Moody Greenery Wedding at Cielo's Garden

Before I get started, here’s a fun fact: today is my 9th wedding anniversary!
No, I’m not that old! Chad and I got married the month before I turned 22, and we’ve been together since we were 16. So happy anniversary to us!

Nicole and Dave were such a delight to work with (do I say this about every couple I work with? ha!). Really, they were. Just so happy, relaxed, and excited for the wedding day. Nicole has an eye for design and had a beautiful, simple vision for their wedding that I was so happy to be a part of - she wanted something moody and different, and she said the magic words to me in her initial email: “we’d like something that no one has done before.”

Photos: Kassandra Donaldson | Wedding Coordination: Alexandra Lillian Weddings | Venue: Cielo’s Garden | Flowers: Stone House Creative

Nicole wanted to keep things really simple - minimal in a moody way. She wanted the bouquet to be gardenesque and to let the flowers just do what they wanted.

Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: white peonies, anemones, white football mums, nagi foliage, Italian ruscus, and dusty miller. That’s it! The bridesmaids carried a simpler, smaller version of Nicole’s bouquet.

Want to know something I LOVE? When a couple takes their portraits in the ceremony setting (when it’s been well designed and has amazing natural light). Obviously I’m designing that scene to be the perfect place for you and your partner to have a meaningful, beautiful place to share your vows in - but why not circle back a few minutes after the ceremony is over and take some stunning photos in this veritable garden that I’ve created for you? Or have your first look here? (if this is what you’re doing, you just need to make sure I know so that the ceremony instal is completed in time!). Or once your hair and makeup are ready, you and your photographer sneak into the chapel and take some BOMB bridal portraits? Nicole and Dave did this, and I am SO pumped about it.

This ceremony design was actually super simple. It was just greenery! Designed to look like it’s growing up the wall in a wild way, which fit really nicely with the setting given that we have all the greenery from the forest in view through the gorgeous windows at the Cielo’s chapel.

We kept the flowers at the reception pretty minimal as well but in keeping with the overall design, and also made some budget-friendly decisions. We started with 2 floral arrangements per table, keeping them smaller in size and with lower cost blooms like mums. If they were on the table by themselves, it might look a little too simple, right? So I loved that Nicole added a few pillar candles and grounded it all with this light blue cheesecloth table runner. It’s the little touches that make the difference!

Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?

Whether you’re planning a whimsical garden-inspired celebration or a formal ballroom fete, I think flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Maybe you already have a specific vision or you might want me to dream up something custom just for you - either way, 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!

Now booking 2020 wedding dates! 

Burgundy and Gold Fall Wedding at Qualico Family Centre

I’m continuing on with sharing more or my fall weddings, even though what we’re all longing for right now are the lazy, hazy days of summer :) Those days will be here in a flash, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from working in weddings, it’s that time moves very quickly. One minute you’re engaged and getting married in a year and a half, and then next you suddenly find yourself collecting RSVPS and making your floor plan. So, those fall weddings are really just around the corner!

Jaclyn and Chad’s wedding was in September at the Qualico Family Centre, featuring a palette of burgundy and gold with a fairly formal feel and some really beautiful flowers.

Amanda Gundrum Photography (and some iphone photos from me!) ~ Amanda Douglas Events ~ Qualico Family Centre ~ Two Chicks and a Bag of Makeup ~ Planned Perfectly ~ C&T Rentals

Oh, how I LOVED Jaclyn’s bouquet! It was lush and delicious with one special little ingredient: faux lily of the valley. I don’t normally use faux flowers, but Jaclyn’s grandma’s favourite flower was lily of the valley and since that’s only available for about 12 minutes in May, I suggested I track down a high quality silk and it worked beautifully. It tucked in really nicely!

Bridal Bouquet ingredients: burgundy dahlias, quicksand roses, sahara sensation spray roses, mauve astrantia, rice flower, and antique carnations with hasmine vine and nagi foliages. The spray roses were actually a sub for something else that I was hoping to get, but in the end, they were actually my favourite variety in the entire bouquet!

I always like working at the Qualico Family Centre. Why? Because it’s so easy to make beautiful! It’s a nice, neutral space on its own with a warm and airy feel thanks to soaring ceilings and enormous windows, but with the right colour palette in there, the space really becomes something special. Personally, I love using warm neutrals with an accent of rich colour at Qualico. You can see how the gold and champagne tones are the perfect base, and the accents of burgundy are just delicious.

The focal point of the reception design was definitely the head table. Set in front of a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, the long table was set apart with a contrasting sequinned linen and a full greenery and floral garland lining the front. On the guest tables, we alternated tall arrangements with low ones. The tall were designed on a baroque-style brass pedestal we sub-rented from Dream Day Decor, and the low arrangements were a lush combination of blooms from the bouquets in my ceramic brass urns.

Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?

I’m now booking 2020 wedding dates for both floral and event design!
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!

Modern and Organic Wedding at Cielo's Garden

Prepare yourselves to see a real-life Disney princess, folks. Chrystalle is one of THE most photogenic people I’ve ever seen and truly, in those gowns (that’s right, gowns - she had two) she honestly looks like a living, breathing Disney princess.

I love the way this wedding design contrasts modern and organic elements. From photos on a rooftop in the Exchange District to the natural beauty of Cielo’s Garden, and organic-inspired greenery arrangements lining the guest tables to the clean-lined glass vases I used, it all came together really beautifully. The planning process was quite simple, considering that Chrystalle did all of her planning from Vancouver (I love working with out of town couples!). We went back and forth on a few different centrepiece ideas, but always kept in mind her initial vision of a minimalist design with just black, white, and green with a touch of metallic accents.

Steph Schulz Photography ~ Cielo’s Garden ~ Alexandra Lillian Weddings & Events

Chrystalle’s bouquet was actually the only piece I used actual flowers in! Her bouquet had an organic, freshly picked from the garden feel with all white blooms, including garden roses, snap dragons, lisianthus, and scabiosa mixed with ruscus, leather leaf fern, and seeded eucalyptus. The bridesmaids carried bouquets composed just of greenery.

Okay, I lied - Ray’s boutonniere had a flower in it ;)

Ah, I love Cielo’s Garden! One of the best things about this space is that it’s very versatile, so lots of different design styles look fantastic here. You’re not competing with awful patterned carpet or busy wallpaper - as long as you respect the beauty of what’s beyond those clear tent walls, you’re good to go!

After debating a few options for centrepieces and ending up with a somewhat last minute seating plan change, we chose to mix together tall greenery arrangements with clustered, modern glass stem vases with single stems of greenery and lots of candles. They added clean-lined, modern stationery details and other than that, kept the reception space very simple and minimal!

Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?

I’m now booking 2020 wedding dates for both floral and event design!
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!

Warm and Cosy Fall Wedding at Whitetail Meadow

We’re looking forward to sunny days right now, but the weather this past September was super weird - when we normally would have mild temperatures, often with some serious heat still coming through when the sun is high, we instead got rain and snow. I can’t be the only one who thought it was a major bummer! Mackenzie and Brendan planned their wedding for the end of September, and they woke up to a windy, chilly day with sprinkles of rain throughout…so what did they do? Switched around their plans and decided to make their Whitetail Meadow as warm and cosy as possible!

Luckily, Whitetail Meadow’s indoor space is really beautiful, with several options for layout if you need to do your ceremony indoors. Mackenzie decided to make the fireplace the focal point, and with the warm autumn tones that we were already planning for the flowers, it worked perfectly. I was so happy they decided to move the ceremony indoors - not just because it would have been cold for me to design outside, but because I think the backdrop they ended up with indoors is gorgeous!

Whitetail Meadow ~ COJO Photo ~ Prairie Film Co

We went really textural and deep for Mackenzie’s bouquet, focusing on the deep reds, plums, and touches of oranges with plenty of deep greenery. I loved the cascading foliages and the movement they brought! We kept things simpler for the bridesmaids, focusing more on the greenery with just touches of the fall tones tucked in.

Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: Several varieties of roses, dahlias, mums, sweet William, scabiosa, and amaranthus with pepperberry and ruscus foliages.

You can see why it was a good call to move the ceremony indoors! While it was raining outside, guests were treated to a warm, cosy atmosphere inside with a crackling fire. I loved designing the mantle piece - Mackenzie just let me do whatever I wanted, which in my opinion is always the best move! I repeated a lot of the floral elements that we used in her bouquet, adding in lots of texture through the use of sedum and amaranthus and then adding in the focal points of the different toned red roses and rust mums. The couple had collected all of these old family wedding photos from the various sides of their families, some going back a LONG time, and it was a nice touch to tuck those in as well.

I also added a garland-style piece to the top of the staircase that became the aisle, so those shots of the bride walking down the aisle would have a beautiful touch, along with large arrangements in stone urns and varied sizes of potted fall mums to mark the aisle itself. Mini pumpkins and gourds were tucked in throughout as well!

We decided to design two complementary table styles for the reception. The long wood tables at Whitetail are so pretty, so to emphasize that and pick up on the warm tones, one table was a moss runner with touches of flowers tucked right in, and the other featured repeating long arrangements in rustic wood boxes with arrangements that coordinated with the bridal party flowers.

I just had to include this one of me and the babe. Luckily this was my only wedding on this day, because that baby was feeling HEAVY. Little did I know it could get sooooo much bigger and heavier 😂You don’t quite realize how much bending and lifting a florist does until you have this massive weight throwing you off balance and making you exhausted!

Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?

Whether you’re planning a whimsical garden-inspired celebration or a formal ballroom fete, I think flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Maybe you already have a specific vision or you might want me to dream up something custom just for you - either way, 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!
Now booking 2020 wedding dates! 

Flower-Filled Lake of the Woods Wedding

I love Lake of the Woods weddings, and Kailee and Stephane’s was such a special one. Fair warning, this post is going to be a little photo heavy because 1) the photos are AWESOME and 2) Kailee told me right off the hop that she loves flowers and wanted lots of them - so I made that happen :)

Kailee and I never actually met in person, which is often the case for my out-of-town clients. They live and work in Kenora, so it just wasn’t really convenient for them to come into Winnipeg just to meet with me about flowers. We did everything over Facetime and email. I generally find that this process works really well for out-of-town couples, particularly when they trust me to do a great job for them. Kailee told me her favourite things (she really, really loves roses!) and her colour palette of blush, cream and black, and I took it from there. Originally she envisioned very classic, round floral designs but towards the end of the planning, she asked if we could loosen things up. The designs should still have a fairly formal feel, but with a looser shape that suited the outdoor wedding a little better.

Taliah Leigh Photography ~ Royal Lake of the Woods Yacht Club ~ Posh and Pixie Salon

Ah, Kailee’s bouquet. I loved it! It was a huge, huge bouquet with a soft blush, peach, and cream palette.

Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: white o’Hara garden roses, quicksand roses, and mother of peal roses with white ranunculus and calcynia. I’m telling you the truth, this might be my favourite combination. The colour variation was subtle enough for a blush palette but thanks to the really delicate touches of peach, it was more interesting than the typical blush and cream. I had a really hard time letting this one go!

Can you imagine this boat as your getting ready location?

I had already booked another wedding in Winnipeg for the same weekend, which meant that I wasn’t able to drive out to Kenora to deliver and set everything up for them. It’s always my preference to be able to do it myself, but sometimes with out of town weddings, that’s just not do-able! So, one of Kailee’s brothers pulled up to my place the day before the wedding. We arranged for him to bring a van, they lined up an air conditioned to keep the van cool over-night, and we packed that thing full to the top with flowers! I was actually quite anxious that there wouldn’t be enough space, as the original plan was for them to rent a cargo van but they ended up needing to use a mini-van. We played some serious Tetris that morning, and miraculously, it all fit in.

I always love dock ceremonies at the Royal Yacht Club because that view is just incredible. In this case, the couple had this wooden arch made and I designed these large floral pieces to frame them in. I filled them with lots of roses, Kailee’s favourite, and they were like lush floral clouds for them to get married under.

I love that lake weddings mean you get an unconventional walk down the “aisle!”

The Royal Yacht Club at Kenora has an indoor facility, but it’s not very large. Kailee and Steph erected a tent on one of the tennis courts instead, which allowed them to move from indoors to out really easily at different points throughout the evening. I designed a mix of low and tall arrangements, which were scattered on the tables and around the Yacht Club. I love the rose gold accents that Kailee brought in with the candleholders and flatware.

If this last photo doesn’t do the perfect job of telling you why lake weddings are the very best, then I just don’t know how else I could say it. 💕

Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?

Getting married in Winnipeg or the Lake of theWoods? Whether it's a whimsical garden party inspired celebration or a formal ballroom fete, I think flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Maybe you already have a specific vision or you might want me to dream up something custom just for you - either way, 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! 

I’ll be opening up appointments for 2020 wedding dates very soon - but be sure to get on the waitlist in the meantime!