Romantic Winter Wedding at Whitetail Meadow
So now that spring is on the horizon, shouldn't I finally post this winter wedding inspiration at Whitetail Meadow? ha!
I LOVE being a part of venue open houses - it gives me a chance to get creative and envision the space differently than it's been used for weddings so far. If you follow my work, you'll know that one thing that's really important to me in my designs is creating something that's different than what your friends have had for their weddings. However, when you're working at a brand new space, you're not hampered by anything! Such was the case for the open house I recently got to design for at Whitetail Meadow, a brand new venue open just outside of Niverville.
Esther Funk Photography ~ Amanda Douglas Events ~ Planned Perfectly ~ C & T Rentals ~ Jennifer Bianca Calligraphy ~ Bliss Bridal Boutique ~ Hairology ~ Ashley Tiopo Artistry
If you are in search of a location for your wedding, make sure you put Whitetail Meadow on your list. The structure is a refurbished barn, so it can accommodate weddings at any time of year. They did a beautiful job on the renovation, with hardwood floors, a stone fireplace, and a loft space. Ceremonies can be held on the adjoining veranda, in the meadow out back, or near a small creek, so you can really have whatever kind of setting you'd like! I'd love to do a winter wedding here with the ceremony taking place on the staircase landing, and just covering the staircase with greenery and flowers. I can dream!
For the open house, we designed a romantic winter wedding setting, featuring a palette of pastel pink, purple, and copper hues.
We borrowed this invitation suite from Jennifer Bianca Calligraphy. It was actually designed for a different couple's real wedding, but it worked so flawlessly with this design as well! I love the difference that a little colour makes. Those soft pink envelopes are just perfect.
Tedi and Evan are a real-life couple, and they actually work in the wedding industry, too! They own The Picture & The Poet, a dual studio offering both photo and video. They're so much fun, so if you're looking for some goofy, hilarious people to spend your wedding day with, check out their work. Also, Tedi has THE DAINTIEST HANDS AND WRISTS I HAVE EVER SEEN. I feel like she needs to be hand-modelling professionally.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: I wanted to keep this one really simple, so that's what I did. Lavender roses, lavender spray roses, soft pink roses, and Queen Anne's Lace mixed with a few types of greenery. Easy peasy pie.
If your venue has a focal point, such as this fireplace at Whitetail, then I HIGHLY recommend using it, and using it well. Allow it to truly be the spotlight that it was designed to be. Here, we've imagined a ceremony taking place in front of it, and then the head table placed in front of it during the reception. It's a great design, because the mantle is high enough for me to design statement-making florals on the mantle.
Below are my initial sketches (super amazing, I know. My next career will be in art fo sho).
We kept the guest tables in keeping with the rest of the overall design. While Whitetail has these beautiful wood tables, we decided to add this textured copper linen to create a more elegant base. It paired really nicely with the venue's mahogany chivari chairs as well as the gold flatware we got from C&T Rentals. All of the place setting details are from them!
One large floral centrepiece was set in the middle of the table, and we clustered candles and stem vases on either end of the tables. Something to note when you're using rectangular tables is to keep in mind the width of the tables - I went a little overboard with the size of the arrangement and would have preferred it to be a little more streamlined.
Seriously. Look at how delicate those beautiful little hands are. And that's Tedi's own engagement ring, which they found through Heidi Gibson in LA.
Looking for a wedding florist in Winnipeg?
Getting married in Manitoba? I might be biased, but 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!
Top 5 Best Wedding Locations in Manitoba
If you live in or have ever lived in Manitoba, then you know that summers here are both a blessing and a curse: it's frequently GORGEOUS out, with long, sunny days and warm evenings. It's also frequently bug season: flies, mosquitoes, ticks. So when it comes to planning an outdoor wedding in Manitoba, we frequently choose a completely outdoor ceremony with an indoor or partially indoor reception. So, here's my list of the best wedding locations in Manitoba, which all combine the outdoors with the in!
Cielo's Garden
Photos by Keila Marie Photography
This one should come as no surprise to you. I work at Cielo's Garden all the time, and it's definitely one of my favourite places for a wedding. The little stone chapel in the woods is remarkably romantic, and the clear top tent itself is a blank canvas that you can do so much with.
Whitetail Meadow
Photos by Esther Funk Photography
Whitetail Meadow is a new venue just outside of Niverville that is going to top everyone's lists very quickly. I recently designed all the florals for their grand opening/open house and couldn't believe what a great job they did! The venue is a converted barn, which has been completely re-built on the interior. It features a gorgeous stone fireplace (which would be the perfect backdrop for a winter wedding ceremony and also is the dream place to put flowers!), a sweet loft space, and at least 3 different outdoor spaces where you could host a wedding ceremony, depending on what type of vibe you'd like: forest setting, the veranda with the stone fireplace in the background, or the grassy meadow with a creek in the background!
I can't wait to share more with you from this open house soon - the photos are gorgeous!
Hawthorn Estates
Renderings from Hawthorn Estates / Wedding Photos by Brittany Mahood
After a tragic fire in December 2016, Hawthorn Estates is re-building and is soon to be better than ever. I seriously CANNOT WAIT for the grand unveiling of the all-new barn venue just about 25 minutes north east of Winnipeg. This rendering of the new exterior shows you some of the focal points: a gorgeous green space (including a lovely area for wedding ceremonies), and tons of windows. Indoors, they're planning for rough-hewn timbers from BC and a large fireplace.
Stay up to date with their re-build progress on their Instagram! I drove past it just before Christmas and it was looking incredible. They're now booking for 2018 and 2019 weddings.
Clear Lake - Elkhorn and Danceland
Photos by Esther Funk Photography
I've only been up to Clear Lake once, and it was this past summer for a wedding that was awesome. The ceremony was outdoors, at Elkhorn Manor (just off the golf course) and then the reception was right in the downtown of the Clear Lake village at Dance Land. Truth be told, the directions to get the Elkhorn Manor were a little confusing, but the location was wonderful for a ceremony: it was peaceful, quiet, overlooking the water in the background with lush green grounds all around. Dance Land is just a couple of minutes away. It's a really neat wood building (unfortunately, pretty much no natural light) with a cool history.
See more from that summer wedding here!
Pineridge Hollow
Photos by Megan Steen
Pineridge Hollow has to be included on this list! It's highly recommended, features an incredible menu, and has plenty of charm wrapped up into this simple tent venue in the heart of Birds Hill Park. Pineridge Hollow offers several different outdoor ceremony locations (including this clearing in the woods, as seen below), and the seating in the tent can be configured in several different ways for your reception, with your choice of long rectangular tables or round tables. They also offer a great selection of decor rentals - cute candle holders, table numbers, backdrops or seating charts, and so on.
I've loved being able to personalize the decor at Pineridge Hollow - one of my favourites featured a greenery installation hanging above the guests from the tent ceiling.
Hire a talented wedding floral and event designer for your wedding in Winnipeg.
Along with designing florals, Stone House Creative also offers full event design to a limited number of wedding clients each year. If you want your wedding to really look and feel like you while creating a unique ambiance unlike what your friends have had at their weddings, then reach out to me today!
2018's Top Wedding Colours
Trying to narrow down your wedding colour palette? Maybe you've got an idea of one main tone you like or what colour you want your bridesmaids to wear, but can't decide on accent colours. Well, I'm here to help with my predictions for the top wedding colours of 2018.
Forget ultra-violet (to be honest, I don't usually like the "colour of the year" that Pantone chooses). The top wedding colours for 2018 will be all in the dusty tones. Dusty rose, mauve, cornflower blue, even a butter yellow. Here are some of my favourite go-to dusty toned flowers!
Dusty Rose
Dusty rose is probably the most commonly requested colour I'm seeing for 2018 weddings. It's a bit deeper than the blush palettes of the past few wedding seasons, but still very much in line with the romantic trends we've been working with. The good news? For those of you want dusty rose, there are PLENTY of really good floral options.
Above, we've got cafe latte roses (not easy to get here in Winnipeg, but the perfect unique rose gold tone when we can get them!), faith roses, and rice flower. Below, a combination of quicksand roses, rice flower, earl grey roses, and astrantia. And at the bottom, an antique toned hydrangea with a classic blush ranunculus.
Mauve
I am seeing a LOT of mauve being used an accent colour for 2018 weddings, and my favourite go-to is the amnesia rose. It's unique and has a really one-of-a-kind colour. I can't think of anything better for mauve!
You can also see the amnesia rose in action below on the left - it pairs gorgeously with those soft peach roses and fresh green buds on the white ranunculus. And on the right, we have fritillaria. It's a very unique shape and bloom, and to be honest, kind of smells like skunk, but they're pretty cool nonetheless!
Cornflower Blue
Cornflower blue (aka dusty light blue) is another great tone that is a beautiful accent. There aren't a lot of naturally blue flowers, so if you're wanting a lot of blues at your wedding, then I would suggest choosing a dusty blue linen to play centre stage at your reception while tucking in some of these flowers into your bouquets! On the left, we've got muscari, which is a personal favourite of mine. It's got a short stem and a small bloom so this is definitely an accent flowers, but seriously, can you get any cuter? And then in the middle, delphinium - one of my favourite natural blue flowers. You can see it working its magic in the bouquet on the right!
Still trying to figure out your wedding colour palette? Here are some more tips:
-I love the way that a few well-placed bold accent tones can enliven an otherwise neutral palette. Click that link to see some seriously gorgeous flowers!
-Looking for a way to modernize the traditional blush wedding palette? Pair it with peach and mauve for a modern, feminine take.
-Don't forget to take into account these 7 things you HAVE to think about when choosing your wedding colour palette.
-Finally, avoid making any of these mistakes that brides make when selecting their wedding palettes!
Work with a wedding event designer who loves creative colour palettes!
Along with floral design, Stone House Creative offers full Event Design Services to a limited number of wedding clients each year. This process allows me to go deeper with you, designing beyond the flowers, to help you create a celebration that truly looks and feels like you.
Why May is the Best Time for a Wedding
May is, hands down, the best time of year for a wedding if you're a flower lover.
Before I start, I have to say: I actually really love weddings at any time of year (except maybe March, because let's be honest: March in Manitoba is either still snow-covered or just mucky. It's typically not that gorgeous). But May? May is probably the best time of year for a wedding if you're obsessed with flowers, and I'll tell you why.
1) Peonies. Duh.
There are lots of other phenomenal spring flowers that I love to use, but the glory always goes to the peony, and for good reason.
2) COLOUR!
For the first time in forever (thanks, Frozen! Now you're in my head all day long...), we finally have fresh green growth outside, and a little bit of colour popping up in gardens. And after a long, cold winter, we are all craving some freshness and there is no better way to bring freshness into your wedding than with a fun colour palette. That can be with expertly paired pastels, or it can be bold and full of vibrancy - whatever you like!
Victoria Anne Photography / Styled by Amanda Douglas Events
3) The Feeling of Spring in the Air
Let's talk about the ambiance that a little chill in the air creates. The sun is warm during the afternoon for your ceremony with an early-ish sunset for the perfect photos, and then comes that chill in the air after the sun has set, bringing with it a desire to cosy up and a feeling of intimacy. And that is just the BEST for a wedding.
So guess what. I happen to still have a lot of dates available in May 2018 for wedding bookings! If you want to chat wedding flowers, be sure to click the contact button below to get in touch! Can't wait to hear from you!
Prairie Dusk Inspiration Shoot
I love being able to be a part of the Cielo's Garden Open Houses. Last year, I worked with Amanda Douglas Events on a fresh, simple reception design with a light blue, yellow, and terracotta palette. This year, I selected a dusky purple and dried wheat palette reminiscent of a late summer haze.
I'd been sitting on this idea of using dried materials for a few months, and on a walk early this spring, the idea hatched. I foraged plenty of dried grasses and used that wheat colour as the focal point, working in some mauves for a little dusky femininity. I wanted to keep the design on the minimal side, allowing our simple prairiescapes to inspire.
I'm very excited that this shoot is featured today on my favourite local wedding blog, Host Winnipeg!
Photo: Victoria Anne Photography ~ Floral and Event Design: Stone House Creative ~ Planning: Amanda Douglas Events ~ Venue: Cielo's Garden ~ Dress: Bliss Bridal Boutique (Pronovias Atelier, "Niebla") ~ Hair: Bob & Page Salon ~ Makeup: 2 Chicks and a Bag of Makeup ~ Tabletop Rentals: Stone House Creative and C & T Event Rentals ~ Stationery: Jennifer Bianca Calligraphy ~ Linen Rentals: Planned Perfectly ~ Video: JAG Video Productions
Bridal bouquet ingredients: roses, fritillaria, lilac, astrantia, spray roses, sunflowers (with their petals picked off - adding great texture!), and greenery.
I LOVED the stationery suite that Jennifer Bianca Calligraphy designed. She incorporated sketches of dried prairie grass and wheat, along with an overall minimal design. It was a gorgeous combination of calligraphy, minimal type, and colour.
I wanted to go simple in the ceremony space, hanging a single branch with individual bouquets of dried foliages and grasses. I loved how it came together! Just a light, simple backdrop for the exchange of vows.
I also wanted to keep things a bit more minimal at the reception. The long wooden tables are so beautiful! I used sleek stem vases, gold-rimmed votive holders and glasses, marble coasters, and simple stems of dried grasses and plum astrantia.
Many of my couples have been choosing to do something different with their floor plans, so I wanted to show a sweetheart table as an option for the open house guests. I wanted to create a light, airy installation above the newlyweds, so I created this exclusively out of dried grasses. The soft oatmeal tone of the linen went perfectly, and I added a bit of a larger floral centrepiece to offset the bridal bouquet.
For a little glimpse at how your wedding day comes together, check out the little video below!
