Modern, Sculptural Wedding at The Winnipeg Art Gallery
Happy anniversary to one of my very favourite weddings of all time! Jacqueline and Michael were married last October in a moody, modern wedding at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.
They wanted to create the atmosphere of really intimate dinner party, but with a full guest list of 130. Their style tends toward the modern and they weren’t afraid of using rich, deep reds and burgundies, so you know I had a ton of fun planning out at then executing the floral design.
Photos by Michael & Melanie
Planning and design by Soiree Event Planning
The Bridal Bouquet
I remember Jacqueline telling me that she wasn’t that fussed about her bouquet. And I was like, “well, I’m fussed.” ha! Bouquets are definitely one of my favourite things to design and the moment of handing it over to you on your wedding day is so thrilling — many brides cry, realizing that the day is really here.
So all that to say, Jacqueline gave me a lot of creative freedom. I wanted to go a bit restrained in size, create a cool, sculptural shape, and dig into the rich tones. The bridesmaid bouquets were composed on hanging green amaranthus and black anthurium, so I repeated those ingredients into the bridal bouquet. I added in ruby peonies, cymbidium orchids, long stemmed white nerine lilies, and a base of pieris. We all loved it!
The Chuppah
The moody vibes kicked off for the ceremony under the skylight. Taupe wall draping and a deep, deep plum aisle runner added so much drama to the otherwise very light space, which felt so good. It was such a great way to ensure this space felt different than it does for most other weddings.
The chuppah itself came from Creating a Scene, and we added sculptural but minimal pockets of floral to it. I wanted this to feel really cool, but restrained — sometimes, more is not better, and in this case, we wouldn’t have been able to create that sculptural design style if we had gone with full coverage on the chuppah. I also find that when a client is asking for a more modern design, limiting the number of floral ingredients is a key choice. Too many bloom styles and you lose that feeling of sleekness. Finally, adding in long stemmed white agapanthus felt SO GOOD.
We also added sculptural floral pieces to the aisle, being very careful not to take up too much space because there wasn’t any space to spare! I kept these arrangements in keeping with the rest of the floral design: deep, saturated, and sculptural. Again, the white agapanthus had a lot of fun being the stars.
Jacqueline’s grandma walked her down the aisle, and those moments were just so sweet and beautiful. And what a chic ensemble!
The Ambiance
Creating an intimate feel and a fun ambiance was a top priority for the couple — they really wanted their wedding to feel like a cool dinner party. That’s not the easiest thing to do when you have 130 people on the guest list, so Soiree got to work making sure all the decisions made would fit that dinner party vibe, with a moody style. Food, wine, flowers, and decor were top priorities to make that happen.
With that as our goal, I knew I didn’t want all of the tables to look exactly the same. I created a very specific, colour-coded centrepiece map that outlined the 7 different centrepiece styles I planned. This allowed us to repeat similar elements, which streamlined our design time, but creating unique feeling tablescapes so no one would ever look around and see the exact same thing over and over again.
The repetition of black and smoky accents were such a great design choice to add that oomph to the moodiness. Black chairs and flatware, candle trays, smoke glassware, and black and smoke glass vases did the trick!
The Floral Waterfalls
Is that what we should call these floral features? It seems to fit. We debated on a few different design ideas, and I’m so happy we landed on this. With the 4 long dining tables on full display as guests entered the WAG, Jacqueline loved the idea of a spotlight floral moment that would make her guests feel wowed.
We designed these babies lush, full, and dramatic. I LOVE designing with a saturated, rich colour palette like this in the fall. It just feels so delicious! It did take me a while to get them all done, so ensuring that there’s ample on-site time is necessary!
With long tables, we don’t typically have a ton of space to add a lot of floral to. We did bump these tables up to a wider size (which I always recommend to couples going for this style of floor plan!) which added a lot more roominess, so I could add a few scattered large floral centrepieces mixed in with candles and petite arrangements.
We had such a delicious mix of ingredients for these lush arrangements — really deep antique burgundy hydrangea, dark roses, almost black anthurium, pieris, and we tucked in touches of reflexed white tulips or nerine lilies for a sculptural shape and visual interest. We also created petite sculptural pieces made entirely of burgundy button mums, and scattered burgundy amaranthus trailing down the tables, too.
One of my goals is to ensure that, no matter what your aesthetic preferences are, your florals and design are polished and details are not left unfinished. It’s easy to do that when working with a planning team like Soiree! I loved the symmetry of the desserts display below (and I desperately wanted to dig my fingers into that Jenna Rae Cakes buttercream!! lol!) and the lounges were so beautifully laid out that all we needed to do was add some gorgeous spotlight florals and a clustering of candles, and they were perfect.
It’s always a pleasure to work with an incredible team of professionals to create an elevated event. Any one of them would be an excellent hire for your wedding!
Michael & Melanie Photography ~ Soiree Event Planning ~ WInnipeg Art Gallery ~ Planned Perfectly ~ Collective event rentals ~ Event Light ~ Creating a Scene ~ Trend Decor ~ Union Table ~ Sugar & Salt BakeSHoppe ~ Brides Eye View ~ Lineage House ~ The Aesthetic Makeup ~ Sign Source ~ Luminous String Quartet ~ Keith MacPherson ~ Tempo Collective
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
Getting married at the Winnipeg Art Gallery? We happen to know the space REALLY well, and in our completely biased opinion, we’re the best at bringing the space to life 😎
Flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Whether you already have a specific vision or want me to dream up something custom just for you, 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!