What I've Learned in 2020
I know a lot of good things have happened in 2020 and I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of the weddings that did go ahead, but with the way the virus has overwhelmed Manitoba this fall, it’s feeling harder and harder to focus on that light.
Then something happened.
I’ve been dreading writing my yearly recap, year in review type of post.
Post imagery by Brittany Mahood
I know a lot of good things have happened in 2020 and I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of the weddings that did go ahead, but with the way the virus has overwhelmed Manitoba this fall, it’s feeling harder and harder to focus on that light.
Then something happened.
The vast majority of my industry was denied access to the Manitoba Bridge Grant even though we are small businesses that were forced to shut down.
There are a lot of semantics involved, but in mid-November when the Bridge Grant applications opened, we realized that by and large, we were not eligible. The reason is because we don’t have retail storefronts — and most of us do not require any sort of retail space to do our work, and to do it well.
So I got angry, as I’m sure you would, too. I’ve never been the type to not speak up, whether answering a teacher’s questions in class or bringing an issue to light, I’ve always found it pointless to not say what needs to be said.
If there’s anything I’ve learned from the last month or so, it’s that each of us has a voice and it’s up to us whether we decide to use it, and how.
My most popular Instagram posts of 2020 have a common theme: I spoke up. I told the truth about what I’ve been facing, about what wedding vendors have been facing, and abut what engaged couples have been facing (because this pandemic has unfairly targeted all of you, too).
And I wrote emails. A lot of emails, to a lot of people. I ended being interviewed on City TV, CTV, and Global CJOB. My posts on Instagram were shared well over 400 times. I had countless people reach out and say they would write their MLAs on our behalf (you have no idea how much gratitude I have to you!).
(I also had one woman reach out to say that she WAS sympathetic and was going to write her MLA on our industry’s behalf, until I made one small, negative remark about the government...that kind of fake support for small businesses is equivalent to saying “shop small” but only when Amazon isn’t more convenient. So you can feel free to keep your pretend support to yourself LS, because I don’t need it.)
I am grateful for the assistance of a few very helpful people, Dougald Lamont (Leader of the Liberal Party of Manitoba) and Wab Kinew (Leader of the NDP of Manitoba and Leader of the Official Opposition). My own MLA never bothered to respond to me, but I was so grateful for the kindness these men and their teams showed me and their willingness to bring our cause to the government. They recognized that the battle the wedding and event industry is fighting is a very serious one. A life or death one.
I also want to reassure my clients that I will be fine. Stone House Creative will be fine long term.
We are lucky that my husband’s work has been largely unaffected and so we are not in immediate danger. The challenge for us has “simply” been a matter of income loss.
The same is not true for many wedding professionals, however. Because of the seasonal nature of our business and the timing of when the pandemic hit, the wedding industry is in a uniquely challenging position. Many of us will essentially have been out of work (and out of pay) for 19 months. And I’ll tell you what, my husband is a financial planner and we make good financial decisions, but even we don’t have an emergency fund that can cover 19 months.
We’ve sort of won.
The province has widened the Bridge Grant eligibility criteria, so more people can access it. That’s a massive win. It’s not quite that clear cut, with businesses not necessarily able to get the full $5k, but I’m trying to be grateful that more businesses at least get something.
So, I guess that’s that…That was 2020.
Normally I like to tally up the number of roses I used in the year, or the locally grown stems, or something fun like that. This year, I wanted to highlight what I’ve learned instead — I’m not a person who is usually into this kind of stuff, but I think that everyone should have courage to say and do what needs to be done.
And maybe I’ll just wrap it all up with a look at some of 2020’s wedding bouquets!
I’ll be taking the rest of the year off! We’re kicking it off with my son’s 2nd birthday this weekend (yay! Birthday party for 3 people! haha) and then I’m looking forward to a slower, quieter Christmas than we usually have.
I hope that each of you finds blessings in the remainder of 2020. If you’re looking for something to do on Christmas Eve, I’d love to invite you to our church’s virtual service! It’s always uplifting and filled with great music and hope.
❤️
Hello from Lauren in 2020
A slightly pessimistic, attempting to be realistic personal post from Lauren in 2020!
This might be a bit pessimistic
but I just looked back at my Instagram post on December 30, 2019 and rolled my eyes.
All that hope. All that excitement. All that “2020 is going to be AMAZEBALLS” crap.
Oh, to be Naive Lauren once again.
I’ve not been very active on my blog this summer — partially because I’ve been WAY busier than I expected, and partially because I just haven’t felt like it.
For much of the summer here in Winnipeg, we were really lucky to have an extremely low case-load, and so a lot of couples were able to go ahead with their wedding plans, whether that was just a ceremony with a reception coming next year, or scaling back on the guest list for their full wedding. I also worked with a lot of “last minute” couples who were planning their weddings for elsewhere, but were no longer able to travel to those destinations, and so a local wedding it was! Each one of the weddings that I was able to be a part of was AMAZING in their own way and gave me a lot of energy and inspiration, and I’ll be sharing more of these stories in the coming weeks and months. My work load was way higher than I expected, which I was so grateful for!
On the other hand, I still lost about 75% of my revenue for this year. Oooff. It really hurts to write that out (side note here: please give grace to anyone whose job requires the gathering of people…the entire live events industry is often looked at as frivolous but the reality is that it employs MILLIONS of people across Canada and is a huge contributor to the economy). So with that massive loss to my income, I had to cut out my childcare budget, which meant that I had a lot less time to get my work done in. Of course, I’m incredibly grateful for the increased amount of time that I’ve gotten to spend with my toddler this summer, but this has still been a large factor in needing to prioritize what work got done, and when it got done.
So before I get too far down the pessimistic path of darkness…
I thought I’d share some highlights from this weird wedding (and personal) season, as it’s been so far.
Family photos with Austin Kylie Photography with my side of the family, at my parents’ farm (where the stone house is!). She even captured our little Jack doing what he loves to do best: climbing.
Having my little guy working in the shop with me. He LOVES picking flowers out of the garbage can and throwing them into the recycling bin, he’s always sweeping, and he’s only smashed a couple of my vases 🤦🏼♀️
Flower Club! As a way to support my family in the absence of wedding income, and to support my local flower farmer Lily Stone Gardens (they are THE BEST!!), I created the Stone House Flower Club! It was a monthly bouquet subscription, composed entirely of locally grown flowers. I loved being able to fill your homes with fresh flowers and have you see the beauty that can be grown right here in Manitoba. I’m not sure if I’ll have the opportunity to offer the Club again in the future (it’ll completely depend upon my wedding schedule), but I am so thankful for the 30 people who joined this year!
My cousin/best friend got married at the beginning of August, with a guest list of 15. Her husband’s family is from Mexico, and because they couldn’t come, the wedding was kept as intimate as possible. Aside from the addition of people they love, there was not a thing missing from that wedding and I can’t wait to share it ALL with you (in the meantime, here’s a look at her laidback bachelorette party!). The vibe was amazing: it was comfortable, relaxed, and celebratory. And man, I’m so glad because this wedding deserved to be celebrated. And so does yours! (Photo of her bouquet above, by Esther Funk Photography)
Stone House turned 6 back in June! There wasn’t much celebrating done, but it’s been a really good 6 years 🎉 and that’s a pretty cool anniversary to celebrate.
A bunch of photoshoots! Literally every time I design for a photoshoot, I say I’m never doing it again 😂😂 And then I get sucked back in! They are a lot of fun, but they are also a LOT of work. I’m very pleased with the 4 projects I was able to complete this year and look forward to sharing it here, but please, remind me not to take on another shoot for at least a year, mmmk? (The images scattered about this post are from a shoot I did in July at The Gables Wedding Barn, a brand new venue, with Vanessa Renae Photography. More to come soon!)
And, because literally no one asked 🤪, here’s a peek at what I’ve got upcoming that I’m looking forward to:
The Portfolio Builder is BACK!!
Emily (from Feast & Festivities) and I partnered up many months ago to create an incredible portfolio building day for photographers and videographers, and it was supposed to take place back in April. Well, obviously that got cancelled. We’re excited to move forward with our new date of October 4, 2020 — and since this is something that I’ve been envisioning and planning for 2+ years, I’m SO excited to finally make it happen! We will have a set of covid protocols in place to ensure everyone’s safety, so you can create and feel inspired but also feel at ease.
A few weeks off!
I’ve decided that every year, from now on, I should block off a full week after I finish weddings (usually sometime in October), and then again for my son’s birthday (which is a week before Christmas…so basically I’ll take two weeks off at Christmas time). I’ve never done this before and to be honest, I’m not good at “not working,” so we’ll see how dedicated I am to it. Nevertheless, I’m excited at the prospect of “holidays” and will have the autoresponder turned on.
email list
One of my goals this winter is to really figure out how to use my email list (yet another thing that kind of went out the window this summer…) and I’m creating what I hope will be a great resource for all of you who are planning weddings, to entice you to join the list. Can’t wait to get on that!
A staycation with my husband
to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary (no, I’m not that old, we just got married really young lol!). Originally the plan was to spend a week or two in NYC (where we honeymooned), in October after wedding season would be over…so obviously that was kiboshed. Then we thought, let’s keep our money in Canada and drive out to Banff instead — I’ve never seen the Rockies, and I can’t wait to get there. Well, I’m going to be waiting a little longer 😂 We have scaled all the way back to a 1 night stay at the Inn at the Forks BUT we chose the fanciest room in the hotel and it’s our son’s first sleepover with Oma and Opa, and I won’t be cooking the ENTIRE weekend, so it’s still cool.
Hopefully a few more weddings!
I’ve got some great events scheduled throughout the end of September, a couple in October, and one in November. Fingers crossed that we’ll be able to proceed as planned and get those couples married and celebrated! I’ll be the first to say that I’m a little bit anxious about the back-to-school situation and will probably be obsessively checking the covid counts, but hopefully we’ll be able to safely proceed with our events and gatherings with the current restrictions in place.
I’ll also begin wedding bookings again!
Taking the summer off of appointments and consultations was SO nice but I’m also looking forward to talking with couples, hearing their plans and beginning to envision what I can do to make their weddings even more special. My 2021 wedding calendar is quite full — assuming all goes to plan with the rescheduled weddings from this year, next year’s calendar has just 1 date available in July and 1 date available in August, and then a handful in October and December. 2022 dates will become available in the new year, but I do have a waitlist started in case you want to tentatively put your date on my calendar. I’m really looking forward to getting into some brainstorming sessions to design your days!
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
2021 wedding dates are limited! 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!
What's the Actual Cost of a Bridal Bouquet? Late Summer Boho Bouquet Breakdown
I’m often asked by brides-to-be on Instagram about the cost of a particular wedding flower arrangement that I’ve posted. I won’t lie - I often don’t hear back from those inquiries.
I can’t always give specific pricing because it’s not necessarily relevant to the inquiring bride’s date, or flower requests, or it might not be appropriate to share what an actual couple has invested in their flowers, so I generally give price ranges that someone might expect. For reference, my bridal bouquets start at $225 and often come in between $225 - $250. Couples who are attracted to my work generally fall within a similar design style (garden-inspired, romantic, floral-heavy), and that means incorporating certain types of flowers that start at a higher price point - garden roses, peonies, ranunculus are all examples. I wrote an entire blog series on wedding flower costs in Manitoba and if you want to know more, you can read that here!
I’m often asked by brides-to-be on Instagram about the cost of a particular wedding flower arrangement that I’ve posted. I won’t lie - I often don’t hear back from those inquiries.
I can’t always give specific pricing because it’s not necessarily relevant to the inquiring bride’s date, or flower requests, or it might not be appropriate to share what an actual couple has invested in their flowers, so I generally give price ranges that someone might expect. For reference, my bridal bouquets start at $225 and often come in between $225 - $250. Couples who are attracted to my work generally fall within a similar design style (garden-inspired, romantic, floral-heavy), and that means incorporating certain types of flowers that start at a higher price point - garden roses, peonies, ranunculus are all examples. I wrote an entire blog series on wedding flower costs in Manitoba and if you want to know more, you can read that here!
So, with all that said, I wanted to break down this actual bridal bouquet that I designed for a photo shoot at Manitoba Club in late August. I’ll be sharing the full shoot soon, so consider this a sneak peek!
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients
Zinnias*
Lisianthus*
Garden Roses
Cosmos*
Amaranthus*
Gardenia Foliage
Acacia Foliage
Lunaria
*Denotes locally grown here in Manitoba - yay!
Bridal Bouquet Cost: $285
You‘ll probably ask, what makes this bouquet $285? Like I said, most of my bridal bouquets come in between $225 - $250, and this one incorporates a lot of the typical types of blooms that I’m drawn to: garden roses as a focal flower, lisianthus and zinnias are the perfect secondary flowers (truly some of the best locally grown flowers available - they’re just totally delish!), and a few varieties of greenery.
You’ll be surprised to find out that one of the most expensive part of this bouquet is actually the lunaria - the unique, silvery white flat seed pods popping out here and there. I only included 3 stems - for a total of $45! I’m sure all of you would agree that they’re totally stunning, but even so, I doubt most of my clients would feel really strongly about including a few stems into their bouquets when they find out the cost.
On the other hand, the garden roses are also pricey but they play a more important role: garden roses are a more impressive and immediately noticed focal flower, and they really create the foundation of this colour palette. These garden roses come in at $18/stem, and with 7 stems in the bouquet, make for a total of $126 - just shy of half of the cost of the bouquet.
I also designed a couple of corresponding boutonnieres, a ceremony space, a completed reception tablescape, and some other accents (like a cute lounge and bar set up!), but you’ll have to wait to see the rest!
Vendors:
Planning and Venue: Manitoba Club Weddings ~ Photography: Black and Gold ~ Florals and Design: Stone House Creative ~ Linens and Chairs: Planned Perfectly ~ Stationery: Little Dove Calligraphy ~ Rentals: Trend Decor ~ Cake: Cake Studio ~ Dress: Bliss Bridal Boutique ~ Suit: EPH Apparel ~ Makeup and Hair: Fifth | Makeup: What’s Her Face Beauty | Hair: Hair by Abs
Hire a Talented Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg
2021 wedding dates will be opened in the new year, and in the meantime, you can get on my waitlist! 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!
My New Method
Hi all! It’s been a minute since I’ve had time to check into the blog and let you all know what’s going on. This summer has been AMAZING and full of some of the most enjoyable weddings I’ve been a part of (speaking of which, you can always find sneak peeks of what I’m working on over on Instagram!). I’ve got a lot of awesome posts planned for the coming months on the blog - I just need a little time to actually spend here :)
Hi all! It’s been a minute since I’ve had time to check into the blog and let you all know what’s going on. This summer has been AMAZING and full of some of the most enjoyable weddings I’ve been a part of (speaking of which, you can always find sneak peeks of what I’m working on over on Instagram!). I’ve got a lot of awesome posts planned for the coming months on the blog - I just need a little time to actually spend here :)
I wanted to let you all in a little something I’ve been working on - a new consultation method! I have had no problems at all with my previous method BUT I was listening to a podcast the other day and the guest mentioned that she liked to have a little more creative control over her designs. That got me to chatting to with my flower friend/associate designer, Deanna, and that brought about this idea for a new method.
One of the aspects of my job that can be challenging is balancing the inspiration photos I receive from clients with my own creative thoughts and ideas. Sometimes, it’s just really hard to know what the line is between simply copying the inspiration picture and knowing when I can interject with my ideas! I often feel like I can do my very BEST work — coming up with my favourite flower combinations, planning interesting installations, and generally creating something more unique than the inspiration pics that float around on 1 million pinterest boards — when I know that I have creative freedom from the client. So, my new method is designed to incorporate the client’s inspiration while also giving me the opportunity to offer up my creativity better.
For the most part, if you sit down in a consultation with me in the future, you’ll already have shared with me your inspiration and thoughts about colour and style. I’m going to ask for this in advance so that I have time to digest your ideas, and then see where my mind takes me. Then, when we sit down in person, I’ll be able to present you with my ideas for how I would do your wedding. You’ll get a fuller picture of what I’d like to do for you, and rather than simply going down the checklist of the items you need, we’ll be able to talk more about the overall design, and how you want the wedding to FEEL.
I’m really excited about this new method, and I hope that it works as well for you as it does for me!
2020 wedding dates are booking very quickly with few Saturdays left July-October. May and June are fully booked, and I have a few Fridays still available for July-October!
I’m also about to start booking 2021 weddings early this winter so if you’d like to be placed on my waiting list in the meantime, fill out the contact form HERE and I’ll get you on the list!
Why It's Important to Me (and my business) that I'm Constantly Learning
Right from the start of my business, I knew that I wanted to invest in myself with continued education for many years to come. My first job in the wedding industry was working for a local wedding magazine, and I learned so much by observing the many small businesses in the wedding industry that we worked with. One of the main things I realized was that SO many people in this industry hit cruise control and then a few years later, watch in horror as their businesses start to crumble around them. I never wanted to see that happen in my business, and I knew that investing into education, inspiration, and relationships with other wedding professionals was one way to stay at the top of my game, while always keeping me searching for new ways to progress in my biz. As a result, I’ve attended floral design workshops, taken online courses in event design, business management and marketing, learned how to build a website, and attended conferences specifically for floral professionals.
Right from the start of my business, I knew that I wanted to invest in myself with continued education for many years to come. My first job in the wedding industry was working for a local wedding magazine, and I learned so much by observing the many small businesses in the wedding industry that we worked with. One of the main things I realized was that SO many people in this industry hit cruise control and then a few years later, watch in horror as their businesses start to crumble around them. I never wanted to see that happen in my business, and I knew that investing into education, inspiration, and relationships with other wedding professionals was one way to stay at the top of my game, while always keeping me searching for new ways to progress in my biz. As a result, I’ve attended floral design workshops, taken online courses in event design, business management and marketing, learned how to build a website, and attended conferences specifically for floral professionals.
I recently attended the Team Flower Conference, and not only that, I was actually a featured keynote speaker as well! It was an incredible honour to be asked to speak and my presentation was all about the importance of client communication and how to truly do it well. As you can see, I talk with my hands a lot 😂
At the conference, my love for learning was reaffirmed, once again! There were sessions on design, flower farming, hiring a team, being a parent working in the floral industry, and more. One of my favourite sessions was presented by Natalie Gill of Native Poppy, a retail floral shop specializing in weddings in California. She said a lot of things that really stood out to me:
“Sweat builds you a job. Systems build you a business.”
“I think there’s a solution to everything.”
“For years I had been a student of flowers. Then I became a student of business.”
That last one really stuck out to me and has been inspiring me since. Why? Well, I’m pretty confident in my design style and I know how to take really good care of flowers. I, too, have been a student of flowers. What’s really firing me up right now is learning how to build the very best business that I can, so that YOU, my clients, can benefit! I want you to have the very best experience possible in planning your wedding, and I know that the way I serve you plays an enormous role in that. If your interactions with me suck, then you might just end up with a tinge of unhappiness that seeps into other aspects of your wedding planning. I don’t want that!
I also want to build the best business possible because of the plans that I have for Stone House Creative. This biz turns 5 years old this summer. The past 4 years have been about hustling and working hard and loving (almost) every minute of it. This year is the first wedding season when I’ll have a baby beside me (except not actually beside me, because we have childcare to take care of him while I work - thank goodness, because I’m a good multitasker but not that good!). It’s really important to me to show him that women in business are POWERFUL and can achieve a lot, and that working hard for something that you value is important. I want him to grow up knowing that hard work itself is valuable, whether you’re working your “dream job” or not. I also want my business to serve my life well, and that means allowing me flexibility to take off specific weekends in the summer so my family can go to the lake, or not working on my son’s birthday weekend so we can celebrate. And I have some pretty serious goals for the future, which aren’t even close to being unrolled yet but are going to be amazing down the line.
It should also be important to YOU to hire someone who is constantly learning and evaluating their business, making shifts to serve their clients and themselves well, rather than just building something that works alright and letting it lay stagnant for years. I’m not saying this to convince you to hire me - I’m saying this because I truly think that the best businesses, the best client experiences, the best wedding days come about when you hire people and businesses who are passionate and ENGAGED in what they do.
“True experts never stop learning and work relentlessly on pushing [themselves] to be better.” - Think Splendid
If you’ve made it this far, you get rewarded with a picture of the cutest baby of all time…mine! To close the Team Flower Conference, there was a dinner in which everyone needed to wear something floral. Being a new mom, I decided that my family had to match 😂BUT it’s very hard to find floral printed clothes for baby boys in February! I was pretty pumped to find these Pick Flowers Not Fights t-shirts so Jack and I could match. I couldn’t find one in time for my husband, but I thought a slightly floral printed white t would be good enough.
But seriously…isn’t he the cutest baby you’ve ever seen? He’s WAY huger now and he has slightly more hair (only slightly, lol!), is moving CONSTANTLY and he’s super chatty. Basically it’s just the most fun I’ve ever had.
Professional Photos by Hannah Haston Photography