Why I Love Using Locally Grown Flowers

There are few things I love more

than a big old bucket of blooms grown right here in Manitoba soil.

---

The colour. The texture. The uniqueness.

There are endless reasons to love locally grown flowers.

---

Every wedding season, I aim to use as many locally grown flowers as possible. And every week when I get my delivery, I get excited. It’s a different kind of excitement than I get when I pick up flowers at the wholesaler (which is still exciting), and I’m not entirely sure I can explain to you why…but I’ll try. Here are a few of the big reasons to love Manitoba-grown flowers:

• Environmental benefits: When I design your wedding bouquets with locally grown flowers, I’m reducing the environmental harm caused by shipping flowers in from around the world. My local farmers also use a reduced amount of chemicals on their flowers (or none at all!), and limited to no packaging materials to reduce unnecessary waste.

• Supporting the local economy: Buying flowers from a local farmer means keeping my (and your) money in-province, to support a local business that pays her employees a living wage. As with many international trades, the international flower world often involves underpaying, overworking, and poor working conditions. My wholesaler does work with fair-trade farms, but that’s not as wide-spread as I wish it was. And, the more I can keep money in Manitoba, the better.

• Colour and variety: when ordering locally grown flowers, we need to be more flexible. My farmers simply can’t guarantee when a specific variety will open or that a bug won’t eat it, or that a hailstorm won’t come along and damage a crop. BUT, the results of this flexibility are mind-blowing. The colour, texture, and uniqueness that you can achieve with locally grown flowers is what I dream of!

• Not every flower can be locally grown (for example, we don’t really grow roses successfully in Manitoba, though one of my local farms is starting to grow garden roses!). Some of my personal favourite locally grown flowers include zinnias, sweet pea, Queen Anne’s Lace, bleeding heart, ranunculus, cosmos, scabiosa, foxglove, and lisianthus!

---

How about I show you just how awesome locally grown wedding flowers are?

Esther Funk Photography

When I’m selecting flowers for a wedding bouquet, two of the things I’m thinking about are the shape and texture of the overall design. Whatever the client’s style is, I have specific goals I need to achieve and I think strategically about which flowers I can use to do so.

In Kat’s bouquet, I needed to add the perfect sense of whimsy with a trailing line, and this rust amaranthus was perfect. I also wanted to add a lot of boho-inspired texture, so along with imported blooms, I used strawflower. Even when it’s freshly cut, strawflower has a unique dried texture that adds a really cool vibe.

Ariana Tennyson Photography

Black & Gold Photography

When you want jewel tones…and not just filler flowers! Focal flowers tend to be easier to order via wholesale — think roses, garden roses, hydrangea, etc — so it’s a great challenge to use a locally grown focal flower when I can.

My favourite focal flowers that can be grown in Manitoba include zinnias (one of my top 5 fave flowers!), dahlias, and lisianthus.

In Roberta’s jewel tone bouquet, you can also see a lot of the awesome texture and movement that those locally grown flowers add!

Casey Nolin Photography

A lot of flowers have a stiffer stem and a more structured feel to them. When I’m looking for a softer, airier, and more romantic texture, I look to locally grown flowers and vines as much as I can: the ruffled petals of a ranunculus or peony bloom, the romantic curlycues of a sweet pea vine and bloom, or the delicate and petite petals on a phlox bloom can all add a sense of lightness and femininity to your arrangement.

I’m always on the hunt for flowers that will blend my colour palette and add that something special. The hues that are muddier, muted, even a little ombre variation within the petals…that unique colouring can be hard to find when you’re ordering from wholesale farms that make their money off of growing reliable flowers. They don’t want those magical little touches that makes one bloom different from the next…they want them to all be as close to the same as possible.

But local flowers? That’s where we can get those perfect little variations that make your bouquet sing. The taupe lisianthus here is PERFECT.

Esther Funk Photography

Fluttery sweetness! And another bonus — super lightweight! All of the flowers in this bouquet were locally grown (I did use imported foliages, though), and though there were a LOT of stems in there, the bouquet was shockingly lightweight.

Again, the colours here are amazing. These rich berry tones are so easy to achieve with locally grown flowers.

Vanessa Renae Photography

Brittany Mahood Photography

Here in Manitoba, we can reliably use locally grown flowers from mid June through early September, though some early bloomers can be available as early as late May (ranunculus, tulips).

With the reality of covid, using local flowers feels different than it did in the past. I KNOW the flower farmers that I work with. I’ve walked through their fields and talked with them about their businesses. Supporting my local growers is also a step that I can take to provide a small measure of support to people and an industry that I care deeply about.

It doesn’t really matter to me if using locally grown flowers is a priority to you or not (though I would love to hear that it is!). It’s a priority to me, and so I will use them as much as I possibly can.

---

LOOKING FOR WEDDING FLOWERS IN WINNIPEG?

Getting married in 2022? Appointments to plan your dream florals are now available. Click the button below to get started!

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! 

2021 and 2022 Wedding Trends

The ways we can gather and celebrate weddings has changed,

and wedding trends are changing right along with it.

Photography by Jolaika | From the 2020 Portfolio Builder hosted by Stone House Creative and Feast & Festivities

---

As a result, the way we think about the atmosphere of our weddings has changed. It’s probably one of the only things that I’m grateful to Covid for — with all the shifts in wedding planning, engaged people moved their focus from their original wedding plans towards “how can I make my intimate wedding the best it can be?” and that has resulted in some seriously good ambiance.

And when it comes to “wedding trends,” this looks a lot more like throwing out the rule book and ignoring what everyone else is doing, and instead focusing on how we want ourselves and our guests to feel and experience our weddings.

So while I normally talk about decor and style predictions, colours that I’m loving, and similar details when I talk about wedding trends, today I’m shifting the focus of the trend conversation towards how we can make our celebrations feel the most amazing, once we’re able to really be back together again.

---

1) Creative Floor Plans

You may be looking at hosting a smaller-than-anticipated guest list in your larger-than-necessary venue. That doesn’t mean that you need to cancel with your venue and seek out something else. I’d encourage you to view it as an opportunity to get creative!

1) Incorporate lounges to make the space feel intimate and give people options.

Think about your guests and how you want them to experience your wedding. Not everyone likes to dance or listen to loud music — give them a quiet nook to sit and catch up with people they haven’t seen in a while! Image below by Blush Wed Photo with planning + design @petitepearlevents .

2) Creatively Separate the areas of your reception with billowy draping.

Notice how the drapery behind the cake below (Southern Posies) ensures that the cake itself becomes a focal point? Whatever you want the focal point of your reception to be, consider how you can play with the floor plan to give it more attention.

3) Create a canopy for your dinner tables.

Lighting, floral, drapery — there are plenty of options to do something cool and unique here. Take a look at the image above, designed by Always Yours Events. She used drapery to create a dreamy canopy effect with a slight beachy vibe, all within the confines of a typical ballroom. This is the perfect example that, though you may need to reduce your guest count, you can still keep your booking at your now too-large venue, while creating an incredible ambiance!

4) Of course, play with the table shapes and layout themselves!

The more space you have, the more variety in table shapes you can fit. Long, round, square — have some fun!

---

2) Less “typical” Bridal ATtire

the vibe of your wedding might be changed from how you pictured it — or maybe you’re just not a pouffy dress kind of girl. just because you’re having a wedding, don’t feel like you HAVE to dress a certain way — make your attire work for you. whatever your case, consider a little white (or not white) outfit that’s more to your taste.

My go-to recommendation for something like this is BHLDN. Below are a few of my faves, featuring mix and match separates including sweaters and skirts, jumpsuits, blazers and killer pants. You could also shop locally — a lot of boutiques will carry options that could be perfect for the ambiance of your wedding. Here in Winnipeg, Mad About Style does a white collection every spring/summer that always has gorgeous pieces with a slightly more laid-back, feminine vibe.

---

3) Live Music

I don’t really know what else needs to be said here: I’m forecasting More live music for 2021 and 2022 weddings, because it really contributes to the ambiance more than anything else.

To further personalize your event, the great thing about live music is that it’s very customizable to the ambiance that you want to create. Looking for a Top 40s dance party? Hit up Big City All Star Band. Want to keep things a little more casual, with an acoustic guitar and folk singer? I always love it when I’m setting up at the same time as Keith Macpherson is doing a sound check (pictured above from one of our August 2020 weddings). Winnipeg is also home to Luminous String Quartet, who are some of my faves to create a unique ceremony ambiance. Karen composes and arranges major hits into pieces for her string quartet, and they’re amazing. Give em a listen on Spotify.

---

4) straying from tradition and Doing things Your Way

Colour palette. style. forgoing traditions for tradition’s sake.

We’re seeing fewer cake cutting photo ops, fewer bouquet tosses, fewer corsages…if it doesn’t hold importance to you, then don’t spend another moment thinking about it (or another dollar on it).

Here’s some wise advice from Janelle of Lavenders Flowers:
“I knew I wanted our wedding to represent us for who we were in November of 2019, not worrying about what we may like or not like 20 years from now. Sure, future Janelle may or may not regret wearing a hat and having a rainbow color story, but who cares? Could you imagine what wedding my 10-year-old self would have dreamed up?!

My best wedding planning advice is to let go of the pressure to be or look a certain way and start having fun! Focus on what you DO want and ask yourself why certain things are important to you, write them down, then stick with it like a road map to your final destination. After all, it’s your day; make it something you're excited (not stressed) about!”

Forget about what’s “timeless.” In 10 years, will you care? No. So just do it the way you want. Use that vibrant colour palette that you love but scares you. Choose the dress that speaks to you when you twirl in it rather than going for something classic.

And speaking of non-traditional bridal attire…check out that Maison Corazon separates look from a shoot I styled back in the summer. Gorgeous, right? Photo by Esther Funk Photography.

---

5) Design Details

I said I wasn’t going to talk about the details much…but I had to throw a few things in. Here are some design and decor trends that I’m following and loving:

1) Leather Details

Like the placemat and sweet little name tag in the image above from Fete Collection, I’m finding myself OBSESSED with leather details and finding places to bring it into my designs. I have this idea for a leather envelope…not sure how functional that one is 😂 A much easier addition would be a camel leather chair in your lounge, rentable from Trend Decor here in Winnipeg.

2) Warm Colour Palettes

I used to be a cool tone girl. I loved pastels and lighter tones and have mostly decorated my home with them, but more and more I am finding myself drawn to warm tones, so much so that I included this is in last year’s trend round-up as well (like the bouquet below by Texture Florals — and note that it’s not JUST bright oranges…it’s just warm overall). Candles are a great place to bring this in — check out the toffee taper candles below and tell me you don’t love that touch of warmth!

3) Elaborately Floral-Ized Wedding Cakes

Whether the cake itself is simple or pretty heavily decorated, it deserves to be even more of a focal point than it already is. I’ve been loving seeing cakes be given a major floral treatment — maybe a ring around the cake (like the one below that I designed around a Jenna Rae Cakes confection), or ground-based florals that form the base of the cake table, or even a floral tier!

4) Monochromatic Colour usage

Now, you all know that I will dig into as much colour as you let me. But if you’re a little wary, a monochromatic look is the perfect way to have some fun without needing to be brave. Look at this monochromatic design below from Ashley Fox Designs — it’s simply different shades of the same pink hue. Playing with different levels of the same colour really allows the various elements to soar and I love how the texture is elevated here.

---

LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?

Getting married in 2022? Appointments to plan your dream florals are now available. Click the button below to get started!

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! 

---

Looking for a Wedding Invitation or Guest Book? Here’s my New Fave Source!

I am a sucker for beautiful wedding stationery.

So I want to share some of my new favourites with you!

---

The combination of pretty flowers and paper gets me really excited. I’m a book lover (I will never use an e-reader — it’s got to be real paper), and that could be why I’ve always loved beautiful wedding invitations and everything that comes along with it.

I came across Basic Invite a few years ago (back when I was working at Once Wed!), and they recently reached out to show me some of their new wedding stationery products: wedding invites, guest books (am I the only one who thinks a pretty guest book is impossible to find?), along with invites for showers and engagement parties and everything that comes along with those events.

Let me show you some of my favourites!

---

When I am working with event design clients, or am simply recommending different options to floral clients, I do have a preference to work with a local stationery artist. But, I know that the budget point that comes along with a custom, locally-designed product isn’t always feasible for every client. That’s when I love to include a few suggestions for a more budget-friendly online option, and Basic Invite is one of those amazing options.

They’re not just offering your basic “low budget” options, and I need you to understand that. The pieces and designs that the Basic Invite team offer are varied in style and design, and they offer a lot of different customizations to make sure you get what you’re envisioning. Here are a few of my favourite pieces and some of the awesome details you should know!

So first of all, you know that I’m all about COLOUR. I love a well-designed and intentional wedding palette that goes beyond the basic. Your wedding invitation and other paper goods are an ideal place to incorporate the interesting touches of your palette. They’re the first way that your guests experience your wedding, so that invite gives your guest a taste of what they can expect: style, theme, how formal it’s going to be, and what kind of surprises they might expect.

Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows customers almost unlimited colour options with instant previews online. You can actually change the colour of each element on a card, with over 180 different colour options (is that too many options? I don’t know haha). The card can be exactly how you want it, down to the littlest detail. This is what sets Basic Invite apart from any other online stationery company and is their biggest draw.

Oh! And 40 different envelope colours! Layer in that colour palette, baby!

Full Invitation Suites

Each of Basic Invites' wedding invitations are part of a full set, which means that you can choose just a simple invite and envelope combination, or you can sprinkle that paper goodness throughout your entire wedding, with things like ceremony programs, registry and hotel block info cards, thank you notes, table numbers, and so on. If you’re working on a low budget but you want to make sure your overall wedding design has impact, then don’t overlook the importance of your paper pieces working together.

Above and on the right, you can see how swapping out the colours makes an enormous difference, and I love that it’s so easy to do so. The main suite above has a joyful, mid-summer feel that would be perfect for an outdoor wedding, while the darker option below feels a little more moody, a little more luxe (I could envision how this would play centre stage in a dramatic winter wedding at Manitoba Club…).

Extra Details

A few more things to love about basic invite:

-They include free wedding websites (mobile friendly and you can custom design to match your invites!)

-Custom samples, so you can see it in your hands before you make a final decision

-Free address collection service (you just sent your guests a link, and they fill out all of their mailing details)

All images provided by Basic Invite.
They’re also offering a promo code right now for 15% off your order, until the end of December only! You can check that all out on their homepage.

LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?

Getting married in 2022? Wedding flower appointments will start in the new year and I have a wait list started in the meantime.

Click the button below to get on my wait list!

How to Make the Most of Your Intimate Wedding

I have an opinion, and it may seem strange, coming from someone who makes her living off the gathering of large groups of people: I LOVE that we are having an increase in intimate weddings.

If my husband and I were getting married again, I would do it differently than when we tied the knot 10 years ago. We were quite young when we got married (barely 22 years old!) and hadn’t actually been guests at very many weddings, so we planned things that we thought we were “supposed” to plan them. I don’t have any regrets about our wedding at all — I just would do it differently now. And one thing that I would love is to have it smaller.

We had 150 guests, which isn’t that huge to begin with, but there were definitely a few tables of people that were on the guest list because, again, I thought I was supposed to have them there. It was such an honour that they did come, but if I were doing it again, I’d probably aim for 75-ish people. I would love to be bold enough to say 50 people, but with the size of my family (and they are important to me), we simply wouldn’t have been able to get away with 50 people. Realistically, I think we could could be looking towards a few months of 10-50 person wedding guest lists, so I’m excited to envision that with you!

So, let’s make the most of your intimate wedding!

---

Above all, what I want you to come away with is this knowledge: even if you didn’t originally envision or plan an intimate wedding, that doesn’t mean that it’s not a wedding worth celebrating, and celebrating HUGE. Get excited!

For any of your couples considering a smaller wedding this year, I HIGHLY recommend it. I was very much against the thought of a smaller wedding initially but it was honestly everything I could have wanted and more. I am so glad we went ahead with it and truthfully, the ceremony itself meant so much more to both Daniel and I because of who we did have there!

-Lainie and Daniel (married in an intimate backyard wedding on June 28, 2020)

What it’s all going to come down to is carefully designing a plan to treat your guests to an experience unlike any other, and that means starting with what YOU love!

---

Photo by Lynsey Corbett Photography ~ Planning by Soiree Event Planning ~ See more here!

My Must-Haves for an Intimate Wedding:

-Petals (or confetti or bird seed) for each of your guests to toss as you celebrate down the aisle.
-Live music, at least for the ceremony.
-Over the top florals, obviously. At least for your ceremony!
-A catered dinner from your favourite restaurant with ALL the menu options.

Let’s be honest: you may never have the reason to do something elaborate like this ever again. With fewer guests, you’ll have an increased amount of budget to spend per guest, which means you can treat your favourite people to the ultimate wedding, the wedding you dreamed of in the beginning before the realities of money ever got in the way.

Imagine how it would feel to be a guest at this wedding:

Planning, Design, Florals by Rhiannon Bosse (she’s got some amazing ideas on your blog for you!)

You’re welcomed in with personalized charcuterie boards and pre-poured cocktails, while a musician plays acoustic guitar in the background.

The table is set to the highest degree: the scent of flowers sweetly floating on the breeze, elegant glassware in your hand, personalized menus and place cards with a note from the couple written just to you to make sure you know that you are an important guest.

An incredible dinner awaits, and it’s far from the basic bottle of wine and salad/entree/dessert. Your palette is spoiled with upgrades: a full bar, multi-course dinner with wine pairings, table-side creme brûlée. Maybe the typical dinner fare is skipped in favour of the couple’s favourite elevated street food instead — individual servings of hand-smashed guacamole and grilled corn, or a beloved food truck has set up shop in the backyard for the night!

The evening finishes on a sweet note with a personalized dessert board — petite molten cakes in individual ramekins, the bride’s favourite cookie, a scoop of the groom’s favourite ice cream, a hot chocolate shooter.

---

I think it’s safe to say that your guests will agree that there’s absolutely nothing missing from the experience, and if they’re being honest, it’s probably the best wedding they’ve ever attended.

---

Don’t let anyone leave without a gift — and I’m not talking about your regular old wedding favour. Perhaps it’s as simple as an elegantly wrapped box of your favourite Constance Popp chocolates, or a premium welcome bag featuring your prized must-haves from local Manitoba makers: a sweet bottle of Bee Project honey, a can of your favourite Little Brown Jug ale, or locally made bitters or shrubs from Abiding Citizen.

Left: Sinclair & Moore, Middle: A Signature Welcome photographed by Corbin Gurkin, Right: A Signature Welcome photographed by Rebecca Yale

A few final thoughts…

Instead of spending $75 per table centrepiece for 20 tables, you could spend that total $1500 on floral arrangements for 4 or 5 tables. I can’t even begin to tell you have stunning that will be! There’s NOTHING that does a better job of bringing life and excitement to an event than fresh flowers (in my completely unbiased opinion 😉).

I very literally salivated while imagining all of these food options and dreaming about which restaurants I would order from…529 Wellington, Merchant Kitchen, The Red Ember food truck, and I have always wanted to host a party catered by Nuburger!

I talked to my friend Kaytee of Roots Floral Design, who is a wedding florist in Cincinnati, and she made an extra good point: “Take advantage of the outdoors! Each region will have different guidelines and regulations, but most places are much more lenient with outdoor intimate weddings (and I think many of your guests would be more comfortable attending an outdoor wedding!). Take advantage of a smaller venue with beautiful outdoor scenery to hold your wedding. Other options are a relative's backyard, parks (if they allow it), or even an Airbnb! One of our couples choose a beautiful Airbnb property to hold her intimate wedding celebration. Their wedding became a weekend long celebration with their closest loved ones. When painted in this light, intimate weddings sound so dreamy, right?”

---

A few vendors and I were chatting at an intimate backyard wedding we were working on together this past weekend, and all said how much we have been loving these smaller weddings. Why? I realized that everyone is HAPPIER. There's so little stress with these smaller weddings; fewer things to be concerned about. Even if you are DIYing some elements, or cooking some of the food, you're only doing it for 30 people and so the time investment is so much lower.

If you need some help pulling together the loose ends for your intimate wedding, don’t hesitate to ask your vendors. I have loved the opportunity of being more involved with some of my couples, and I know I’m not the only one. Kaytee said it perfectly: “No matter what you decide for your wedding, we know that it will be perfect and just right for you. Your wedding day should be exactly how you envision it to be, even if that vision slightly changes. Hiring the right vendors will help you bring that vision to life.“

LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL DESIGNER IN the WINNIPEG area?

2021 wedding dates are now booking, with limited 2020 dates still available! 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! 

Q&A about Wedding Flowers with Stone House Creative

A few weeks ago, I put out a call for any questions on Instagram and I loved all of the questions that I received! It’s always surprising to me what those questions are — they’re almost never what I expect. So, here we are!

All photos by Photography by Jodi, from Shannon and Michael’s wedding in Kenora, summer 2019.

Q. What are some seasonal (and affordable) summer wedding flowers? (@laurenjc)

A. This is an interesting question! Without a doubt, summer is an AMAZING time for flowers because the locally grown blooms are killer. Some of my favourites are lisianthus, feverfew, delphinium, foxglove, sweet pea, and zinnias. Generally speaking, locally grown flowers tend to be “affordable,” though I should also be clear: flowers are a luxury, perishable item. No matter where they’re grown, they’re attended to with utmost caution and grown and cut by hand. There’s a LOT of work that goes into flowers, so they’re never really cheap — and they shouldn’t be.

I also want to touch on the word “seasonal” because it really doesn’t mean very much anymore, due to the way that farmers across the world have been able to extend their growing season. If you truly want “in season” flowers, then the word you need to look for is LOCALLY GROWN. For example, order gatherers, Costco, grocery stores, and so on often say they have “seasonal” bouquets, but that means absolutely nothing. The flowers they use are available year-round because they’re grown in greenhouses near the equator with perfect weather. If you want is truly seasonal, then what you want is locally grown.

Often we’ll read advice from wedding blogs and magazines that the best way to save on your wedding flower budget is to choose “in season” flowers, and that’s a misconception. What that really means is not to choose out of season flowers. For example, a peony in season is still going to cost at least $15/stem, whereas a rose is going to cost you $5/stem at any time of the year. That $15/stem peony is NOT cheap…but it is technically “seasonal.” So again, if you want to look for seasonal flowers, then ask for locally grown (keeping in mind, of course, that we live in Manitoba and our growing season is ramping up throughout June and really hits its stride in July and August, before tapering off in September while we wait for those first few frosts to hit).

In the image below, you can see a closeup of icelandic poppies, ranunculus, and delphinium, all of which were grown locally in Manitoba!

Q. What are you doing with flowers this summer, now that we don’t have weddings? (@amandadouglasevents)

A. Wah. Don’t remind me 😭 I’m still hoping to get my hands on as many flowers as possible this summer. I have a few couples who are opting for an elopement style ceremony this summer with their big celebratory party next summer, so I get to create some beautiful bouquets for their elopements! I’m also hoping that things with Covid will relax enough to allow me to work on some personal projects and photoshoots, so that at least I can enjoy the flowers while they’re blooming locally!

Q. What is your absolute favourite flower combination? (@lainiedahle)

A. Lainie, you’re killing me. How on earth can I choose? I tend to be drawn more towards colour combinations, and my natural love is for brighter corals and peaches with beiges and pinks, and I LOVE ruffled flowers. I could see this combination looking killer with garden roses, zinnias, sweet peas, butterfly ranunculus, foxglove…all the good stuff.

Lately, I’m finding myself drawn more to using fewer ingredients and fewer focal flowers. I’m not sure if this will be working into my wedding arrangements or not, but it’s something I’m going to be playing with on my own.

Q. Locally grown vs florist - what’s the difference? (@meganpatricialewis)

A. This is another interesting question! I think what you’re asking here is where we get the product from. I used to work in a retail floral shop (over 7 years ago) and we imported all of our product — a small amount from across Canada and Holland, but mostly from South America. I still bring in a lot of flowers from these regions in my business today, but I try to utilize as much locally grown product as I possibly can.

There are a LOT of benefits to using locally grown flowers. To start, I know my farmers. I know that by ordering from them, I’m supporting their small, women-owned businesses, who pay their staff living wages and I really like that — let’s do everything we can to keep our money in our own economy. I also seek to reduce my carbon footprint where I can, and ordering locally grown flowers obviously cuts down dramatically on shipping and packaging material waste. Additionally, the quality of locally grown flowers is UNBELIEVABLE. They are sturdier, healthier, and more beautiful (in my opinion). I should do a comparison post when local flowers are growing, so you can see the differences yourselves!

I would highly encourage you to ask the florists you are considering hiring for your wedding if they are able to use locally grown flowers for you!

Q. How much does the average couple spend on flowers for their wedding? (@brooklynkehler)

A. My client average spend is $4500, and that sees a typical 18-20 tables , 4-5 bridesmaids, and something gorgeous for the ceremony! If you want to create a realistic floral budget based on what you’re looking for, here’s a really good rundown of different price ranges of typical items!

Q. I am not engaged yet, BUT I love wedding planning and I’m obsessed with your work so much. I am wondering, if I want to do "sky is the limit," crazy flowers, what is the budget I should have? I know zero about flowers — I want them everywhere though, they’re my favourite thing at every wedding!!

A. Favourite question ever 😂 I’m not going to share this person’s name, so that her boyfriend doesn’t get weirded out ha! Obviously I LOVE the idea of a “sky is the limit” floral plan for a wedding, but when it comes to what that budget number should be, that depends on a lot of things. In particular, the guest count: how many tables do we need floral heavy arrangements on? Then I’d also want to know what other focal areas you want to emphasize with flowers: an unreal cake display? A floral-heavy entrance to your ballroom or tent? When you’re talking sky is the limit, balls-to-the-wall flowers, I’m assuming you’re not just talking about the typical order of bridesmaid bouquets and table centrepieces. My client average spend is $4500. If you’re looking at a typical 18-20 tables and 4-5 bridesmaids, but you want a LOT of flowers, I’d suggest budgeting in the $10,000 range. And then call me 😘

Q. Tips for anyone planning a wedding (not during the pandemic lol)? (@brooklynkehler)

A. Ah, another good question. I know that wedding planning can be super overwhelming at the best of times, especially when you’re just getting started. There are SO many decisions to make (especially if you’re not a good decision maker), many options to consider, endless referrals from people you know…so let’s start by getting really clear on a few things: This is YOUR wedding. That means the two of you make the decisions. Feel free to make those decisions based on what’s important to you and keep those “most important” things at the forefront of your mind, as that’s likely where you’ll be spending the bulk of your budget.

I always suggest starting with the aspects of the wedding that are most important to you — nailing down the right venue, the date, and then your top 3 or 4 VIP vendors (for me, that would be my photographer, floral designer, and dress. I’d suggest a wedding planner or coordinator be included in there as well!).

Hire vendors based on how well you get along with them (particularly your photographer — you’ll be spending all day with him or her!) and how well they seem to be aligned with your personal style and vision (especially your floral designer and your planner). Choose high quality vendors that you trust, and ask them what they suggest within your budget, rather than trying to force your budget on the vendors you really want, or worse, assuming that those vendors you love won’t work with you because of your budget.

When it comes to the design and details of the day, try not to get sucked into the Pinterest trap! Same goes for Instagram. Looking at what other people have done for their weddings will be like quicksand, getting you stuck in a loop of what OTHER people have done. You’re not other people! Let’s design something that’s just for YOU. The best way to do that is ask your design-related vendors to give your creative vendors a lot of flexibility and encourage them to get creative!

Q. What time of year is it best to have a wedding so all the flowers you want are available? What type of flowers are the most expensive? (@jeannaleeartistry)

A. Well, this answer totally depends on what those favourite flowers are! During spring you’ll find the perennial favourites: peonies and ranunculus, blooming branches, and tulips and hyacinth. These are all quite feminine, delicate, and lovely — exactly what you’d want for a spring wedding! Summer brings us the best locally grown flowers in a riot of colours and textures: lisianthus, zinnias (a personal fave), cosmos, snapdragons, strawflower, sweet pea. Early fall we can still get some locally grown flowers (just up until the frost starts) but you can also get most flowers still available through the wholesaler. And obviously, here in winter we can’t get anything locally grown but many things are still available through wholesale (roses, always) — my favourite winter flowers include amaryllis (woah baby, especially the peach ones), agapanthus, lots of interesting textures like pieris, privet berries, and skimmia.

As to which flowers are most expensive? Probably all the ones you love the best 😂Peonies, garden roses, ranunculus, butterfly ranunculus, poppies…I know, I know. All those ruffly, special, beautiful blooms. What an we do? We love all the pricy stuff!

---

Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?

2021 wedding dates are now booking! 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!