Katie and Dusty's Fun Farm Wedding
This wedding was a little different for me. Not only was I the floral designer, but also bridesmaid, event designer, day-of coordinator, and cousin of the bride. Katie has been one of my absolute best friends since we were young children. We grew up just down the road, spent all of our weekends together, attended church youth group and camp together every summer, and when she decided to move away to BC after high school I was more than a little bummed. We were so happy that she and Dusty decided to come back to Manitoba to say their I Do's!
After we decided against a tented wedding on the family farm in Stonewall, we decided on the most perfect possible venue for their ceremony: the stone foundation of an old, burned down barn on our ancestor's property. Our parents grew up playing in this barn and though the rest of the barn has been destroyed, these stone walls couldn't create a more romantic setting for a couple to marry in. We were so excited to have Jeremy Hiebert Photography take all these beautiful images!
HOW NOT TO PLAN YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS
Over my years working at a bridal magazine, a local florist shop, and now owning Stone House Creative, I've realized there are a few things that brides do when planning that aren't necessarily the best way to go about planning their weddings. So, here's a few tips on how to NOT plan your wedding flowers!
NOTE: The photo above is from the wedding of one of my very favourite brides, who totally did all the right things! Photo by A Marie Photography
1) You may not want to do things on your own. I totally understand that some of you ladies are very artistic and know exactly how to complete your vision, but your wedding is typically going to be best pulled together when you let your hired vendors actually do what you've hired them to. For example, I've had a few brides who wanted to make their own centrepieces. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it doesn't. If you're going to go this route, then ask your florist to order the bulk flowers for you - she'll be able to tell you how many stems you need, and order the right varieties to coordinate with the other flowers she's designing for you. You can't just order a bunch of flowers from Costco and expect them to look good with everything else. And, don't be afraid to ask for tips on how to arrange the flowers! While your designer is likely not going to put together a mock up or tutorial for you, there are always going to be some basic tips we can pass along that will help you.
2) Don't mix and match vendors. I've done a few weddings where I've been hired to design the bridal party and family flowers, and then a random decorator or a gardener aunt shows up to do the centrepieces or ceremony flowers (and some venues have a package with a built-in florist with centrepieces included, which can be both good and bad). This almost always results in two very distinct looks that just don't come together well. The best option is to just trust your floral designer, and have her come up with a few great ideas for each area of your wedding so that you'll have options that you love and fit into your budget.
3) Try not to micromanage your floral designer. The photos you see all over wedding blogs and Pinterest that you fall in love with come from weddings with brides who explained their vision to their designers, and then trusted them to take the reigns and get creative. Here are some of the things that I want to know about your planning: what's your colour palette? What type of bouquet shape do you like? What are you and your bridesmaids wearing? How do you want your reception to feel? What do your linens look like? Details like this will help me understand your vision, and if you're flexible with the rest of the details, then I'm best able to get creative and put together some fun and unique ideas for you. Unless a bride has worked with flowers herself, it just doesn't make sense for her to micromanage her florist- you simply don't have the experience and ideas that we will, if you let us do our thing.
Looking for a floral design for your 2016 wedding and want to find someone you can trust your vision to? I'm booking up for 2016 quickly, so please send me an email (and we'll avoid all of the things above, right? ;) ).
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
Laurie and Joël's Summer Tent Wedding
One very wet and rainy Saturday in August, Laurie and Joël got hitched! This was an incredibly awesome wedding for me to be a part of. Not only did I design the florals for them, but I also coordinated the wedding. I don't normally do that, but when Laurie asked, I couldn't say no -- she's just SO sweet. She's the kind of person who makes you feel like she's known you forever and has a way of making you feel special. Their ceremony was one of the best ceremonies I've ever seen. A reading from The Princess Bride, shots of whiskey, and the most gorgeous vows I've heard were all part of it. So despite the mucky grass and a windstorm that knocked the whole tent down (don't worry, it was well after all the guests had left!), their day was just amazing.
Photos by Melissa Cahill Photography, with more credits at the end of the post!
Some of my favourite parts of this wedding:
-The flower girl. She was just the sweetest and so excited to be a fairy princess flower girl wearing a crown :)
-Growing some of the ingredients for Laurie's bouquet in my own garden! Sweet touches of basil and rosemary were awesome.
Vendors:
Photography: Melissa Cahill Photography
Videography: JP Media Works
Silk Ribbon: Silk & Willow
Catering: Urban Prairie Cuisine (SO GOOD!)
Coming Soon ~ Spring Bridal Portraits
I'm so excited to share all the beautiful images from this spring bridal portrait shoot with Kat Willson Photography! We'll release all of the images in a couple of months with an exciting blog feature, but for now, here are a few sneak peeks.
Calligraphy: Julie Doan // Dress: Studio Jann Marie
