At one of our weddings we arranged for Italian opera singers to dress up as waiters. Nobody except the bride and groom had any idea. When these waiters started to sing, the guests were pleasantly surprised. They sang a very special song that was sung to the bride by the grandfather when she was a little girl. This was a very special memory at this beautiful Italian wedding!

Well, I am sorry I haven’t written you guys anything in a while. I’ve been super busy with weddings, upcoming events and my soon to be arriving son, yes we have a name and no, we’re not telling anyone! Ciara, the dogs and I are pretty much ready for our newest arrival but I had some stuff to get sorted before we were all set. So we took care of that and now I’m back and ready to go.

We had a great wedding this past weekend, the ceremony was supposed to be outside, but the weather decided not to cooperate and we had to move it inside. We had a great backup plan (As anyone planning an outdoor ceremony should) and everything went amazing. You can check out pics on our Facebook fan page. We have 2 more events this weekend, I’ll be setting up for the Strathcona Tweedsmuir School prom and our associate planners Kendra and Betti will be at a Sweet 16 party we planned. Next week I have to leave Ciara (sad face) and head off to San Diego to shoot a conference for one of our entrepreneurial clients. I hear the weather is nice down there. Packing the swim trunks!

We’ve been busy with our upcoming spring and summer weddings (fall and winter too!) And as our brides and grooms fast approach their wedding days we’re making sure that all their décor is ordered, all their vendors are confirmed, and that we’re there for their every question about wedding etiquette. The most intense time of planning is in the weeks leading up to the wedding as emotions increase as the exciting day nears!

That’s why a lot of brides decide to hire a wedding day coordinator as they get closer to their wedding day. You want to enjoy your last few weeks of being engaged and now is when the real fun begins! Your wedding shower, shopping for last minute details, family starts arriving and of course you’re going to get your hair and nails done. There’s lots for you to do personally so it’s great to have a wedding day coordinator to help with those last minute details. You can click here to find out how we can help you with your wedding day coordination.

As April showers are said to bring May flowers but being a Canadian living in Calgary I’m not surprised that instead we have May snow! But I sure hope it disappears soon as my outdoor May weddings are approaching!

Well it’s been a crazy few weeks…I’m talking weather here boys. A few days ago I had the top off the Jeep, now I’m sitting here in a big wooly sweater. So hey there summer, it’s Simon here…ya wanna show up soon, this snow is really starting to get silly. Oh well…could be worse I guess. My new tattoos are all healed up and it’s almost time to get back in the chair with Vince Wishart from www.wish-art.net for the final sitting to finish that arm up. My folks are coming to visit on Friday, we’re having baby showers on Saturday…1 for my wife and 1 for me (I never miss an excuse for a party) so they are in town to hang out, check out the baby bump and hang out for a few days. We haven’t seen them in a while so both Ciara and I are really looking forward to the visit.

We’ve got a really cool wedding coming up towards the end of the month, we’re shutting down a street in Downtown Calgary for the ceremony…so stay tuned for pictures of that…It’s gonna be way cool.

I’m loving that the sun is shining and that we’re having a beautiful spring.  We have been busy with our clients and preparing for their fabulous weddings.

Our team has also been growing and we’ve added 3 new members- Nicole Matthewson, Jessica Stermann and Betti White. So I just wanted to take a minute and say welcome to these fantastic ladies! Team Firefly is all a flutter with our new additions.

It’s been a busy few weeks since we last chatted. We hired a bunch of new staff coz we’re booking mad weddings. I painted my future son’s room, built him his crib, a change table-dresser thing and Ciara sorted out all his clothes and put them into said dresser thing. Plus I did a 7 hour tattoo sitting with my Tattoo guy Vince Wishart, an amazing artist who I whole heartedly recommend to all my friends looking for ink, check out his talent at www.wish-art.net. Arm’s a bit sore, but I can still type so it’s all good. Our Associate Planner Kendra went up to Kicking Horse Resort in British Columbia to be wined and dined and the group had to be rescued from the mountain top due to a freak snowstorm…the photos are up here so you can check out the perils we face each day to make sure your wedding is the one your guests will be talking about for all the right reasons. Better us rescued than you right!?!?

I also had a top secret meeting last week that I can’t talk about, so you’ll have to stay tuned to see what that is all about…it’s pretty cool…well I think it is anyway! Seems winter is getting one last kick at the can before it leaves us and makes way for sunny, sunny days. We’re still taking bookings for 2010 and we’re meeting with couples who want to get a head start on their 2011 weddings. It’s never too soon to book a Wedding Planner to make sure you get the vendors, venue and dream wedding you want. Click here to secure your free consultation with us info@fireflyoccasions.com.

Last week I was invited up to take a tour of Kicking Horse in beautiful Golden British Columbia! Is it just me or do the mountains get prettier the longer you drive through them?

What an adventure! Our tour started off with a visit to each of the three independent boutique mountain lodges at the Resort. There really is something for everybody at this resort and even better is how each lodge supports the others and encourages combining each-others amenities to make your wedding day special.

We were treated to amazing sample wedding menu’s at both Corks Restaurant and Eagles Eye Restaurant including the most delicious desserts The staff at each location we visited were super friendly and very welcoming. One of the best features of this resort is that it is pet friendly! If you like cats, you have to visit Whiskey at the Highland Lodge…if you’re not a cat fan, Andy was pretty great as well

The Rocky Mountains are a beautiful spot to host your wedding day and Kicking Horse Mountain Resort has some wonderful accommodations, wonderful food, wonderful staff and wonderful views….which is fine if everything goes wonderfully at your wedding. What might be more important is how the venue handles a tough or unexpected situation and….they were wonderful!

As beautiful as the Rocky Mountains are, this area isn’t known for its calm and predictable weather…especially at the top of a 7500 foot mountain peak. Known for it’s breathtaking views, we were invited to take the gondola up to Eagles Eye Restaurant. While enjoying our mouth watering lunch, mother nature kicked up a storm…lets call it a white out with 90 km/h winds. There was no view unfortunately and the gondola was stopped for safety reasons. Catastrophe? Not so much, if you’re going to be stuck somewhere, a warm restaurant with great food, wine and a crackling fireplace is the place to be! In fact I think I speak for everyone when I say that we were all quite content to sit and sip wine all afternoon. Unfortunately we did have to get back to Calgary at some point and the staff were working very hard to make sure that could happen. Violet Thumlert (Sales Representative at Kicking Horse) even snowboarded down the mountain to find my fiance who had been waiting in the lobby for me and to take another wedding planner’s dog for a walk while we were stuck.

So what was plan B? Sleds…seriously, I’m not kidding, and this group of wedding planners was so thrilled and excited for that adventure. Ski-doo’s headed up the mountain to our rescue complete with full snowsuits and winter gear for everyone! People pay big money for these rides! But don’t worry, if you’re like me with a fear of heights and speed you’re not limited to the double black runs, there is a road that goes the whole way down Or so we were told, to my luck the gondola started running again just as the first group of us had gotten into our snowsuits!

Overall this was a really great experience and a very informative tour. I took tons of pictures and videos of each spot and made some great contacts. I’m looking forward to heading back in the summer to see those views.

I have been super busy with weddings and events. We’ve been building our team and things are rocking! I also just got back from my live event where I was coaching wedding planners from across North America. We’re so pleased that so many of you have written to tell us how much you like our new website and logo. We’ll be launching more and more new and exciting ways for you to discover cool wedding ideas with us so stay tuned.

I know that there are a lot of places you could be getting your wedding information but I really appreciate that you’re getting your info here from me. We now have over 10,000 brides who subscribe to this ezine!

I also have some very exciting news to share with you today… I’m expecting a baby! A baby boy in fact! He’s due July 15th and he’s our first. Simon and I are really excited. But you’re probably thinking- what about weddings Ciara? Well, I’ve got some fantastic clients lined up for early summer but I won’t be doing any weddings personally in the late summertime. That’s why our team has been growing! And our Associate Planners are making a fabulous impression on our brides and grooms. They have been trained in the Firefly Occasions style of planning and handpicked by me to represent the company. We are quite booked up for the summer already but we do have some opportunities left to work with us so please do email us by clicking here to find out which program would be the best fit for you.

Now what about weddings going ahead? Don’t worry! I’m not going anywhere. But I am becoming more and more exclusive in regards to the brides and grooms I’m working with. I’ll only be working with haute couture brides and grooms whose weddings we are fully planning and designing. This is really where I shine as a planner and designer and where I’ll be focusing my attention. If you feel that you could be one of these couples please contact us by clicking here to come in for an interview to ensure it would be a good fit.

After a wild 3 weeks that saw me touchdown in Los Angeles, San Diego and finally Vancouver, I’m back in a chair that doesn’t have wings. I had a great trip, met some great people and got some amazing new ideas that I will be unveiling soon on www.gutsygroom.com. I know the site is a bit lacking, but trust me fellas, we’re gonna change that! San Diego was the annual Rockstar Wedding Planner LIVE conference that my wife (Ciara Daykin, CEO of www.fireflyoccasions.com) and I host each year to teach wedding planners from around the world how to be better at what they do and how to grow their businesses. We had a great turn out and it was a lot of fun, plus the weather was sunny and we were right on the marina so that helped as well.

I got back to hundreds of emails, I guess the economy isn’t cramping the style of our Brides and Grooms, we’re now booking weddings into 2011 and it’s never too early to get started planning. To book a meeting with us, click here and we’ll hook you up. My soon-to-be son is progressing well and seems to love to travel. Our doctor says he’s healthy and growing well. I can’t wait to meet the wee man. I want to say “thank you” to all my readers who sent congrats my way.