Anniversaries and traditions: Celebrate your milestones in style
In one’s lifetime, certain occasions deserve to be recognized. Whether it’s an important anniversary, a young girl’s quinceañera, a Bar or a Bat Mitzvah, or another significant milestone, here are a few ideas to celebrate them in style.
The wedding anniversary: Showing love to love that lasts
Depending on the size of your family and number of guests, it can be tricky to organize an anniversary celebration at someone’s house or even at a restaurant. When you rent a venue that suits your needs, you can create a personalized celebration in the image of the happy couple.
What kind of event do you have in mind? A rustic family-style dinner? A fun night with a garden party feel? A festive dinner with a live show? When picking the theme, the important part is that the couple gets a unique celebration they can truly call their own. When you rent a venue like Entrepôts Dominion, you get carte blanche to create a personalized event for the guests of honour.
Think about incorporating meaningful mementos of the honorees’ lives to the decoration — a slideshow or video projected on a big screen, photographs, and even objects that can be used to create custom centrepieces. You could even recreate the décor of the couple’s first home, or the destination of their honeymoon. Be creative and don’t hesitate to get nostalgic — that’s what anniversaries are for!
As far as gifts go, you can get inspiration from the traditional anniversary calendar. But since it can sometimes be difficult to find the right gift for a couple that has been together for decades. Think about offering an experience, rather than a traditional present: a weekend getaway in the country, concert tickets, dinner at a Michelin-Star restaurant, or a day at the spa are all fun ideas that will allow them to spend time together in a romantic setting.
Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah: Important rites of passage
The Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah are two of the most significant traditions in Jewish culture. As such, they are often celebrated with full pomp and circumstance — but where does one start to plan?
Although it’s not necessary, you might want to pick a theme for the party — one that’s significant to the birthday boy or girl. It will make things easier when picking a colour scheme, decorations, invitations and even the menu.
Pick a theme that resonates with the honoree’s tastes: your son is an avid soccer fan? A passionate comic book reader? Your daughter is crazy about Harry Potter books? Those could be your themes right there! Be creative and don’t hesitate to add a touch of whimsy to the event: you might be celebrating coming-of-age, but chances are the birthday boy or girl is still a child at heart.
Organizing a Bar or Bat Mitzvah presents a challenge: the party must appeal to both adults and children, including food and drinks. Think about creating moments for both groups: a welcome cocktail for the parents can double as an occasion for fun and games for the kids.
As far as entertainment goes, you have plenty of options that can appeal to adults and children alike. For example, a photobooth with goofy accessories is always a crowd pleaser and doubles as a fun party favour for guests to keep a souvenir from the event. A karaoke party is also a sure-fire way to ensure everyone has a good time. Kids will love to belt it out behind the mic — and we bet their parents won’t hate it either!
The quinceañera: Entering womanhood
Like the Bar and Bat Mitzvah, the quinceañera is a meaningful rite of passage that doubles as a colourful and fun family celebration.
Quinceañera is celebrated all across South America, although specific traditions vary from one country to another. Often, it’s an occasion for the family to make sure certain traditions from their mother country live on. In any case, the girl’s entry into womanhood is a festive affair! In Mexico, the venue is decorated with fifteen piñatas, one for each year of the teenager’s life. Balloons and streamers can be left behind, as they are more often associated with childhood, and replaced with abundant flowers for an elegant flair. Incidentally, it’s tradition to offer the young woman a bouquet of flowers to acknowledge her passage into the next stage of her life.
For entertainment and food, go along with the birthday girl’s tastes. A station with a couple makeup artists offering mini-makeovers to the guests is often a big crowd pleaser among young girls. Same goes for a photobooth or a well-stocked dessert table! Like the Bar and Bat Mitzvah, think about offering plenty of alcohol-free options at the bar – but don’t forget the parents!
More and more, families chose to forsake the traditional celebration for a more modern (and often less costly) take on the quinceañera. Most of the time, the quinceañera will be held on a Saturday night, but for a more intimate affair, you can also opt for a Sunday brunch or an afternoon tea. The most important part is to uphold the traditions that are meaningful to you — and to have a great time!
For our rates and availability, please contact Emmanuel Goubard at emmanuel@entrepotsdominion.ca!
THE BIGGEST TREND OF 2020: ECO-FRIENDLY EVENTS
By far, the hottest trend of 2020 thus far is the environment. It might sound funny, but at a time when we’re more than ever aware of the consequences of our choices on the environment, it’s no joke. Planning any event often comes with a bunch of not-so-green decisions to make.
But don’t despair: there are a number of ways to minimize the carbon footprint of your wedding or event.
First of all, ditch the single-use cups, plates, and utensils. That much is obvious. But also think of ways to reduce waste before, during, and after the event: if you must make a purchase, be wary of over-packaging and of the origin of the products. Communicate information to guests via email rather than printed invitations. Most of all, try to borrow, rent, or reuse rather than buying new.
Make sure you make the most of your local vendors, especially when it comes to food. Nowadays, it’s easier than ever to find out where ingredients come from. Encourage local growers and suppliers, and, in turn, you’ll boost the local economy and reduce your event’s carbon footprint.
For our rates and availability, please contact Emmanuel Goubard at emmanuel@entrepotsdominion.ca!