Moody Fashion-Forward Wedding at the Hotel Fort Garry
Being part of Sarah and Scott’s moody, fashion-forward wedding at the Fort Garry Hotel last fall was such a delight.
The flowers were not a huge priority for her — and while most of my couples do put a large emphasis on their florals, I know that many couples out there are in the same place as Sarah! And that’s totally, totally fine.
So instead of doing florals all over the place, we kept a close eye on their budget and chose multi-purpose pieces that would highlight a few key areas, and let Sarah’s fashion be the central design moment.
Being part of Sarah and Scott’s moody, fashion-forward wedding at the Fort Garry Hotel last fall was such a delight.
The flowers were not a huge priority for her — and while most of my couples do put a large emphasis on their florals, I know that many couples out there are in the same place as Sarah! And that’s totally, totally fine.
So instead of doing florals all over the place, we kept a close eye on their budget and chose multi-purpose pieces that would highlight a few key areas, and let Sarah’s fashion be the central design moment.
Photos by Michael & Melanie
Sarah wanted to go smaller and simpler for her bridal bouquet, keeping it a little more chic and not take away from her dress.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: baby’s breath, cream and white spray roses, and playa blanca roses.
I don’t normally post this many portraits and fashion shots, but this gallery from Michael & Melanie is just SO gorgeous. Sarah is all about the fashion and her bridal looks were absolutely divine, so I needed to share a bit more than usual.
The overskirt? The perfect sleeve length? The way she just shimmered? Amazzzing. It’s an Eva Lendel gown, that fate lined up perfectly to make sure she found, on a pre-loved wedding dress site while she was in London, England, of all places. Amazing!!
“Anyone who was on my bridal era journey with me from the beginning knew I didn’t want a lot of flowers initially, but then I found Stone House Creative and immediately changed my mind. Lauren brings a new vision and creativity to this industry I haven’t seen a match for. Her ability to execute someone’s vision is incredible. Thank you for creating such a beautiful backdrop for our celebrations of love.” — Sarah
This ceremony setup has since become one of my most-requested designs by other couples, which is super fun! Sarah wasn’t quite sure what she wanted, but after deciding that she DID want to go with floral decor and tossing around a few ideas, she felt that she needed to reign in the budget. It was actually her idea to repurpose the tall centrepieces and arrange them as an altar around them.
We rented in the mixed clear and gold pedestals, and while we were setting everything up, I decided to call an audible and remove some of the tall stands so the florals were resting right on the pedestals. This added a lot more dimension, created a more designed feeling, and a feeling that that they were floating.
The tall florals were brought over to the guest tables at the reception, paired up with shorter floral arrangements in gold-rimmed vases. I had no idea that the Fort Garry had reupholstered their chairs in this pink tone, but it was lucky! They actually worked perfectly with Sarah’s overall design.
Winnipeg friends will know. Jeanne’s cake, anyone? (I’ve personally never been that into them…aside from the chocolate shavings, which I love)
Sarah’s got a pretty cool story about her second dress — she had admired this designer for years (Valdrin Sahiti, known for dressing Khloe Kardashian and Beyonce!!), so she flew to their headquarters in Kosovo (after travelling through Europe to try on wedding dresses everywhere she could find), and met with the design team. She then got hit with a wave of indecision, and couldn’t decide on anything that she loved! She ended up coming home, but kept thinking it over…and finally, figured out the custom designed gown that would be perfect for her. The designers shipped it to her just 8 days before the wedding, complete with 1000+ hand-sewn feathers onto the skirt of the dress.
Looking for a Wedding Floral & Event Designer in Winnipeg?
Dates at the Winnipeg Art Gallery book quickly, and we’re one of their top designers! Reach out to inquire about your date availability.
Whether you already have a specific vision or want me to dream up something custom just for you, reach out to find out how we can create the perfect ambiance for your wedding.
Warm, Inviting Fall Wedding at SMITH
I just LOVE restaurant weddings, so when Ange and Jonathan first reached out about their fall wedding at Smith, I was pumped. Then I heard more that Connie from Harlow Events had planned, and the ceremony location at the Forks, and I was so excited to be on board.
Warm, inviting, and a colour palette that transitioned from summer to fall was the name of the game here, with a real focus on the guest experience. The couple really wanted their guests to have an amazing time, and that always makes for the best weddings.
I just LOVE restaurant weddings, so when Ange and Jonathan first reached out about their fall wedding at Smith, I was pumped. Then I heard more that Connie from Harlow Events had planned, and the ceremony location at the Forks, and I was so excited to be on board.
Warm, inviting, and a colour palette that transitioned from summer to fall was the name of the game here, with a real focus on the guest experience. The couple really wanted their guests to have an amazing time, and that always makes for the best weddings.
Photos by Megan Steen
Oh my goodness gracious, how I LOVED their flowers and colours. Ange and Jonathan’s wedding was in November, so my wholesalers actually had a tricky time getting everything that I wanted because the industry had already shifted away from fall tones. Luckily for us, everything ended up working out flawlessly! The richness and saturation of these tones…divine.
Bridal Bouquet ingredients: Moab, nina, and toffee roses (a STELLAR combination), ranunculus, kangaroo paw, copper beech leaves, cymbidium orchids, and the most divine bittersweet berries.
Angeline didn’t have a wedding party, but I love that the couple still spent time with their friends throughout the day. After we were finished setting up, we took a taco break at the Forks and got to see the girls all hanging out and oohing and aahing over everything, and it was so sweet to watch. It looked like an easy day to be part of — lots of time together, no pressure, and an easy schedule.
I loved this ceremony design and this space. The only other time I’ve been in this room at the Forks was to see a children’s comedian (lol mom life) and obviously this looked a bit better ha!
The chuppah was meant to feel textural and saturated, and it really popped from the white drape behind (which hid a giant hole in the floor — gotta love these old buildings!).
We lined the aisle with candles, and added differently sized pockets of floral throughout the wooden structure. It just looked SO good and the ambiance in this room was amazing.
After the ceremony, everyone walked over to Smith for the reception. It was a pretty beautiful day and we lucked out there, at the end of November!
We scattered mixed size floral arrangements and candles throughout the entire restaurant, using copper bowls and ribbed clear and smoke glass vases. I wanted the space to feel very collected but chic, and of course, bring in a lot of warmth through the colours. One of the things I love about Smith is that it has a very distinct vibe but it can handle a lot of different colour palettes.
Another gorgeous wedding, another amazing vendor team, and another fantastic (smelling) meal — seeing as though we don’t actually eat at weddings, but it sure does smell the best at Smith! The ambiance of a restaurant wedding is unlike anything else.
Megan Steen Photography ~ Harlow Events ~ Smith ~ the Forks ~ Dream Day Decorators ~ Event Light ~ Isabel Nayet Hair and MaKeup ~ 4 Square Foto Booth ~ Dirty CatFish Brass Band ~ LoveNote Bride ~ La Petite Paperie ~ Flour and Flower ~ Union Table ~ Collective Event Rentals
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
We like to consider ourselves specialists in restaurant weddings; we know what it takes to make each space feel unique, create a killer ambiance, and what elements are worth investing in vs not.
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!
Citrus-Filled Autumn Wedding at Lily Stone Gardens
Gosh darn it, I looked forward to Chantal and Anthony’s wedding for probably over a year between booking it and the wedding day finally arriving. When we first started talking, their venue hadn’t even been built yet! But we threw around some amazing ideas and over the many months to follow, refined those ideas (along with their wonderful planner, Connie from Harlow Events) until we created the perfect citrus-filled autumnal wedding.
Photos: Megan Steen Photography
Gosh darn it, I looked forward to Chantal and Anthony’s wedding for probably over a year between booking it and the wedding day finally arriving. When we first started talking, their venue hadn’t even been built yet! But we threw around some amazing ideas and over the many months to follow, refined those ideas (along with their wonderful planner, Connie from Harlow Events) until we created the perfect citrus-filled autumnal wedding.
Photos: Megan Steen Photography
Chantal is one of those people who loves and serves with her whole heart, and I knew that I had the opportunity to make her heart so happy on her wedding day. The woman wanted FLOWERS and I was so excited to make it happen for her. Just check out that excited smile above after she saw her bridal bouquet for the first time and it really sunk in that it was time to get ready to get married!!
I loved the palette that Harlow Events put together, but some of it was challenging to pull through into the flowers. That’s where we work in other elements — so just keep that in mind for your own wedding! The flowers don’t need to have an equal amount of each colour in your palette. For example, the purple in the palette was really quite a “grape” colour…which is pretty hard to come by in flowers. Instead, I chose this absolutely amazing velvet silk ribbon to bring that colour in.
Chantal wanted her bouquet to be “super juicy,” in her rich autumnal palette, so I chose large blooms and interesting textures.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: Heart of Gold rose, Leonidas rose, dahlias, globe thistle, deep eggplant mini calla lilies, celosia, bittersweet berries, smokebush foliage, oak leaves, and the perfect touch of ferns (her grandfather’s name is Fern, and we wanted to make sure he was represented).
Lily Stone has multiple beautiful spots for the ceremony, and this peaceful spot in front of the pond is so pretty! We decided to keep the ceremony flowers on the simpler side, making sure they were pieces that could be easily repurposed to the reception. So, 2 oversized pieces on top of wood pedestals was the way to go!
I tucked in some perfect purple kale, which was a lucky find that week in my wholesaler’s cooler. It was the ideal colour and such a neat texture to add in.
Aren’t the scarves/shawls the bridesmaids wore lovely? And their jewel tone velvet dresses were just amazing.
HELLO RECEPTION!
Like I mentioned, Lily Stone wasn’t actually built yet when we started talking, but I knew that Kelly had plans for a fantastic hanging structure to allow florals to be the centre stage (every wedding venue should be designed by a florist!). Chantal really wanted a dramatic hanging installation, and to be able to position her head table underneath it. We kept the other guest tables simpler, so that we could allocate as much budget as possible toward the hanging installation.
To make sure the florals went as far as possible, I chose to vertically hang long-lasting blooms individually off the chandelier grid. With a lucky base of smilax foliage, this looked so amazing. I then added in chains and loops of carnation garlands, along with garlands of freshly strung orange slices. When I tell you this space smelled SO FRESH, I hope you believe it. When Chantal walked in and saw us working on it before it was even finished and already started to cry, I knew we had done the job right :)
This seating chart was a labour of love for Harlow Events and Blake Creative Co! I absolutely LOVE the way it turned out (though I know it was pretty hard to get the lettering on the terracotta pots). We styled the pots with some wooden blocks for levels, filled each with different greeneries to appear like potted plants (including some more ferns for Chantal!), and added in more citrus slices. A few sweet photos and details with their pups made it even more special.
The guest tables alternated between a low, medium sized floral arrangement on the round tables, and scattered stem vases on the round tables. Each was completed with coloured candles and fresh fruit styled with the table numbers to really bring that juicy, citrus theme to life.
We skipped adding flowers to the head table, since it was sitting below the hanging pieces, and instead loaded it full of coloured pillar candles and fresh fruit. Note the guest below cutting into an orange 😂
And of course, we can’t design a wedding at a venue with a beautiful fireplace, and not fill it up. I will always love a good mantle design! This one gave us the opportunity to use more of these fun bittersweet berries, which were just delicious (to look at, not to eat!!).
You’ve got nothing on a delicious fall celebration! I’ve still got plenty of fall availability for 2025, so if you’re interested in a delicious, warm palette like this one, and you want to be as happy and excited when you walk into your reception as Chantal was, then be sure to shoot me an email because I would LOVE to be part of your wedding.
Megan Steen Photography ~ Harlow Events ~ LiLystone Gardens ~ Blake Creative Co ~ Collective Event rentals ~ Nomad Box Bar ~ Colour Me Artistry ~ Made Beauty Co ~ Bark Wedding Date Co ~ Planned PErfectly ~ Karina Walker
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
Loving these fall wedding flowers? Us too.
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!
Bold, Playful Wedding at St Charles Country Club
I’m totally embarrassed at how long it’s taken me to get this wedding on my blog. Literally a year. BUT here we are!
I knew I was in for a treat when Soiree Event Planning sent me the design plan for Jacqueline and Jarett’s wedding: bold, playful, SUPER colourful, and garden-inspired. UMM YES PLEASE.
This wedding had so many of my very favourite elements: a really fun colour palette, a backyard (and very intimate) ceremony, a killer arch, really fun centrepieces along with other floral moments, and a client that completely trusted my ideas. I can’t wait to get into this with you!
I’m totally embarrassed at how long it’s taken me to get this wedding on my blog. Literally a year. BUT here we are!
I knew I was in for a treat when Soiree Event Planning sent me the design plan for Jacqueline and Jarett’s wedding: bold, playful, SUPER colourful, and garden-inspired. UMM YES PLEASE.
This wedding had so many of my very favourite elements: a really fun colour palette, a backyard (and very intimate) ceremony, a killer arch, really fun centrepieces along with other floral moments, and a client that completely trusted my ideas. I can’t wait to get into this with you!
Photos by Carm Photo
Oh my GOSH did I love this bridal bouquet! We decided to dig into the pinks, oranges, and a touch of blue for Jacqueline’s bouquet, rather than diving into the full palette. I felt like this allowed the bouquet to stand out more from the rest of the florals (especially the arch during the ceremony), and felt a bit bolder. I knew she wanted to use the blue in her bouquet, and I chose the orange as it’s a complimentary tone. The pink is just easy to round everything out! I finished it all up with marbled, hand-dyed silk ribbon from Stella Wolfe. Those finishing touches can be everything and I love being the one to make that happen!
Bridal bouquet ingredients: gloriosa lily (the star of the freaking show!!), ranunculus, dahlias, spray roses, delphinium, mokara orchids, and anthurium.
Additional note: Cathy Wiebe hand-embroidered Jacqueline’s amazing veil. I love the subtle touches of colour while still feeling super romantic. I told Cathy what flowers I was using in her bouquet, and she incorporated some of those into her beading! Again…those finishing touches that make such a difference.
While they planned to have their entire guest list partying with them all evening, Jacqueline and Jarett chose to have the ceremony on the intimate side. The ceremony took place in her family’s backyard, with about 30 close friends and immediate family members. They celebrated right after with cocktails, before meeting all their guests at St Charles.
Now OBVIOUSLY if you know me at all, you’ll know that this colour-blocked floral arch was one of the highlights of my career. It was lush, deep, vibrant, textural…aka everything that I love.
We traipsed colour-blocked florals down the aisle, leading to the arch. The locally grown dahlias were my favourite elements in the arch, as they bring amazing texture. Selecting the floral ingredients for this wedding was so much fun!
One thing we knew we wanted to do was have some serious colour play throughout the reception design, working with alternating centrepiece styles according to the table shape. We design a colour-blocked runner of modern stem vases and petite floral arrangements in clear ribbed and clean white vessels on the long tables, and a playful combination of it all on the round tables.
Coloured candles played a large role as well, which I really wanted to do to blend the overall palette from floral section to section. Taper candles were mixed in with votives, incorporating some brighter candles along with easier-on-the-eyes pastels.
We tucked in a few black trays and black candle holders for depth.
Talk about one of my favourite repurposes of the year! It was a beast to move this fully-designed arch through the backyard, shift it into the back of the uhaul (it took up almost the entire vehicle!), and then load it into the reception space. To be honest, I have kind of blacked out and don’t remember how we managed to get it up the stairs at St Charles and through the doors 😂 BUT dang, I love how perfectly the couple’s monogrammed sign fit right into it. If you go for something like this at your wedding, just make sure you tell your friends to use it as a photo backdrop!
And how gorgeous are those table numbers? I love the way they pull so many colours in to the design.
Now, I need to take a minute to educate (and brag…semi-humbly, of course). If you’re interested in any kind of bolder colour-blocking or rainbow action for your wedding, there are some things that your floral designer and your planner need to focus on and be really cognizant of when they’re planning. And I have to also say, if you want to dig into the rainbow idea, this is really not something that can be tackled by a rookie designer.
The rainbow and/or colour-blocked palette is exciting, but it’s also hard to get right. It can come off as goofy really easily, you need a lot of variety to pull it all together, and that includes incorporating different shades of each colour. You can’t just do bright and bold…you need some pastels in there, too. Otherwise, it just looks like a box of Crayons in a kindergarten classroom.
And for the floral designers out there, know that you will spend a LOT longer writing your recipes and figuring everything out on the backend. You’ll be spending a lot more time than you would normally, because you’ll be working in that much broader colour palette and needing to select and count up a lot more types and shades of flowers. Make sure you account for that extra time in your math!
Dance party time! This was a fun, almost last-minute addition to the floral order. A disco ball and floral ceiling are not always a budget priority but ALWAYS a welcome addition. Man, I love disco balls.
So Event Light first hung the disco balls, and then we added swooping chains of brightly coloured carnations over the dance floor, along with a few hanging floral “clumps.” There’s got to be a better way of wording that…floral clusters? However we say it, it looked really good. The dance floor was busy all night long.
We had an absolutely STELLAR vendor team on this wedding. When you’re planning a wedding that’s this design-focused, you really need a team of wedding professionals who are going to pull their weight and have the right products or design sense to make it all happen. Check out the pros below for your wedding!
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
Planning a wedding at St Charles Country Club and want to bring some life to the space? I’d love to be your floral designer.
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 (like a greenery canopy hung above your dinner tables!), 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!
Relaxed, Colourful Wedding at Pizzeria Gusto
I LOVE restaurant weddings. Especially at places like Pizzeria Gusto, where the food is always 100% and the atmosphere is already set. The decor is usually awesome and we just need to add cohesive touches through the floral and candles to bring your style to the space.
Anna and Scott pictured a relaxed, comfortable wedding day with the opportunity to have great food and just enjoy time with their loved ones. Anna also wanted a lot of colour and I was more than happy to bring that to the table :)
I LOVE restaurant weddings. Especially at places like Pizzeria Gusto, where the food is always 100% and the atmosphere is already set. The decor is usually awesome and we just need to add cohesive touches through the floral and candles to bring your style to the space.
Anna and Scott pictured a relaxed, comfortable wedding day with the opportunity to have great food and just enjoy time with their loved ones. Anna also wanted a lot of colour and I was more than happy to bring that to the table :)
Photos by Kassandra Donaldson
Now how AMAZING are these bridesmaid dresses? They’re so rich and vibrant, each with great texture and I love that some pattern was tucked in as well. This is like a masterclass in how to pull off a vibrant palette — a few of the boldest, rich tones, some of the softer pink pulled through as a type of neutral base, and a few textures and a few patterns mixed throughout.
Even better, I love that two of my past brides are in this wedding party :) Including the sister of the bride!
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: Nina roses, freesia, peonies, feverfew, butterfly ranunculus, carnations, and phalaenopsis orchids.
The ceremony took place at Scott’s parents’ absolutely gorgeous home along the river. The backyard was completely perfect. We simply needed to add some colour with the florals, creating a sweet altar spot for them to exchange their vows in front of.
We designed an organic floral piece that seemed as though it was growing there. We used a few softer shades, like butter yellow stock and soft pink peonies, to ensure the design wasn’t just purely florescent. The orange ornithogalum and red nina roses really popped.
How sweet are these little flower girls!
Pizzeria Gusto on Academy Road is one of my favourite wedding venues. It might be a bit unexpected as it’s not a typical spot, but you’re guaranteed that everything is going to be amazing. If I were getting married again now, Gusto would be at the top of my list.
The tables are not overly wide, so we didn’t want to go too full on the tablescapes. We did a few medium sized floral arrangements to add to the family tables, and mixed modern style stem vases, paired with several bold colours of taper candles. On the smaller tables, we tucked just a simple stem vases with a duo of taper candles and that was the perfect size of centrepeice.
One of the perks of working at Pizzeria Gusto is that it’s the best spot for a mid-work day lunch ;)
Gusto also has a great patio that they can add a tent to if the weather requires it. This day called for rain (though I don’t think we got any!) and the tables are a little larger so we’ve got a little more space to work out there. We repeated the same elements from the indoor tables, with taper candles, bud vases, and medium size arrangements.
I chose a mix of clean white cylinder vases, ribbed clear glass stem vases, small white floral frog vessels. The combination created a modern, clean look that worked really well with Gusto’s interior.
Looking for a Wedding Floral Designer in Winnipeg?
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 for stunning bridal bouquets, truly unique ceremony backdrops, and beautiful floral centrepieces to create the perfect ambiance for your wedding!
