Mother's Day Flowers - Orders Now Open!
Treat your momma right this year! Mother's Day is May 8 - are you ready yet?
I'm really excited to be offering Mother's Day flowers this year, to help you show your mom how special she is. On offer this year are fresh, springy cut bouquets, in 3 sizes:
Mini ($15 each) - 1 stem of garden rose or peony with pretty touches
Standard ($25 each) - standard cut bouquet with springy mix of flowers
Premium ($75 each) - medium size bouquet with the addition of premium flowers (peony or garden rose)
Pick up available from our North Kildonan studio on FRIDAY, MAY 6 between 12-7 pm.
Delivery available to specified neighbourhoods on SATURDAY, MAY 7 starting at 11 am.*
*Delivery is available to: North Kildonan (free of charge!), East Kildonan, West Kildonan, Bird's Hill, and North Main.
$7 delivery charge plus applicable taxes.
WE'LL ALSO BE POPPING UP AT JENNA RAE CAKES ON SATURDAY, MAY 7! BOUQUETS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE BAKERY FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED.
ALL MOTHER'S DAY ORDERS NEED TO BE PRE-PAID AND PLACED BY FRIDAY, APRIL 29.
PLEASE NOTE THAT AS EACH BOUQUET WILL BE MADE FRESH, THEY MAY NOT BE EXACTLY AS PICTURED.
Flower Friend Day - Winnipeg Wedding Florist Design Day!
One of my favourite days of 2015 was when I got together with a bunch of my Winnipeg flower friends, and we had a design day out at Lily Stone Gardens, cutting our own flowers and designing just for fun. So this year, I thought it would be fun to have another design day but do it a little differently.
It's always fun to design for ourselves, but I wanted to add a twist: surprise flowers! We gave our wholesaler a colour palette and a budget, and asked them to surprise us with the flowers. We ended up with some amazing product, and it was really fun to see how each of us interpreted the flowers differently. Some of these flowers were varieties I've never worked with before, or wouldn't normally order, so it was a cool learning experience for me.
So, here are some photos from our day with Victoria Anne Photography!
I love these new copper bowls that I brought in as a centrepiece rental. Aren't they gorgeous? You can see them in action here, in my latest Budget Friendly Wedding Centrepiece post!
I love these new copper bowls that I brought in as a centrepiece rental. Aren't they gorgeous? You can see them in action here, in my latest Budget Friendly Wedding Centrepiece post!
Why I Will Always Keep Learning
It is so important to keep learning.
As a business owner, it can be incredibly easy to find yourself stuck in the day-to-day, working through invoices, wholesale orders, timelines, vase shipments, and so on. Sometimes, when you're stuck in those things, it can be hard to remember to dream. And if I never started to dream in the first place, then I certainly wouldn't be where I am now--so why would I allow myself to stop dreaming for the future?
Becoming stagnant is one of the worst things that a company can do. Take the taxi industry, for example. Every taxi company did all the same things for how many years...until Uber came along. And with one little app, the company is changing the entire industry. Perhaps, if one of those other taxi companies had dreamed a little more along the way, they wouldn't be suffering so much now.
As a business owner, the last thing that I want to do is become stagnant--the idea of offering my brides the same things as every other floral designer, or the same style and offerings that have been available to Winnipeg brides for the last how many years--well, that thought just doesn't interest me at all.
So, how do I keep learning and growing? Well, I'm going to be out of the studio next week, heading down to Dallas to learn from one of my flower idols, Bows & Arrows! I love the opportunity to attend workshops and aim to do so once a year. For the last two years, I've gone down to North Carolina to attend Team Flower Workshop where I've expanded my design skills, studied business applications, and grown my mind in wonderful ways. I've taken online courses on bouquet design, centrepiece design, ceremony design along with wedding styling and the less-exciting topics of taxes and finances. And I've loved ALL of it.
So, with that, I'll leave you all the promise that I will keep learning and growing, investing in my craft, always with the goal of providing my brides with the best possible wedding experience I can give them.
Photos by Holly Carlisle Photography from my time at Team Flower Workshop last spring.
Budget Friendly Wedding Centerpiece Ideas
When it comes to wedding planning, I know: it's expensive. Every part of a wedding is expensive, and flowers are no exception. So when you're looking for ways to save a little money, I've got a few ideas for budget-friendly centrepiece ideas for you.
PILLAR CANDLES WITH UNIQUE COASTERS
Many wedding venues don't allow for open flame on the tables, for two reasons: 1) fire hazards 2) wax drips. If your venue allows for open flame, then you've got the perfect option for your centrepieces: pillar candles with unique coasters or dishes, to catch that pesky wax. Pillar candles are inexpensive to buy (hello, Ikea!), and will burn for much longer than your reception requires. Adding a coaster underneath, unique to your style and aesthetic, is a great way to pull it all together. In this case, we used marble coasters but if you're craft in any way, you could DIY something with concrete, wood, leather, glass...almost anything!
TAPER CANDLES WITH LOW-COST RENTALS
Taper candles immediately elevate the look of a table, and I personally love coloured tapers to deepen your colour palette. Clustering 3-7 taper candles together at the centre of a table is such a simple, elegant look for a reception. Here, I've popped them into vintage brass candle holders (rented for just $0.50 each) along with a low-budget cylinder vase. Easy to set up, easy to clean up, and cost-effective! If you want to create your own taper holder, I love this super easy modelling clay candle holder tutorial!
FLOATING FLOWERS
I'm not sure when or why floating flowers were forgotten about as a great option for cost-effective centrepieces. This style is easily updated depending on your style or wedding date: a single floating peony in a glass vase for a springtime wedding, or a few bright blooms in a fun copper bowl like this one from my inventory. I've also taken lined a ceremony aisle with galvanized buckets, and popped a combination of bright flowers with floating candles in them. Look for a pretty container than suits your style and test out a few different flower options (not everything floats well!).
BUDGET-FRIENDLY WEDDING CENTREPIECE TIPS
1) MIX AND MATCH: Alternate a higher cost centrepiece style with a lower cost centrepiece style to fit your overall budget. Just because you can't afford a $75+ arrangement on each of your guest tables doesn't mean you can't afford a total cost of $45 per table. You might alternate a fuller floral arrangement on half of your tables and something with candles on the other half of your tables.
2) WHEN IN DOUBT, KEEP IT SHORT: Floral arrangements that are short will almost always be more budget-friendly. The taller your centrepieces are, the more flowers that you'll need to create visual balance, and make a statement. So if you're on a tighter budget but want flowers on your tables, ask your floral designer to keep them low to the tables.
3) SINGLE-VARIETY ARRANGEMENTS: Keep centrepiece costs lower selecting arrangements that feature just one type of flower. An arrangement composed solely of stock is going to be more budget-friendly than a vase of roses, tulips, and stock. Why? Because all flowers come in bunches of 5, 10, or 25 stems and the more bunches that are ordered, the better wholesale price your floral designer gets on them. In most cases, it's also a lot quicker to design with just one type of flower than it is to work with several varieties.
4) STEM VASES ARE YOUR FRIEND: If you're looking to make a statement but want to keep you budget in line, ask your floral designer for stem vase options. You can cluster a few of these together with mini arrangements or single stems in each in the centre of a round table, or space out several stem vases down the length of a long table.
5) DON'T UNDERESTIMATE FOLIAGE: Just like stem vases are your friend, foliage is your FRIEND with a capital F. Some varieties of greenery are more expensive than others, but you'll always get WAY more of out 1 bunch of foliage than you will 1 bunch of flowers. A few stems of wispy greenery arching down the centre of a long table is beautiful, or a vase filled with foliage-only could make a unique and vibrant centrepiece.
Looking for more decor ideas for your wedding? Check these out!
STONE HOUSE CREATIVE IS NOW BOOKING 2017 WEDDINGS. I'D LOVE TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT YOUR IDEAS - INQUIRE TODAY!
Sara and Chris' Winter Wedding at The Fort Garry Hotel
Designing Sara's wedding flowers was such a lovely treat. She showed me two inspiration photos that her wedding planner, Amanda Douglas, had shared, and was then happy to hand over the creative reigns to me. She had no specific requirements, and with no bridal party and a small guest list, Sara was really just happy to let me do what I thought would work best. I loved Amanda's idea to work with darker tones in the bridal bouquet and lighter shades of pinks and purples in the rest of the decor flowers. I also love how her bridal bouquet came together - the heart shape wasn't completely intentional, and I just adored it!
Purple can be a tricky colour to design well with, and I think the accents of those soft pinks really brought depth and interest to this bridal bouquet.
Bouquet ingredients: ranunculus, hellebore, stock, alstroemeria, amnesia roses, quicksand roses, faith roses, blackberries, and Italian and Israeli ruscus.
Event Planning: Amanda Douglas Events / Photography: Palma Photography / Linens and Draping: Planned Perfectly / Stationery: Minted.com / Venue: Fort Garry Hotel
AS FEATURED ON HOST WINNIPEG
