Intimate Indian Wedding at Home

Good things can happen when you plan your wedding in 5 days. WHAT? Yes. Because of constantly shifting covid regulations, Nageen and Jawed had planned their wedding, then postponed, then weren’t sure, and then they pulled the trigger.

5 days is about how much time Amanda Douglas had to pull together the design of this wedding, and I was hired 3.5 days before the wedding. Nageen had sent over 2 inspiration photos and knew that I’d have no control over what flowers I could get at that short of notice, but luckily, it all came together really beautifully!

Nageen decided to have the entire wedding at her parents’ home, here in Winnipeg. The wedding fell under the timing of a maximum gathering size of 10 people plus the residents of the home, which is a challenge for any guest list. With a combination of a few people in person, and the rest Facetiming/Zooming in, the wedding came to be, just a little bit differently than they envisioned initially.

The focal point of the ceremony was the circular arch behind the settee that they were married on. I sourced the arch from Ornare Event Rentals and Amanda took care of the rest — including voile draping added to cover the living room and dining room curtains, and to cover a wood hutch in the dining room. Pictures and frames were taken off the walls, and the family worked hard to make it a blank canvas so that the wedding decor could stand out.

One thing you won’t notice here is all of the heavy medical textbooks we had to use to weight down the base of the arch — they were covered with a white tablecloth and camouflaged by the couch! That’s something to be aware of when renting basically any arch — the bases are always too lightweight if any kind of floral or lighting or drapery will be added to them (especially if the arch is placed outside).

And because it wouldn’t be a Covid wedding without some Facetime and Zoom guests…I can’t imagine how it would feel to Facetime in to a wedding, but I want to thank all of you who have made that difficult decision over this past year. I’m so grateful.

I absolutely HAVE to dedicate some space here to Nageen’s incredible bridal lehenga. The colour, the softness, the intricate detail, the stunning way that it drapes…I’m in love. I want to re-design my entire life around the way this outfit makes me feel.

I’m so glad that Nageen and Jawed opted for a few of the typical wedding moments. With such an intimate wedding, and especially with it being at-home, it can be a challenge to create that wedding-like vibe.

Brittany Mahood (obvs one of my favourite photographers — she shot my maternity photos!) took them outside and celebrated with them. I love these portraits!

They headed back to the home, at which point the ceremony space had been flipped to the dinner setting. A champagne linen, gold chivari chairs, and gold-detailed place settings allowed the burgundy, mauve and pink flowers to take centre stage.

I’m so grateful to have been a part of this Covid-cautious wedding! This October wedding took place during a time when it felt like the world was just about to end and it was so special to see love still being celebrated, and celebrated safely.

Event Design: Amanda Douglas Events ~ Photos: Brittany Mahood ~ Florals: Stone House Creative ~ Linens, Chairs, Drapery: Planned Perfectly ~ Tabletop and Couch Rentals: C&T Rentals ~ Backdrop Rental: Ornare Event Rentals ~ Cake: Chocolate Zen Bakery ~ Makeup: Ashley Tiopo Artistry ~ Lighting: Event Light

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LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL DESIGNER FOR YOUR INTIMATE WEDDING 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! 

Romantic Mauve Wedding Flowers at Pineridge Hollow

What started out as simple white and green evolved into a deeper, more feminine and romantic palette of monochromatic mauves — and I LOVED it. As Emelissa dove deeper into her wedding planning, her vision came together in a more detailed way. She was a highly organized bride and has great style — you just have to check out her wedding dress and bridal style to see that for yourself.

She decided on the dusty mauves after a site visit to Pineridge Hollow, reflecting on how white the tent is. This is something I think all couples should think about — the design of your space will be one of the most fundamental aspects of your overall event design so it’s important to consider how it will play into your floral choices!

Woah nelly, this was a beautiful floral palette to work with! I dug into the idea of working with an analogous palette and let those varied shades of dusty rose / mauve / dark plum move seamlessly through the bouquet.

Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: Locally grown dahlias, lisianthus, and scabiosa totally stole the show, perfectly completed by amnesia roses, cafe latte garden roses, copper extasis carnations and calcynica along with smokebush, boxwood, nagi, and leather leaf foliages.

I finished the stems with some gorgeous silk ribbon from Stella Wolfe.

Let’s talk about this ceremony! Isn’t it a pretty one? The backdrop at the woodlands area of Pineridge Hollow is always gorgeous, but I have to say that I think this is my favourite ceremony I’ve done designed there. My 2 piece deconstructed gold arch is a personal favourite. I elected to design the florals in an asymmetrical way, bringing floral up into the spotlight at the same time as creating a naturally grown look. I love that couple and wedding party used the altar as a portrait backdrop for a lot of photos, too - you can’t get a prettier space for photos!

We also added petite bouquets to the aisle, hanging off Pineridge Hollow’s shepherd’s hooks.

The focal point of the reception was hanging clouds of flowers suspended over the head table. This allowed us to bring in the colour to break up all the white of the tent, which was aided by the table runners that Emelissa dyed to perfectly match. The guest tables featured a mixture of glass stem vases with petite floral arrangements along with petal confetti scattered down the table.

Stephanie Lauren Co ~ Alexandra Lillian Weddings & Events ~ Pineridge Hollow ~ Buttercream by Alareen ~ REmbrandt STring Quartet ~ Bailey Van Der Veen ~ 2 Chicks and a Bag of Makeup ~ La Ferriere Film

Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?

2021 wedding dates are now booking! 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! 

Jenn and Bill's Garden-Inspired Wedding at Cielo's Garden

Ah, Jenn and Bill’s wedding day. It was SUCH a good day. Late August (the day before my birthday, in fact!) is a gooood time for a wedding because it’s not QUITE as hot as the rest of summer and the weather is basically always perfect. Except that it actually rained throughout the evening of their wedding - which I’m telling you, has NEVER HAPPENED ON MY BIRTHDAY BEFORE. So I may or may not have told them that they’d have perfect weather and I may or may not have come out looking like a liar.

BUT, this garden-inspired wedding at Cielo’s Garden was one of my favourites of the year. A unique take on a purple palette with some of the most subtle combinations (you’ve heard me say before that I think ultra-violet is one of the most offensive colours of all time but this? This take on purple was gooooood), flowers literally everywhere, and a light and airy feel that just made this wedding feel special. I would happily re-live this day over and over again!

Moore Photography (plus some of my iphone photos)~ Amanda Douglas Events ~ Cielo’s Garden ~ Cocoa Beans Bakeshop ~ C&T Rentals

This bridal bouquet was one of my favourites! I felt like it was such a unique take on the colour palette and I really, really loved the combination that I got to use. The colour and texture depths were really lovely.

Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: early grey roses, menta roses, amnesia roses, pink stock, white larkspur, locally grown white sweet pea, black pearl lisianthus (drool!) and scabiosa, with mixed eucalyptus and foaged foliages. I finished it with this gorgeous mauve Stella Wolfe ribbon that I’d been hoarding all year.

Working with Jenn was one of the best experiences I’ve had as a wedding floral designer. Why? Because she trusted me SO much. She loved my style, and she knew that with her busy life AND the fact that she doesn’t live in Winnipeg anymore, she decided to just hand over the reigns and chose not to worry about anything. That made this wedding a dream for both her and me! Outside of just flowers, she asked me for vendor recommendations (helllloooooo gluten free desserts!!) and when I suggested that she consider hiring a month-of wedding coordinator, she trusted me on that, too. I actually always recommend that couples getting married at a venue like Cielo’s Garden, where there isn’t a banquet coordinator on-site (like you’d find at a hotel or a golf course), always hire at least a month-of coordinator. There’s no need for you to have to run your entire reception when you could be enjoying it!

Is there such a thing as TOO much trust? Ha! Jenn trusted me so much that she actually didn’t bother to review her flower order because she knew that I had it all under control…except she forgot that she had added a bridesmaid since the last time we talked! 😂There were a few stressful moments when that was figured out - I was working on the ceremony instal in the chapel and the wedding coordinator asked where the 5th bridesmaid bouquet was. “What 5th bridesmaid?” was my response. It actually worked out really well - I stopped working on the chapel instal, the couple did their first look photos in the chapel, and I took flowers out of the buckets that were ear-marked for the ceremony arch and sat on the ground outside and whipped together another bouquet! Ironically, that was the one day I chose to take extra ribbon OUT of my tool bag since I wouldn’t need it, but the wedding coordinator had some bits and pieces that I could use. By the time the first look photos were finished, so was that bouquet! I was also very sweaty - ha!

I’m sure you could guess without too much effort why this ceremony design was one of my favourites of the entire year! I always love coming up with different ideas to implement for ceremony spaces, and especially when it’s such a beautifully blank canvas as Cielo’s Garden is. Creating a freestanding, deconstructed arch had been on my design wishlist for a while after seeing some similar styles on Instagram, so when I suggested it to Jenn, I was pretty pumped that she loved the idea. She really let me just do whatever I wanted! I decided to use the same ingredients as the bouquets (which was very lucky when I had to create that extra bridesmaid bouquet!).

The reception was also full of beautiful things! Literally flowers everywhere! I was so impressed with the level of detail that Jenn brought considering that she lived out of town throughout the entire planning. The gorgeous rose gold and copper place setting details were from C&T Rentals and though you can’t see it too well, the vases that the centrepieces were in are also copper, which I felt really complemented the floral palette nicely! We also tucked in flowers throughout the guest book table are, the bar, and of course, on the cake. I am a bit of a fan of flowers, flowers, everywhere :) And then they also brought the ceremony arrangements and placed them behind the head table, which looked so pretty!

Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?

My 2020 waitlist has already been started, and 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!

Romantic and Feminine Wedding Flowers for Stephanie

Stephanie and Grant got married in early June, on one of the first gorgeous days of the summer. Stephanie had a romantic vision that I was so happy to oblige, and though she initially wanted to keep the flowers more neutral (whites, greens, touch of blush), I was super excited when we decided to add in more feminine tones of peachy pinks and mauves. I LOVED this bridal bouquet!

Photos by Vanheyst Photography | Coordination: Feast & Festivities | Makeup: Jessica Kmiec

WOAH MOMMA. I love this bouquet! 

Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: roses and garden roses, locally grown ranunculus, spray roses, scabiosa, lisianthus, and several varieties of eucalyptus.

I loved these big arrangements I did for the ceremony! They were set of these minimal gold stands I have, which can either blend really nicely and be barely visible in a venue, or they can stand out with a really unique style.