Whimsical Summer Wedding at Evergreen Village
I loved all of the whimsical touches and style that Cara and Harrison pulled into their wedding. It was basically like a beautiful unicorn wedding, if that's possible. Evergreen Village just outside of Niverville was a lovely setting, and for goodness' sake, look at the gorgeous tones of the mismatched bridesmaid dresses! So pretty!
Photos by Kat Willson Photography
Cara's bouquet ended up being one of my favourite bouquets of 2016, but it didn't start out that way. I decided to try a different technique and I didn't feel like I was getting the hang of it at all. In the end, I loved it. I used very little greenery (all of which was foraged) and my favourite things about the bouquet were the gorgeous tones of the dahlias and all of the movement I was able to achieve with the bouquet's shape.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: dahlias, roses, lisianthus, scabiosa, delphinium, smokebush, olive, and white poplar.
Cara wanted a simple, light flower crown. I used an olive foliage base and tucked in white waxflower with white spray roses.
The ceremony design was simple, but really pretty and lush. I started with a long greenery garland and then added in a TON of white hydrangea. It was like getting married under a cloud.
Katie and Dan's Outdoor Vineyard-Inspired Wedding
As I'm writing this blog post, I'm finding myself having a very difficult time. Why? Because Katie and Dan's wedding was such a dream wedding for me to be a part of. First of all, Katie was just such a wonderful client to work with. She was kind, excited, and full of fantastic ideas. Second, they really wanted to host their friends and family at an unforgettable celebration - and unforgettable it was. Words absolutely cannot do this wedding justice; thankfully, Jake from Kampphotography was on hand to capture their day in beautiful fashion.
The couple initially wanted to have a destination wedding, in the Napa area. Knowing that there were just too many logistics to sort out, they instead settled on country wedding in St Norbert, with a vineyard-inspired theme. We'll start things off today with their ceremony.
Designing gorgeous florals for wedding ceremonies (especially outdoor ceremonies!) are one of my absolute favourite things to design. Katie's talented brother built this enormous wood altar structure, and it was placed in this beautiful little clearing amidst towering oak trees. I spent a lot of time up on a ladder working on all of these pieces! Ingredients included hydrangea, delphinium, roses, mock orange, oak, and other assorted foliages. We placed two big urns at the start of the aisle, popped on wine barrels to fit with the vineyard-inspired theme.
Katie's bridal bouquet has easily become one of my all-time favourites. She wanted it lush, garden-inspired, and in a classic white and green palette. We used a lot of her favourite flowers - hydrangea, peonies, anemones, ranunculus, and parrot tulips. I tucked in clematis and ivy vines, this gorgeous green viburnum and sweet pea, along with several varieties of eucalyptus. It was all tied up in a lovely selection of soft, neutral toned silk ribbons from Stella Wolfe.
Oh, and these bridesmaid dresses? Amazing, right?
And now, on to the reception (planned by Tammy at Divine Weddings)! Sometimes, I'm a little afraid that an all white-and-green wedding palette is going to be a bit boring. But this wedding reception design was absolutely nothing but! We loaded these tables with gorgeous arrangements (in both longer wood boxes as well as pretty stone urns), clusters of stem vases, and plenty of candles. There was actually so much on the tables that Katie's brother built wood extenders, to make the tabletops larger! Tables were dressed in a natural grey linen, and the cross-back chairs from Planned Perfectly were just the best finishing touch. Not a single detail was left untouched - herbs on each place setting, calligraphed name cards for each guest by Jennifer Bianca Calligraphy. The dinner was catered by The Mitchell Block restaurant (and if you haven't been there yet, go - it's delish!) and Thom Bargen coffee even had a setup for all of the guests to enjoy.
Kathleen and Lee's Summer Wedding at Pineridge Hollow
I was looking forward to Kathleen's wedding ALL summer. Why? Because she used so much colour! And of course, because their wedding was at my favourite summertime venue, Pineridge Hollow. Oh! And she hired one of my favourite photographers, Kat Willson. So all in all, a really good day.
Designing with all this colour was a real treat. I love pastel tones and soft blush weddings, but once in a while, you need a little jolt. Bright corals, peaches, yellows, and rich greens were just perfect. Plus, I got to include some of the most delicious flowers in Kathleen's bouquet: dahlias, stock, spray roses, and locally grown zinnias, snap dragons, and sweet pea. The bow tie-inspired wrap in soft gold ribbon was the sweetest touch. I can't talk enough about how I loved this arch garland. I feel very strongly that any time flowers are designed for the ceremony, they're something that should also be able to be moved into the reception and given a second life. This garland, which had beautiful stems of some of the most gorgeous and vibrant flowers added in, was also placed on the head table in front of the bride and groom.
I had to add in these last photos, because they made it SO obvious how awesome this wedding and this couple are. Weddings are a celebration...and there's nothing more celebratory than a happy groom dancing down the aisle, is there?