Dean Horvath

PRESIDENT

Dean, the founder and President of Mason Horvath and Blue Petal Destination Weddings, has had many thrilling adventures braving wild animals. For instance, he has slept under the stars in the wilds of the Serengeti, hiked through the jungles of Northern Thailand and walked back to the hotel after a night of bottle service at Tao Las Vegas.

Dean loves the excitement of new places, the anticipation of the unknown, the reward of making new friends and the adventure of learning something new. He loves to immerse himself in the culture of the location, to get away from the tourist spots and learn about the real people.

“My best travel experiences are engaging with the locals: visiting the small working towns in Cuba, joining a Hindu Ceremony in a remote jungle in Bali or tasting the home cooking of a family in Provence”.

One of his most enjoyable was riding bikes through the Atlas Mountains in Morocco with Butterfield & Robinson. “I’ll never forget pedalling through the small farming villages with kids running alongside us, stopping in a beautiful meadow for a picnic lunch of authentic Moroccan cuisine, and, of course, the wine. B & R’s slogan of “slow down to see the world” is truly a great way to experience travel.”

If he could be anywhere right now, he would be sitting in a piazza in Italy with a glass of Chianti and a plate of lasagna, “made the way it’s supposed to be”.

Dean is a true hockey fan and even finds ways to incorporate his love of sports with travel. While leading a tour in the jungles of Costa Rica during the 2003 hockey playoffs, he found a small open-air bar in the middle of nowhere that could get the game on their small black and white TV “Chickens were running around on the dirt floor, we had to cook our own dinner in the bar kitchen and the TV was fuzzy….but the experience was amazing.”

Outside of the office Dean plays hockey (badly) and piano (even worse), and enjoys spending time with his family.

Favourite quote:
“You are where you are today as a result of the decisions you made five years ago. In five years, where you are will be a result of the decisions you make today”.