By Simon Daykin

Last week we found out the sex of our baby….and it’s a BOY! I’m having a son. We’re super stoked and went out shopping for the wee guy to make sure he comes into the world in style. I didn’t get him a suit but we do have his outfit picked out for the baptism. Now I get to tackle the design and painting of his room and try to explain to my dogs that are no longer the “babies” in the family. It’s going to be a whirlwind year and I couldn’t be happier.

Next month I’m speaking at Rockstar Wedding Planner LIVE 2010 in San Diego. Should be a blast! Seems the recession is backing off and we’re booking up with couples getting some last minute planning in for this summer and fall, it’s never too late to hire a planner to make sure it all comes together correctly on your special day. We’re also hooking up with some 2011 couples who want to get a jump on their planning. So click here if you’d like to book your free consultation with us and prove to your bride to be that you are interested and you can take initiative.

Cheers,
Simon Daykin

By Ciara Daykin

We attended the Calgary Bridal Fair at the end of January and won the award for Best Booth Design in the Event Planner category. I was so excited when they presented us with the award. This is the second time we’ve won this award. You can view the pictures of our award-winning booth here.

We’ve had a lot of interest in our wedding planning services since then so I’ve been busy meeting with couples. They’ve all loved our new office space in Calgary which is in the community of Bridgeland, so not far from the downtown core. We’ve also debuted a new collection of planning programs, which are overseen by my Associate Planner, Kendra Scott. We launched this line of planning programs because so many brides want the Firefly Occasions experience but unfortunately their budgets were not aligned with the pricing involved in our custom programs, which I oversee. I’ll expain all the details in an upcoming post but if you’d like to see these for yourself to see if they are a good fit for you please drop us an email at info@fireflyoccasions.com

By Simon Daykin

So the Calgary Bridal Fair was 2 weeks back and I can proudly say that Firefly Occasions (my wife’s Wedding Planning company) won the Best Booth Design by an Event Planner.  It was pretty cool, we worked really hard on the design and it was great to be recognized again as a leader in our industry.  I got to meet a lot of Brides & Grooms and chat with them about their weddings.  Thanks to some of my Grooms for braving the show and stopping by to hang out.  We’re all settled in the new office and I’m just hanging the last of the art work around the place, it looks great!

We’re booking meetings for new clients and we’re booking up fast, so if you saw us at the fair or you’re thinking of hiring a wedding planner or designer for your special day, I say visit the all new website at www.fireflyoccasions.com . Contact us right away to secure your free consultation and take the next step in ensuring that your wedding is the one all your guests talk about for years to come.  Or you can email me at info@fireflyoccasions.com and we’ll hook you up that way.

Happy New Year! We rang in the New Year with a New Year’s Eve wedding that was out of this world amazing. Guests literally stopped what they were doing and their jaws dropped when the main reception area was revealed. I don’t know about you but I can’t think of a much better way to spend the New Year! Here’s a picture to tease you…

We’re just about all moved into our new office and I absolutely love it! I’ve had my office painted in eggplant and lilac and Simon has been busy hanging up my artwork. One of my favorites is a painting of a girl on a yellow backdrop and the words “dwell in possibility” are highlighted in sparkles. So fun!

Besides getting ready for two more big events that are quickly approaching, we are also getting ready for the Calgary Bridal Fair this Sunday, January 24th 10am-5pm at the Calgary Round Up Centre. You can click here for tickets.

We’ll be there with a fabulous booth, and you’re going to have to attend to find out what we’ve got in store for you. AND any bride that let’s us know that she reads this ezine when she visits us at our booth will receive a free gift from me personally. This gift is super special and will really help you with your wedding planning.

Love and bridal bliss,

Well, Happy 2010 to all my readers. I know this is my first post of the New Year and I do apologize for that. We got new office space over the holidays and I have been working to make it all cool like. We have grown so much iIn the last year we had to increase the size of the office so we can continue to provide the kick ass type of service to our clients that they are used to. And trust me, this new office is the coolest space I have ever worked in! Plus, it’s close to downtown and that means I can have lunch with my buddies again, plus it’s easier for our clients as well.

We had a great Holiday season and I hope you guys did as well! Ciara and I found out we are pregnant!!! We’re super stoked to have a Gutsy Baby on the way. I’m pulling for a son, so any good vibes that may help in my quest for a boy you have, feel free to send them our way.

We’re ready to get back into it for 2010 and bring the Grooms even further into the planning process with more style and confidence than ever before. So buckle up fellas, cause I have a feeling 2010 is gonna be one helluva year!!!

Oh yeah, and this weekend is the Calgary Bridal Fair, we will again have a booth there so stop by and say hello.

Looking forward to seeing you on January 24th at the Round Up Center.

Cheers,

Thank you for your support of She&He Plan Weddings and Firefly Occasions over the last year. We appreciate that you continue to look to us for wedding planning advice. We look forward to bringing you even more new and interesting wedding tips, tricks and strategies in the New Year.

Enjoy this time with your family.

Love,

Ciara & Simon Daykin & The Firefly Occasions team

I am so excited to announce that we just signed the lease on our new office space in Calgary! It’s right beside downtown in Bridgeland and how appropriate is it that it’s actually an old church that’s been converted? We have a little work to do on it before we officially open the doors, but I really hope you come see us when we do!

I’m also soooo busy right now getting ready for the New Year’s Eve wedding that we’re coordinating, but I’m so excited because it is going to be truly spectacular! What better way to ring in the New Year than by having the wedding of your dreams?

I just love the Holidays, and I love giving gifts to the people that matter most in my life. As my gift to you this holiday season, I am offering 50% off my Do-It-Yourself Wedding Planning System from now until midnight on December 31. The system includes all my worksheets and templates that I use to plan my client’s weddings, as well as hours and hours of tips and advice that I have recorded onto audio CDs, so if you have decided to plan your own wedding it’s kind of like having your very own planner in a box! Just click here for more details and enter the coupon code HOLIDAYS09 upon checkout to receive your 50% discount.

Love and bridal bliss, 

Happy Holidays!  We’ve had a great year and I’m looking forward to 2010 and bringing more advice to my Grooms and getting them hooked up for their weddings. I’ll be back January 7th with more pearls of wisdom, so enjoy the holidays, eat some turkey and have a great time. I’m gonna be busy as usual, we have signed a lease on the coolest office space I have seen in a long time so I will be setting it all up over the holidays to get it ready to kick some ass in 2010. So I get my house back and I’m stoked for that. We have a HUGE wedding on New Year’s Eve so we’re putting the final touches on that one, plus all the fun that comes with the holiday season, Ciara and I will be cooking the turkey at the family gathering plus my bacon wrapped sausages, family recipe stuffing (not made inside the turkey’s butt) and it wouldn’t be Christmas without mushy peas.

Also I got the info for the next PLAYBOY MANSION party. It will be held on February 27th 2010 and will be a Masquerade party. Only 600 tickets will be released to the public and the early bird price is $1000.00 USD. Visit www.kandyevents.com and use the VIP invite code KF1184.

You can’t secure your ticket without this code. KF1184

I have included a few details below.

Kandy Masquerade – An Evening of Mystique & Seduction
February 27th, 2010 @ 8PM
Playboy Mansion

Experience a true fantasy that transcends all time and is found in your dreams; where imagination and wonderment are brought to life behind the Mansion walls.

Ambiance and decor that will transport you to a romantic time in which high society enjoyed profound fashion and daring entertainment.

Kandy Masquerade is a self-indulgent destination event that offers a very exclusive experience for a privileged few at one of the world’s most renowned venues, the Playboy Mansion. Beautiful women dressed with only masks and intimate lingerie partying and dancing with gentlemen clad in masks and dark attire, reminiscent of a Venetian Carnival.

Gentlemen dressed in all black and masks (required).

Special cuisine and open premium bars served all night.

Dance with some of the world’s best DJs spinning Hip-Hop, Mash-up and Miami House music.

Cheers,

By Simon Daykin

What a crazy few weeks, sorry I missed last week’s ezine. I have been travelling my ass off but I’m back now. Last week I was speaking to a group of wedding planners at the Wedding Institute of Canada’s annual conference in beautiful Turks & Caicos. I can tell you it was AMAZING! I spoke on the subject of Décor and Design and how to get an amazing look and atmosphere at the weddings they plan. The week before that, we attended the Association of Bridal Consultants conference in Indianapolis where my wife spoke to 250 planners. So many airports…so many crying babies on planes, but we do what we must right.

We’re back in Canada now, putting the final touches on a huge New Years Eve wedding, this wedding is gonna be so cool, we’re making it snow in a ballroom at midnight. We’re also taking bookings for 2010, so if you’re currently engaged or looking to get engaged over the holidays and you want to reduce the stress of the planning on both you and your wonderful wife to be…just click here and we’ll make it all better.

By Ciara Daykin

I had the pleasure of sharing my story with 300 wedding planners this past week at the Fall in Love with Indy Association of Bridal Consultants conference.

Tonya Shadoan, a member of my elite mastermind group for wedding planners did such a great job of designing the enchanted woodland lunch (complete with a scent machine!) that I spoke at. The atmosphere and the energy of everyone in the room were absolutely amazing!

I just wanted to share these pictures with you quickly, as I am off to Turks and Caicos in less than 24 hours for another speaking engagement. Hope you enjoy!

By Simon Daykin

Crazy couple of months for me, I’d like to start by thanking United Airlines. My luggage didn’t really need that handle, thank you for removing it for me! We just got back from San Diego, I photographed a 3 day conference down there that my wife planned. Had a great time. The hotel had a waterslide, so I got to play a little bit and try out the new waterproof camera I got myself for my birthday. We had a good Halloween and now I’m getting ready for 3 events this weekend, off to Indianapolis on Sunday for the Association of Bridal Consultants conference, Ciara is speaking there. Then we get back and the next day we are off to Turks and Caicos for the WPIC conference that both Ciara and I will be speaking at. So yeah guys, the grooms will be represented in Turks!

We have been chatting with a bunch of folks about their wedding planning needs and 2010 is filling up. So if you’re looking for a wedding planner and you want to have your ideas heard as well, drop us an email and secure your free consultation TODAY!

I was recently interviewed by a reporter for Metro News Today who asked how I would help manage the chaos at the H1N1 clinics. Below is an excerpt, or you can read the full article here.

“Ciara Daykin, CEO of Firefly Occasions Inc., would remedy the situation with an online form so paperwork is completed in advance. “Just like asking wedding guests for their meal choice before the wedding so the kitchen is prepared, the online form would ease lineups.”

She thinks there should be an online and offline way to make an appointment. “Then priority cases could be distinguished, just as we distinguish wedding VIPs who have special needs.”

Daykin understands planning means comfort. Just as she doesn’t want wedding guests asking the bride and groom organizational questions, she would spare the H1N1 clinic receptionist and medical staff. “I would have at least four co-ordinators at each clinic to make their way from person to person to see if they can make their experience better and answer any questions.”

She would try to reduce vaccine jitters with essential oil candles and calming music.”

It’s been a crazy week here for me, my wife is off in sunny Los Angeles supervising an event we planned and I am stuck here in the cold and snow. Oh well, she returns just in time for Thanksgiving dinner tonight so I’m looking forward to seeing her again. This is the longest we have been apart since we got married. OK, enough sappy stuff. We had a great Bridal Expo a couple of weeks ago and now I’m fielding so many emails from people wanting to book our services for planning their weddings. Seriously, I haven’t worked this hard in months. So if you’re on the fence about hiring a kick ass planner, get off that fence and come hang out in my yard…no frilly pink wedding for you my friend…I GOT YOUR BACK!!!

Cheers,

Simon

Click here to book your free consultation.

By Simon Daykin

It’s been a wild and crazy few weeks for us. In the last month we have done 5 weddings and we still have quite a few more to go before the year is over. We just booked a great couple who are getting married on New Year’s Eve and I’m really looking forward to that one.

A couple of days ago I packed up my tote of tricks and headed into the City TV studios to chat on Breakfast Television about the “Mighty Man Shower”. I wrote an article about this a few months back and people are really getting into it. So at 7:30am I outlined a few key points and showed off some cool stuff that would make any Man Shower a BLAST!

I don’t have the dedicated link but you can find the clip here: Simon chats about the Man Shower on Breakfast TV. Just scroll along the video clips until you find me.

By Ciara Daykin

I just love the summertime. We’ve been busy with events, some of which I can’t show you just yet because they are totally magazine worthy and we don’t want to spoil our chances! But there is one that I can show you that is really special. We did a 40th wedding anniversary party for the sweetest couple and the pictures are up on our blog here. Simon and I give a play by play of how the day went.

Planning a 40th wedding anniversary definitely made me smile because it was shortly after I celebrated my 4 year wedding anniversary with Simon. It got me thinking about how much I reflect on the day we got married and that wedding days are truly important.

I hope you enjoy these last days of summertime.