Guide to Hanging Floral Installations

I’m kind of known for my hanging floral installations here in Winnipeg. It seems that whenever a couple says they want hanging flowers, they get referred to me - and obviously, that’s the way I like it! I’ve done them big, small, floral heavy and greenery focused, at reception spaces over a head table or dance floor and at ceremony spaces creating an altar. Sometimes they’ve involved the addition of ribbon streamers or built on wood boards, sometimes I’ve added in string lights, once I created a floral chandelier. All of them have involved tall ladders!

I thought I’d run you through some of the things I think about while I’m designing hanging floral installations!

Designed for Planned Perfectly’s 2020 catalogue photo shoot at the Manitoba Club. Photos by Luxe Images by Jill.

Mechanics

Without a doubt, the mechanics of the HOW it’s going to hang is the most important part of planning a hanging floral installation. The first step of that is making sure there’s something that I can actually hang OFF of. Open rafters is always the best case scenario because they’re nice and sturdy! Sometimes I need to hire a lighting company to install cables for me to work off of, and for a wedding this summer, I’m planning to take a licensing test to use a scissor lift - bah!

I also need to make sure that there’s something that I can build the installation off of, some sort of base to use. At Hawthorn Estates, they have a suspended vintage wooden ladder that hangs above the head table that forms an EXCELLENT base. I’ve also used wood lattice, lots of chicken wire, rope, airline cable…lots of stuff.

Photos by Aimee de la Lande

Ingredient selections

Choosing the right floral ingredients is SO important because I don’t typically have a water source built into the installation. Foliage and flowers need to be hearty and last pretty well without water. Most foliages are pretty good - especially if they have a woody stem or waxy leaves. Many times we can water tube flowers so they have a few hours of drinking, but some things like roses or carnations don’t really need to be in water to last well. I try to use as little floral foam as possible in my work (it’s hazardous to the environment as it’s essentially a non-biodegradable single use plastic, and it’s bad for my health as it’s carcinogenic), and though I can’t always figure out a way to work without it, using foam isn’t best in hanging installations because it is very heavy and it often drips - again, reinforcing the need to choose flowers that either do well without a water source or can be watertubed.

Photos by Izabela Rachwal at The Gates on Roblin

Designing for Context

I always want to keep the vibe of the venue and the wedding’s style in mind as I plan the design. Maybe I don’t want to do something super modern and sleek in your average golf course banquet room (since they are typically not modern or sleek 🤪), for example, or design with a gorgeous berry toned colour palette in a room with orange wallpaper. This rule goes for all design, not just hanging installations, but I wanted to mention it nonetheless!

Photo by Izabela Rachwal at Cielo’s Garden

Photos by Luckygirl Creative at Whitetail Meadow

Next week I’ll be chatting about all things wedding ceremony flowers. If you have any questions, drop me a line and I’ll happily address it!

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Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?

2021 wedding dates are now booking! From Gimli to Steinbach, out to Kenora or anywhere in the Winnipeg area, reach out to Stone House Creative to create the perfect floral compliments for your wedding.
I create beautiful weddings for great people, designed with and for love.

Lise and Brad's Dreamy Brunch Wedding

I cannot tell you all enough how awesome Lise and Brad's dreamy brunch wedding at Cielo's Garden was. It was on a Sunday morning in late May, and they clearly spent a lot of time identifying what was important to them because every little bit of their wedding was impeccable - but it wasn't the typical wedding! First of all, brunch. BRUNCH, people! The menu (catered by Stella's) looked phenomenal, the donut bar smelled unbelievable (I didn't really care for donuts much before I had to go gluten-free, and now? Now I want them all the time), and so many more details that went into creating a whimsical, enjoyable atmosphere. 

Ariana Tennyson Photography ~ Cielo's Garden ~ Stella's ~ Bronuts

Lise had beautiful ideas for her wedding. When she first inquired about her wedding date, she described her dream wedding as a whimsical garden party, based off the midsummer celebrations in Scandinavian countries. Her ideal would have been to have a Maypole - and I loved it all! She had a soft palette of light corals and peaches, with lots of whites and greens. She wanted to keep her personal flowers on the lighter side, and bring in those corals and peaches in the decor. So, we kept her bouquets all white and green, tucked a bit of peach into her flower crown, and had a little more fun with the colours in the decor flowers. 

Bridal bouquet ingredients: We kept Lise's bouquet VERY simple. White ranunculus and white peonies were the only blooms, while olive foliage, spiral eucalyptus, silver dollar eucalyptus, and leather leaf fern rounded it out.

We weren't originally going to add any flowers to the chapel, so as to keep the focus on a hanging installation planned for the reception tent, but as we got closer to the wedding, Lise's vision changed. She asked me to come up with something that would tie it all together and feel fitting. You'll read more about the Maypole-inspired design I planned for the reception a little further down, but for the ceremony, I decided to keep it along the same vein while changing it up a bit. Knowing Lise loves a whimsical feel, I thought that hanging strands of flowers and ribbons would be a simple backdrop for the ceremony that would pack a lot of visual punch. And I LOVE the way it came together. Simply hung, in several shades of peach, pink and coral, the ribbon streamers and carnation strands were a cost-effective option that looked amazing!

Over at the reception, Lise wanted to keep the guest tables on the simpler side so that we could have a lot of fun with a focal point: I chose to do a fun floral chandelier positioned over the head table, as a sort of take on a Maypole design. We obviously couldn't add a full Maypole into the tent, but I thought this was a pretty cool way to interpret it! There is something about hanging, dripping flowers that I just LOVE so I couldn't have been happier with the way this piece became the focal point for the room. I chose to alternate strands of carnations, strands of roses, and ribbon streamers. The guest tables were kept really simple, with stem vases lining the tables with alternating stems of pink and peach blooms or greenery sprigs.

Here's the original sketch I dreamed up to convince Lise that this would be a cool idea :) 

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 fall 2019 wedding dates remain available. Click below to check your date!

Boudoir Photoshoot

Bombshell Boudoir is a brand new boudoir photography studio that just launched this winter -- owned and photographed by Noella at This Sweet Love! Noella coordinated a fun boudoir shoot to launch her new website with, and asked me to come up with a floral installation. We loved the idea of these hanging floral garlands, which just added a really interesting touch and pop of colour. I would LOVE to do something like this for a wedding ceremony! 

Hair and Makeup by Lauren Luxe