At With Love Events, we offer compassionate, creative, and practical support for individuals, families, and communities navigating end-of-life experiences.
Planning & Support
We help you prepare for the end of life with clarity and care, offering:
- Advance care directive guidance
- End-of-life coordination, planning, and hands on support
- Legacy projects and storytelling
- Swedish Death Cleaning services
- Referrals to rightsizing companies, trusted legal, financial, and grief professionals
Not sure where to start? If you’re navigating end-of-life planning for yourself or a loved one and need someone to talk to, we’re here to help. As End-of-Life Planners we are trained professionals who offer guidance, emotional support, and practical tools to help individuals prepare for death and reflect on their life. Whether you’re facing uncertainty, exploring legacy, or simply need someone to listen, we can help you find the right path forward.
Education & Speaking
Lauren Ponder and her team lead engaging, accessible programs that invite open dialogue around death, dying, and legacy.
Community Offerings: Popular topics include:
- Death Over Dinner, Death Cafés & Death Deck sessions
- Advance Directive “Bootcamps”
- Putting the FUN in Funeral Workshops, co-taught with Amy Rush
Training Programs:
- Eden End-of-Life Doula Certificate Program (launching Fall 2025) co-taught by Lauren Ponder and Rev. Dr. Julie Strassman, D.Min., Hospice Chaplain and Bereavement Specialist. A comprehensive training for those called to support others at the end-of-life, covering core principles, bedside presence, legacy work, and ethical care.
- Advance Healthcare Directive (AHD) Program: Available for individuals, families, and workplaces. This guided process helps participants complete essential documents, clarify their healthcare wishes, and spark meaningful conversations. Ideal as a corporate wellness offering or community workshop.
Speaking Engagements: Lauren is available for keynotes, panel discussions, trainings, and guest lectures. Popular topics include:
- Mortality Awareness (The Death Positive Movement) – Regularly presented at LifeWiseSTL and St. Louis Public Library.
- A Death Doula’s Guide to Swedish Death Cleaning
Meaningful Gatherings
We design custom, intentional gatherings that honor life and legacy in beautiful, personal ways. Services include:
- Celebration of life ceremonies
- Living funerals
- Death Over Dinners
Whether you’re honoring a loved one or planning your own farewell, or want to practice having these conversations with your loved one we bring heart, creativity, and logistical know-how to every gathering.
Last Call Ventures
With Love Events proudly founded and produces Last Call, an ongoing series of experiences designed to explore death, dying, and what it means to live fully.
Our signature annual event – Last Call: An End of Life Festival – features presentations, vendors, performances, and community dialogue. Throughout the year, Last Call Ventures also hosts creative gatherings such as – Doc & Discussion and Death Over Dinner – that deepen our shared understanding of end-of-life topics.
Mourning Button
To support open dialogue around grief and remembrance, we also offer thoughtful tools that invite connection and conversation.
One of our most meaningful offerings is the “Ask Me About My Loved Dead Person” mourning button. Inspired by the words we hear so often—“People don’t want to talk about my person who died”—this wearable pin acts as a modern piece of mourning jewelry.
It’s a gentle but powerful reminder: even in grief, many of us still want to share stories, speak names, and keep memories alive. This button invites others to ask, listen, and hold space.
