What is it about turning 30 that puts your whole life into perspective? When I was 18, like many, I felt the pressure to decide what I was supposed to do with the rest of my life. Although I had a passion for musical theatre and performing, and all of the high school electives I had taken were geared towards that career, I had succumbed to the self-doubt and uncertainty. Unfortunately, by this point, time had run out for college applications for that year and I needed to make a decision. My options were limited based on my electives and credits, so I pursued a Bachelor’s degree in child and youth care. Although I have since veered off this path, I do believe that things happen for a reason. I cannot look back and regret that decision, because without it, I would not have met my husband and I would not have my daughter. The universe was at work, I just couldn't see it at the time.
When I was 25, my daughter was born, and I was looking for any excuse to plan a party. In the throes of postpartum, not to mention isolation between maternity leave and Covid quarantine, designing celebrations for her was one of the few things that brought me pure excitement. I have always been a creative person, I needed a creative outlet. At this time, I had the challenge of working around lockdown visitor regulations, so that meant making adjustments, like having a split-shift first birthday party, where one half of the family was in our home from 11-1, then I quickly cleaned up, reset and replaced all the food for the rest of the family to celebrate from 1-3. It was successful, completely stressful and I looked like a hot mess, but at least the party looked pretty.
Shots from my daughter's first birthday, November 2020
The moment that it hit me that I was meant to get into event design was when I was planning my thirtieth birthday. I had never planned a birthday for myself and wanted to go all out, hosting a funeral for 20s. It was an intimate dinner with my closest friends, but of course I had to make it extra and dramatic. I threw myself into the small details, long stemmed roses with their names on them for seating/party favours, a polaroid guest book asking guests to "leave their condolences", black candles and dead flowers for centerpieces, requesting everyone wear black. The venue was a brewery in Ancaster, ON called Brewer's Blackbird (https://www.brewersblackbird.com/) which provided the perfect setting with its gothic vibe, exposed brick and stained-glass windows. Almost every single one of my guests had asked me why I wasn't doing this for a career. I knew it was something I loved to do, but could I really do it professionally? What would that look like? I sat on this and started to remember other times in my life that the universe was screaming at me but I was too distracted with what I thought I was supposed to be doing.
Flashback to when I was in college. I became a part of an initiative called Making Noise @Humber, which worked to raise awareness about gender-based violence on campus. I was very passionate about this initiative for personal reasons and I began to fully immerse myself into assisting with planning and speaking at campaign launches, events, information sessions, and trainings. I went on to do my internship with the organization that started Making Noise, and spent a lot of that time helping to plan their 40th anniversary event. Once my internship was complete, they ended up hiring me on for the rest of that summer so that I could complete the event planning. In hindsight, as much as I was passionate about the initiatives, it was the event planning and designing that always gave me an incredible rush, watching small details begin to come together in the final product.
Megan at various events and speaking arrangements, 2013-2016
After my thirtieth birthday, I decided to do more research into ways of doing this professionally. That was when I came across WPIC (The Wedding Planners Institute of Canada Inc.) and their certification program. Deciding to enroll in the Wedding and Event Design program was the first confident decision I felt that I had ever made. Nothing like the confused 18-year-old girl walking away from her dreams of being on stage, thinking that she had to have it all figured out. Let's be real, at 30, I still don't have it all figured out, but I'm excited to see where this path takes me, and I'm excited to meet all of you along the way.
Thank you for being a part of my creative journey and I cannot wait to help you design your story.
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