Beautiful Winter Wedding Decor Ideas
Well, I realize that we are heading into summer (which I literally could not be more pumped about), but that means that all of you brides and grooms getting married in winter are in the midst of making all of your decisions! So, I want to share my favourite ideas for beautiful winter wedding decor.
Add in Texture - And Lots of It
One of my favourite "tricks" when designing a winter wedding is using lots of texture - branches, pine boughs, berries, wood, velvet. Emily from Feast & Festivities came up with the idea to create a winter ceremony backdrop out of firewood. It was gorgeous!
Esther Funk Photography
Serve a Hot Drink
Whether it's a hot chocolate bar where your guests can choose from fun mix-ins, an espresso cart, or serving hot toddies as your signature cocktail, serving a hot drink during your cocktail hour or as your guests arrive at the ceremony is a lovely way to welcome them to your celebration. Abiding Citizen is my favourite craft beverage company; their shrubs, bitters, and syrups are perfect.
Decorate with Warm Textiles
For this tablescape designed by Host Winnipeg, we used a gorgeous blanket as the table covering. The texture added warmth softness, which is just what you want in winter. Thick linen tablecloths would also be great!
Janine Kropla Photography
Gift a Fresh Favour
Some of my favourite wedding favours have been Ferrero Rocher chocolates or individually packaged macarons, but the idea of a fresh bundle of herbs waiting for your guests is beautiful. The fragrance alone would be intoxicating, and your guests could take these home for cooing savoury soups and stews, or throw them into their fireplace for a cozy night in.
Focus on Lighting
Mood lighting is the best way to create the right atmosphere for your winter wedding. Whether that means soft candlelight for an elegant evening or cafe lighting for a celebratory fˆ´te, lighting will accomplish the right look.
Don't Shy Away from Greenery
One of my December brides once told me that she wanted her wedding to look the way it feels when you look up at the dark, starry sky through the bare branches. I thought this was so beautiful. But, rather than using branches everywhere, we chose greenery! I used a lot of feather eucalyptus, which has skinny, feathery leaves that created that branchy feeling. Greenery bouquets marking the aisle, tall arrangements of evergreens, suspended greenery installations - any of these would be beautiful at a winter wedding.
Get Outside, Even if it's Just for a Few Minutes
Half the reason you chose a winter wedding date was probably so you could take some outdoor photos. No matter how cold it is, pop outside for a few minutes with your photographer, to grab some of those coveted snow falling, rosy cheeked, chilly aired photos.
Choose Rich Flavours
Warm, savoury soups and rich, luxurious desserts are the way to go! In the winter, we all crave a little extra luxury, so a thick chocolate cake slathered in buttercream or a classic New York style cheesecake is the perfect choice.
MY FAVOURITE VENUES FOR WINTER WEDDINGS IN MANITOBA:
Bridges Golf Course
Hotel Fort Garry
Fort Gibraltar
Qualico Family Centre
Hawthorne Estates (I can't wait until their 2018 re-build! The plans are incredible!)
Fairmont Hotel
Joe and Hailey's Garden-Inspired Wedding
This wedding was truly one for the memory books! Joe and Hailey's wedding was actually a part of the Sinclair & Moore workshop that I attended in February - after a few days of learning and designing, we banded together to spend an entire day setting up this incredible fete.
Event Design, Wedding Planning & Floral Design Instruction: Sinclair & Moore | Photos: Kate Price Photo | Bridal Gown: Hayley Paige | Linens: La Tavola | Cake: Midori Bakery | Stationery Design: La Happy
One of the spotlight pieces that our team worked on was this amazing floral staircase. The venue was quite unique, in that the ceremony was held upstairs and the reception on the main floor. The staircase in itself was a fairly lovely statement, all in wood and very broad - making it the perfect place to create a trailing, garden-inspired installation moving up and down the staircase. It was the perfect backdrop for newlywed photos!
The ceremony setting was the very definition of awe-inspiring. I worked on this incredible arch ALL DAY and it was so rewarding! I've got more to come showing the behind-the-scenes soon!
To see Hailey and Joe say their vows under this veritable garden was the perfect way to finish the day. The aisle was covered in thousands upon thousands of rose petals, along with lush centrepieces lining the walkway.
Steve from Sinclair & Moore designed the reception very carefully, highlighting the space's best features (like working with the long, narrow floor plan to its best advantage), while camouflaging the less than sightly sections, like panelled walls and a low ceiling. He chose two centrepiece styles: one, a tall arrangement of flowering branches with stem vases and coloured glass candleholders, and the other a low, lush floral arrangement filled with the most beautiful blooms.
Intimate Pink, Gold, and Navy Wedding at Cibo
Lindsay and Blair were married this fall in an intimate celebration at Cibo Waterfront Cafe. For their small wedding, all they needed from me was bouquets. All Lindsay was specific about was the colour palette - she was wearing a sequinned gold dress, her bridesmaids were wearing navy, and she wanted pink in the flowers. I decided that if we were doing a pink bouquet, then we should do it with some interesting blooms!
Special thank you to Aly from Victoria Anne Photography for the photos!
I chose to use pink lisianthus and La Perla roses, which are both fairly common but I rarely use them! Next up was white nerine, which was totally the star of the show. Their star-like shape and the way the blooms unfurl is just magical. White anemones, pink riceflower, and plummy agonis finished off perfectly. So much texture!
Reflections on the Sinclair & Moore Workshop
I make it a goal to always be learning new techniques, meeting new flower friends from around the world, and expanding my floral knowledge so that I can always be serving my brides and grooms better. This past February, I headed down to Seattle to attend the workshop of a lifetime, with Sinclair & Moore.
I had the most amazing time - not only was it already spring there (such a treat!), but alongside the very beneficial learning that we attendees got to do, we also got to be a part of an amazing wedding. Our workshop tuition went towards blessing this couple with the wedding of their dreams, and being a part of the team that got to put it all together was phenomenal for me. But, more will come on the wedding another day!
In the meantime, here's a look at our classroom sessions and some of the pieces that I put together. Photos by Kate Price Photography.
We were greeted by the most stunning selection of blooms, all of which made their way into the wedding at the end of the week. Steve's studio is hands-down the most beautiful space I've ever worked in, and it gave me quite a few ideas to spruce up my own workspace! More to come on that soon :)
Steve and his team had thoughtfully put together this beautiful gift box for us, welcoming us on our first morning. Monogrammed aprons, samples of silk ribbon from Tono & Co, and delicious French macarons were such a wonderful surprise.
Above is the inspiration board for the wedding we worked on, and below is a rack filled with centrepieces that we created! We each worked on two different styles of arrangements, all in this delicious palette of dusty rose, mauve, mocha, cream, and burgundy. Delicate accents of terracotta toned sweet pea were the perfect finishing touches.
I'll be sharing more soon from the wedding itself - can't wait to show it all! We had quite an amazing time and designed some very breathtaking pieces.
By the way, i'm now booking for 2018 weddings! I love working with creative couples who want something different for their wedding than what their friends have had. I'd love to hear from you and find out more about your wedding plans!
Madison and James' Elegant Winter Wedding at St. Boniface Golf Course
This is a long one. There were just WAY too many great photos that I had to share! Madison and James' elegant winter wedding at St. Boniface Golf Course was my first wedding of 2017 and it was a great one.
Working on the flowers, I only see one part of the whole picture. For this wedding, all the flowers were white and green and I was worried it was going to feel a little "typical winter." But when I walked into St. Boniface Golf Course and started setting everything up, it all came together. Soft mocha and champagne tones and touches of pale pink layered together to create a really elegant feel.
Wedding Planner: Amanda Douglas Events | Photos: Sugar & Soul Photography | Linens: Dream Day Decorators | Lighting: Event Light | Desserts: Jenna Rae Cakes and Cake-ology | Venue: St. Boniface Golf Course
I really loved putting together Madison's bouquet. It had a lovely shape to it while still feeling manicured and contained. Bridal bouquet ingredients: O'Hara garden roses, tibet roses, ranunculus, lisianthus, eucalytpus, Italian ruscus, cedar, and variegated Italian pittosporum.
Ah! Madison's veil and this dewey, moody lighting is just gorg.
See what I mean?! This room together in a really beautiful way. As a spotlight, behind the head table I created this hanging installation. Birch bark poles combined with plenty of hanging vine and flowers along with hanging candles and it turned out wonderfully. I owe very many thanks to my assistant Danielle for hep help with this!
