebration. Melissa covered all the details and I know the celebration will be exactly the kind of party I would want it to be. I wholeheartedly endorse Melissa and her company.

Erik Ackroyd
Lake Elsinore, CA

Melanie Ho

Unfortunately, my husband died on September 7th. Fortunately, I met with Melissa Rainey shortly afterwards & the added burden / stress of trying to plan a fitting tribute to celebrate the life of my David was taken from my shoulders. Melissa has excellent organizational skills & time management skills that will keep you moving forward in achieving your goal of having a beautiful memorial service for your loved one. From the first meeting where she gathers information about what you envision for the memorial service & provides ideas/suggestions of what additional things may be possible to the final hour of your service, she will oversee everything so that you can truly just be present on the day of the event.

Melissa interfaced with all of the vendors necessary to have those things I wanted at the celebration of life, kept me on schedule so that things were not hectic for me prior to our memorial date, set up everything on the day of the event, watched over me during the event to make sure that I had a drink & eventually ate something, & broke down / cleaned up everything after the event was over. She was able to accomplish all of this while keeping me under my budget. I will be eternally grateful to Eternally Loved & Melissa for doing the heavy lifting of planning the celebration of life for my husband. Thanks Melissa!

Janet H. Cardiff
Cardiff, CA

If your reading this review you’re probably dealing with the loss of your loved one, and feeling overwhelmed by the thought of even having to plan a service right now. That’s how I was feeling, and honestly I didn’t know where to start. I knew for certain that my Mom wouldn’t want a typical doom and gloomy funeral home service. It didn’t fit her bright, positive and full of life personality. Coming across Melissa’s website was heaven sent.

I’m going to try to cover as much information as possible that you may be wondering (at least I was) starting with cost. I am defiantly not rich, and was intimidated by hiring a celebration of life planner because I thought for certain it would rack up quickly. Melissa meet my husband and I at our home for the consultation. I told her what my visions were, and my budget. She let us know that she pays all fee’s upfront for EVERYTHING, then we pay her back. That was a huge relief … and gave us time to sort out finances. When it was all said and done, we were $3,500 UNDER our max budget, and I still got everything I wanted (market lighting, tables/chairs/linens, mic/speakers, projector screen, parking attendant, porter potty, officiant, guitar player, flowers, food/drink, blow up prints and ect!!!!)

As far as working with Melissa, she is a dream! She’s quick, she gets it, no nonsense, and truly works her ass off so that you are able to deal with your loss without added stress. She answered all my text and emails almost instantly, she didn’t mind that I changed my mind 100 times on song playlist, she was always prompt (actually, she was early to every encounter we had) and she just all around knows how to run her business.

The outcome of my Mom’s celebration of life ceremony was absolutely beautiful. I’m sure she is so proud, and I just can’t believe it actually played out how I envisioned. We certainly couldn’t have pulled it off without Melissa. Thank you!

Cat S
San Diego, CA

Words really can’t describe how thankful I am that my sister and I came across Melissa online. Never in the world did I think that I would need to plan my husbands memorial service at such a young age and so unexpectedly. Melissa was extremely professional, energetic, honest, caring and readily available for all the many questions that come into planning a celebration of life but yet has a seamless way to make it feel as stress free as it could be. All the while being sympathetic to your needs and wishes. I couldn’t have asked for a better turn out!

Ryan R.
Santa Fe Hills, San Marcos, CA

Melissa was a god send to put together this ceremony to honor my domestic partner of 36 years. She stayed well within my budget request. She was very organized and quickly made adjustments when needed. It was flawless and enjoyed by 70 guests.

Jeff S
Santa Fe Hills, San Marcos, CA

Melissa jumped right in with compassion and expertise. After losing my son a year ago, I was finally able to gather “some” strength to give his Life here on Earth a Celebration to share with his close friends and vice versa. Melissa took over and handled erything perfectly, she helped me give Casey James the honor he deserves. Detailed and Perfection, I would recommend Melissa Rainey to anyone thinking about hiring a planner. She gets the job done and will give you the best service on ant budget. Thank you Melissa.

Kathy R
Temecula, CA

My sister and I were living out of town so Melissa was left to plan and arrange everything. It all went without a hitch and we couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.

Our mother’s celebration of life was professional, had a lot of lovely staging touches, like I could just say “I would have put a little glass of seashells just there, yes”.

At least I might have said that if I’d thought about it. But I didn’t have to because Melissa did all the thinking for me. Honestly, I was probably her laziest customer, not getting back to her in time, not wanting to make decisions so she’d have to instead. She dealt with my laziness with the utmost professionalism.

Robert C
San Francisco, CA

I had not planned on hiring a planner for my mom’s memorial, but WOW, I am so grateful I did! Melissa was fabulous and easy to work with. Very organized, paid great attention to detail, and made a stressful event into something I actually enjoyed. She created a heartwarming video with music and tons of family pictures. Created the memorial program that we passed out to our guests. Made memorial tables with all my mom’s favorite things and photos. Everyone has remarked that they were very impressed with the memorial. I would have been a lunatic if I was managing this myself! Melissa made it possible to just show up and enjoy the day. Worth every penny!

Mean P
Rolla, MO

When my mother passed away my sister and I were so filled with grief we didn’t know where to start to plan a celebration of life. We hired Melissa from eternally loved and she went to work! She planned the most beautiful celebration of life that really showcased my mom’s entire life! The decorating was top notch. She thought of so many beautiful details that really showed the love we have for her! Everyone attending kept saying how beautiful and full of love it had been and what a great job you girls did I had to stop them and tell them it was all Melissa! We were able to grieve our mom and just be present at her celebration of life! It was a gift having her insight and love for helping others in times of need. I would highly recommend her to anyone wanting to celebrate there loved one. She was amazing! Thanks again Melissa!

Wendy J

Our family recently held a “Celebration of Life” party for my husband who passed away late August. We were referred to Melissa Rainey with Eternally Loved and she was perfect!

She arrived at our home and proceeded to “interview” me about my husband’s hobbies and interests so that she could come up with a theme to best represent him at the party. For example, my husband was retired Navy, an avid writer and reader, and a marathon runner. So she had memory tables set up with these themes which were complimented by many photos blown up and framed throughout. She is very detail oriented! She also made arrangements for food, beverages, room design with table set up and coordinated with everyone, including speakers. We had around 75 guests attend and all commented on how interesting and moving everything was.

She made all of the arrangements plus did all of the legwork in such a short time! All I had to do was show up — which was perfect. I cannot recommend her highly enough.

Alex B
Westminster, CA

Melissa was so helpful in planning our mom’s celebration of life after her passing. Melissa stepped in just under 2 weeks before our set date and was always three or four steps ahead of our own thought process (and caught/suggested things we hadn’t even considered yet). We can be quite particular in our preferences and vision and she did a great job of respecting that and supporting us. She is very fair, direct, talented, professional, quick to start, and always in communication with updates. You can tell she genuinely cares about helping with the process and goes out of her way to be of assistance. We would definitely recommend her to anyone planning an important event especially when you and your family are feeling overwhelmed and grieving. We also have to say that her slideshow was incredible and she made a bunch of edits and a couple of different versions to get it just right for us. We can’t say enough about how great she was to work with. Thank you, Melissa!

Georgia D
La Jolla, CA

I recently contacted Eternally Loved to help me plan a living celebration for my mother. Due to the medical condition of my Mom, we needed to plan this event within one week’s time. All I can say is WOW WOW WOW. I found Melissa’s company on line and reached out to her after contacting a few other people. Eternally Loved was so efficient, compassionate, responsive and made what most would consider a difficult event such an amazing experience. My Mom felt absolutely loved and cherished and to have close to 100 people get together and to plan such an incredible evening on such short notice, I would ONLY recommend Melissa and Eternally Loved. I can assure you that I will be contacting Melissa again for future events. This was a 5 star experience and everyone that attended could not believe the level of sophistication and detail while managing to keep costs UNDER BUDGET. Thank you Melissa! You made this one of the best days and memories of my life and for my Mother!

Kevin S
San Diego, CA

This review for Melissa is long overdue. It was difficult. Not because of the job well done. More so a devastating reminder of the loss of our 23 year old son to leukemia.

Contacting Melissa was easy. She is a very good listener. She listened and asked questions at the appropriate times – allowing us the time to express our grief in midst of discussing our plans.

After signing her contract (and giving her the required deposit), which is rather straightforward and without hidden charges, Melissa was off and running with helping us arrange this beautiful event.

Melissa is EXTREMELY organized. She knows when to push, and when to back off. Her communications skills are extraordinary – keeping us apprised of all the items in our checklist. This included the following: Invitations, social media, floral arrangements, coordinating with caterers, musicians, the church and its staff, parking (valet attendants), dove release, setting up of tables and floral arrangements, breaking down, post-celebration cleanup of the church grounds, memorabilia tables, program printouts, layout of seating for guests and family, audio/video checks, rehearsals of performers and speakers, lighting and many telephone calls and emails back and forth to so many who were involved in putting this celebration together. She really put in the time – probably more than what we had agreed to in her contract.

Let me just say this. She was amazing. As sad as the occasion was, the celebration turned out amazing and HUGE success – one which our son deserved. Melissa took charge of everything. She was there the day of super early. Making sure all was set up correctly and in the end of the ceremony broken down in a timely manner per the venue requirements. To date, we have had hundreds of guests tell us they have never seen a Celebration of Life like the one we had for our son; that, that is what they would want for themselves when their time comes. Melissa was a huge part of this and we are ETERNALLY GRATEFUL to Melissa and her business Eternally Loved. Melissa, sorry for this long overdue but well deserved review. We hope we never have to use you again in the near future, but for what you offer, you are an angel to those who are grieving and don’t know where to begin. With love. Jim, Bonnie, Jessica, Sandy, and our entire family. Blessings.

Jim M
Hanalei, HI

When we decided to do a Celebration of Life for my wife of 51 years, who passed away in July, my daughters and I thought we would organize it ourselves. Then we saw Melissa’s web site and decide we really needed help. Melissa was wonderful. During her initial visit she interviewed us to find out about my wife. She helped us decide on a venue (our house), then she provided all sorts of ideas to implement the music theme we wanted. Although our gathering was small (17 people) Melissa took care of all the organizational details, including flowers, food, Memory Tables, a slide show of photographs, seating, and keepsakes, with our approval of course. On the day of the Celebration she did all of the setup and the cleanup so we could participate fully in the Celebration and be proper hosts for our guests. We just couldn’t have pulled it off without Melissa.

Robert J
San Marcos, CA

Melissa took all of the details of our celebration of life ceremony from our plate and handled everything meticulously. During this time of grief, the last thing we need to do is to worry about details of planning a ceremony and every little detail involved in preparing and executing a proper send-off for our loved one.

We met with Melissa and discussed our thoughts and received many great recommendations from her. We had a few follow up phone calls and emails and she handled everything from a tearful photo montage of our loved one, a memory table complete with pictures and mementos for guests to take home, music, food, setting up chairs and tables, then removing them, handled the caterer, the minister and all details to make it a very memorable event.

I can’t thank Melissa enough for taking this on and making it a great celebration and handling this occasion from start to finish. I would highly recommend the services of Eternally Loved.

Ron B
Lemon Grove, CA

I am writing this 5 star review for someone who truly went above and beyond to assist me and my family in our time of grief over my brothers passing. Melissa handled everything from the flowers, slideshow, décor, candles, tables, set up and break down, pictures, music, caterer and reverend who led the service. Melissa made CD’s of songs to give away to family and friends and set up a play list for after the service during the reception. Every detail was respected according to our wishes and given Melissa’s extensive experience, she was able to ask questions and make suggestions because she has helped others before me. Her gentle nature and kind attention to my brother’s life really showed in every detail. It was truly breath taking and so honoring of the person he was and the life he lived. We sent him out in style! I am sure he was there and enjoyed seeing us gather in his memory with love in our hearts! Thank you Melissa. Because you took care of the details, I was really free to be present and in the moment with my family and friends. Working with you on the memorial service so helped me to remember the very best parts of my brother’s life and grieve in the process.

Debra S
Lemon Grove, CA

I cannot say enough good things about Melissa. She goes the extra mile to create and event that honors your loved. Everyone was extremely impressed with how well Melissa captured the essence of my mom’s life. I was particularly touched by the slide show and all of the personalized details.

Melissa will take care of all of the details and allow you the space and time to grieve and celebrate your loved one. I recommend Melissa and Eternally Loved for anyone who needs assistance with event planning and particularly with a celebration of life.

Matt B
San Diego, CA

We contacted Melissa because we were feeling very overwhelmed in dealing with the loss of a loved one. She was very diligent, attentive to all the details and allowed our family to enjoy the celebration of life our father Bill Isles former member of The Mighty, Mighty O’Jays R.I.P.

Donnell I.
San Diego, CA

Melissa Rainey assisted my husband and me plan (well) in advance for a “Celebration of Life.” The process was smooth, organized and very straight forward. Melissa listened carefully to our requests and concerns, and addressed them all. She has a large pool of contacts and resources, and put together a package that reflected our wishes and personalities. For those requests that were a little outside the norm, Melissa did the research and came back to us with a range of options from which to choose. It’s a relief to me to know that when the time comes, all of the decisions have already been made and everything I need is organized and in one place. I’m so grateful to Melissa for helping us plan for the future.

Judith Hartwig
Lake Elsinore, CA

Eternally Loved came into my family’s life during one of the most difficult times of our life. My mom’s fiancé died within 7 months of being diagnosed with liver cancer. It was devastating and my mother and I were walking around in shock and disbelief. Eternally Loved helped us with EVERYTHING! We had help with putting together a phenomenal ceremony within our budget, from organizing thousands of pictures, making a sentimental keepsake, flower arrangements, organizing the whole schedule of the ceremony including making sure speakers go there on time, and so on. The price that Eternally Loved was worth to our family was priceless, and it gave my mother and I time to grieve and take in the experience of celebrating our beloved Vince’s life.

Merissa Mathews
Murietta, CA

When I lost my cat Ottis, I was absolutely devastated! My black cat had been my best friend for close to 20 years…. Ottis had been through so many of my life phases and I always felt comfort from him. He moved with me to different places, even Alaska at one point. He brought me so much happiness and I can only hope that I gave him a good life.

I wanted to celebrate his life and I was not sure how to go about it. I also felt a little bit silly– do people have funerals for their pets? That is when I did some research and found Eternally Loved. From the moment I started talking to Melissa, I could tell my healing began–she expressed her condolences and assured me that it was important to celebrate and honor his life. I did not have to do a thing aside from answering some questions and providing photos. Melissa took care of everything and she created a fantastic event. It was small and beautiful… some of my closest friends were there and shared my tears. I was so grateful to Melissa for thinking of every detail — I am horrible at planning anything and I did not have to worry about anything!

Stephanie Ackroyd
Carlsbad, CA

Marc Tkach

Melissa stepped in with very little notice to help us organize and provide ideas for our mother’s celebration of life. She is a real pro, and put the polish on all the arrangements. The service was beautiful and meaningful. What a comfort to have such a beautiful memory. We are grateful for and highly recommend Melissa’s services.

Diane M
San Marcos, CA

Melissa was wonderful. From the gate she listened, she sympathized, she supported. I honestly don’t know how we would have honored our mother without Melissa’s help. Melissa is a calming, creative, loving person who rolled with last minute changes due to people, weather, and our whims. We highly recommend Melissa.

Tricia J G

Mellissa coordinated my friend’s celebration of life recently, and she did an amazing job. She was involved in every planning detail, and she was there on the day of the event to work from beginning to end. The event was beautiful in every way, and there was absolutely no stress placed on the family members regarding the execution of the event plan. No way she does this for the money! This is obviously a passion for her. We are very grateful to her.

Leonard M

Lori M
San Diego, Ca

Melissa did an amazing job with our Celebration of Life I had for my parents!! The memory tables she did at our luncheon brought them both to life and were complimented by all our guests. She was very easy to work with and very knowledgeable and helpful!! I lived out of town and Melissa provided flowers and photos for a memorial service at Miramar and memory tables, a memory box and beautiful take home book marks at a luncheon following the memorial service. I highly recommend Melissa no matter how little or great your needs are!

Jeanine R
Reno, NV

Eternally Loved is awesome! Melissa is awesome! Service is awesome! If you want a wonderful tribute to your loved ones, look no further then Eternally loved.

Eric C
Margarita, CA

I was very impressed with the professionalism that Melissa had in organizing this Celebration of Life for a friend. It was comforting to the family to know that everything went as planned and actually, exceeded expectations.

Lydia Z
Oceanside Ca

Eternally Loved Celebration of Life Testimonials

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