Spring in to your Bachelorette or Graduation party!

Spring is the season of rebirth and happiness; The flowers are starting to bloom, the buds on the trees are growing, the snow is melting and the sun and rise in temperatures bring us a good dose of happiness and cheer.  Because our winters are so long, most of us Canadians await this season with much anticipation.

Other than flowers and trees blooming, spring is also the season for bachelorette and graduation parties.  Spring is one of the most popular seasons for weddings, next to fall, and while you are planning all of those last details for your wedding, you cannot forget your bachelorette party.  You've probably already got a wedding planner to help you plan your wedding, but is that same planner helping you or your bridal party plan your bachelorette party?  If not, then you should get on that quickly.  Most people lead very busy lives, especially people that are planning their wedding, so planning a bachelorette party is also too time consuming for the average bride.  That's what your event planner is there for...namely me!  My job and greatest passion in life is planning events, and I am there to make sure that your event goes off stress free and without a hitch.  Usually it would be your Maid of honour who would be planning your bachelorette party, so get her started and point her in my direction so I can help her plan the best and most memorable party in your honour.  Don't be afraid to say exactly what you want for your party, as this is your day and you deserve to get everything you want out of your bachelorette party, it's supposed to be your big send off from the single life, so might as well go out with a bang.

Another can't-miss springtime event to plan is your graduation party!  Whether you're graduating from University, College or High school, you need to celebrate your months of hard work and achievements and ring in the spring in style.  You can plan a graduation party on almost any budget, from a small to-do in your home, to a bigger bash in a rented venue, the important thing is that you let loose and have fun and embrace the fact that you are done with the books, either for the summer or for good.  Don't wait until you're actually finished school to plan your party though, because a lot of venues are already booked up, and your choices may be limited, the longer you wait.  Start planning now, and this will just bring on the anticipation of graduating and give you something fun to look forward to.

So whether you are getting married or graduating or simply ready to say good bye to winter and greet spring in style, there is always a good excuse to plan a party in the spring.  How about you, what is your favorite thing to plan during the springtime?

A great day for a parade!

Yesterday was the annual St. Patrick's day parade in Montreal, and it was the warmest day we've had in years for this parade.  I hadn't gone to this parade in about 20 years and I think I picked the perfect year to attend.

I had forgotten how much fun this day can be, there is a great party atmosphere and all around  camaraderie.  Many people make this an annual gathering, giving each other a general meeting spot followed by good times and cheer.  This is one of the few times in Montreal where you can have a beer on the streets without repercussion and watch as the various floats and paraders go by.  Yesterday was a particularly spectacular day, the sun was shining and the temperatures rose to +22 degrees!  Now that is a perfect day for a parade.  The party continued well after the parade was over as you walked East on St-Catherine street and headed towards the many Downtown bars and pubs.  The terraces were so packed that people were just spilling out onto the streets, dancing, drinking beer and just enjoying one of the most beautiful days we've had here in months.

I've compiled a few photos of my St. Patrick's parade experience after a 20 year absence, and I can honestly say that after yesterday, I will definitely be going a lot more often from now on.  You can view this slide show here:

http://www.flickr.com//photos/anniecurran/sets/72157629619510079/show/

Cheers!  Or as we would say in Gaelic Sláinte!

The work in Networking

Having started up my freelance business of Event Planning again recently, I've been doing a lot of research on how to go about meeting people and acquiring new clients and getting my name out there.  One of the tools that I have found to be extremely helpful is Social Media.  Gone are the days where a business owner has to go door-to-door to present their services, or even distributing flyers on windshields and whatnot.  Managing all of your social media channels is a job in itself and is quite time consuming, so you really have to be ready to put in a lot of time to do this.  But in the end I think it's a great way to market yourself at no cost to you except for your time.

The other thing that I've discovered is that networking events are a great way to meet potential clients.  This is all very new to me, as until this week, I had never attended any networking events before, and I was frankly a bit nervous about it.  When I was younger, public speaking was one of my biggest fears, and attending networking events made me nervous because of exactly that.  It's nerve racking to just go up to people and introduce yourself, but I've had to really get over that fear, and honestly, the more I do it, the easier it gets.

Courtesy of Evenkai
http://evenkai.ca/event/meex5/

The two networking events I attended this week were both very different from one another which is great because it really gave me an idea of what to expect for those different types of events.  The first one was more of a networking 5 à 7 type of thing called MEEX which was hosted by Evenkai.  The formula is a good one; you pay $18.50 for a ticket, which gives you the entrance fee, some snacks and drinks and you get to hear a speaker talk about different subjects.  This one in particular had Sandy Sidhu presenting 'I ''liked you'', what's next?' which was a very interesting talk about social media and building good relationships online and offline.  My take on this type of networking event was that it was a nice place to socialize, but i'm not sure that this is where you'll make the most business contacts because of the more cocktail party atmosphere.  But nevertheless, I actually enjoyed my first networking event and would probably attend other ones like this in the future.

Courtesy of www.scena.ca

The second networking event I attended was in relation to the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal and was called SME Network Mornings held at Scena in the Old Port of Montreal.  This was a members only networking event which was in a round table setting with 10 people per table.  I thoroughly enjoyed this event because in my opinion this was far more lucrative for business relations and an exchange of business cards and contacts.  Everyone at the table gets about 5 minutes to introduce themselves and their company and what they do exactly and what they hope to achieve with this networking event.  No two company is the same or from the same background, so you are assured not to have a bunch of other people that offer the same services as you do at your table. I was hesitant about becoming a member of the Board of trade because I wasn't sure that the cost of membership would end up paying for itself with the contacts I would make.  But just from this first networking event, I believe that I made the right decision in becoming a member and I really have high hopes that this will really help get my business into high gear and acquire all kinds of new clients.

So all in all networking is definitely a lot of work, but I feel that it's work that will totally pay off in the end and I plan to attend a lot more of these events to really get a feel for it and to get my business rolling in the right direction.

St. Patrick's day Montreal

A few weeks ago, I started writing articles for the site Examiner.com, and I've actually grown to really love writing.  Luckily I get to write about event planning in Montreal, which is my greatest passion.  Writing a blog and writing articles are actually quite different, and I am loving the challenge I get from writing articles.  I have certain guidelines to follow which is good, because it allows me to write differently for both my articles and my blog entries.

To read up on things to do for St. Paddy's day this coming weekend in Montreal, click on my latest article ''Planning for St. Patrick's day in Montreal'' for ideas on what to do to soak in all that Irish spirit and really feel Irish for at least one day!

Happy St. Patrick's day to all my fellow Irishman near and far!

 

Things to do in Montreal to beat those winter blahs - Part 2

Seeing as it is snowing profusely in Montreal at this very moment, I couldn't think of a better day to post the second part of my 2 part series.  Today is March 1st, and I don't know about everyone else, but I've had enough of winter already.  Getting 10 to 20 cm of snow on March 1st, just makes it feel like winter is just starting all over again, and spring just seems that much further away.  To paint you a picture, here is the view outside my window right now:

March 1st 2012 - Montreal

So what can we do to beat those blahs that have settled in until we finally get our first glimpse of spring?  Here are a few suggestions that might do the trick:

5) Snowshoeing, cross-country skiing or inner-tubing on the mountain

Photo credit: lemontroyal.qc.ca

Who says you have to drive miles out of the city to enjoy all those winter sports.  Mont-Royal, or 'The Mountain' as we like to call it, offers the possibility to practice many of these winter favorites, in the heart of the city.  You can rent all the necessary equipment at the Lac aux Castors pavilion, located at the center of the mountain.  The pavilion is easily accessible by foot or by car.  The rental counter is open Sunday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. until March 12th depending on snow conditions.  More details at http://bit.ly/i10B7i.


6) Attending a show

Photo credit: © 2010 Cirque du Soleil inc.

The circus is in town...The Cirque du Soleil that is. One of their latest shows Michael Jackson: The immortal World Tour is a visual masterpiece  that is not only riveting but also a great tribute to the late king of pop.  The first concert I ever attended as a child was a Michael Jackson concert at the Olympic Stadium, and I was mesmerized back then, so I can only imagine how incredible this show promises to be.  The show is on in Montreal March 20th, 21st & 22nd only. For tickets and more information got directly to the site http://bit.ly/ayFpp7.


7) How about a little art and culture

Photo credit: © Biosphère,
Environment Museum

Montreal is a very culturally rich city, with so much to offer that it's hard to choose just one cultural event to attend, so I'll have to suggest a few.  For all you environmentally conscious people, the ONE - Outfits from a New Era exhibit at the Montreal Biosphere is an original exhibit that showcases several different outfits fashioned from, well...trash basically. The artists behind these outfits found a creative way to show their love for the environment with pieces such as a Bullet Dress made with 2,000 shotgun shells, or the Caustic Swimsuit made of 1,200 batteries.  This is a must see exhibit to get a feel of what can be done with things that we would normally throw away without a second thought. http://bit.ly/ieXGp1.

Photo credit: Natalia Matsak

 
Another heartwarming cultural outing is a night out at the ballet.  Les Grands Ballets Canadiens is presenting Swan Lake March 8th to 11th at Place des Arts in the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier. A beautiful, timeless classic for any ballet lover.  For tickets and info check out the site http://bit.ly/hzy6K3.

Photo credit: ©Suzanne Held

 
For a little international culture, don't miss the Colours of India exhibition at the Pointe-à-Callière, Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History.  A colourful trip through landscapes, ethnicity, traditions and beliefs of Indian culture presented with photographs and artifacts that are true to India.  The exhibit runs until April 22nd 2012 and you can visit the site for more details: http://bit.ly/qG04aP.






8) Throw a tropical theme party

Taken from vezinapartycentre.com
Item no. 55982

If you can't get away to the Tropics in the winter, why not bring the tropics to you.  An excellent way to do this is to throw a Tropical theme party.  The beauty of this type of party is that you can keep it low-key and do it at home or do it up grand and rent a space and throw a mega party-of-all-parties! You can find all kinds of theme decorations and party favours at your local party store.  The best one I know of in the city is Vezina Party Centre on Metropolitain Blvd East near Langelier.  You'll find everything there from Grass Hula skirts, inflatable Palm trees to Mexican Sombreros and even Tropical Back drops to really give it that tropical feel.  Check out the selection of products at www.vezinapartycentre.com.



So there really isn't a lack of things to do in Montreal to beat those winter blahs, you just have to get out there and pick one, or all of them.  I'm sure that participating in some of these activities will not only chase away those blues, but also help make the winter go by just a little bit faster.

How about you, what do you plan to do to chase away those blues?


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