Textural Summer Wedding at the WAG
There are some weddings that come together beautifully after much back and forth, brainstorming, and ideas…and there are some that seem to come together so effortlessly! This textural summer wedding reception at the Winnipeg Art Gallery for G+D was the latter — at least on my end!
Eventzy brought me in to design all the personal and reception florals, and they had already conceptualized such a great design plan. Textured rattan elements, touches of floral pattern, a calming twist on the classic white/green/blue palette, and a few modern elements brought it all together.
Photos by Michael & Melanie
Event Design by Eventzy
THE FLOWERS
Gian gave me a lot of flexibility with her bouquet. She did have a few requests: She wanted as much colour as she could get within her palette (hello, lime green!!), and she wanted to use orchids and garden roses because they reminded her of her grandmother. She has a pretty modern design sensibility, and I knew there would be some fun fashion moments so I thought we could go for a uniquely shaped bouquet.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: garden roses, phalaenopsis orchids, cymbidium orchids, delphinium, lisianthus, Bells of Ireland, and forget-me-not.
THE RECEPTION
You’ve always got to love seeing a couple and their guests enjoying their wedding this much!! We’re celebrating here, people. Let’s get into it!
The dinner design was Eventzy’s main priority, and they really nailed it. The floor plan was fantastic, really creating incredible design features that were perfectly paired with pockets of negative space. It felt very calming.
Gian’s one major request was that I incorporate green grapes into the tablescapes — no problem! We also used our LED taper candles and votives. While I’d always prefer to use real, the WAG doesn’t allow real flame to protect the art, so I searched high and low to find the best LED candles I could get my hands on. They were worth the investment!
3 design elements that make this design work:
1) A floor plan with differing table shapes. When you have enough space in your venue, please add different table shapes. This can create a great flow in the room (or, a terrible flow — so be careful!). In this case, we had round tables tucked into what could have been awkward corners, long tables throughout the most of the room, and a very cool C shaped family table in front of the head table.
2) HEIGHT. A space like the WAG can be really challenging because the ceiling is SO high, and even when you add a tall centrepiece, the room can feel very flat. The addition of pedestals with floral urns throughout the room, and the tall lamp stands along the right side create so much visual interest!
3) Texture: rattan lamps, cane-back chairs, and cleverly placed floral patterned linens and napkins add layers of feminine texture that feel fresh.
See what I mean about a great floor plan? The cozy banquette seating under the tall lampshades, that very cool C shaped family table right in front of the head table, and the rows of long tables carefully interspersed with tall floral urns on pedestals make for SUCH an engaging space. Most of the centrepieces themselves were quite simple: white ceramic cylinder vases filled with fluttery, romantic textures: hydrangea, Queen Anne’s Lace, delphinium, and forget-me-not.
Working at the WAG comes with a truncated setup time (as it’s open during the day to gallery visitors), so we always come prepared with a team that’s ready to WORK. The amount of work we busted through in a short period of time was incredible! The most time-consuming element was the foliage on the lamp stands. I knew that we wouldn’t have time to fully cover and instal the foliage on-site, so we prepped these greenery pieces in advance. We made this out of a chicken wire base, folded over almost like a burrito. We wrapped them in large plastic coverings to keep them from drying out, then hoisted them into the van and carried them through the WAG almost like body bags 🙈 We opened those bad boys up, hoisted them up around the top curve of the lamp stand, and then zip tied them closed almost like zipping up the back of a dress. We always have to add a bit of extra foliage to cover any holes or mechanics that are exposed, and then of course, sweep sweep sweep! Lots of sweeping happened this day.
Michael & Melanie Photography ~ Winnipeg Art Gallery ~ Eventzy ~ Planned Perfectly ~ Mix Event Rentals ~ Tilted Space (silk ceremony florals) ~ Collective Event Rentals ~ Creating a Scene
planning a wedding at the Winnipeg Art Gallery?
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Florals shape the feeling of a celebration. Our design philosophy sees colour, movement, and composition working together to create deeply intentional floral experiences. We see florals not simply as decorations, but as essential elements that define atmosphere, emotion, and visual cohesion.
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