Kristin and Matt's Fall Wedding at FortWhyte Alive

I have a pretty serious love/hate relationship with fall. I used to love it -- back when I was a kid, fall was the time for packing school supplies into my new backpack and seeing all my friends again. But now that I work in the wedding industry...well, fall means that I basically missed summer. UGH. 

But, when I get to work with people like Kristin, it's all okay. She didn't have a super long wish list of flowers that she wanted for her wedding at FortWhyte Alive, which was perfectly fine by me because what she DID want was going to be beautiful. 

Black & Gold Photography was great to work with on this wedding, as was Peachy Green Events with some cute decor rentals. Makeup by 2 Chicks and a Bag of Makeup.

All of the luxurious tones and textures in Kristin's bridal bouquet were perfect for the fall day. We used a luxe palette of burgundy and plum, and I created a slightly looser shape without getting too wild. Bridal bouquet ingredients: dahlias, roses, garden roses, ranunculus, silver brunia, ninebark, and italian ruscus. The colours looked great with the burgundy bridesmaid dresses!

FortWhyte Alive has so many great photo spots! This beautiful lake was the setting for Kristin and Matt's outdoor ceremony. Rather than go too big with the flowers and detract from the great view, we decided to go a different route, clustering together smaller arrangements on several wooden stands. It brought together the colour palette, fit really well with the natural setting, and each of the floral pieces were easily moved inside after the wedding!

I had to share this one last photo -- I don't usually have photos taken of me when I deliver flowers, so I'm pretty sure that I was wearing a sports bra and had no makeup on, but it's still kind of fun to show you some of the behind the scenes action!

Lauda and Jeremy's Colourful Summer Wedding at Pineridge Hollow

I loved being a part of this colourful summer wedding at Pineridge Hollow. When we first met, Lauda sort of had a vision for her wedding flowers, but it hadn't completely come together yet. By the day of the wedding, it all came together so beautifully. It was incredibly fun for me to work with all of this colour, and I used about 90% locally grown flowers so I loved that even more! 

I love these photos from Sugar & Soul Photography so much! 

As featured on Host Winnipeg.

Laura's bridal bouquet was cheerful, vibrant, whimsical, and a complete breath of fresh air for me. It's so fun to design something that's different from the norm. Her bouquet included: Foxglove (one of my faves!), dahlias, zinnias, cosmos, marigold, asclepia, and veronica. I loved using this rich palette of purple, magenta, pink, orange, and blue. 

A few days after the wedding, Lauda stopped by with a thank you card, and a mini bouquet of flowers she had picked out of her own garden. They matched perfectly with the flowers in her bouquet - it was so sweet of her!

Aren't the purple bridesmaid dresses just perfect with the colour palette? And you know I love tiny flower girl bouquets! The lovely bridesmaid at the end is my friend, Tracey! We used to work together.

I'm not sure where this garden is that the couple went with Mel from Sugar & Soul Photography, but it is just flower heaven. Isn't this the perfect summertime setting?

Over at Pineridge Hollow, more colour was in order! The tent is so white and clean, which of course is lovely, but it just begs for colour. I loved Lauda's idea - we used different sized jars and containers to line the tables, each with a bouquet of colourful, locally grown flowers! Jeremy built this incredible wood backdrop to place behind the head table, and isn't it beautiful? It added so much to the space.

Lauren and Jordan's Greenery and White Wedding at Cielo's Garden

Alright. This post has been a long time coming and I've been waiting to share it with you, because it was one of my absolute favourite weddings of 2016. Lauren and Jordan are just plain amazing. Their characters are remarkable: they're both so kind, generous, and honest. Their love for each other is inspiring. It was truly a privilege to be a part of this wedding. 

Normally, I'm not so huge on the whole "Pantone Colour of the Year" thing...but given that they selected "Greenery" as the colour for 2017, I can get behind it! Looks like Lauren and Jordan were trendsetters :) 

Photos: Pantel Photography | Venue: Cielo's Garden | Videography: Prairie Film Co | Dress: Bliss Bridal Boutique | Makeup: Jessica Kmiec

Lauren had a very beautiful vision for her wedding. With a palette of navy, light blue, white, green, and gold, she told me what she liked and what she didn't like, and then let me run with the rest of it. The bouquets were loose and gardenesque, all in white and green with as many locally grown blooms as possible. I tied them all up with navy satin streamers.

Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: garden roses, scabiosa, sweet pea, lisianthus, campanula, veronica, waxflower, and several varieties of eucalyptus. 

The chapel at Cielo's Garden is one of my favourite places to design flowers in. Lauren's idea was to install this gorgeous greenery piece above the altar where they'd say their vows and I couldn't get enough of the idea. I tucked in a few white blooms here and there for some depth. Designing this piece was one of the happiest moments of my summer!

For this piece, I threaded in salal, plumosa, nagi, pittisporum, eucalyptus, ruscus, and stems of white campanula blooms to add in depth. Over at the reception, we chose long garlands of salal greenery with white campanula blooms to emphasize the long wooden tables. They had an incredible troop of friends and family members helping them out on the day of the wedding -- Lauren had wooden table number signs, individual escort cards for each place setting, and many candles. It was absolutely beautiful.

Lauren also asked me to design a flower crown for the reception, and man, does the girl ever wear it with style!

Meredyth and Brock's Tent Wedding with Eucalyptus Garlands

When Meredyth and I first started planning her wedding flowers, we didn't actually have the opportunity to meet. I typically like to do an in-person flower consultation with all of my clients, but sometimes, a Skype meeting is the only way to go! Meredyth and Brock live a few hours away, in Brandon, and the wedding was going to be hosted out there as well. 

Gorgeous photos: Pantel Photography | Bridal Gown: Vera Wang

Over the course of their engagement, we ended up changing the plan for the flowers a few times, but through all of the new ideas, one thing was very clear: Meredyth had GREAT style. The palette of soft blush and pinks, creams, and sage greens felt lovely and fresh in the all-white tent where they held their reception. In the end, we decided on simple eucalyptus garlands with a few blush roses tucked in here and there, gold-rimmed candle holders, and bouquets of cream and the softest pink that looked beautiful against the ballet-pink bridesmaid dresses. 

Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: hydrangea, stock, white O'hara garden roses, sweet pea, astilbe, silver brunia, dusty miller, acacia, and gunni eucalyptus. 

I absolutely ADORE a cute flower girl and ring bearer duo!

Kim and Adam's White and Green Summer Wedding at Bridges Golf Course

Kim and Adam's summer wedding at Bridges Golf Course was a great one! Especially great, because Kim is an incredibly caring and devoted friend, and my own little sister was one of Kim's bridesmaids so I know this for a fact :) She planned her wedding to perfection, had great ideas, and was incredibly organized. She sought a somewhat rustic aesthetic, which works really well with the decor at Bridges, and always looks good in a simple white and green palette!

Photos: The wonderful Pantel Photography | Linens and Chairs: Dream Day Decorators | Lighting: Event Light | Calligraphy, Table Numbers, Place Cards: Amanda Bawdon | Venue: Bridges Golf Course | Dress: Hayley Paige from Bliss Bridal Boutique | Cakes: Laugh Love Cakes

In keeping with the rustic theme, I actually used twigs and branches within the bouquets, along with locally grown zinnias and scabiosa that brought a perfect summery, rustic texture.

Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: Locally grown Zinnias, Scabiosa and Lisianthus, Dahlias, Waxflower, Twigs, Ivy Vines, Boxwood, and Nagi

I loved designing the flowers for this arch! Adam, the groom, built the wooden structure for me to use. I first added on the draping, which was quite a challenge because it was SUPER windy that day! I then added on this greenery garland, followed by the flowers designed in two separate pieces (they were later taken off of the arch and moved to the head table - I love getting double duty out of ceremony flowers!). I kept it simple, using just large headed white roses and white delphinium. Each bloom was nice and big, and I chose to place them each on a different plane. I find this creates a more natural feel, which is especially suitable for a rustic, outdoor wedding, rather than flowers designed in a dense, unnatural way.

Indoors at the reception, I started with this really cool hanging branch piece over the head table. Event Light added in twinkling lights, so it created a really pretty effect over the bridal party all night. I used a lovely stone urn for the centrepieces, and tucked in white flowers along with a ton of greenery.