How Much Do Wedding Flowers Cost in Manitoba
I hear this question ALL the time. Literally, all the time. And while I can't give you an accurate blanket statement response, I wanted to at least give it a shot and explain some of the behind-the-scenes of wedding flower pricing for you. Because, let’s face it, pricing of everything in 2023 has changed, flowers included!
How much do wedding flowers cost?
If you’re getting married in 2023, you have to be prepared to spend 2023 money.
Over the years, I’ve written multiple blog posts about wedding flower budgets in Manitoba, how much bouquets actually cost, ideas for maximizing your flower budget, and more. I personally think those posts are extremely helpful…except for the fact that in this post-(ish)Covid world w’ere living in, with inflation and costs being what they are, literally everything has changed.
So, I figured it was time to revisit the topic of what wedding flowers actually cost in Manitoba, and hopefully it’s a good time of year for you as you’re planning your 2023 and 2024 weddings!
The other day, I was talking with a wedding planner friend of mine. I had just received an inquiry that was so unrealistic in her budget expectations that I had to vent about it. Her answer was amazing, and it’s everything that you need to keep in mind:
“If you’re planning a wedding in 2023, you have to be willing to spend 2023 money.”
AKA if you’re planning a 200 person wedding at a high end venue, and your floral requests are “lush and full,” you absolutely cannot expect to spend less than the $2500 budget this particular bride had budgeted. In fact, you can’t expect to spend less than probably $7000.
To be clear, inflation hasn’t risen so much that a $2500 budget from a few years ago is now equivalent to a $7000 budget…it’s definitely risen BUT that $2500 budget wouldn’t have been sufficient for that bride’s floral wish list for at least the last 15 years. Maybe never, I don’t know. I’ve only been doing this for 12 years 😉
So, here we go. What do wedding flowers, in Manitoba, in 2023 and beyond, ACTUALLY COST?
Figuring out how much to budget for your wedding flowers can be a major challenge — for most newly engaged couples, it's just going to be a major shot in the dark. Most of the online resources available are in American dollars, from very different markets than we are in, and are written by magazine editors — not florists — who haven't bothered to do their research on how much things actually cost, making their supposedly helpful suggestions to be completely unrealistic. Some of the big magazines and wedding planning sites offer "helpful" wedding budget breakdowns, with a suggestion for spending 10-20% of your overall budget on flowers, but there's a big difference between 10 and 20%!
So, before you even try to figure out a preliminary wedding flower budget, start here:
1) Figure out your priorities and what aspects of the flowers you really care about, and what aspects may be less important.
2) Understand that your budget needs to match your wants and needs list. If you don't want to spend a lot of money on flowers (which is perfectly fine! I was a budget bride, too!), you can't expect the world.
Probably the worst part of my job is finding a way to delicately tell a couple that their wish list is just way too enormous for the amount of money they're comfortable spending. While I adjust some prices on my end, most of what I have to charge is set by the growers and the wholesalers. There are a LOT of hard costs in this industry, which means that as much as we would love to, your floral designers can't just give you everything you want without a price tag attached to them. If you take just one thing away from this entire post, please know this: we aren't trying to rip you off. Believe me, we don't make a lot of money, especially when compared to the intensive work we do. There are simply very definite hard costs in the floral industry, and that just kind of sucks, because it means that we can't necessarily give you as much as we would honestly love to!
There are many things to consider that contribute to the overall amount of money you're spending on wedding flowers, including:
-The flowers themselves (duh).
-The amount of items your florist needs to make (8 bridesmaid bouquets add up really quickly!).
-The time of year (sorry to everyone who wants to get married in February, but all growers increase wholesale flower pricing for the month of Valentine's!).
-What your style is (some design styles require a lot more or less floral than others).
-The supplies required to create a design (you'd be surprised at how much time floral designers spend in Rona!).
-There's also, unfortunately, the border crossing factor. While I love to use locally grown flowers as much as possible, there are many things that just don't grow here in Manitoba. Anytime a flower crosses the border, there are increased expenses. It's a bummer, but a simple reality. What a florist in California might pay $0.50 per stem for, I have to pay $1.50 for.
-You're also paying for the service that you receive and the experience and expertise of the floral designer you've chosen. Perhaps you've chosen to work with someone who's been working with flowers for 15 years. Their experience deserves a higher pay grade. You'd expect to pay an experienced accountant more than a brand new one, wouldn't you? Or maybe you've chosen someone based on their creativity and the unique designs they create. Part of what you're paying for is their brain, which no one else has - being able to access their creativity is a benefit to you!
-Set up and delivery has a price tag attached to it, too (more on this coming in a future post!).
a few notes on what impacts flower pricing:
Covid:
Covid has affected so many areas of the floral industry. When it first hit, basically every farm worldwide had to lay off staff because they couldn't safely have their employees work, and because there was no demand for flowers. With that, they completely mowed down their crops. Some of these crops are flowers that take multiple years to grow before you can actually cut and produce them. This means we're looking at several years before production returns to full normal. At the same time, Americans decided that everything was "back to normal", causing a huge surge in demand with very limited availbility. Farms are still struggling with financial losses, and prices have increased. And as can expected, covid caused many wrinkles with shipping. Fewer airplanes are in the air, everything associated with crossing the border is more expensive, etc etc. Everything costs more to get here.
Supply and Demand:
Supply and demand, baby. Wedding trends affect pricing. The more people who want the coveted toffee rose, the more expensive they're going to be (and hot dang, they are expensive).
Supply Chain Issues:
Yep, just like the rest of the world, the supply chain is affecting hard goods and supplies in the floral industry. It's definitely getting better, but it's still hard to find the quantity of vases that we want, and the ones we can get are more expensive than they used to be. There are also certain supply products (like floral glue) that are just no longer made.So, how much do wedding bouquets cost?
The graphic below has long been one of my favourites, though the pricing is no longer relevant. My wholesale costs have risen, on average, 30% this past year. So, add 30% minimum to each of these bouquets and I guess you’d be closer to accurate pricing; $150 is now $200, $250 is now $325, and $350 is now $455. The graphic is still a great visual comparison. For those of you who like a certain style but aren't so picky about the types of flowers that are used, be sure to take a closer look - this might give you some thoughts on how you can lower your overall budget!
For reference, my bridal bouquet pricing now starts at $300 each, with some exceptions.
Quill + Oak, a florist friend of mine in Ontario, recently put together this comparison on centrepiece sizing and pricing, and it's also a pretty good estimation on what you could expect to receive in Manitoba!
Floral designs by Quill + Oak | Photos by Olive Photography
I’d suggest that if you’re looking for a nice, medium sized centrepiece, you start your budget at $100 each. A bud vase trio can be more cost-effective, while a tall arrangement you’ll want to budget minimum $250 each, and keep in mind that that is the bare minimum and not the lush, full arrangement you’re seeing on Pinterest and Instagram.
Candles are always a must-add, in my opinion. Whether you’re looking at taper candles, pillar or floating candles, or simple votives, aim for 3-7 per table depending on the centrepiece design and combine smaller votives with larger/taller candles for a more interesting look. But there’s this misconception that candles are the cheap option…I mean, if you’re doing 1 candle on a table, sure. That’s $10-$15. But that’s not what’s shown in the inspo pic that you’re giving me…you’re probably showing me something with $75 worth of candles and rental, per table. Just keep that in mind.
If you’re looking for an arch of some kind, those price ranges can vary wildly. A floral arch is going to be a minimum of $1500 - $2000, but I’d really suggest planning on $3000+ if you want full coverage, double that if the entire back of the arch needs to be covered (most of the time we have a light green coverage on the back). If you like the idea of a single floral piece added to an arch, plan for at least $500 per piece.
So, let's get down to IT. How much can you expect to spend on wedding flowers in Manitoba?
For full service florals (bridal party and family flowers, ceremony decor, reception decor), my clients are spending an average of $7500 + taxes. This might not apply to your specific needs, your guest list, your vision, but I hope that’s helpful as you budget!
And if you need to reduce your spend, here are my top tips for lowering your wedding flower quote:
-Cut out all boutonnieres and corsages. They’re small details that don’t get much attention and are kind of tacky and outdated, anyways.
-Cut or reduce your bridesmaids’ bouquets. I’ve had quite a few weddings this year opt for single roses just for the girls to have something in their hands walking down the aisle. At this Spanish-inspired wedding, the women carried hand fans and it was so chic!
-Create a couple of large, focal design moments that your guests will interact with, that will set the tone, and simplify the rest. Scaled back candle centrepieces are all you need if you’ve got a killer hanging installation above. Forgo aisle flowers and increase the arch. Eliminate boutonnieres and corsages to add a beautiful floral arrangement at your welcome table.
-Forget about the lie that greenery is cheap. It’s not. Costs on foliage have risen so high that I honestly can’t afford to include much greenery in my floral orders anymore. You get WAY more bang for your buck with colourful floral than you ever will with a couple of stems of greenery.
-Cut out the flowers on your signage. For the last maybe 5 years, everyone has wanted a “floral or greenery touch” on their welcome sign, their seating chart sign, etc etc. Man, this is a waste (in my opinion). Unless you have the budget to really make this special, save the $150 and push it to something that will actually be noticed and make your design more impactful.
Here's what I offer to clients:
-Full Service Floral Design (with a minimum investment budget of $5000)
-Event Design (in addition to floral design, and you can find out more about that here!)
I would love to discuss your wedding flower needs. I can help you narrow down your style, determine what are the most important aspects of the flowers to you (and therefore, where you should focus your budget and where you can reduce your spending), and also come up with some great ideas for unique designs that your friends didn't all have at their weddings.
Don't hesitate to reach out by clicking the button below!
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My Top 5 Tips for Planning Your Winnipeg Wedding from Out of Town
I’ve worked with a lot of couples who don’t live in Winnipeg, to plan and design the flowers and full event design for their Winnipeg wedding. Most of them were originally from Winnipeg, and now live in other parts of Canada, the US, even all the way to New Zealand! And truth be told, those are always some of my favourite weddings to work on — the couples are more trusting, and tend to let me do my thing and the creative result of that working partnership is always the best!
Over my years of working with out of town couples, here are my top 5 tips that I’ve learned that will help you best plan your Winnipeg wedding from outside of Winnipeg!
I’ve worked with a lot of couples who don’t live in Winnipeg, to plan and design the flowers and full event design for their Winnipeg wedding.
Most of them were originally from Winnipeg, and now live in other parts of Canada, the US, even all the way to New Zealand! And truth be told, those are always some of my favourite weddings to work on — the couples are more trusting, and tend to let me do my thing and the creative result of that working partnership is always the best!
Learned from my years of working with out of town couples, here are my top 5 tips that will help you best plan your Winnipeg wedding from outside of Winnipeg!
Hire a Local Wedding Planner — not a planner from the city you live in
I’ve had a few experiences with couples who’ve hired wedding planners from the city they live in, and to be 100% transparent with you, it just makes ZERO sense. Why?
-In my experience with multiple out of town planners, they don’t bother putting in the work to research our local industry. This means they have no idea what rentals are available here, what different Winnipeg vendors can do, even what the venue itself looks like!
-It increases the workload on your other vendors (without appropriately increasing their pay) because we end up having to manage a lot more of the work.
-This all boils down to planners who either over-promise to their couples what they can get here (often at a budget point or availability that has absolutely no relevance to the Winnipeg market) OR to planners who develop a hoity-toity attitude that Winnipeg sucks and therefore everything for the wedding must come from out-of-province. Neither of these create collaborative vendor environments, and in fact, can be quite detrimental to the overall way that your wedding comes together.
Luckygirl Photography, Soiree Planning. See More Here.
Research Pricing in the Winnipeg Market
Depending on where you’re coming from, the Winnipeg wedding industry’s pricing may be higher, lower, or on par with what you’d expect to pay for a similar wedding in your locale. This is another time where you just need to trust the vendors that you hire in the city your wedding is taking place in.
“Thanks so much for everything that you did for our wedding. The florals could not have been more perfect — you are so talented. You were so much fun to work with and were so flexible to all of the many iterations of flowers + colour palettes that I had over the year leading up to the wedding. Everything turned out perfectly, and the greenery cloud in the chapel was so dreamy. I absolutely loved everything. Oh, the table arrangements...I died!!” — Stephanie and Andrew
Brittany Mahood, Soiree Event Planning. See More Here.
Start Planning Early
Starting your planning early when you’re out of town gives you a lot more room for flexibility and peace of mind. It also allows you to strategically plan one or two trips back home, and set up any meetings with your planner and other vendors that you’d like to do in person, like food tastings or rental selections. And if you have your heart set on any particular vendors, then starting early is key! Winnipeg’s wedding vendors have a tendency to book up VERY early, thanks to our longer than average engagement length compared to other areas in Canada.
Ariana Tennyson Photography. See More Here.
“Lauren's work speaks for itself. Factors such as long distance, uncertain times, and an abbreviated timeline did not take away from the professionalism and thoughtfulness we received throughout the entire floral and event design process. Lauren allowed us to share our goals, vision, and inspiration for our wedding but also gave us the confidence to know that we could trust her expertise. She was a HUGE reason why on our wedding day, one of the most notable compliments my husband and I received was "Wow, it's so great to see you both so relaxed!" - Diane and Bryce
Ask for Vendor Referrals — and then trust them
Find one local vendor who you’re dying to work with, who you know will be the perfect fit for you in terms of style, professionalism, and vibe. Then, ask them for referrals for their favourite vendors to work with who will also be a great fit for you! Choose to work with vendors who routinely work together to get the best result. We know and trust each other, and work well together! It’ll make things a million times easier for you.
We also know your venue! We know what does and doesn’t work based on the logistics of the venue, as well as what does and doesn’t look good in the space. And, chances are pretty good that we’ve got some ideas on what we can do at your venue to make things a lot more interesting than the average wedding.
Sugar & Soul Photography, Amanda Douglas Events. See More Here.
Plan for Extra Time With Your Guests
Chances are, you’re “coming home” for this wedding and there will be a lot of people you haven’t seen in real life in a long time, and you’re going to want to spend as much time with them as possible. Whether you’re planning to have a welcome party, bachelor/ette parties, or a day-after brunch, or if you’re just planning for the wedding day itself, look for ways to spend as much time with your people as you possibly can. That might mean giving your timeline some extra cushion between the ceremony and reception so that you can mingle with an extended cocktail hour. If you host your ceremony and reception at the same venue, you’ll be able to maximize the amount of time you can all be together.
Janine Kropla Photography. More Coming Soon.
“I love working with out-of-town couples.
It’s definitely a different planning dynamic, but the level of trust a couple gives us to really be here on the ground and acting as their proxy is an honour. I love getting to do site visits, floral meetings, or linen meetings with them virtually, or provide them with our detailed design boards and bringing them visuals the best way we can, to help establish that trust factor and ensure they’re still feeling included while making the process as easy as possible for them.
My favourite part of planning with a couple long distance is their surprise! When they finally see it all come together, and realize it’s exactly what they wanted but didn’t know it — that’s so satisfying!” - Amanda Douglas, owner of Amanda Douglas Events
Special Note:
I think it’s particularly important to hire professional vendors at basically all times, but especially when you’re planning from out of town. It’s awesome to have people you love involved, but it adds a layer of stress that you just don’t need. I’ve seen and heard some friend-or ( friend-vendor) drama first hand, like people who were supposed to set up your sound system or a gardener aunt who was supposed to do the flowers, and while it sometimes works well, it often doesn’t. You really don’t need those kinds of things happening on your wedding day!
Brittany Mahood Photography
“We hired Lauren for complete floral and event design services for our intimate 2021 wedding. As soon as I stumbled upon her portfolio, I immediately hired her before we had made any other decisions. We were planning our wedding from out-of-province and would need an experienced vendor team we could fully trust and Lauren graciously provided us with her experienced and candid opinion to guide us in selecting everyone from our planner to photographer.
In perfect coordination with our event planning team, she took a leadership role in helping design our event. She constructed a vision for the evening by incorporating inspiration from our travels and favourite resorts, interior design elements from our home in Toronto, and inspiration photos I'd flip to her at all hours. This provided for a meticulously cohesive design that flowed through all elements of our event allowing for a full transformation of our private property and had guests questioning whether they were still in Winnipeg.
Lauren is an expert at her craft, hard-working, detail-oriented, and creative. If you are lucky enough to have her, my advice is to allow her to take full creative control and just prepare to keep saying "wow" when you see what she comes up with.”
— Shannon and David
2022 and 2023 Wedding Trends
2022 and 2023 are going to be BUSY years for the wedding industry. We’re still working through the backlog of postponed covid weddings from 2020 and 2021, and then we also have all of the couples who were originally planning to get married in these years anyways.
So what does this mean for wedding trends? I think it means that we’re going to see a lot of creativity, a lot of personalization, and a lot of couples doing things their own way.
I always love forecasting wedding trends, so here we go!
2022 and 2023 are going to be BUSY years for the wedding industry. We’re still working through the backlog of postponed covid weddings from 2020 and 2021, and then we also have all of the couples who were originally planning to get married in these years anyways.
So what does this mean for wedding trends? I think it means that we’re going to see a lot of creativity, a lot of personalization, and a lot of couples doing things their own way.
Before I jump into some of my favourite trends that I hope we’ll see in 2022 and 2023 weddings, here are a few things that are always at the top of my list:
Environmental Responsibility
Quality Over Quantity
Locally Grown Flowers
Doing Things Your Own Way
These are all things that I’d love to see you filter through your entire wedding planning!
And now, let’s get into the pretty and inspirational!
Photo by Natalie Watson / Floral Design by Amy Osaba
Intimate Guest Lists
In my opinion, the greatest thing to come out of Covid’s gathering restrictions is intimate guest lists. Why? Because everyone at your wedding actually KNOWS that you want them there. They’re not just on the list because you’re a co-worker or a cousin. They’ve been chosen by you, to celebrate with you, and the impact that has on the ambiance is pretty incredible. I’ve witnessed such joy, such support, such celebration and it’s amazing — and that’s just from my very behind the scenes view!
Photo by Sophie Epton / Design by Amorology
Broad Colour Palettes
You know I’m a lover of colour. Whether it’s pastels or bright and bold, I just want each of my weddings to feel and look differently than the others, and the best way to do that is with a well-developed colour palette.
I don’t have any key colour palettes that I think are going to be super trendy (though I’m sure we’ll keep seeing more of the warm toffee and terracotta tones!), but overall, I encourage you to broaden and deepen your colour palette. Choose one or two focal colours, and add in supporting colours and shades, metallic and textural accents, and let your palette bring the wedding design to life.
Upgraded Stationery
Detailed stationery is one of my favourite elements of a wedding, so it always breaks my heart when couples don’t pay any attention to their stationery. Whether it’s just your invitations or if you have the budget to develop a fully customized suite, a well-designed piece makes all the difference between an okay event design and a memorable event design.
Don’t forget to layer in colour, play with the weights of the paper and various printing methods, and consider the little touches like envelope liners!
515 Photo Co / Design by Melissa Baum Events
Upgraded Place Settings
Glassware, flatware, layered charger and dinner plates, napkins, menus and place cards, you name it. The details matter, and they matter more than ever in 2022/2023. We’ve entered into a new realm of personalized wedding design, and the basic options that come along with your venue’s package just don’t cut it.
Some of my favourite local suppliers include Planned Perfectly, Collective Event Rentals, Trend Decor, and Union Table.
Pre-Wedding Cocktails
With couples feeling less pressure to do the typical and traditional, brings in more of the opposing desire: to create an ambiance of fun, celebration, and joyfulness. And when it comes down to it, most couples just want to spend as much time as they can with their loved ones. So why not host a pre-ceremony cocktail party? Whether you’re physically at it or not is up to you, giving your guests a welcome beverage that’s delightfully on-theme is such a fun way to kick off the evening.
Stationery by Inquisited
Statement Details
Whether it’s a far more interesting seating chart than the typical, a breathtaking lighting display, or a wedding cake completely surrounded by flowers, adding in one (or a few!) statement design elements to your overall event design plan is highly in demand.
Scaled Back Bouquets
I have nothing against big bouquets. In fact, I love them. But there’s something so chic and current about a scaled back bouquet, featuring ruffled blooms and smaller textures in a more intricate colour palette. Especially when paired with a more streamlined and architectural style dress, the effect is stunning.
Photo by Heather Nan / Bouquet by Tinge Floral
looking for a wedding floral and event designer in winnipeg?
Get on the 2023 waitlist now! 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!
My Top 5 Tips for Designing a Beautiful Tent Wedding
THERE ARE MANY THINGS TO LOVE ABOUT A TENT WEDDING:
the ability to host your loved ones at a special property, the ease with which you can customize the event design, and the ambiance can be so exciting and inspiring.
Let’s ensure your wedding is more beautiful than the typical tent event. Read on for my 5 top tips to design a beautiful tent wedding!
With covid the way it is, I expect that we’ll continue seeing a lot of tent weddings throughout the 2021 wedding season.
There are many things to love about a tent wedding:
the ability to host your loved ones at a special property, the ease with which you can customize the event design, and the ambiance can be so exciting and inspiring.
Planning: Gather Events | Photo: Nancy Ray | Via: Town & Country
Let’s ensure your wedding is more beautiful than the typical tent event.
Read on for my 5 top tips to design a beautiful tent wedding!
PS Before you scroll too far, open up this Pinterest Board in another tab! Here you’ll find more awesome tent wedding ideas 😘
Pay Attention to the Colour Palette
Tent weddings usually mean lots of green (grass) and lots of white (tent walls). This makes it really easy to design a classic white and green wedding, but if you’re working with a different colour palette, you really need find ways to incorporate your palette to make it stand out!
My favourite way to bring a colour palette to life is actually with the table linens. Upgrading to coloured table linens makes a massive difference simply because of the large amount of visual real estate that table linens take up. Choose the foundational colour in your palette so that you can make the rest of the palette sing with other accents, like your centrepieces.
Planning and Design: Alison Events | Photo: Tec Petaja | Via: 100 Layer Cake
2. Play with the Floor Plan
One of the awesome bonuses of a tent is that you are not restricted to any structural barriers, nor do you have to feel like you have to follow any set of rules. You can do whatever you want! Mix of long banquet and round tables? Do it. Want to put the head table right in the middle of the floor plan? Love it.
Choose what you want to be the focal point of the tent, and design your floor plan around it.
Planning: Always Yours Events | Photo: Jessica Schifilliti
Planning: A. Dominick Events | Photo: Jodi & Kurt Photo | Via: Ruffled
4. Incorporate Unique Lighting
Enlist the help of a great lighting team. Frequently, tent weddings take place outside of the city where it gets really nice and dark in the evening. Whether you want bistro string lighting, classic chandeliers, or a collection of casual textured basket lanterns, some sort of overhead lighting will make a large impact on the overall ambiance. And, of course, don’t forget about the power of candlelight, flickering low to the table all night long.
My go-to lighting experts here in Winnipeg are Event Light. They cover everything power-related (thank goodness, because I don’t think I’m alone in not knowing what any of that means), they’ve got a great inventory of stylish lighting options, and they also have all the tall ladders I ever need to hang flowers 😉
Planning & Design: Amorology | Photo: Tenth + Grace | Via: Style Me Pretty
3. Make a Grand Entrance Statement
Tents are often large, and with the side panels open, guests can trickle in from anywhere. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the flow of traffic can feel a little directionless, so establishing a focal point can make an enormous difference to your guests' experience. I love taking this opportunity to create a gorgeous entrance to the tent that also serves a purpose: welcoming guests, guiding them to their tables, and adding to the overall event design. This could be a large floral installation or oversized floral urns flanking the entrance, an expertly designed seating chart or escort card table, or a welcome table set with champagne. Create a focal point, designed with a purpose, and add something extra to the guests’ experience.
Planning: Amorology | Photo: Scott Clark | Via: Style Me Pretty
5. Upgrade Your Rentals
This one is a big one for me: upgrade your rentals, people!! Caterers often include a very basic set of plates, glasses, and cutlery but we’re talking BASIC. Not at all beautiful. Coloured glassware, layered dishware, elegant metallic flatware, a coloured napkin…these things make a HUGE difference in your overall event design. Don’t forget about the chairs — the basic white folding resin chairs that are available from most tent companies are fine, but they don’t necessarily fit with every aesthetic.
Here are a few more ideas to make your tent wedding the BEST:
If space allows, incorporate a great lounge area. Many typical venues will have some sort of entry area with couches and chairs where people can relax post-dinner if they aren’t interested in dancing. A tent doesn’t have that opportunity, so build it in to your plans! If your wedding is in summer, place a lounge outside the tent under a tree, rent some great soft seating (here are some of my faves!) — don’t forget about adding a coffee table and end tables for drinks to be placed on! — and create a great atmosphere.
Make sure your guests are comfortable with either portable heating systems or fans. And if it can be a misting fan, all the better.
If your wedding is in spring or fall, a clear top tent is your secret weapon: the greenhouse effect created keeps the atmosphere a little more toasty and gives you a little more natural heat.
Hire pros. Hire hire hire. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard people say, “We’re just going to make it easy and have a tent wedding.” LOL guys. Since when is building a venue from scratch in your own yard easy?? But if you hire the right professionals, it can be both easy AND beautiful. This starts with a planner who is well-versed in tent weddings and knows how to take care of all of the logistics — because there are a lot of them. If you need some recommendations, just ask away :)
Proof of how amazing the misting fans are! On a hot summer day, a misting fan is the little piece of heaven you didn’t know you needed. This one is available through Event LIght.
Planning: Soiree Event Planning | Photo: Brittany Mahood Photography
Find the full gallery from this elegant tent wedding on a private estate here, for some more great inspiration!
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
Flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Whether you already have a specific vision or want me to dream up something custom just for you, reach out to Stone House Creative for stunning bridal bouquets, truly unique ceremony backdrops, and beautiful floral centrepieces to create the perfect ambiance for your wedding!
How to Design a Gorgeous Wedding Place Setting
You want your guest ambiance to be awesome, for your guests to mingle and enjoy themselves.
But you also want them to have a “home base” for the evening, somewhere for the quieter guests to feel comfortable and for the busy bees to drop off their belongings at before they go shake some hands. So why not put a little energy and attention into that home base?
I’ve always been a sucker for a gorgeous place setting. Layering bits and pieces together creates a well-designed element to your tabletop that sets the overall design apart. It can tell a story to your guests, or give them a taste of what’s to come throughout the evening, or combine form with function. Whatever it is, it’s in these little bits and pieces that your wedding design comes to life.
I’m a sucker for a gorgeous place setting.
Photo by Brittany Mahood | Wedding Planning & Design by Feast & Festivities | Florals by Stone House Creative
You want your guest ambiance to be awesome, for your guests to mingle and enjoy themselves.
But you also want them to have a “home base” for the evening, somewhere for the quieter guests to feel comfortable and for the busy bees to drop off their belongings at before they go shake some hands. So why not put a little energy and attention into that home base?
I’ve always been a sucker for a gorgeous place setting. Layering bits and pieces together creates a well-designed element to your tabletop that sets the overall design apart. It can tell a story to your guests, or give them a taste of what’s to come throughout the evening, or combine form with function. Whatever it is, it’s in these little bits and pieces that your wedding design comes to life.
This is probably one of my favourite place settings from a wedding that I’ve designed the flowers for. Emily from Feast & Festivities does a beautiful job of pulling together the intricate details in a clean, modern way. She actually custom-made the napkins and the accent colour thread is AMAZING, as is the way she folded the napkin across the dinner plate. At this wedding, the meal was served family-style, so the plates were all layered together, which looks beautiful but isn’t necessarily functional for every wedding.
Read on for some more inspiration, at different budget points and with different elements pieced together!
Plus, I’ve put together an entire Pin board with some more gorgeous place settings for you to check out, here!
Keep it simple, stupid
Planning: Birds of a Feather Events | Flowers: Bows & Arrows | Photo: Apryl Ann
Or not stupid. Didn’t mean to be rude.
I wanted to start this off with a simple place setting, with budget-friendly pieces that don’t require you to add too much in the way of “extras.” If your dinner is going to be served, then it’s coming on a plate. If you don’t want to add the extra expense of a charger plate, then a flat-folded napkin can easily serve the role of plate setting. Add in a menu or place card to simply make a big impact.
Have some fun with accents
Design: Rhiannon Bosse Celebrations | Photo: Samantha James
A flower, a favour…a mini pineapple?
Whatever your style might be, layering in a fun accent is a great way to bring some personality and design to your place setting. I love this combination of wood charger and smoke grey bread plate because it checks off both the form and the function boxes.
Creative Use of Colour
Design: Amorology | Florals: Siren Floral Co | Photo: Tanya Menoni
You know I’m all about the colour.
No matter what your palette is, extending it into your place settings will make a massive difference. Winnipeg doesn’t have a ton of options for non-white plates, so consider how you can use napkins, cutlery, coloured glasses, and menu to tie your design together.
When paper products make all the difference
Planning: Amorette Events | Floral: Siren Floral Co | Photo: Lucy Munoz
Go the extra mile and further personalize each guest’s place setting with perfect stationery pieces.
When I’m setting up a wedding, my favourite thing to do is read the menu and pretend that I’m a guest. I very often literally start to salivate. If your budget allows, placing a beautifully designed menu at each setting is another way to further tie your design throughout the wedding. Place cards are more than just an aesthetic element, though the soft marbling of the card in the image above is breathtaking. Sometimes guests really do need to be told where to sit — especially when you’ve chosen rows of long tables, and it becomes trickier for couples to find seats together.
Play with the Napkin Fold
Planning: Michelle Lynn Weddings | Photo: Kerry McIntyre
This is another really budget-friendly option.
If you want to add upgrade your place setting without upgrading your budget, simply play around with the napkin fold! Every guest needs a napkin anyways, so even if you’re just using the venue’s basic white or ivory napkin, a knotted napkin can go a long way towards making an interesting impact — as can upgraded cutlery. I love the gold flatware here!
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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!
