Modern and Organic Wedding at Cielo's Garden

Prepare yourselves to see a real-life Disney princess, folks. Chrystalle is one of THE most photogenic people I’ve ever seen and truly, in those gowns (that’s right, gowns - she had two) she honestly looks like a living, breathing Disney princess.

I love the way this wedding design contrasts modern and organic elements. From photos on a rooftop in the Exchange District to the natural beauty of Cielo’s Garden, and organic-inspired greenery arrangements lining the guest tables to the clean-lined glass vases I used, it all came together really beautifully. The planning process was quite simple, considering that Chrystalle did all of her planning from Vancouver (I love working with out of town couples!). We went back and forth on a few different centrepiece ideas, but always kept in mind her initial vision of a minimalist design with just black, white, and green with a touch of metallic accents.

Steph Schulz Photography ~ Cielo’s Garden ~ Alexandra Lillian Weddings & Events

Chrystalle’s bouquet was actually the only piece I used actual flowers in! Her bouquet had an organic, freshly picked from the garden feel with all white blooms, including garden roses, snap dragons, lisianthus, and scabiosa mixed with ruscus, leather leaf fern, and seeded eucalyptus. The bridesmaids carried bouquets composed just of greenery.

Okay, I lied - Ray’s boutonniere had a flower in it ;)

Ah, I love Cielo’s Garden! One of the best things about this space is that it’s very versatile, so lots of different design styles look fantastic here. You’re not competing with awful patterned carpet or busy wallpaper - as long as you respect the beauty of what’s beyond those clear tent walls, you’re good to go!

After debating a few options for centrepieces and ending up with a somewhat last minute seating plan change, we chose to mix together tall greenery arrangements with clustered, modern glass stem vases with single stems of greenery and lots of candles. They added clean-lined, modern stationery details and other than that, kept the reception space very simple and minimal!

Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?

I’m now booking 2020 wedding dates for both floral and event design!
I offer a limited number of dates for event design each year, in order to allow me to work closely with each couple. Combining event and floral design is the perfect option for couples who live out of town, or couples who feel they need a little extra help in creating the visual plan for their wedding day. Click this link to learn more!

Why It's Important to Me (and my business) that I'm Constantly Learning

Right from the start of my business, I knew that I wanted to invest in myself with continued education for many years to come. My first job in the wedding industry was working for a local wedding magazine, and I learned so much by observing the many small businesses in the wedding industry that we worked with. One of the main things I realized was that SO many people in this industry hit cruise control and then a few years later, watch in horror as their businesses start to crumble around them. I never wanted to see that happen in my business, and I knew that investing into education, inspiration, and relationships with other wedding professionals was one way to stay at the top of my game, while always keeping me searching for new ways to progress in my biz. As a result, I’ve attended floral design workshops, taken online courses in event design, business management and marketing, learned how to build a website, and attended conferences specifically for floral professionals.

I recently attended the Team Flower Conference, and not only that, I was actually a featured keynote speaker as well! It was an incredible honour to be asked to speak and my presentation was all about the importance of client communication and how to truly do it well. As you can see, I talk with my hands a lot 😂

At the conference, my love for learning was reaffirmed, once again! There were sessions on design, flower farming, hiring a team, being a parent working in the floral industry, and more. One of my favourite sessions was presented by Natalie Gill of Native Poppy, a retail floral shop specializing in weddings in California. She said a lot of things that really stood out to me:

“Sweat builds you a job. Systems build you a business.”

“I think there’s a solution to everything.”

“For years I had been a student of flowers. Then I became a student of business.”

That last one really stuck out to me and has been inspiring me since. Why? Well, I’m pretty confident in my design style and I know how to take really good care of flowers. I, too, have been a student of flowers. What’s really firing me up right now is learning how to build the very best business that I can, so that YOU, my clients, can benefit! I want you to have the very best experience possible in planning your wedding, and I know that the way I serve you plays an enormous role in that. If your interactions with me suck, then you might just end up with a tinge of unhappiness that seeps into other aspects of your wedding planning. I don’t want that!

I also want to build the best business possible because of the plans that I have for Stone House Creative. This biz turns 5 years old this summer. The past 4 years have been about hustling and working hard and loving (almost) every minute of it. This year is the first wedding season when I’ll have a baby beside me (except not actually beside me, because we have childcare to take care of him while I work - thank goodness, because I’m a good multitasker but not that good!). It’s really important to me to show him that women in business are POWERFUL and can achieve a lot, and that working hard for something that you value is important. I want him to grow up knowing that hard work itself is valuable, whether you’re working your “dream job” or not. I also want my business to serve my life well, and that means allowing me flexibility to take off specific weekends in the summer so my family can go to the lake, or not working on my son’s birthday weekend so we can celebrate. And I have some pretty serious goals for the future, which aren’t even close to being unrolled yet but are going to be amazing down the line.

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It should also be important to YOU to hire someone who is constantly learning and evaluating their business, making shifts to serve their clients and themselves well, rather than just building something that works alright and letting it lay stagnant for years. I’m not saying this to convince you to hire me - I’m saying this because I truly think that the best businesses, the best client experiences, the best wedding days come about when you hire people and businesses who are passionate and ENGAGED in what they do.

“True experts never stop learning and work relentlessly on pushing [themselves] to be better.” - Think Splendid

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If you’ve made it this far, you get rewarded with a picture of the cutest baby of all time…mine! To close the Team Flower Conference, there was a dinner in which everyone needed to wear something floral. Being a new mom, I decided that my family had to match 😂BUT it’s very hard to find floral printed clothes for baby boys in February! I was pretty pumped to find these Pick Flowers Not Fights t-shirts so Jack and I could match. I couldn’t find one in time for my husband, but I thought a slightly floral printed white t would be good enough.

But seriously…isn’t he the cutest baby you’ve ever seen? He’s WAY huger now and he has slightly more hair (only slightly, lol!), is moving CONSTANTLY and he’s super chatty. Basically it’s just the most fun I’ve ever had.

Professional Photos by Hannah Haston Photography

Warm and Cosy Fall Wedding at Whitetail Meadow

We’re looking forward to sunny days right now, but the weather this past September was super weird - when we normally would have mild temperatures, often with some serious heat still coming through when the sun is high, we instead got rain and snow. I can’t be the only one who thought it was a major bummer! Mackenzie and Brendan planned their wedding for the end of September, and they woke up to a windy, chilly day with sprinkles of rain throughout…so what did they do? Switched around their plans and decided to make their Whitetail Meadow as warm and cosy as possible!

Luckily, Whitetail Meadow’s indoor space is really beautiful, with several options for layout if you need to do your ceremony indoors. Mackenzie decided to make the fireplace the focal point, and with the warm autumn tones that we were already planning for the flowers, it worked perfectly. I was so happy they decided to move the ceremony indoors - not just because it would have been cold for me to design outside, but because I think the backdrop they ended up with indoors is gorgeous!

Whitetail Meadow ~ COJO Photo ~ Prairie Film Co

We went really textural and deep for Mackenzie’s bouquet, focusing on the deep reds, plums, and touches of oranges with plenty of deep greenery. I loved the cascading foliages and the movement they brought! We kept things simpler for the bridesmaids, focusing more on the greenery with just touches of the fall tones tucked in.

Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: Several varieties of roses, dahlias, mums, sweet William, scabiosa, and amaranthus with pepperberry and ruscus foliages.

You can see why it was a good call to move the ceremony indoors! While it was raining outside, guests were treated to a warm, cosy atmosphere inside with a crackling fire. I loved designing the mantle piece - Mackenzie just let me do whatever I wanted, which in my opinion is always the best move! I repeated a lot of the floral elements that we used in her bouquet, adding in lots of texture through the use of sedum and amaranthus and then adding in the focal points of the different toned red roses and rust mums. The couple had collected all of these old family wedding photos from the various sides of their families, some going back a LONG time, and it was a nice touch to tuck those in as well.

I also added a garland-style piece to the top of the staircase that became the aisle, so those shots of the bride walking down the aisle would have a beautiful touch, along with large arrangements in stone urns and varied sizes of potted fall mums to mark the aisle itself. Mini pumpkins and gourds were tucked in throughout as well!

We decided to design two complementary table styles for the reception. The long wood tables at Whitetail are so pretty, so to emphasize that and pick up on the warm tones, one table was a moss runner with touches of flowers tucked right in, and the other featured repeating long arrangements in rustic wood boxes with arrangements that coordinated with the bridal party flowers.

I just had to include this one of me and the babe. Luckily this was my only wedding on this day, because that baby was feeling HEAVY. Little did I know it could get sooooo much bigger and heavier 😂You don’t quite realize how much bending and lifting a florist does until you have this massive weight throwing you off balance and making you exhausted!

Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?

Whether you’re planning a whimsical garden-inspired celebration or a formal ballroom fete, I think flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Maybe you already have a specific vision or you might want me to dream up something custom just for you - either way, reach out to Stone House Creative for stunning bridal bouquets, truly unique ceremony backdrops, and beautiful floral centrepieces to create the perfect ambiance for your wedding!
Now booking 2020 wedding dates! 

Now Booking 2020 Weddings

Getting married in 2020? Now’s the time to check flowers off your list!

I’m back from having taken off the last few months with my newborn babe and am really excited to be starting to dig back into flowers and meetings and making things happen for all of you awesome couples. So, if you’re getting married in 2020 - I'm now booking weddings for the 2020 season!

If you were on my waitlist, you’ve likely been contacted already but I may have inadvertently missed someone. If I haven’t contacted you, feel free to reach out again.

I know it seems crazy to be booking your wedding flowers so far out, but we tend to have long engagements here in Winnipeg with couples that like to plan their weddings far in advance. But don’t worry - I don’t expect you to have the answers to every single question that I’m going to ask. In fact, I think that one of the best things you can do is leave your mind open for a while and not feel pressured to make every single decision right off the hop. My favourite weddings to design tend to be the ones that come together more organically, after having had time to really think on what you love and not just what happens to be popular on Pinterest at the time when you start planning!

If you're looking for a floral designer for your wedding in Winnipeg or the surrounding area, here’s what I do:

-Full floral design AND full event design, for a limited number of clients each year.
-Weddings in Winnipeg and area, including Steinbach, Stonewall, East St Paul, Oakbank, Selkirk, along with Kenora (and area), Clearlake, and Gimli! 
-I love working with couples who value creativity, great style, and want to work with professionals who will take excellent care of them. I love to create something unique for each of my couples, placing a high priority on creating a design that will be different from what your friends have had at their weddings. 

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Set Up Your Complimentary Consultation Now!

Getting married in Manitoba? Whether it's a whimsical garden party inspired celebration or a formal ballroom fete, I think flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Maybe you already have a specific vision or you might want me to dream up something custom just for you - either way, reach out to Stone House Creative for stunning bridal bouquets, truly unique ceremony backdrops, and beautiful floral centrepieces to create the perfect ambiance for your wedding! 

Click below to check your date and set up your initial meeting!

Mother's Day Flower Class Registration Now Open

I’m super excited to announce my next round of flower classes, for Mother’s Day!

I always have SO much fun teaching people how to arrange flowers and I think Mother’s Day is the perfect time to do just that. Bring your momma, your mom friends, your own kids, your grandma - whoever you want to treat this Mother’s Day! My goal is to create an engaging, comfortable atmosphere where you’ll have fun learning how to put together a beautiful spring floral arrangement.

WHEN: Saturday, May 11 / 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

WHERE: Prep Collective
WHAT'S INCLUDED: 
-flowers and vase for you to make an arrangement to take home
-supplies for you to use during the workshop
-instruction from Lauren of Stone House Creative
COST: $100 + tax per seat

It’s going to be such an awesome time. Seats are limited so grab yours today!