France passes unanimous law to ban Grocery Stores from wasting food

France just unanimously passed this law. Grocery Stores are now banned from wasting food! We need to catch up and join them in this wonderful idea. http://ow.ly/Njm60

Growing Old together...

This is a wonderful social experiment. I wonder if more couples did this before they got married, how it would shape their view of each other and how it would shape their relationship and their marriage?
 http://ow.ly/NdnGZ 

 http://www.boredpanda.com/young-couple-aged-with-make-up-field-day-tavis-christie/

A new way to harvest honey?!

Hello everyone! Its been ages, but I thought I'd restart posting with something that I've always loved. Honey! A while back I've cut out as much white processed sugar out of my diet and switched to honey. My guilty pleasure of coffee just seemed to taste so much better. My wonderful gal drew my attention to this innovation on how to harvest honey. What has always struck me is that gathering honey is so invasive in terms of labour, disruption and messy sorting of bees caught in honey. 

http://www.honeyflow.com/ 
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/flow-hive-honey-on-tap-directly-from-your-beehive

Pearson, the intern has landed!

So....blog... its been entirely too long since I've last added things to you. Its been another crazy time in which I've been completely and utterly drained creatively. Thankfully I have tons of news to report on. The biggest and more interesting is that ... WE HAVE AN INTERN! As of yesterday, our intrepid traveler has landed in Toronto, flying all the way from Paris, France! I'm truly honoured and excited to have her on board with Simplicity and for her to have chosen us out of all the Event Planning, Catering and Staffing firms in Toronto. These next few months do sound promising and I'll keep you all posted on whats been going on and also revisit the past. I've been totally swamped and have such a back log of updates!

Tossing the Intern into the thick of it: Melanie and I network it up at a new venue event for in-industry professionals at Ballet

Speech writing - The little highlight that means a lot

Recently I had a great opportunity to help a friend write his Groom's speech for his upcoming wedding.
With any event, the big ticket items can easily outstrip the importance of everything else that goes into an event, especially a wedding. But as I worked late night with my friend online and over chat on his speech. I don't think anything could be more personal or intimate between a newly wed couple and their circle of friends than this address.
I've come to realize I've listened to A LOT of speeches in my 9 years in the hospitality industry. Part of that realization is that I discovered what I feel are key aspects of a Couple's speech truly memorable.
Short and sweet - This is the bottom line, nothing could more effective than this. If its over 5 minutes, you'll lose your guests.
Service during speeches - This is something to really consider because a long speech can leave people wanting for service, or perhaps leave your guests without something to drink to a proposed toast.
Eye contact - Never ever read from the cards for your entire speech. Eye contact is intimacy and this is all about intimacy. Look your guests in the eye and the person you're speaking of
Pause - Nothing could be more effective than a good pause at the right moment.
Stories - Keep them short and succinct. If they are relevant they really do amplify what you're trying to convey. It also makes the speech more memorable, changes things up and keeps things interesting. People always love stories.
Quirks - With wedding speeches its important to bring everything that is you and what you're speaking about. Humans are not perfect and its what makes a wedding speech so intimate. Tears, sobs, pauses, its all important in bringing all your guests into sharing one of the most memorable moments.
Thank you Tim! It was so awesome to help you!

Nothing beats a great client!

What I love the most about doing what I do is the people that I meet. On occasion you do mean the sketchy sort, but there are always the jewels that make the connection worth it. These jewels are people who are so fantastic that its an honour to be a part of their lives and allowed to help shape an intimate transition in their life like getting married. Or to simply play a key role for them in helping manage something momentous like taking the stress out of a celebration, function or social event. I cannot help but get excited as the time event date draws near and all things are falling into place. I've always found that the greatest indicator is when you leave your meeting energized and in a fantastic mood. Its an infectious vibe that just further fuels being passionate in what one does! Here's looking forward to an ambitious Fall and Winter campaign of events for Simplicity and our fantastic clients!

A wise bride once said...invite those who actually matter to both of you!

I had a great opportunity to catch up with close friends about their wedding over some very good food and coffee up in the Yonge & Eglinton. (Or as I like to call it, Young & Eligible) J chose a wonderful spot to meet up for brunch called Amore. I have to say it was very cozy, and exquisite food! I'm looking forward to trying this place for dinner!

Besides catching up on recent news, I also always enjoy speaking with recently and newly wed people
One of the questions that I was recently tossing around in my head was "who would I invite to my own wedding?"

Sharon had this to say: "Dave and I worked out that we only invite those who've kept in touch with us over the past year."

Truer words were never spoken.  Sometimes it just pays to keep it simple and focus on those you have a stronger bond with than those you need to catch up with.  Especially during a wedding with so many to engage, connect and share such an intimate and momentous event.

Thanks Share!