Make a Statement
Your wedding bouquet should make a statement - this doesn't mean that you have to have a crazy bouquet making a crazy statement, but I think that a bride's wedding bouquet should be her absolute favourite accessory. It should emphasize your style - be it classic, elegant, modern, bohemian or whatever, one of the best ways that I love to make a statement with a bouquet is with gorgeous ribbon that perfectly completes your look.
I personally have a love affair with ribbon. I have considered asking my husband for a ribbon budget instead of birthday presents (can I have both please, Chad?). Silk ribbon, grosgrain ribbon, striped ribbon, lace-edged ribbon…I love it all. Some people like it simple and tidy, some people like long, trailing streamers. Whatever your style, the way you wrap that bouquet completes your look.
I may or may not have gone a little overboard on this one. But the combination of velvets, silk, and the ribbed satin was too much for me to resist.
This scalloped ribbon is simple with a feminine style. It would look just as great as a tassel!
I absolutely loved using metallic glitter streams here along with the blush satin. It added such a sweet, feminine feel!
This natural muslin is a great texture to add in - and I've got it in a lot of colours!
Photos by Brittany Mahood Photography
Styling by Ashley Nicole Design
Florals by Stone House Creative
Trash the Dress Bouquet
It's not everyday that a bride trashes her dress - and in my mind, it should be no day that a bouquet gets trashed :) Anyways, earlier this summer the lovely Jennifer and Matt asked me to design a bouquet for their trash the dress session with kampphotography. There was a lot of rain on their actual wedding day, so they were looking forward to getting some beautiful photos without soggy weather.
For this bouquet, I needed to break the rules that I had made for myself. It's important to me that I always stretch and grow my skills and style, and when I started off making this bouquet it was classic and traditional. Then, I realized that I was super bored with what I had made. It was lovely and likely would have been perfect for someone else, but it just did not feel like me. So? I foraged in the back lane, popped in lavender and scabiosa from my garden, and created a much more interesting shape and colour gradation. Loved it in the end!
Ingredients: Garden roses, spray roses, astilbe, local sweet pea, lavender, scabiosa and nigella.
Luxe Love
When it comes to deep colours and weddings, a lot of brides are afraid of going too dark. Others don't know how to integrate red into their palette without ending up with the standard red rose bouquet. I love a good jewel toned palette, and while I'm not always a fan of the typical "luxurious" wedding, I think that a luxe palette of deep red and deep plum can be just what you need!
One of my favourite parts of this bouquet is how the chartreuse ribbon and bright green berry brings life and vibrancy - even better, that berry is part of the deep purple foliage and was foraged from a tree in my neighbourhood!
Bouquet Recipe:
Dahlias, roses, spray roses, ranunculus, scabiosa, bachelor buttons, ruscus, and foraged greenery.
Photos: Brittany Mahood Photography
Styling: Ashley Nicole Design
Florals: Stone House Creative
Exploring Neutrals
I love talking about colour with brides. There are an endless array of beautiful combinations that can bring a totally different life to a wedding, and today we're looking at neutrals. Very on-trend right now, the creams/blushes/champagnes will always elicit a calming, classic feel.
As a floral designer, what I love about this palette for weddings is the distinctly romantic and feminine air it creates. And despite the limited colour tones usually worked with, it's still a versatile colour palette - working with roses and hydrangea can make a dense, luxurious bouquet while spring apple blossoms and sweet pea will feel light and soft. That's just one reason why this classic will always be a classic!
Photos: Brittany Mahood Photography
Dress: Bliss Bridal Boutique
Image Styling: Ashley Nicole Design
Florals: Stone House Creative
Introducing the Stone House
I've been so excited to share this post with anyone who wants to read it. When planning for Stone House Creative, it was very important to me that my company be an authentic representation of myself - you know that quote "Be yourself - no one else is better qualified"? Today I am so happy to share with you a little bit about where I came from.
This is the house where I grew up. My mom's ancestors came to Manitoba from Scotland in 1814, and eventually settled at our farm near Stonewall in 1873. This beautiful home (the image above is from our wedding day) was completed in 1904 by my great great grandfather. All of the stone needed for the walls was gathered from the nearby fields, and a stonemason from Scotland was hired to build it. Many generations were raised here, passing from one to the next. My grandma grew up just down the road on another farm, and in 1954, she and her husband took it over from her uncle. In 1965, when my mom was a little girl, the house burned and the entire inside was completely gutted. It was re-built with much help from the neighbourhood, but those stone walls remained strong. My parents then took over the farm and the stone house in 1983.
Along with my brother and two sisters, I was raised inside these beautiful, thick walls. My mom, an amazing gardener and a lover of beautiful flowers, had a crafting and quilting business aptly named "From the Stone House." Though my dad claims I owe him royalties for the name of Stone House Creative, I could think of nothing better to represent where I come from and what I love than these words that reflect on how and where I was raised. My husband Chad and I were married on the front lawn, my childhood birthday parties were spent having hot dog roasts in the bush, and I will argue until I'm blue in the face that I grew up in the best neighbourhood, on the most beautiful road, in the entire world.
Tying all of this together, I'm so happy to share my official branding with the world! To create my logo, my dear friend Ashley of Ashley Nicole Design worked with a pen drawing by a family friend, the late Gerald Folkerts. Gerald was an amazing artist and we were so lucky that one day he had a whim to draw the house - I couldn't imagine anything better to represent Stone House Creative. I hope that you feel the sense of history and strength that lays within this home.
And to round this off nicely, I asked my friend Brittany Mahood to take a headshot of me featuring these beautiful stone walls. I'm so proud to call this place home!
