Featured Today on Style Me Pretty
Well, this is an exciting afternoon! Between working on flower quotes for 2015 and 2016 weddings and daydreaming of what's to come this April when I head down to North Carolina to attend round 2 of Team Flower Workshop, I got to see this pretty bouquet I made last year at the workshop featured on Style Me Pretty today! Check out the full bouquet recipe here!
Head on over to SMP's Little Black Book Blog to see more of #teamflowerworkshop and our flowers. There are a couple shots of me in action :)
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 ;)
Erika and Marcus' Stunning Winter Wedding
Working with Erika was a dream! To start, she hired the wonderful ladies at Soiree Event Planning and they were full of fabulous ideas. When we started working on her floral plan, Erika didn't know what she wanted. She'd been over a few ideas already and couldn't seem to figure out what she wanted. Sometimes this makes it easier, and sometimes this makes it harder -- in Erika's case, it took us a few tries to get it right, and once we came up with a great plan, it was full steam ahead. And with direction from Soiree, their winter day was truly stunning. It was all the more special to me because this was my first completed solo wedding! I just love these gorgeous photos courtesy of Victoria Anne Photography.
A Quick Preview
The last three weeks have been very exciting for Stone House! I completed my first three weddings in back to back weekends, each of which was totally beautiful in its own right but also completely different from the last. From a stunning white, green and gold evening at the Manitoba Club, to a candlelit reception at the Fort Garry Club with a lot of very chilly Southerners in attendance, to an all-white winter wedding in the country, it's been a great month.
I'm looking forward to sharing more, but here is a quick shot of Stephanie's bridal bouquet from the lovely Kat Willson Photography. This entire day was just lovely (and frigid) and I can't wait to see the film captured of the beautiful bride!
