Hello. I’m Candice, and I think we leave far too many nice things unsaid.

I’ve spent years standing in rooms filled with big feelings. As a wedding celebrant and MC, funeral celebrant and former funeral director, I’ve seen people laugh through tears, cry through laughter and tell stories that probably should not have been shared near a microphone.

I’ve experienced the impact of sickness and death in my own life too. And when I think about the people I’ve lost, it isn’t only the difficult ending I remember. It’s their smile. Their laugh. The way they danced, the songs they loved, their terrible jokes, familiar sayings and all the ordinary little things that made them unmistakably themselves.

That’s the stuff worth gathering for.

Any Excuse for a Party exists because I don’t think we should wait until someone has died to fill a room with their favourite people and tell them what they mean to us. A living wake gives someone the chance to hear the stories, feel the love and be part of the memories being created in their honour.

And when someone has died, a celebration of life can bring their people together without being bound by what a funeral is “supposed” to look like. There can be grief and laughter. Favourite songs and questionable stories. Tears, good food and moments that feel completely, imperfectly human.

This isn’t about forcing something sad to feel happy. It’s about creating room for the whole person, the whole story and all the people who love them.

Because life is worth making a fuss about. Before and after death.