Testimonials
“My wife passed away recently, and I engaged Emily Karp to prepare a suitable Eulogy to be delivered at her burial. I gave Emily a copy of the obituary that I had written, plus she interviewed me and our two children to try to get a fuller impression of our family and their love for their wife/mother. As the time to bury my wife got closer to the day of the event we did some final iterations of the text resulting in a Eulogy that was ready to go and represented my wife’s life in a very positive, loving, yet honest way. When Emily actually delivered the Eulogy at graveside I was very impressed with the way she emphasized various aspects of my wife’s life, as were many others who were present at the burial ceremony. I heartily encourage you to consider her whenever you have a need for this type of service where it feels daunting to do it yourself. You will not be disappointed.”
-Bill T.
Annapolis, Maryland
“Emily did a lovely job developing a slideshow for my husband’s memorial service. She was extremely responsive and accommodating, ensuring that the slideshow was exactly what I wanted. It’s a beautiful pictorial depiction of my husband’s amazing life and was an extremely emotional and moving part of his service. When I decided to retain Emily’s services, she sent an agreement that clearly set forth the responsibilities of each party and the dates by which certain things would be accomplished (which she honored). She traveled to my home to get the non-digital photos I had selected for scanning and returned the originals promptly. Because I had given Emily far more photos than she could include in the 5-minute slideshow, she selected certain photos she thought would be good and then emailed a draft to me. I viewed the draft and contacted Emily about photos that had not been included but were important to me. She was able to include those photos in the slideshow, tweaking the length and accompanying music. She also included photo captions I had provided and made all requested edits. Working with Emily was extremely easy. She’s conscientious, hard-working, and kind. I highly recommend Emily and Grief Pictured if you’re looking to present a slideshow at your loved one’s service.”
-Tammy R.
Alexandria, Virginia
“This summer we enlisted Emily Karp to officiate our dad’s celebration of life ceremony, and we cannot express how grateful we are for her heartfelt service. Though Emily only got to learn about our dad through a zoom call, it felt as if she truly understood our dad’s spirit.
A touching moment was when Emily quoted a passage from my dad's favorite book. It was unexpected touch, to find a beautiful and meaningful quote that encapsulated his character. Her ability to find such a personal reference made the service feel intimate and special. She created an atmosphere of remembrance and celebration, allowing us to reflect on the joy he brought into our lives while cherishing the memories we hold dear.
Emily’s professionalism and genuine care made a difficult day so much easier to navigate. We are thankful for her ability to honor our dad in such a beautiful way. I highly recommend Emily Karp as an officiant for anyone seeking a heartfelt celebration of life. Thank you, Emily, for helping us celebrate the wonderful person he was.”
-Molly M.
Ellicott City, Maryland
“Emily Karp served as the Life-Cycle Celebrant at our son's Celebration of Life ceremony. My husband and I were drawn to Emily due to the story she shares about herself on her website and due to her providing an option for non-religious individuals. Emily's approach honored, in an authentic fashion, how our son lived his life. Emily took a great deal of time to interview our family and our son's friends and meticulously crafted a beautiful eulogy that captured the essence of our son. Emily also took the time to craft an obituary for our son, as we found it too difficult to do so ourselves. Emily's process was prompt and responsive. She provided us with a draft of the eulogy and was extremely open to feedback. The day of our son's Celebration of Life, Emily officiated the ceremony with a great deal of compassion and professionalism. Organized and well prepared, Emily provided our family with comfort throughout the entire process. Our guests were very complimentary of Emily, and a great number of them stated how beautiful and moving the ceremony was. My husband and I are so thankful to Emily for the time, the attention to detail, and the care that she provided. Thank you, Emily.”
-Sandra S.
Severna Park, Maryland
“Emily created a wonderful slide show for my husband's Celebration of Life. She took over 100 pictures that I gave her and put them to music in a slideshow that everyone enjoyed. I have watched it many times and know that my daughters have done so as well. Putting it all together was a great help to me. It made me realize just how many wonderful times we had together as a family and gave me a lot of comfort.”
-Sheila G.
Alexandria, Virginia
“Grief Pictured provided a valuable service when time and energy are limited. Emily created a beautiful slideshow of my loved one that I will always treasure! She was highly communicative, sensitive, provided flexible solutions, reasonable fees and kept things moving when I was pulled in dozens of directions. Having created a slideshow of my own years before, I knew that the time and stress saved could be redirected in other ways. I highly recommend Grief Pictured for any memorial or celebratory slideshow needs!”
-Robyn A.
Chicago, Illinois
“I have used Emily's services as a 'Celebration of Life' Celebrant for my mother, who is 87 and in my care, in a pre-planning capacity. I selected Emily from a list of celebrants, local to me, on the 'Funeralwise' website. I was drawn to the amount of detail about herself, the process and her fees on her own website. I connected to the concepts and ideas she projected about the process, which clarified my own perceptions of what I envisioned a 'Celebration of Life' event for my mother could be. The fact that Emily is also a digitographer and offers slideshow creation as part of the service really synched my selection of her, as I myself had decided to create a slideshow as part of the event (and in fact, had already done so). After having now collaborated with Emily to complete the 'Celebration of Life' script and planning, I can say that the experience has exceeded my expectations. Emily is professional and a pleasure to work with. I look forward to having her officiate my mother's tribute event when the time comes.”
-Monica T.
Columbia, Maryland
"My uncle had lived and worked in Maryland for most of his life, though his entire family remained in the UK. When I was given the task of organising a remembrance for his friends and colleagues in Maryland, I reached out to Emily, a non-religious funeral officiant. Our family had already prepared a carefully written service. I was able to secure her services remotely, from overseas in the UK. At the event, my cousin traveled out to attend in person, and while there she set up an iPad to record the entire funeral service, so it could be shared with the family members back home. Emily moderated the event beautifully. We are very grateful for Emily’s support throughout the process. She read out the words we had written so well, and brought the words to life! It was wonderful to have her there."
-Pearse L.
Banbury, Oxfordshire (England)
“I want to offer my deepest thanks to Celebrant Emily Karp of Grief Pictured for her assistance with the interment of my loved one's ashes. At an emotionally trying time, Emily served as the calm, compassionate, and knowledgeable center our family needed to find peace. Emily took the time to learn about our loved one, working collaboratively with us and demonstrating deep respect for his final wishes. She proved to be extremely responsive, flexible, dependable, and detail-oriented. I cannot recommend Emily highly enough to anyone looking for an empathetic and creative Celebrant.”
-Laurie B.
Manassas, VA
“Emily did a great job on the slideshow for my father’s memorial service. She was timely and professional throughout the easy process. It was such a relief to have this aspect taken care of while grieving and organizing the service itself. I would highly recommend her!”
-Liane M.
Annapolis, Maryland
