Ashley and Bobby's Elegant Garden Wedding at the Fort Garry Hotel

Talk about a dream wedding. No, seriously. Ashley and Bobby's elegant garden wedding at the Fort Garry Hotel is one that I'd be happy to re-do every single weekend of the year. Ashley requested a refined design with classic style, and for roses to take centre stage. You know, there was a time in my life when I thought I didn't like roses. What on earth was I thinking?

PS Sorry in advance for a looooong post. The photos from Brittany Mahood are just WAY too good.

Brittany Mahood Photography ~ Melanie Parent Events ~ Sarah Seven ~ Planned Perfectly ~ Grace Hill Salon ~ Myuz Artistry ~ Rhyme and Rhythm ~ Charleston & Harlow Candle Co ~ High Tea Bakery

The Provencher Room is my favourite formal ballroom setting in the city, because it has this incredible sense of elegance with a neutral palette. Some of the other ballrooms have a more distinct colour palette (other ballrooms at the Fort Garry feature navy or emerald drapery, for example), while the Provencher Room is more of a timeless setting, in my opinion

And for a little something extra, Kayla from Rhyme and Rhythm did an amazing job with their video! 

Danica and Braden's Summer Wedding at Ashgrove Acres

Danica and Braden's summer wedding my first time being out at Ashgrove Acres (which is just outside of Niverville) and it was such a gorgeous day! The weather was perfect, the flowers were gorgeous, and the bride? Woah nelly. Talk about a knock-out.

Photos: Rachwal Photography | Venue: Ashgrove Acres | Rentals: D & M Rentals

Danica's bouquet gave me SUCH serious shivers. I couldn't handle my excitement when I was putting it together! It had just a few different varieties in different shades, and was just perfect.
Bridal bouquet ingredients: standard roses and garden roses, sweet pea, ranunculus, Queen Anne's Lace, laurel leaves, silver willow foliage, Italian ruscus, foraged smokebush, and foraged olive. 

I don't know where they took these photos, but could it be a more perfect location? Those tall purplish blooms are actually weeds, but man, they create such a dreamy atmosphere. The pale dove grey bridesmaids' dresses were a gorgeous compliment to the soft palette.

When the flower girl crown just looks that much better on Grandpa ;)

The venue at Ashgrove Acres is really quite beautiful. The sheer draping along the ceilings creates a really soft, delicate effect and this particular colour palette works really well there. When it came to the centrepieces, Danica loved the idea of long, trailing arrangements without the hindrance of a container. I designed these arrangements to sit low along the table, in this romantic palette using a few varieties of roses, locally grown lisianthus, and locally grown Queen Anne's Lace. Personally, I don't think it could have been prettier!

Stephanie and Jay's Gorgeous Flower-Filled Wedding

Sometimes, as a floral designer, the flowers come together as though they were meant to be together. It's like they just find their place together. Making Stephanie's bridal bouquet was one of those times. Let me show you a little more.

Photos: Brittany Mahood | Ceremony Venue: Manitoba Club | Reception Venue: Fort Garry Hotel | Bakery: Jenna Rae Cakes | Calligraphy: Jennifer Bianca Calligraphy | Groom's Suit: Eph Apparel 

Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: peonies, quicksand roses, earl grey roses, lisianthus, astrantia, riceflower, olive, white popular, and huechera foliage with an accent of stephanotis vine.

I loved adding this simple, minimal hair comb for Stephanie! Placed slightly off centred, it was so pretty with her low updo.

Stephanie asked for two of these big beauties for her ceremony. We placed two tall wood stands on either side of the couple, each with a large gold urn and full floral arrangement, to create an altar of sorts for them.

Interested in seeing beautiful flowers like this on your wedding day? Let me know by clicking the button below!

The Most Dreamy Wedding of 2017

The most dreamy wedding of 2017: that might seem like an overstatement, but I assure you, it's not. Kaylah and Jason's wedding was a literal dream. When I look back on it, in my mind I see it with a hazy sort of quality, like a dream sequence in a movie. Hold on, because this will be a long post. It took me a very long time to decide which images were my favourites and would tell their story best - they're all so beautiful!

It was pure kismet that I was available to do their wedding flowers. Kaylah reached out a few months before her wedding and it was the only date of the summer that I still had available. Then when we sat down together, she showed me a picture of the dress she had bought from this incredible online boutique that I've been following for a few years. You guys, you won't believe this, but I had been dreaming about doing a wedding with that dress and knew that it was never going to happen. So you see? It was ate. A fairytale. A dream. 

Photos: Ariana Tennyson | Venue: Cielo's Garden | Dress: Gossamer | Bridesmaid Dresses: Theodora James Inc | Veil: All About Romance

It's quite obvious that Kaylah has incredible style. These stunning images Ariana took could have been ripped straight out of the pages of Vogue, with that dress, her incredible veil and hairpiece, the blooms scattered through her loose braid. We tossed around a few different colour palette options, each unique and beautiful. In the end, we landed on soft shades of pink, lavender, butter yellow, light blues, sage greens, and a touch of magenta.

Bridal bouquet ingredients: amnesia and quicksand roses, delphinium, tweedia, spray roses, rice flower, stock, anemones, delphinium, several varieties of eucalyptus, and some locally grown vine things that I don't know the name of but were the perfect wild touch, all wrapped up in this soft blue velvet ribbon that I had been saving for the perfect bouquet. I went kind of wilder with the shape, really allowing the flowers to tell me where they wanted to be. I couldn't have loved this bouquet more.

The ceremony was just breathtaking. The chapel at Cielo's Garden is always beautiful, and Kaylah and I wanted to do something simple to create an altar, while maintaining a whimsical feel. She left it up to me to decide what to do, and knowing that we were using a lot of greenery, I thought a garland that could be re-purposed for the head table would be a beautiful idea. I decided to drape it almost like curtains, when you pull them back, and tucked in a few floral spotlights for some soft colour.

Then we move on to the reception! Budget was a factor here, as it usually is: any number multiplied by 15-20 tables adds up very quickly! We decided on loose greenery down the table, which in my opinion is just as good as any garland but much, much more cost-effective. I tucked in loose roses, petals, and the heads of some small flowers for whimsy, colour, and texture. I love how it turned out! Kaylah had ordered these cute napkins to alternate colours and while I normally wouldn't suggest that alternating colours like this would look good, I thought this design was so charming.

I couldn't end without sharing a few more of their gorgeous portraits. Obviously they're incredibly photogenic, but Ariana Tennyson is truly an incredible photographer who I love love LOVE working with. Find a photographer who you get along with and whose work makes your heart explode a little bit!

Looking for your wedding florist? I'm currently booking 2018 wedding dates, and prime summer dates are booking up pretty quickly. You don't need to have every answer about what you want, but if you know that you want wedding flowers that are garden-inspired, unique, and to have a lot of fun planning them, then you might want to send me an email soon!

Elegant Garden Wedding at Cielo's Garden

I can't believe that Nicole and Chris' wedding was already 3 months ago! This gorgeous celebration was an elegant, garden-inspired wedding at Cielo's Garden, beautifully planned by Amanda of Amanda Douglas Events. I loved planning and designing the flowers for their wedding - we kept the designs lush, natural, and simple. Nothing was over the top or too much. All of the details were just right, and that allowed the couple to celebrate in a way that was really them!

Casey Nolin Photography ~ Amanda Douglas Events ~ Cielo's Garden ~ Planned Perfectly

Bridal bouquet ingredients: peonies (woah momma, these peonies were perfect!), locally grown tulips and ranunculus, rice flower, bleeding heart from my own garden, larkspur, and spray roses along with several varieties of eucalyptus and ivy. I looped the ivy in and around the bouquet and I just love the way that added some natural whimsy.

The ceremony decor was perfectly simple. Beautiful panels of voile fabric were draped like a curtain altar, and then we simply added in my wood box stands with pillar candles on a base of greenery. See what I mean? Simple, elegant, garden-inspired, and pretty much perfect!

The tabletop details at the reception were also simple and lovely. Long wood planters of white hydrangea and greenery took centre stage, and then we added in stem vases with light pink spray roses, rice flower, Queen Anne's Lace, and other fillers and greenery.

And finally, the cake! I don't normally add flowers or greenery to the cakes as most bakers prefer to do it themselves, but this wedding day had a bit of an emergency and I was more than happy to step in and do what I could! I really liked the way it turned out!