Suggestions For Memorials

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by Adrian Cavlan

We spend so much of our time in celebration mode here at SIM. Whether it’s a wedding, birthday party, holiday party, school dance, Bar Mitzvah, Quinceanera… you name the party and we’re there whooping it up with your and your guests any and every way you want us to (and none of the ways you don’t! ; )

But sometimes life throws us a whole different kind of ball that we are mostly unprepared to hit: when a loved one passes on.

When we are planning weddings and Mitzvahs with our clients, we are all in the hiring and planning mode months and months in advance. It is a relaxed process that allows for everyone to zero in on the perfect plan at whatever pace they like. But in the wake of the passing of a loved one, the need to arrange services of all different kinds rushes upon us seemingly out of nowhere and at a time when we are most emotionally vulnerable.

Not only that, but financially it can be very jarring as well. While we anticipate the big social affairs of our lives and often save for them not only individually but also may benefit from generous parents or others in our lives, the need for a pretty large financial outlay in the case of a loss like this comes very suddenly, and, because there are many complex emotions interwoven with this kind of life event, we are reluctant to give our loved ones anything less than the best in this final act.

I write this today simply to say this: that we here at Sound In Motion understand. We care. We want to help. And we have often been called upon to do very special and unusual things to help families get through these emotionally and financially challenging times in their lives.

Most of the time people call upon us to provide A/V services such as microphones, P.A. systems, projection or large-screen TV monitor systems or even just easels to display large photos or other mementos. Additionally, many times we are called upon to either source and prepare to play music at the service that was dear to the departed, or in some cases, actually create our own playlist that would befit an occasion like this, thus taking that additional weight from the shoulders of our clients and their families.

Over the years, we have been involved in small services for as few as 25 guests, to large scale public memorials, like the one for thousands of people at Candlestick Park for beloved San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh’s memorial in 2007.

I guess for us it’s all about two things: Empathy and Trust.

Here at Sound In Motion, you will always find both.