A Flower Field Day
Back in August, I spent the BEST morning at a flower field day with some of my local flower friends (we affectionately call each other our #flowerfriends). We toured around Lily Stone Gardens, cutting stems to our hearts' content, chatting about our businesses and the flowers that we love the most, and playing with these wonderful, locally grown blooms. It is so exciting to me that I have the opportunity to include locally grown flowers in my designs; these stems are grown with the utmost care, attention, and love! If you're getting married in the summer, chances are that I'm going to use local blooms, whether you ask for them or not ;)
Enjoy this trip to the farm!
Photos: Holly Gilson Photography // Flowers Friends: Kelly and Nicole of Lily Stone Gardens, Britney of Fache Floral Designs, and Tatiana of Oak & Lily
How to Take Care of Your Wedding Flowers
When I'm working on a wedding, I go through a number of steps to condition and take care of the flowers so that they're in the best shape possible for your wedding day. This includes proper cleaning of the stems, making sure everything is in water, using floral preservatives to help the flowers take in as much water as possible and eliminate bacterial growth, and keeping everything refrigerated. But once the flowers are delivered to you, it's your job to take care of them so that they continue to look great. And let's face it, in Manitoba, that can be hard.
Photo by Kat Willson Photography
SUMMER WEDDINGS
With the heat of summer, there are a few varieties of flowers and foliage that I'll probably warn you about. Some flowers just don't hold up well in heat, and there's really nothing that be done about that. But for everything else, there are a few things that I'm always going to recommend that you do:
-Keep your bouquets in water as much as possible. I always deliver each bouquet with a glass vase with just enough water. When you're driving around on the wedding day, when you're taking pictures without the flowers, and even when you're at the reception, be sure to pop them back into those vases.
-Keep your flowers out of the sun as much as possible. When my girlfriend got married a few years ago, the humidity made the temperature reach over 45 degrees. We melted...and my phone shut off because it reached "dangerous temperatures!" I did my best to put those bouquets in the shade when we were taking pictures and keep them in the air conditioned vehicle whenever we could, as well!
WINTER WEDDINGS
Winter temperatures are another thing altogether. Just as your skin can get frostbite, so can flowers. When I'm talking about winter temperatures, I really mean anything below zero degrees celcius.
-Order a second boutonniere for your groom. If you're taking any pictures outside at all, that boutonniere will freeze (aka it will end up browned). Plus, he will inevitably put his parka on over top of his suit, and the boutonniere will be crushed.
-Keep your bouquets wrapped and covered at all times when out of doors. They will be delivered wrapped in plastic, and it's up to you to make sure that the covering is tightly secured every time you move the bouquet boxes from place to place. If the cold air gets at them, guess what's going to happen?
-Don't leave your flowers in an unheated car or building. This might mean that you plan to take some indoor pictures with your flowers, and some outdoor pictures without your flowers. Given that you're spending a lot of money on your flowers, you want to make sure that they're going to last for you!
2015 and 2016 Wedding Trends
We're a little late to talk about trends for 2015 weddings, seeing as most of you have already planned your weddings. So, we're fast-forwarding a little. But, can I take a second to say how excited I am that 2015 will be seeing some different trends than the past few years? These are going to pull over into 2016 as well, which is exciting - those of us who work in weddings every single weekend can get a little tired of doing very similar things week after week. Some of the things I'm most excited about playing with this year, and hoping to get to work on in 2016 are:
A little more colour, in refined ways. Just because we're straying from the popular blush and peach palette from the past few years doesn't mean we need to plan a circus wedding.
A lot of blue! Blues can be seriously hard to do, guys. Dyed blue flowers are one of the things in the this world that I just cannot stand, and when people think of blue weddings, this seems to be all that people do. So, I'm really excited to see the return of beautiful blue shades in weddings.
Photo via Magnolia Rouge
Big bouquets. I mean really, a bride's bouquet should make a statement, and I have to say that I'm incredibly excited that many more brides want to make a dramatic floral statement. Also, how good is this bouquet's shape?
Simple, long tables. In certain venues, long tables work really well - and I just happen to love them. They really allow for closer conversation, and you can do some fun things with decor. I love the way we can go with simplistic decor - simple greenery garlands or scattered stem vases with statement blooms.
Natural textures. Because Winnipeg is smaller, it can be tricky for us to get our hands on everything new that we want. One of those things that I'm really craving are natural textures, specifically with linen. I love the way these textures bring an organic feel to a table as opposed to feeling modern, chic or overly stuffy. I also love working with a natural colour palette - softer tones, maybe some terracotta or pottery mixed in.
Need some ideas for your wedding? Be sure to follow Stone House Creative on Pinterest if you like what you see here. I'm always on the search for interesting ideas and brainstorming how to make them my own. And if you're open to letting me do my thing, I have a list of ideas that I really want to work on!
Preparing for your Floral Consultation
Your flower consultation should be lots of fun! Sometimes I hear from brides that they are nervous, but girls, you've got nothing to be nervous about! We're going to have fun. Here's what you can do to make sure that your flower consult goes as smoothly as possible:
1) Do some thinking about what you like, and look at different ideas online or in magazines. Don't worry about being too specific - what's most important is that you know what kind of bridal bouquet shape you lean towards (classic round? something a bit more natural? cascading?), and what type of colouring you like (ie. all white and green? bold hues?). Do you like lots of texture and interesting details? Save some of your favourite images, and bring them in with you - that will give your florist a great idea of what you lean towards.
2) Bring in pictures of your bridal and bridesmaid dresses. Knowing what style and shape your dress is will be an important factor in deciding how large to make your bouquet and what shape of bouquet will be best for you.
3) Bring colour swatches. Whether these are from your bridesmaid dresses or are paint chips that show your entire palette, it will help us pick the perfect hues for you!
4) Have a general list of the things that you'll need - how many bouquets and boutonnieres? What family members and /or friends do you want to have a corsage or boutonniere? Will you need centrepieces plus aisle decor plus an arrangement at your guest book table?
5) Figure out your budget range. Sometimes brides feel like they need to keep their budget number private, and hope that the florists they are talking to will come close to it. It's so much better to be upfront about that number, because it gives your florist the ability to either give you the best suggestions to work within that budget, or tell you what is and isn't realistic.
Photo by Brittany Mahood Photography
Getting Out of the Pinterest Trap
Most brides these days have secret Pinterest boards going long before they're even engaged. I know I'm probably a little late in saying this, but just hold off. Manitobans seem to have an especially long engagement period, and when you start collecting ideas long before your wedding is scheduled to take place, you're going to find yourself falling in love with idea after idea, and getting stuck in some of them. My best advice is to just wait - let the ideas come to you, and don't try to plan too far in advance because you'll find yourself changing your mind anyways.
Tip number 2? Don't be afraid to edit. Before long, you'll see your Pinterest board becoming scattered, disorganized, and convoluted. Something you pinned 3 months ago on a Friday night may no longer be relevant to you. Don't be afraid to delete those images, allowing yourself to curate only a selection of ideas that truly inspire you and get you excited for your wedding day.
Once you have your inspiration images narrowed down to a beautiful set of ideas, analyze them and allow yourself to grow the ideas from there. What is it about these particular images that inspires you? Why do you find something beautiful? Now, consider your daily life - what inspires and excites you, in nature, in your relationship, in fashion?
Put these together - what jumps out at you? Many people think that the way to "personalize" your wedding is by throwing your monogram all over the place or creating some sort of elaborate theme and adding it to everything. No. For some people this works, but I can pretty much promise you that this isn't going to be the way to go. Rather, join together the carefully curated ideas that you've found with the inspiration you find in your daily life. Continue to edit until you find the right combination, and allow your personal tastes to speak through.
Last tip? Turn off Pinterest. There will come a point in your planning when you just need to get tasks checked off your list. At that point, you need to stop intaking new ideas and simply roll with your plans! And of course, if you do need some help getting everything started, you can always check out Stone House Creative on Pinterest ;)