The Perfect Spring Wedding Flowers
Around this time of year, I always get restless. Well, let's be honest. Restlessness sets in as soon as January 1 has come and gone and I'm just good and ready for all the snow to MELT ALREADY. My grandpa used to say, "If I can just make it through January, I'll be just fine." That's how I feel about both January and February. I love living in Winnipeg and I love having 4 distinct seasons, but I could do with a lot less winter.
Needless to say, I've been craving spring (I know I'm not the only one out here on the prairies feeling that way). And with a desire to get working and get my hands dirty, combined with a particularly stressful week, I headed off to my wholesaler to pick up anything with colour. And so, here we are: the perfect spring wedding flowers.
I also thought I'd break this down into a few steps, to show you a bit of the behind-the-scenes of how I work! (although, I designed this in my kitchen and my studio is NOT as beautiful as this is, ha!)
Ingredients: green viburnum (yeah baby!), peach spray roses, white lisianthus, skimmia, calcynia, sprengeri fern, peach Icelandic poppies (yeah baby x2!), and soft blue muscari (yeah baby x3!). I also had some hellebore I was hoping to use, but they bit the bullet pretty quickly. There's no telling with those guys if they're going to make it or not!
Layer 1: Greenery and shape. I actually cut this sprengeri fern off a plant that I have! It's nice and light, but sometimes it can be on the thorny side, so I don't use it all that often. The viburnum is my favourite thing. Depending on where you live, you won't see this in green for too long, as the blooms quickly turn white and they look like big, beautiful snowballs. But I do really love the green of the blooms - it's that soft, springy, fresh green that is just perfect.
Layer 2: Texture. Here I added in calcyina for a little bit of pink, and skimmia for interesting texture. I also really like that the skimmia leaves are a bit of a darker green, which adds some nice contrast.
Layer 3: Base flower layer. I added in the peach here with the spray roses, most of which were tucked down pretty deeply for coverage in the vase (speaking of which, I LOVE this concrete vase). White lisianthus is always pretty, and has lovely little buds, and that was added in here as well.
Layer 4: All the good stuff :) This layer is definitely my favourite! I really could have left it at layer 3, but having the chance to use some more special, unique flowers and really letting them shine was too good of an opportunity to pass up here. So, poppies and muscari went in! I've never used this type of poppy before and I don't think they're particularly long lasting, so I'll give these a test and see what happens. I do love their incredible, paper-thin pleated blooms and the way each is a slightly different shade - they're PERFECT for spring wedding bouquets. And the muscari is a delicate little bloom. The blue is a lovely complementary tone of the peach, and adds a little more dimension to the overall palette.
By the way, I'm now booking for 2018 weddings! I am meeting with quite a few eager brides and grooms over the next two months, so if you want to talk wedding flowers with me, don't hesitate to reach out with more details about your wedding day. Just click the box below!
2016 in Review - Winnipeg Wedding Florist
Well, I guess I blinked. Again. Just like that, it's somehow the end of the year. Wedding season came and went in a flash. I feel like I barely remember any of it, but then I think a little harder, and my goodness, were there some good (no -- great!) things that happened this year. Here's a few highlights!
Early this summer, I invited my friend Aly of Victoria Anne Photography to come and check out my studio. I really love my space. It's actually the reason why we bought this house!
I created this photo shoot, taking inspiration from a subtle but beautiful colour palette and bringing together some of my wedding friend-ors (vendor friends!). This was featured on Utterly Engaged and Vale & Vine.
Vendors:
Brittany Mahood Photography ~ Keeks Paper Co ~ Bliss Bridal Boutique (Pronovias) ~ Makeup Expressions by Rimpal ~ Vanhoft Hair ~ Cielo's Garden
Oh yeah, and these photos led the launch of my brand new site! I also worked alongside Prairie Film Co on a brand video, which you can check out below to see me working :)
I had the privilege of working on my largest wedding to date, which was a total dream day.
There were so many great parts of this wedding. I honestly don't know how to describe it. At one point, during setup, I looked around at my team working away on the tablescapes, and I just felt this incredible sense of pride. Everything was awesome -- the weather was great, the flowers were beautiful, and I just loved being a part of this day.
Vendors:
Kampphotography ~ Divine Weddings ~ Planned Perfectly ~ Kelburn Farms ~ Event Light ~ Jennifer Bianca Calligraphy
I travelled to Texas to visit a dear friend (who also happens to be a floral designer!), and we joined up with Bows & Arrows Flowers for a two-on-one floral session. It was featured on Style Me Pretty! Also on that trip, we went to Magnolia Market which was really fun -- my husband and I are both huge Chip and Jo fans :)
Vendors:
Kayla Barker Photography ~ The Wildflowers Events ~ A&Be Bridal Shop ~ Tracy Melton Artistry ~ Script Merchant ~ Alli K ~ Rosewood Mansion, Dallas ~ Bella Acento ~ La Tavola ~ Trumpet & Horn
I was thrilled and honoured that one of my bouquets was chosen by Weddingbells Magazine as one of Canada's Most Beautiful Bouquets. It was really fun to create this bouquet, as I used a number of different ingredients that I wouldn't normally. You can see more from this here.
In November, Elle Decor selected this bridal bouquet as one of their FAVORITES in their "30 Best Wedding Bouquets." I was so excited! Even better, it was submitted by the editors at Wedding Sparrow as one of their favourites, so the whole situation was completely flattering. Photo by Kat Willson Photography.
2016 finished off with so much excitement, as I was featured on Host Winnipeg a bunch of times!
First up was a studio tour and career profile, in which I got to tell the story of how Stone House Creative came to be, followed by Katie and Dan's vineyard-inspired wedding! Host also featured Lauda and Jeremy's colourful garden wedding at Pine Ridge Hollow last week - more from that wedding will be on my blog in the New Year!
For one of my very last projects on 2016, I collaborated with Jaclyn, the editor at Host, on the creation of this holiday tablescape. I LOVED it. This took place at Hut K using a lot of their incredibly products, and photos by Janine Kropla. I'll be sharing more on the Stone House blog soon!
Photos Above Courtesy of Ariana Tennyson Photography, Kamp Photography, Luckygirl, Mackenzie Jean Photography, Monique Pantel, Izabela Rachwal Photography, and Victoria Anne Photography
So with that, I want to say THANK YOU. Thank you to all of my couples who have trusted me with their flowers this year, inviting me into their celebrations in a small way. It's amazing to be a part of such a monumental day. I have prayed for each and every one of you, and wish you blessings for a lifelong marriage filled with happiness, good health, and amazing relationships. Marriage is a wonderful gift!
Cheers to 2016. Bring on the New Year!
Studio Tour! Behind the Scenes of Stone House Creative
I couldn't think of a better way to kick off blogging on my new site than with a behind-the-scenes look at my new studio! Earlier this summer, my friend Aly from Victoria Anne Photography joined me for a little tour of where I work. My husband and I moved last fall, purchasing this house specifically because it has a second garage, in the backyard, completely set up as a workshop. All I had to do was unpack my vases and build my cooler! The space is really ideal and I'm so excited to show it all off.
Coming Soon
Coming soon - something exciting, beautiful, and totally me. I can't wait to show it all off!
For now, a sneak peek from Brittany Mahood Photography.
Cielo's Garden Open House
Calling all 2016 and 2017 couples getting married at or interested in Cielo's Garden!
OPEN HOUSE: Wednesday, May 18
5-8 pm
Appointments available but not required
Cielo's Garden is one of my absolutely FAVOURITE wedding venues in Manitoba. The clear topped tent is so unique and really allows for the beauty of our summers to take centre stage, and the stone chapel in the woods is SUCH a dreamy place for a ceremony. Seriously, this place is just amazing, and I'm so excited to have quite a handful of amazing weddings there this year. I can't wait to show you everything that I've dreamed up with my brides!
On Wednesday, I'll be there at Cielo's with some floral tablescapes and ceremony decor, showing you different ideas for the room to be worked with at different budget points. I'll also be available to schedule flower consultations for your 2017 weddings, and I'll be hanging out with my pal Amanda of Amanda Douglas Events, who is one of Winnipeg's very TOP wedding planners and coordinators. She offers both day-of coordination and full wedding planning, and she also loves working at Cielo's (and FYI, we love working together!).
And now, here are a few pretty pics from a wedding I did at Cielo's last summer with Amanda and with Simply Rosie Photography!
