Intimate, Stylish Winter Wedding: Spotlight on the Manitoba Club Oak Room
When E & J first reached out to me, I could tell they were planning a special event…one that I really knew I wanted to be part of! They were hosting an engagement party, but with the tricky logistics of living in a different country, and planning their 2026 wedding in a different province, they also wanted to sign their registry and do the official paperwork at their Manitoba Club evening celebration (and surprise their guests!).
They wanted a sophisticated dinner party, and I knew just how to elevate the Manitoba Club’s Oak Room into something really special.
Photos by Kass Donaldson
Early on, E sent me a design board with her ideas and the general vibes for their 2026 destination wedding, which she wanted to feel similar to their Winnipeg winter wedding. We decided to flip the moodiness level, amping it up in the Oak Room with more deep tones and lots of candlelight.
I envisioned a sophisticated take on their intimate, stylish winter celebration and knew almost right away how I wanted to design for them.
Her bridal style was so chic, so simple! The couple spent the morning together, getting dressed together and giving each other gifts and letters. While I personally loved our first look on our wedding day (my husband BAWLED, it was adorable), I really love this idea. It feels so peaceful, so relaxing, and since the rest of the day goes so quickly, it’s wonderful to have so much one-on-one time together to start your most special day.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: simple white mini calla lilies.
I love seeing how your entire wedding day turns out. This was SUCH a cold day in January (literally, my mittens temporarily froze to the metal stair case railing as I was loading in to the Manitoba Club), but this event design felt so warm and elegant.
While she originally thought about having one long dinner table with their vows exchanged off to the side, I wanted to give them a real moment for their surprise ceremony with a floral feature and having their guests surround them.
So, I proposed a U shaped table, creating a dual purpose ceremony altar and head table. With limited seating on the inside, it gave them space to say their vows inside the U with a beautiful floral backdrop, and then also became the perfect spot for them to enjoy dinner at.
The couple loved it right away, and I was so pumped!!
In terms of tabletop design elements, the couple really gave me free reign. We decided on the deep plummy burgundy tones with whites, greens, and touches of creamy yellows, and lots of taper candlelight, and after that, it was all up to me. My favourite ❤️
I decided to design a mix of smaller pin frog arrangements in organic ceramic vases, with a few larger ones tucked in where the table space allowed. I chose deep eggplant mini calla lilies, a lot of hellebores and chocolate lace, along with some sculptural feeling white campanula.
To complete the styling, I tucked in a few types of grapes, radicchios, and eggplants to amp up the moody tones, along with tall ivory taper candles to bring lots of twinkling light.
You can see why I love the Oak Room at the Manitoba Club. It’s a smaller space — with this layout, there were just under 30 guests (though you could fit in more with a more traditional table style).
The overall ambiance is rich and elegant, thanks to the original wood panelling walls and coffered ceilings, one wall with floor to ceiling windows, and a huge wood fireplace. The Oak Room is often used for wedding ceremonies against the windows, or as an after-party space that’s a bit quieter from the ballroom across the hall.
It’s a really traditional space, so not every style will work in here, but this elevated dinner party vibe works perfectly!
planning a wedding at the manitoba club?
I want in. Whether it’s an intimate wedding for 30 or a celebration the likes of which have never been seen before, reach out to Stone House Creative for stunning bridal bouquets, truly unique ceremony backdrops, and beautiful floral centrepieces to create the perfect ambiance for your wedding!
