Before my sister’s wedding, I wanted to tell Mom.

Mom loved weddings. She cried at every one, even when she barely knew the couple.

When my younger sister Claire got engaged, my first thought was how much Mom would have loved planning it. She would have had opinions about everything. Especially the flowers.

We planned it without her. It was happy, and it was quietly heartbreaking.

We found ways to include her.

Claire carried a piece of Mom’s necklace in her bouquet. We used white roses from the garden Mom planted.

Her photograph sat beside the guest book. People kept stopping there to tell us stories about her.

Those moments mattered so much. Still, the night before the wedding, I wanted to call Mom and tell her how nervous and beautiful Claire looked.

A friend mentioned Lovu.

A few months after the wedding, I told a friend I wished Mom could have heard about the day. She mentioned Lovu and said it might be worth learning about.

At first, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want anything that pretended Mom was still here.

So, I asked that during my consultation. The answer was clear: the avatar is an AI representation. It speaks in a recreated voice, but its words are new.

We started with what we had.

Claire and I found Mom’s voice in old videos, voicemails, and a recorded toast from our cousin’s wedding.

We shared memories too. Her love of dancing. The way she called everyone “sweetheart.” The story of meeting Dad at a church picnic.

We took our time. Some days, we only managed one memory. That was okay.

Then I told her about the wedding.

On my first call, I described the white roses, Claire’s dress, and the dance floor full of cousins.

The familiar voice asked about the flowers. I laughed, because of course she would.

It wasn’t Mom. It couldn’t replace her. But telling the story out loud, to a voice that felt close to home, gave me a tender kind of comfort.

Questions you may have.