The Story Behind this Photo...

Ask any of us who work in the event industry -- we have some pretty great stories. And truth is almost always stranger than fiction. This particular story still gives me chills every time I re-tell it:

The wedding took place in Mont Tremblant, Quebec and making "the call" to hold the ceremony outdoors was particularly stressful as there were the biggest, blackest thunder clouds in the sky that day. When the hotel told me it was due to start raining at 5:00pm (ceremony was at 5:30), that didn't help (!) but we decided to bite the bullet and hold it beside the lake, surrounded by the majestic mountains. Here's a bit of background: the bride's grandmother passed away suddenly about 4 months before the wedding and her absence was the only sad element for the bride and her family that weekend. But! At the EXACT moment the groom put the ring on the bride's finger (it happened to be her late grandmother's wedding band), a single ray of light burst through the clouds and shone ONLY on them. If I hadn't seen it with my very own eyes, I never would have believed it.
By the way, torrential rains came down about 20 minutes after this photo was taken...

Special thanks to the staggeringly talented Michael Greenberg for capturing the magic and to Emily & Jeff, of course!

Sweetspot's 5th Birthday Party

We recently had the pleasure of working with the lovely ladies from Sweetspot to help organize their 5th anniversary party. I find it hard to believe that fantastic newsletter has been arriving in my inbox for five years now, so it was only fitting that they celebrated in very pink style AND raised money for the Canadian Women's Foundation at the same time. I wanted to give a special and sincere thank you to two people who went above and beyond any sense of duty and donated their products and services for next-to-nothing: Peter Somers from Contemporary Furniture Rentals and Paul Kenyon from Absolute Event Services. As professionals in the event industry, we are asked every single day for discounts and freebies (and when every charity is raising money for a good cause, it's hard to have to say no sometimes), but these two men stepped in and were so generous. Peter's pink chairs and ottomans were the hit of the party and Paul's lighting, staging and power were the quieter -- but no less important -- support players. Click here to read the article: Sweetspot's SpectacularSpectacular Party.

Deliberate Acts of Kindness

I recently did a charity event and was given a dakband for my efforts. dak is short for Deliberate Acts of Kindness and the concept behind these bracelets is so simple and wonderful. Here's how they work: you wear multiple dakbands on your wrist and when you witness someone doing something kind for someone else, you approach them and offer them 2 of your bands, in recognition of their gesture. At first people are a little surprised until you explain that a) you were so impressed/moved/overwhelmed (insert your own adverb) by what they just did and b) each dakband is numbered so they can go online at Deliberate Acts of Kindness and track where that band has been. And here's the great part: the next time THAT person sees someone else doing something nice for someone, THEY pass one of their bands on. Forget random acts of kindess, these bands honour people who choose to be kind to others. Check out the website for more details (including where the money goes from the sale of the initial bands) and see all the different countries they're making their way to as people are simply being nice to one another. There's even a couple on the site who chose to give the bands out at their wedding instead of favours... inspired! And to think the whole movement started right here in Toronto...

Always a Bridesmaid...

This is one of our favourite wedding photos from last year. This silly duck was going up and down the aisle during the ceremony, pecking at guest's feet, looking for food. Needless to say, she almost stole the show...

Thanks to Karen Whylie (and to Robin & Ehren) for the fantastic shot.

Paperless Post

I came across an article in the Globe & Mail newspaper the other day about Paperless Post. What a great thing for anyone who wants to send out invites via email. Their designs are great and all look like they're letterpressed (the envelope that recipients have to 'open' is particularly fantastic) and the interface is easy to use; I know because I tried it out right away. See them here: www.paperlesspost.com