Frequently Asked Questions

The first place to start is with a complimentary consultation with our team.

We meet for 30 minutes to understand where you are in the planning process and what your general vision is. We’ll ask you a few questions about the day and give our best recommendations for the next steps.

While there is no best timeframe for planning, our team highly recommends you give yourself at least 4 - 6 weeks to coordinate the event, your speakers, multimedia, rentals, and vendors.

New Narrative is based out of Vancouver, Canada. We primarily operate here in Vancouver but are available for events anywhere in the world.

For hybrid events, we can work alongside your venue coordinator or a trusted family friend to guide them through the process of being on site for the day of the event while we manage the day remotely.

Absolutely. New Narrative offers virtual event planning calls where you get one on one, tailored celebration of life planning advice from a team that’s worked on over 450 memorials.

We also take on a limited number of events outside of Vancouver. With our team spanning cross-Canada and the continental United States, we would be more than happy to help with the coordination, no matter where you are.

An Event Planner will help with coordinating the details and logistics around a Celebration of Life event: booking vendors, helping manage the schedule for the day, taking over basic AV management, and will be present for you during the entire event.

The role of an Event Manager will vary based on whether you are planning a virtual memorial service, an in-person celebration of life, or a hybrid event.

At New Narrative, we focus on making sure all the small details are taken care of so you can simply arrive and be present with your family.

Not at all. We are proud to work with groups of all sizes and all budgets. Whether you are set on an intimate reception for 30 guests or a 500+ person gathering, we would love to talk with you about your event.

New Narrative virtual events are memorials or Celebrations of Life held virtually over Zoom video. All guests will recieve an invitation (and any instructions) and on event day, they will log in virtually. Joining from the comfort of their own homes and from anywhere in the world gives guests the freedom to be comfortable in their own space.

A virtual event allows you to be fully present with guests, be in your own space with your family, and you will be able to see and hear from your loved ones. Unlike the in-person experience, virtual events allow guests to be able to see each other, much like sitting in a circle. This can be very comforting for your community and a great way to see the support system that has come to honour your person.

The team at New Narrative seamlessly manages the technology for the virtual experience. With over 500 virtual events in combined experience, know that your group is in good hands with our skilled and creative facilitators and technicians.

A hybrid event is where there is an in-person memorial or celebration of life taking place at a venue with guests participating virtually. Guests can now choose to attend virtually or in person and have the option to participate by sharing stories, speeches, and by interacting with in person guests.

Our team will work with you and your group to develop an interactive and seamless experience for all of your guests both in person and virtually.

There are several factors to consider when deciding to host a memorial or celebration of life: personal preference, guest size, budget, and whether you have out of town guests who would like to participate virtually.

Click here to book a consultation with our team to get started.

Once we have all of the invitation details ready, New Narrative will create a PDF invitation with clickable links for easy access directly to the event. We also create a private page on our website to make link-sharing easy for your family. Once the invitation has been created, it is up to your family to distribute, making the event as public or as private as you want.

We recommend asking 1 - 2 key people in each ‘category’ of guests to alleviate some pressure within your family.

For example, if our honouree was a teacher, you can ask a few attendees to distribute the invitation to education colleagues, a few former students could reach out to classmates, and so on. Consider sending the invitation to as many people as you feel comfortable with.

Our events allow for a maximum of 1,000 logins, so guests can share the event details widely.