Classic Garden Wedding at Alloway Hall
Say you want your wedding ceremony to look like a garden, over top of your swimming pool? SAY LESS.
Chelsea and Adam’s classic garden wedding was a dream in every way. Their joy at finally wedding after years of long distance, a stunning designer gown with details that made it look like she was surrounded by fluttery butterflies, exchanging their vows on a platform suspended over top of his family’s pool, and the complete transformation of a museum into a classic, flower-filled reception featuring 20 foot long beams dripping in fresh blooms over top the dance floor are just a few highlights.
Say you want your wedding ceremony to look like a garden, over top of your swimming pool? SAY LESS.
Chelsea and Adam’s classic garden wedding was a dream in every way. Their joy at finally wedding after years of long distance, a stunning designer gown with details that made it look like she was surrounded by fluttery butterflies, exchanging their vows on a platform suspended over top of his family’s pool, and the complete transformation of a museum into a classic, flower-filled reception featuring 20 foot long beams dripping in fresh blooms over top the dance floor are just a few highlights.
Photos by Brittany Mahood Photography
It’s taken me many, many months to be prepared to write this blog post. This week is Chelsea and Adam’s 1st wedding anniversary, so I decided it was finally time to dive in. Why? Because I was daunted at the idea of trying to choose favourite photos or moments from this wedding, because every single moment and every single detail was so beautifully orchestrated, intentionally designed, and required so much work. It’s hard to find a way to capture the magic that was their wedding day!
So, I’m just going to walk you through the entire day, section by section, and tell you what I absolutely loved the most and some behind the scenes at what it took to get us there.
The Bouquets
As soon as I saw a photo of Chelsea’s Elie Saab bridal gown, I knew exactly what I wanted to do for her bouquet. This dress was incredible — very classic and elegant, with added feminine detailing in 3D floral applique on the off-the-shoulder sleeves, and scattered throughout the veil. The veil in particular looked like she was surrounded by fluttering butterflies. The best way to complement this, in my mind, was sweet pea. And a TON of sweet pea. I wanted her bouquet to be a bit smaller, simpler, and just fluttery. Chelsea asked for peonies (which is a tall order in August, but my wholesaler pulled through and they were GORGEOUS!), and they enhanced the sweet pea perfectly.
The bridesmaid bouquets were simple sweet pea nosegays, which looked divine against their mixed green dresses (LITERALLY the most beautiful combination of bridesmaid dresses I’ve ever seen, which they curated from Selkie and V. Chapman).
The Ceremony
So you want your ceremony in your parents’ backyard, over top the pool? And you want it to feel like you’re exchanging vows in the middle of a garden? Yes, please!
I was so excited when Soiree Event Planning told me the plan. It wasn’t for the feint of heart (and thank goodness they were leading the charge and taking care of all logistics!) but I was up for the challenge of figuring out how to get the most amount of flowers I possibly could on that suspended altar.
My goals were to make sure it was lush, natural, and full, but also have good height. I wanted the floral to be around waist-height, which meant that a lot of math and a focus on the scale was a priority. You can see more of that process here!
The REception
There’s truly no way that I can show the reality of how stunning this reception was. Alloway Hall is the event space at the Manitoba Museum, and it’s quite a blank space with a slight industrial edge. Chelsea’s style is romantic, feminine, and with a little granny chic (floral patterns, ruffles, so cute!). Soiree Event Planning really worked SO hard to create a unique space, and soften the hard edges of the room with endless perfect details. Let’s just go one by one.
The Floor Plan
Alloway Hall is quite large, so there was ample space to have the large guest list seated for dinner on one end, a huge dance floor and band stage on the opposite end, and a large central lounge joining the two spaces. The room was functional, and gorgeous.
The Lounge, Dance Floor, and Hanging Florals
The lounge and hanging floral installation were my personal favourite design elements. I loved the dual lounges flanking the stunning wedding cake (a Jenna Rae Cakes masterpiece that mimicked the detailing on Chelsea’s dress), the furniture selection, and the perfect shades of green. We layered in some delicious floral arrangements to the lounge, and then really went for it on the ceiling installation.
We designed 2, 20 foot long, double sided floral installations (entirely in fresh flowers!), making a total of 80 linear feet of impression florals that hung low enough to make an impressive statement but not get in the way of the dance floor, set in between those 2 long floral beams.
The Guest Tables
We had a mix of long banuqet tables and round tables. With soaring ceilings, we chose to go tall and full on the round tables, and Chelsea envisioned long, lush florals on the banquet tables. One of the things I always aim to include in my tabletop designs is a lot of undulating movement — think waves, rising and falling smoothly, keeping your eye moving along the length of the table. This means high points, low points, candlelight and florals, and sweet details to create pockets of visual interest.
The green flatware was definitely a personal favourite detail, as well as the stationery! Alloway Hall doesn’t allow real flame, so we used my LED candles — they cost me a fortune, but they’re SO nice and look really realistic!
The Head Table
And now to the head table! Sometimes it feels like there’s only so much that can be done to make a head table design interesting, but it is naturally a display piece in the room and everyone’s attention is on it multiple times throughout the night. Chelsea loves hydrangea, so I wanted to use as much as I could here, with extra roses and lush floral arrangements tucked throughout.
The main statement was the arched backdrop behind the head table, which really helped to frame the wedding party in the very large room. We added an absolute ton of smilax to the backdrop, to create a lot of depth against the white walls.
The Bar
The bar was so special! With such a large guest list, they needed a large bar to accommodate everyone, so this was a substantial beast that was custom built for the wedding. Soiree custom-designed the wallpaper for the bar back, we added some floral touches, and mostly tried to keep it as functional as possible while still looking phenomenal.
I can’t believe it’s already been a year! All of your weddings are incredible celebrations, but some have a lot more moving parts and details to sort out, so this one was really rewarding for me. I love the logistical aspect of my job, figuring out how all of the pieces are going to come together and how to do the best job of some of these more spectacular pieces. I’ll forever be grateful to Chelsea and Adam for choosing me to design their wedding, to Soiree and the entire vendor team who made this such a streamlined and successful event, and to my amazing team of designers and setup staff who worked tirelessly to pull everything off. These types of events are not done by just 1 or 2 people — it was a team effort for sure!
Brittany Mahood Photography ~ Soiree Event Planning ~ The Manitoba Museum ~ Brett Anderson ~ Paper & Palm ~ Event Light ~ Beyond the Lounge ~ Planned Perfectly ~ Collective Event Rentals ~ Trend Decor ~ Simply Beautiful Decor ~ Creating a Scene ~ Big City All Star Band ~ Wow Hospitality ~ Jones & Company Wine Merchants ~ MYUZ Artistry ~ Jenna Rae Cakes ~ Luminous String Quartet
Looking for a Wedding Floral Designer in Winnipeg?
If you’re dreaming of anything but a generic wedding, I hope you’ll shoot me an email. 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.
Intimate, Stylish Winter Wedding: Spotlight on the Manitoba Club Oak Room
When E & J first reached out to me, I could tell they were planning a special event…one that I really knew I wanted to be part of! They were hosting an engagement party, but with the tricky logistics of living in a different country, and planning their 2026 wedding in a different province, they also wanted to sign their registry and do the official paperwork at their Manitoba Club evening celebration (and surprise their guests!).
They wanted a sophisticated dinner party, and I knew just how to elevate the Manitoba Club’s Oak Room into something really special.
When E & J first reached out to me, I could tell they were planning a special event…one that I really knew I wanted to be part of! They were hosting an engagement party, but with the tricky logistics of living in a different country, and planning their 2026 wedding in a different province, they also wanted to sign their registry and do the official paperwork at their Manitoba Club evening celebration (and surprise their guests!).
They wanted a sophisticated dinner party, and I knew just how to elevate the Manitoba Club’s Oak Room into something really special.
Photos by Kass Donaldson
Early on, E sent me a design board with her ideas and the general vibes for their 2026 destination wedding, which she wanted to feel similar to their Winnipeg winter wedding. We decided to flip the moodiness level, amping it up in the Oak Room with more deep tones and lots of candlelight.
I envisioned a sophisticated take on their intimate, stylish winter celebration and knew almost right away how I wanted to design for them.
Her bridal style was so chic, so simple! The couple spent the morning together, getting dressed together and giving each other gifts and letters. While I personally loved our first look on our wedding day (my husband BAWLED, it was adorable), I really love this idea. It feels so peaceful, so relaxing, and since the rest of the day goes so quickly, it’s wonderful to have so much one-on-one time together to start your most special day.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: simple white mini calla lilies.
I love seeing how your entire wedding day turns out. This was SUCH a cold day in January (literally, my mittens temporarily froze to the metal stair case railing as I was loading in to the Manitoba Club), but this event design felt so warm and elegant.
While she originally thought about having one long dinner table with their vows exchanged off to the side, I wanted to give them a real moment for their surprise ceremony with a floral feature and having their guests surround them.
So, I proposed a U shaped table, creating a dual purpose ceremony altar and head table. With limited seating on the inside, it gave them space to say their vows inside the U with a beautiful floral backdrop, and then also became the perfect spot for them to enjoy dinner at.
The couple loved it right away, and I was so pumped!!
In terms of tabletop design elements, the couple really gave me free reign. We decided on the deep plummy burgundy tones with whites, greens, and touches of creamy yellows, and lots of taper candlelight, and after that, it was all up to me. My favourite ❤️
I decided to design a mix of smaller pin frog arrangements in organic ceramic vases, with a few larger ones tucked in where the table space allowed. I chose deep eggplant mini calla lilies, a lot of hellebores and chocolate lace, along with some sculptural feeling white campanula.
To complete the styling, I tucked in a few types of grapes, radicchios, and eggplants to amp up the moody tones, along with tall ivory taper candles to bring lots of twinkling light.
You can see why I love the Oak Room at the Manitoba Club. It’s a smaller space — with this layout, there were just under 30 guests (though you could fit in more with a more traditional table style).
The overall ambiance is rich and elegant, thanks to the original wood panelling walls and coffered ceilings, one wall with floor to ceiling windows, and a huge wood fireplace. The Oak Room is often used for wedding ceremonies against the windows, or as an after-party space that’s a bit quieter from the ballroom across the hall.
It’s a really traditional space, so not every style will work in here, but this elevated dinner party vibe works perfectly!
planning a wedding at the manitoba club?
I want in. Whether it’s an intimate wedding for 30 or a celebration the likes of which have never been seen before, 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!
Wedding Venue Spotlight: The Pavilion at Assiniboine Park
Every time I receive an inquiry for a wedding at The Pavilion at Assiniboine Park, I get excited. Amber and Michael’s wedding was no exception!
There’s a lot to love about this iconic Winnipeg wedding venue — from one of the city’s most gorgeous ceremony sites, to tons of natural light, and of course, proximity to all of Assiniboine Park for your photos — and I’m going to walk you through what I love about the Pavilion while showing off some of Amber and Michaels’s early autumn wedding day.
Every time I receive an inquiry for a wedding at The Pavilion at Assiniboine Park, I get excited. Amber and Michael’s wedding was no exception!
There’s a lot to love about this iconic Winnipeg wedding venue — from one of the city’s most gorgeous ceremony sites, to tons of natural light, and of course, proximity to all of Assiniboine Park for your photos — and I’m going to walk you through what I love about the Pavilion while showing off some of Amber and Michaels’s early autumn wedding day.
Photos by Jennifer Fortier Photography
The Pavilion’s outdoor courtyard area is one of the most beautiful places in the city, in my opinion. It honestly feels like an oasis — no matter how busy the park is, no matter how hot it is outside, no matter how stressed I might be during a set up, I can step out here and feel instantly refreshed. I can think of almost nothing better for the location where you’ll exchange your vows!
This colour palette was just so exhilarating. It feels a little ridiculous to say that, but it’s true: this combination felt energizing, fresh, and very romantic at the same time. We started with some deep burgundies, browns, and terracotta, layered in mauve, accents of peach to set off the mauve, and then my favourite, hits of a limey chartreuse.
Side note — their welcome sign was hilarious. “Welcome to the wedding of Amber…featuring Michael” ha!
In the middle of the courtyard is a beautiful pond, and the area is surrounded by an elevated, elegant pergola. The layout makes for a natural focal point at the front, though it does mean that you don’t have a central aisle to walk down.
In terms of ceremony decor, we’ve done quite a few things here: a grounded floral nest like above, floral arches, and pieces hanging from the pergola (though if it’s a windy day, it’s pretty hard to contain the swinging of the hanging piece).
I also love the exterior of the building — it has so much historical charm!
“Thank you so much! The flowers were so beautiful; you did such an amazing job. It could not have been more beautiful!” — Amber
As you can see, the photo options at the Pavilion are amazing — the covered pergola area and the pond/courtyard are just such beautiful backdrops, and being able to walk right down to the English Gardens is such a sweet bonus!
This bar area is one of my favourites of all Winnipeg wedding venues. The counter top is just so spacious, that we can have some real fun without the bartenders cursing my existence ;) I also just love the aesthetic vibe of this area, and it perfectly fits a few cocktail tables or a lounge set up, along with your guest book table and seating display.
As you can see above, the Pavilion’s ceiling is glass, glass, glass, baby! This makes it completely unique in comparison to other Winnipeg wedding venues, and adds a certain charm that can be dressed up really beautifully. This obviously brings so much natural light, which you’d have to ask your photographer about timing (if it’s harder to take great images at certain times of the day or not) but in my books, the more natural light, the better.
There’s also a beautiful angled window nook, that perfectly fits 3 round tables and can act as the perfect spot for your wedding part and family tables to sit. This nook overlooks the pond outside, and this is especially nice because the opposite wall is a beautiful wood wall BUT they added a gigantic TV screen to it that kind of kills the appeal of that wood feature wall.
We did 2 centrepiece styles for this — half of the tables with a fuller floral arrangement surrounded by votives, and half with a stem vase and taper candle trio accented by votives! It’s nice to have some variety in a room.
I’ve designed quite a few different styles of weddings at the Pavilion. If you’re considering getting married here, check out some of these real weddings below!
From a ceiling canopy of greenery, to an indoor ceremony, to a hanging floral piece spotlighting the head table, Stone House has brought a lot of magic to the Pavilion at Assiniboine Park.
Looking for a Wedding Floral & Event Designer in Winnipeg?
Dates at the Pavilion book quickly, and it’s one of my favourite venues to work in! 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.
Feminine Late Spring Wedding at the Winnipeg Art Gallery
While setting up this late spring wedding at the Winnipeg Art Gallery last year, I knew it was going to be a favourite of the season. It was so sad that one of my favourites was already over, so early in the year! But here we are, finally sharing the details with you.
I love weddings at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. It’s a very versatile space, but can fall flat very quickly. The combination of a subtle palette with feminine florals went a long way — let’s get into it!
While setting up this late spring wedding at the Winnipeg Art Gallery last year, I knew it was going to be a favourite of the season. It was so sad that one of my favourites was already over, so early in the year! But here we are, finally sharing the details with you.
I love weddings at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. It’s a very versatile space, but can fall flat very quickly. The combination of a subtle palette with feminine florals went a long way — let’s get into it!
Photos by Brittany Mahood
“Lauren and her team at Stone House Creative were a dream to work with for floral design at our wedding. Not only is she exceptionally professional and kind, but her knowledge, expertise, and creativity was apparent from the very first meeting we had with her. She made every decision SO easy throughout the entire planning process, providing her thoughtful recommendations on how to best incorporate florals into our overall wedding design as a key focal point.
From our wedding party florals, to the table designs, statement arrangements at the ceremony, welcome sign and bar, and our floral cake meadow - Lauren created the most stunning florals for us, we were absolutely in awe of what she designed!! She took our vision and made it more beautiful than we could’ve ever imagined, carefully designing each piece to be unique and suit our elevated garden party design.
I can’t thank you enough Lauren - you are truly the best of the best and I’m so happy that we were able to work with you - couldn’t have imaged our day with anyone else!!” — Alannah
Soiree Event Planning did a beautiful job on the overall design for Alannah and Bryce’s wedding. Alannah had a distinct vision but had an internal dilemma: she wanted to leave it all up to the pros because she knew that would create the best end result, BUT she also wanted to make every decision herself. ha! I had a lot of fun with her. One of the things she wasn’t sure about was using tulips…but when I showed her these locally grown specialty tulips, she LOVED them. Case in point, friends!
One of my favourite aspects to this wedding was the bridesmaids’ dresses. The varied blue shades were just PERFECT, and I always love seeing a bit of pattern layered in. I designed really petite bouquets for them, which felt more elevated than large bouquets.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: sweet pea, specialty tulips, cafe latte roses, butterfly ranunculus, and phalaenopsis orchids.
The traditional ceremony was held at Bryce’s family church, and aren’t these photos so beautiful? There’s something about a grand swooping aisle dip in a classic church that gets me every time.
We kept the floral at the ceremony pretty classic, with 2 large urns at the front of the church and flanked the end of the aisle with 2 ground-based floral pieces.
The locally grown white lilac was just PERFECT in here, and Alannah really fell for the trailing movement of the phalaenopsis orchids so I made sure we included those as well.
I almost never see your reactions to your wedding all set up, so when your photographer is able to capture it, I get so excited. And clearly, Alannah was incredibly excited ❤️ Truly, helping you feel this way on your wedding day is such a joyful honour!
DO WE LOVE THIS CAKE MEADOW? Yes, YES WE DO.
Making the cake a spotlight was a major design focus for Alannah. I can’t remember all the story behind the cake — but there’s something about Bryce’s family having a history of stealing wedding cakes. Alannah was like “oh heck no, no one is stealing my wedding cake.” So we put flowers all the way in front of it like a little guard, ha!
Kayla from Sugar & Salt created the cake, and I cannot tell you how perfectly she matched the sugar flowers to the real — and that’s without having seen them in real life. It was divine!
This room was so beautiful! I always love working at the WAG (I think I have like 7 weddings there this year alone!) and a couple of the things I love about it are the warm neutral tones of the stone, as well as the way it can be laid out so differently when you have someone like Soiree Event Planning leading the planning.
They chose to centre the head table in the middle of the room (a bit more than the head table — they had their wedding party and all their partners at a big king’s table), with a mix of round and rectangular tables around. Toffee linens and cane back chairs elevated the warmth of the space, with champagne flatware and these fluted soft soft pink glassware finishing the place settings. A delicate touch of blue in the personalized place cards kept the overall design from leaning too feminine.
We went with a few different styles of centrepieces that fit with each of the table shapes. The round tables featured a round compote vase with a fuller floral arrangement, the long tables were accentuated with petite ikebana inspired florals in mauve, lavender, and white, and the head table had larger, fuller rectangular shaped vases with lush runner-inspired arrangements.
Planning a wedding at The Winnipeg Art Gallery and want to elevate 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!
Organic, Lively Wedding at Hawthorn Estates
I love weddings I’m hired for full scale event design, I love working at Hawthorn Estates, and I really love working with couples from out of town. Truly, Liz and Dan’s wedding was pretty perfect for me and I looked forward to it for a long time.
When I’m working on an event design plan, I often find myself focusing on colour and texture, the floor plan, and rentals options. I want to create an event that has the perfect atmosphere for you (for this, fun and lively atmosphere!), and is a combination of elevated and realistic.
I’m excited to share Liz and Dan’s organic, lively wedding at Hawthorn Estates!
I love weddings I’m hired for full scale event design, I love working at Hawthorn Estates, and I really love working with couples from out of town. Truly, Liz and Dan’s wedding was pretty perfect for me and I looked forward to it for a long time.
When I’m working on an event design plan, I often find myself focusing on colour and texture, the floor plan, and rentals options. I want to create an event that has the perfect atmosphere for you (for this, fun and lively atmosphere!), and is a combination of elevated and realistic.
I’m excited to share Liz and Dan’s organic, lively wedding at Hawthorn Estates!
Photos by Izabela Rachwal
Don’t these bouquets perfectly set off the bridesmaid dresses? My favourite wedding parties are always those that are dressed in the palette, rather than all matching exactly.
Colour is always where I start when I design a wedding. Putting together the perfect palette makes me so excited and gets my head in gear for the rest of the design elements. Liz really wanted soft, romantic tones, and I wanted to add in some mauve and brown tones for depth. As you can see from my palette above, we ended up with soft sage greens, blushes and peaches, light pink, mauve, and moving into taupes and browns.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: So much locally grown! Lisianthus, foxglove, zinnias, cosmos, dianthus, with ranunculus, roses and garden spray roses, and olive foliage.
The church (like most churches!) has a lot going on. The stage and altar are quite wide, giving us lots of space to work with.
I knew we’d be fighting against the red tones, but that’s just the nature of the church! The back wall is really quite beautiful, and the angled architecture brings the natural focus to the front, so I simply aimed to bring in brightness and colour through the florals.
Ground-based floral pieces lined the front of the altar, incorporating the full colour palette and similar flowers to the bouquets, while adding in more height and fullness.
Guests were welcomed into cocktail hour in the solarium at Hawthorn, greeted with a polaroid guest book along with custom cocktails (featuring locally grown floral garnish!) and oyster bar.
Inside at the reception, I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to do with the design. Hawthorn is a warm space, but too often styled in exactly the same way. I wanted to use more saturation, punches of feminine colour, a great floor plan, and a few focal moments to make the wedding design more interesting, leading to a more engaging atmosphere. Situating the dance floor in front of the head table made for a perfect space for the party to get going!
First up on my to-do list, was minimize the “rustic” vibe that people often play to at Hawthorn, and create a welcoming, elegant Italian-inspired atmosphere instead. I focused my attention to the floor plan, allowing the fireplace and the stone to have its moment.
The fireplace is the natural focal point in the room — when you walk into Hawthorn, the first thing anyone sees is this very large, very gorgeous fireplace. Why on earth it’s ever relegated to the side of the floor plan is beyond me, but most people choose to not use it as a design focal point.
So, I knew I wanted to place our head table in front of it, and created a large floral piece on the mantle.
Guest tables alternated between two long feasting tables perpendicular to the head table, and round tables around the exterior of the room.
The tablescape base focused on natural, organic textures of linen and velvet. I added in fluttery florals and warm candlelight, with stone table numbers and handmade paper place cards.
I loved the combination of taupe and mauve linens, combined with the mahogany chairs. The depth that the mauve brings brought the elegant elevation that Liz was after, and created a really luscious base for the fluttery pink florals. I added in sandstone candles in fluted glass hurricanes, ribbed stem vases and soft pink ceramic compotes, and vintage floral inspired table lamps.
A few little touches that I loved adding — this funky little floral base around the heart shaped cake, and the calligraphy seating chart on linen hung with pink silk ribbon.
Handing your bridal bouquet to you is one of my favourite parts of the day — Liz was SO excited, so joyful, and so ready for their wedding. And she sure loved the bouquet, which was everything I could have wanted!
Liz and Dan live in the US, so we planned everything long distance. Thank goodness for Google Meet! But it really went so smoothly — once the design plan is put together and approved, I take the reigns on getting all the quotes and proposals we need from other vendors, and then tie up all the design details so that on the wedding day, the couple has nothing to worry about!
If you’re interested in more about my event design services and if it’s the right option for your wedding, check out my services here.
Izabela Rachwal Photography ~ Stone House Creative ~ Hawthorn Estates ~ Studio Lavender Design ~ Kind REgards Calligraphy ~ Planned Perfectly ~ Collective Event Rentals ~ Jenna Rae Cakes ~ Union Table ~ Wave Sound & Lighting
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
No matter where you’re hosting your wedding, we’re up for it! We love working on private properties, restaurants, and traditional venues, creating magic in your special place. 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.