Celebration of a Beautiful Life....(Blog Catch Up from May)

Another hard blog to write, but important to share...this is the day we held the Celebration of Life for my Mother- In-Law: Barbara Starr.  Although of course, it was a very sad and heartbreaking day....it was also a day of true beauty and joy.  It was really important to us that Barbara was honored for the wonderful person she was and a true celebration of all the amazing things that defined the life she led.  When making the arrangements I kept trying to think to myself....how would Barbara want this to be? what would she like? what would be important to her?  And this was really difficult because Barbara just always wanted everyone else to be happy, comfortable and cared for~she was most happy when her loved ones were happy. 

We held the Celebration at Gainey Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale, we wanted to choose a place that was intimate, beautiful, and peaceful.  The Memorial Ceremony took place in one room, while the Celebration Reception took place in the room right next door ~filled with large windows that overlooked the Golf Course.  

At the Memorial Ceremony we had a live harpist play some of Barbara's favorite songs as guests entered.... followed by prayers and speeches from Barb's loved ones sharing many beautiful memories, thoughts, experiences and love stories. 

After the speeches we shared a Celebration Montage Tribute complete with photos of Barbara as a little girl, through her teen years into young adulthood, and mommyhood... up until our most recent family photos.  The montage ended with a video clip of Barbara last Christmas telling her kids what "great kids they are".. and how "she has the best kids in the world and she loves them so much".  It was truly such an amazing montage that really captured Barbara's loving spirit and enormous amount of love she gave to her family.  

Following the Memorial Ceremony all the guests were invited outside on the patio overlooking the course to participate in a Butterfly Release in Barbara's Honor (following the Native American Indian Butterfly Legend).... it was quite beautiful....

Afterwards everyone was invited inside to celebrate in some of Barbara's most favorite things:

Spritzers, Jazz, and Burried Treasure Pie

The room was filled with flowers everywhere~all white including orchids and roses. There was actually 59 roses placed all throughout the room symbolizing each beautiful year of Barbara's life....

We also displayed many framed favorite photos of Barbara and her loved ones and included other little special touches that represented so much to us.  A "Sweet Memory" display was set up asking guests to write down their special stories or funny moments they shared with Barb~so that her children could share those stories with her future grandbabies....

The family was so incredibly touched by all the guests who attended that day and it was so wonderful to know and see first hand how many people loved Barb.

Mere words cannot express the heartfelt gratitude we have for those who attended this celebration and the love you showed for Barbara and our family.

We will forever have Barbara in our hearts, we will forever have a guardian angel.