Reveal: Playful and Crisp Wedding Style Editorial
Today I’m going to walk you through the execution of this editorial I created over the summer. While a photo shoot does not come together in the same way that a real wedding does, I go through much the same process with a lot of the behind-the-scenes design planning.
Right from the onset of a personal project like this, I usually have a pretty good idea of what I want to do. When I’m working on wedding flowers, I also usually have a clear picture of what I want to do for you. But when I’m working on event design for a couple, it’s more of a process of pulling ideas out of you, then teasing them in my mind to see how I can expand on it.
Helllllo playful colour! Today I’m going to walk you through the execution of this editorial I created over the summer. While a photo shoot does not come together in the same way that a real wedding does, I go through much the same process with a lot of the behind-the-scenes design planning.
Right from the onset of a personal project like this, I usually have a pretty good idea of what I want to do. When I’m working on wedding flowers, I also usually have a clear picture of what I want to do for you. But when I’m working on event design for a couple, it’s more of a process of pulling ideas out of you, then teasing them in my mind to see how I can expand on it.
Yesterday, I spoke all about my event design services and my design philosophies.
If this resonates with you, I'd love to speak with you about coming on board your wedding vendor team in the larger capacity of event designer. Read more here!
Vibe
I always begin event design projects by considering the vibe I (or the client) want to create. With this editorial being a project for myself, a few words kept coming to me: playful, cheerful, crisp. I knew I wanted to evoke a sense of happiness and light-heartedness (and I planned this before Covid hit...who knew how badly I'd need this!!).
To achieve this, I started with the colour palette: lavender, peach, and coral (some of my go-to’s!) and then surprised myself with the addition of yellow and orange. I'm so glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone (orange has historically been my least favourite colour, but no longer!), because these two brought the citrusy fresh hints that I needed to break up the femininity of the rest of the palette.
Stationery
Your wedding invitations are one of the first projects that we tackle under event design. The stationery sets the tone and can help to "brand" your wedding -- to give you a definable style and visual direction. For this suite, I asked Robin to explore a design that would feel playful and colourful, with clean, modern lines. I knew I wanted touches of colour, but a good amount of white space to balance out the full palette used elsewhere.
She suggested that we use a vellum outer envelope, to show off the flirty pieces inside, and also added a lot of visual interest through the use of different coloured stocks, the rounded edge, and a tall and narrow menu card and place setting on the table.
Florals
I planned two completely different sets of floral ingredients — a spring set (for my original shoot date), and a summer set. I lucked out with my August shoot date, because I was able to incorporate many of my favourite locally grown summer flowers!
Locally grown flowers have the BEST colour variations, with flecks and speckles that perfectly blend a palette and simply aren't possible with wholesale flowers.
The Tablescape
Full florals in the centre of the table, coloured taper and votive candles, gold-dipped flatware combined with clean, modern place settings…Designing a tablescape is all about layering together varied elements to create a unique, personalized look.
I wanted a clean, minimal base for all my colour, so the foundation of white linens with a white tulle topper was perfect.
The Cake
This cake!
I sent Jenna a really pathetic sketch, after having this idea of incorporating both hand-painted flowers and 3D sugar flowers that would move in from the outsides of the cake. I knew I wanted to create some sort of floral piece encircling the cake. I explained this haphazard idea to Jenna and she took it and made it 1 million percent better. This cake is so stunning! It felt fresh, unique, and playful.
The original plan for the cake was so different. This just goes to show you that sometimes, sitting on an idea and seeing where it goes can be a very good thing!
The same goes for your wedding planning: Don't feel like you need to make every decisions or have every answer at the same time.
Some ideas just need time to come together.
I’m so grateful to everyone who shared their talents to be a part of this editorial. I originally started brainstorming this before the first Covid shutdown, and at that point I was just going to focus on a tablescape. Esther suggested that I add a model, and I’m SO glad I followed her advice! One of my favourite details from this editorial was the ensembles created by Maison Corazon for the bride — they could not have been more perfect.
The way this entire project came together was so life-giving and exciting.
Esther Funk Photography ~ stone house creative ~ Planned Perfectly ~ C&T Rentals ~ Trend Rentals & Decor ~ Robin Egg blue design ~ Maison corazon ~ Jenna Rae Cakes ~ Jessica Kmiec Artistry ~ Beauty by B Fey ~ Prairie Clay ~ Mokada Custom Jewelry
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
Getting married in 2022? Appointments to plan your dream florals are now available. Click the button below to get started!
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!
Garden Inspired Wedding Style Spilling Over with Colour
Classic and neutral palettes will always be popular, and for good reason…but for all of you who are in love for colour but might be afraid to use it, this one’s for you!
Coral, peach, blush, taupe, plum, terracotta. Rich, jewel tone greens. Crisp black accents. An energetic palette like this one lends a sense of happiness, of life, to a celebration but here’s the thing: you don’t have to go “Crayola bright” to use vibrant colour. This is bold but still feminine, modern and still elegant.
Classic and neutral palettes will always be popular, and for good reason…but for all of you who are in love for colour but might be afraid to use it, this one’s for you!
Coral, peach, blush, taupe, plum, terracotta. Rich, jewel tone greens. Crisp black accents. An energetic palette like this one lends a sense of happiness, of life, to a celebration but here’s the thing: you don’t have to go “Crayola bright” to use vibrant colour. This is bold but still feminine, modern and still elegant.
Many of these florals were locally grown, which makes them even more beautiful - ranunculus, snap dragon, lisianthus, lilies, foxglove. My favourite element to design was the indoor garden - who wouldn’t want to say their vows in the midst of a sweet garden spilling over with colour, fragrance, and beauty?
So let’s talk about COLOUR. Like I said, you don’t need to go Crayola to go colourful. For this palette I layered together coral and peach with subtler shades of taupe, mauve, blush, and terracotta. It feels a little vibrant here because of the fuchsia backdrop I painted, but against white, it’s a little softer.
You know what would be amazing? Getting married right in the middle of a garden grown just for you. Whether your wedding is indoors or out, I would LOVE to make this happen.
And we can’t not talk about that dress! It’s a vintage Donna Karan in a soft taupe silk and it’s AMAZING.
One of my favourite things about SMITH (and, of course, the main reason why I wish I could be invited to a wedding there!!) is the FOOOOOOD. I mean, look at that charcuterie board. Every time I’m setting up a wedding here, they are firing up the kitchen. I steal a glimpse at a menu and literally start to salivate. If that’s not a good enough referral to a venue for you, I don’t know what else could be.
Here, we had the beets with creme fraiche, cauliflower fritters, NY steak, and the charcuterie board.
One of the joys of my career is being selected to work on the full event design for a couple. Even though this was a photoshoot, I still wanted to apply a similar level of focus and detail that I do for a client who has hired me for event design. A detailed design brief develops a layered colour palette, textures, and design ideas that form a really incredible base for your wedding. Interested? Contact me here!
Brittany Mahood Photography ~ Stone House Creative ~ SMITH REstaurant ~ Mad ABout Style Warehouse ~ Jessica Janel for Tiopo & Co ~ Gossamer Vintage ~ Minted ~ The EveryDay HOst ~ C&T Rentals ~ Grace Hill Salon
Bold Coral and Peach Garden Wedding at Ashgrove Acres
Vanessa and Valerio’s wedding was such a fun one! A bold coral and peach palette and garden-inspired design out at Ashgrove Acres was the perfect start to my spring wedding season this year. I actually met Vanessa 2 years ago, when she answered a model call for a photo shoot I planned. It was such an honour that she kept my biz in mind for the eventual day that she’d get married - and actually, she booked with me before she was even officially engaged! Vanessa is a talented photographer herself, and I got to work with her on a few weddings and a shoot this year, and it was really cool to be able to get to know her in a different setting.
Vanessa and Valerio’s wedding was such a fun one! A bold coral and peach palette and garden-inspired design out at Ashgrove Acres was the perfect start to my spring wedding season this year. I actually met Vanessa 2 years ago, when she answered a model call for a photo shoot I planned. It was such an honour that she kept my biz in mind for the eventual day that she’d get married - and actually, she booked with me before she was even officially engaged! Vanessa is a talented photographer herself, and I got to work with her on a few weddings and a shoot this year, and it was really cool to be able to get to know her in a different setting.
Kassandra Donaldson Photography ~ Inspired Elegance Events ~ Ashgrove Acres ~ Stephanie Anne Cakes
Vanessa had a pretty good idea of what she wanted: bold colour, peonies and carnations, and a garden-inspired design style. That was a-okay with me! We used a lot of good stuff to make this happen.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: coral peonies, ranunculus, tulips, carnations, garden roses, hypericum berries, eucalyptus and ruscus foliages.
Sadly, this was a pretty rainy day - but the half hour that the ceremony was scheduled for was the one clear part of the day! We really went for it with the florals here. The Ashgrove arch is really enormous, and Vanessa wanted to incorporate a few different ideas - the grey drapery, some larger floral pieces (featuring a few lilies to represent her grandmother), hanging strands of flowers, petals down the aisle, and a couple of floral and eucalyptus chair garlands to start the aisle.
Vanessa asked to keep the centrepieces on the simpler side, so we chose trios of cut glass stem vases with bright orange, coral, and peach flowers. They looked great added to the grey chiffon runners and mercury glass candleholders Vanessa had chosen. The ceremony flowers were re-purposed at the head table, with the strands of flowers hanging behind the head table and the larger pieces placed in front of the newlyweds. Sheila from Inspired Elegance Events, the month-of coordinator, took care of moving those pieces over for them, which is one of the many benefits there is to working with a coordinator!
Ah the cake! It was so cute. I always love when I get to add flowers to the wedding cake. This was no different! Fun flowers, great colours, sweet little touches. And obviously the cake smelled so good that I just wanted to dig my finger into it 😂 It’s a good thing for them that I have a gluten allergy!
Hire a Talented Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg
2020 wedding dates are going quickly, and my 2021 waitlist has already been started! Couples interested in full event and floral design will be contacted first about their dates. I offer a limited number of dates for event design each year, in order to allow me to work closely with each couple. Combining event and floral design is the perfect option for couples who live out of town, or couples who feel they need a little extra help in creating the visual plan for their wedding day. Click this link to learn more!
Kristen and Ryan's Perfect Summer Wedding at Cielo's Garden
Kristen and Ryan’s summer wedding at Cielo’s Garden was, in a word, PERFECT. It was perfect! And I had so, so much fun planning, dreaming up, and designing these flowers. Kristen always wanted a rich, vibrant summer colour palette but a few months before the wedding, she changed it up a bit to make it even moreso - and let’s talk about how excited I was! This woman obviously has great style and it wasn’t hard at all to see her vision. It was an honour to bring it to life!
Photos: Rachwal Photography ~ Month of Coordination: Alexandra Lillian Weddings & Events ~ Venue: Cielo’s Garden ~ Catering: Urban Prairie Cuisine ~ Dress: Chic Nostalgia from Bliss Bridal Boutique
This bouquet. Oh, this bouquet! I just LOVED putting it together. Each and every stem was just perfect. Shades of coral, peach, mixed berry pinks, orange, and a hint of yellow with rich, jewel toned greenery came together as the perfect colour combination for this vibrant, summer wedding - and looked phenomenal with the guys’ blue suits and the girls’ forest green gowns. Even better, most of these flowers were locally grown!
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: garden roses, zinnias, lisianthus, scabiosa, strawflower, sweet pea, asters, and phlox with italian ruscus, nagi, and jasmine vine.
The Cube has never looked so good :)
When Kristen changed her colour palette, she also changed the plan for the ceremony design. I can’t even remember what the original plan was…this was just THAT MUCH BETTER. She had an inspiration picture that was built off an arch structure, so I had some serious figuring to do in terms of the mechanics and how to make this big beast work - it’s actually several different pieces designed together. We kept the vibrant colour palette going here to make a major statement in the otherwise very neutral chapel: orange, coral, peach, berry pinks, and TONS OF GREENERY. Doesn’t it look so good? (PS this was a SUPER hot day and making this baby resulted in a lot of sweat. I actually sweat through my entire bra that day 😂)
Seeing this much colour in the tent at Cielo’s Garden brought a LOT of happiness into my life. I feel like we normally see a lot of soft, feminine tones or rustic wood tones here and while those both look really good here, one of the things I love the most about Cielo’s is that it’s so easily adaptable to any colour palette and almost any style. Kristen ordered these dusty rose table runners online and they added a really nice layer of texture to the tables.
We focused the florals on one large arrangement per table, designed in my favourite copper bowls. Aside from the greenery, these arrangements were actually 100% locally grown - woohoo! That always makes me SO happy - I love that I can be supporting a local farmer, while minimizing our environmental impact. Not needing to ship flowers in means not needing a large amount of fuels to trek those flowers across the world. Plus, local flowers are just more special!
Kristen, thank you so much for choosing me to carry out your vision! It was such a thrill to be a part of your wedding day.
Looking for a wedding florist in Winnipeg?
Getting married in Manitoba? Whether it's a whimsical garden party inspired celebration or a formal ballroom fete, I think flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Maybe you already have a specific vision or you might want me to dream up something custom just for you - either way, 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!
Limited wedding dates remain available for 2019 - click below to check your date!
A Mediterranean Inspired Love Story: Styled Shoot
I've been taking a bit of a break from styled shoots for the last little while, but when Sheila from Inspired Elegance Events and Casey Nolin Photography reached out with this fun colour palette and giving me total flexibility on the flowers earlier this spring, I could not say no!
I feel like I'm always talking about how much I love colour and this was no exception. Sheila told me that she wanted orange so I chose to expand that into an analogous palette of oranges, corals, and peaches. Fun, right? And it looked great with the slight additions of blue on the table.
Even better: Our cute couple got engaged a few weeks later!
~ AS FEATURED ON THE PERFECT PALETTE ~
Photos: Casy Nolin Photography ~ Planner: Inspired Elegance Events ~ Florals: Stone House Creative ~ Tabletop Rentals: C&T Rentals ~ Table Runner: Simply Perfect Decor ~ Chair Rentals: Floral Fixx ~ Venue: Trappist Monastery ~ Invitations: Keeks Paper Co ~ Bridal Gown: Chic Nostalgia from Bliss Bridal Boutique ~ Makeup: Made Beauty Company ~ Hair Piece: Luna and Stone ~ Jewellery: Vandenberg's Fine Jewellery
My floral order made everyone else at my wholesaler jealous that week :) I'm jealous just looking back at it!
Bridal bouquet ingredients: garden roses, ranunculus, poppies, godetia and THE MOST incredible tulips!
I wanted to keep the ceremony space simple. The ruins at the Trappist Monastery are really something, and all of those old stone foundations create such an incredible ambiance. My goal here was to bring life back into the space, and what better way to do it than create a vine-like, overgrown-inspired focal piece.
Sheila had a fairly specific vision to create this Mediterranean look. Rustic bread, olives, and olive oil at each place setting make for an inviting tablescape, and the Trappist Monastery ruins were a natural choice for the setting as here in Winnipeg there aren't many spaces with an abandoned villa feel. She pulled it all together from there!
Looking for a wedding florist in Winnipeg?
Getting married in Manitoba? I might be biased, but 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!
Limited summer 2019 wedding dates remain available. Click below to check your date!