Casual Al Fresco Wedding during Covid
2020 has been a weird year for weddings, and sometimes it seems like it’s not even worth talking about anymore. That’s exactly why I’m starting this blog series, because I want to celebrate our “Covid weddings” and, at the same time, inspire you with ideas on how you can make sure that Covid-19 doesn’t define your wedding!
This is the third instalment of the Covid Weddings series, and we’re flashing back to yet another super hot backyard wedding in St Clements. Read on for my reflections of their casual al fresco wedding and details from the bride herself!
2020 has been a weird year for weddings, and sometimes it seems like it’s not even worth talking about anymore. That’s exactly why I’m starting this blog series, because I want to celebrate our “Covid weddings” and, at the same time, inspire you with ideas on how you can make sure that Covid-19 doesn’t define your wedding!
This is the third instalment of the Covid Weddings series, and we’re flashing back to yet another super hot backyard wedding in St Clements. Read on for my reflections of their casual al fresco wedding and details from the bride herself!
MARGEAUX AND RYAN ~ JULY 25, 2020
Photos by Krista Hawryluk Photography
“For us, it was important to get married in 2020 as we had already been engaged for 18 months. We knew if we postponed to 2021 we would have decided not to have a reception at all and perhaps elope at a later date (not a desirable outcome — I just didn't see us waiting a whole other year for a party). Instead, we pushed the date up from the beginning of September to the end of July. Our wonderful wedding planner advised us to do so, to help ensure that the weather was nicer into the evening hours as another big plan change was moving the wedding to be an outdoor tent wedding instead of a predominantly indoor wedding at our prior wedding venue.
We got married and had the reception at my sister-in-law's property and reduced the guest count from about 140 to 55. The reduction in guests was two-fold 1) to adhere with the ever-changing gathering size regulations that seemed to be a moving target up until the wedding date, and 2) a lot of our original guest list was made up of out-of-towners who, because of Manitoba COVID regulations at the time, couldn't visit the province regardless.
Margeaux came to me with just a couple of inspiration photos (along with a full design board created by her planner, Alli Mae Events) and she really loved the bleached foliage look and dried flowers. I knew that toffee roses would be the perfect bit of warm colour for her, and while she didn’t want a lot of greenery, I was excited when she liked my idea to incorporate some cool toned foliage.
Bridal bouquet ingredients: toffee roses, dried and fresh ranunculus, strawflower, lisianthus, amaranthus, knifeblade acacia foliage, copper tinted plumosa, and bleached ruscus, ferns, and bunny tails.
We planned a few things to make our guests feel more comfortable and follow social distancing guidelines including, having hand sanitizer vials for each guest on all tables as a practical wedding favour, having a portable hand washing station for guests to wash with clean water and soap, reconfiguring the dinner table layout with only small tables that would fit the guests’ immediate bubble (no more than 4 people at each table) and each table was spaced out.
The plan was always to keep the wedding party’s florals simple — the girls were originally going to carry just a single rose! So it wasn’t a hard decision to cut those out with the Covid re-plans. We were very grateful for Alli (pictured below), the bride’s sister AND the woman behind Alli Mae Events! She led us all through the replan with grace and enthusiasm.
Margeaux and Ryan had a specific floral budget and they wanted to keep as close to that number as possible. Alli Mae Events wisely advised them to put the focus on Margeaux’s bouquet and on the ceremony installation, and keep the rest simple. We were able to keep the plan for the ceremony florals intact from the original wedding to the covid wedding, and I was so glad because I loved our plan!
I designed a ground-based semi-circle nest incorporating a lot of dried florals, bleached foliages, foraged items, and of course, toffee roses! I wanted it to be highly textural, warm, and unique.
This was made of 4 separate pieces, which were re-purposed to various reception spots.
The hardest decision to move forward with a wedding in 2020 was knowing that we wouldn't be able to have all of our out of town friends and family. I have a lot of out of town friends that I am very close with, and it was hard to make the decision that they wouldn't be able to celebrate with us. Once I got over that part, everything else came together and was just as beautiful and special as I could have ever imagined.
Luckily we were able to maintain all of our wedding vendors (everyone was available on that date) except our venue, so all the other planning elements (flowers, food, etc.) were exactly as we had originally discussed. In transitioning the plan, some things were easier and felt more casual and more "us," but there were also some aspects that made it more challenging. In moving to a backyard wedding, our family, bridal party and ourselves had a lot more setup work to do. We ran all over the city picking up equipment, tables and chairs, then dropping off all the rentals afterwards. It definitely felt like we had to "work" for the wedding day which wasn't exactly the most romantic thing.
The tent was actually situated in the front yard of the property, with the walls open and cocktail sized tables spaced 6 feet apart throughout. I thought this was such a great idea for seating — rather than renting the usual 8 person tables, they specifically designed the seating arrangements around family groupings and guests’s “bubbles.” Each table had just 2-4 seats at it.
We alternated the table centrepieces between a simple candle design and petite floral arrangements in the pottery bud vases I have in my rental inventory. I really like the mahogany folding chairs they chose — they’re both cost-effective and really clean lined, so they’re easy to design with without being a super boring white chair. They upgraded the place setting details with the Contessa plates and copper flatware from C&T Rentals.
The ceremony pieces were positioned around the cocktail area, marking the bases of the lighting poles, along with one piece marking the sweetheart table.
I had to include one photo of me working on that ceremony piece — sweaty as all get-out and showing a little too much bra. Sorry about that 😉
A word of advice for other couples up against COVID: just do it! Those who can't make your wedding will be supportive of your decision. No one knows what the future holds, so you have to do what's right for you in this moment. Make a list of your top 50 guests (I know, it's hard) and plan a predominantly outdoor ceremony if you want to have more than 10 guests. Don't compromise on anything else — have the food, flowers, dress and photographer that you've always wanted because it's still your special day regardless of the number of people physically present. Take time as a couple after the wedding, even if it's just a staycation and Netflix marathon, to stay present and celebrate your new marriage.
We had the best day. We absolutely loved our wedding, and looking back, I am so happy we had a more intimate celebration. It felt good being able to talk to every guest and spend time with everyone at the wedding.
Krista Hawryluk Photography ~ Allie Mae Events ~ Stone House Creative ~ C&T Rentals ~ Springfield Tent Rentals ~ Gotta Go ~ Chew ~ Something Borrowed ~ Pearl & Birch ~ Moores ~ Hair by Nadine ~ Mesmereyez’d Makeup
Need more Covid-style intimate wedding inspiration?
Check out this Birds Hill Park elopement (they’re planning their reception for 2021!), and this backyard Jewish wedding ceremony and dinner!.
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
2021 wedding dates are limited! Flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Whether you already have a specific vision or want me to dream up something custom just for you, 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!
Cheerful Backyard Jewish Wedding during Covid
2020 has been a weird year for weddings, and sometimes it seems like it’s not even worth talking about anymore. That’s exactly why I’m starting this blog series, because I want to celebrate our “Covid weddings” and, at the same time, inspire you with ideas on how you can make sure that Covid-19 doesn’t define your wedding!
This is the second instalment of the Covid Weddings series, and we’re flashing back to one of the hottest days of my life setting up this cheerful backyard Jewish wedding. Read on for my reflections of the day and details from the bride herself!
2020 has been a weird year for weddings, and sometimes it seems like it’s not even worth talking about anymore. That’s exactly why I’m starting this blog series, because I want to celebrate our “Covid weddings” and, at the same time, inspire you with ideas on how you can make sure that Covid-19 doesn’t define your wedding!
This is the second instalment of the Covid Weddings series, and we’re flashing back to one of the hottest days of my life setting up this cheerful backyard Jewish wedding. Read on for my reflections of the day and details from the bride herself!
Lainie and Daniel ~ June 28, 2020
Photos by Kamp Photography
At the onset of the pandemic, we (I) felt heartbroken and did not know what to do. Should we postpone our celebration or proceed with something very different than we had originally planned and envisioned? At the time, choosing to proceed in a smaller fashion seemed like the worst decision. However, after proceeding with our wedding on our original date, I don’t know how we ever could have chosen to postpone.
Our original guest list included guests from all over the world and consisted of over 250 people, thus we had to cut back our guests considerably. As both of us come from larger families and close-knit groups of friends this proved to be a significant challenge. Inevitably, we chose to host an intimate ceremony with our immediate families, grandmothers, and aunts and uncles.
We are currently still planning to host a larger celebration next year and hope to be able to invite all or most of our original guest list; only time will tell what this event will look like. But what this pandemic has really taught us is that we can’t control everything and to just let go and enjoy what we can.
I planned the wedding entirely myself, and I truthfully found it very challenging to be inspired for the intimate affair. Lauren was amazing in providing constant support and was always there as I navigated through the re-planning process, finalizing all details less than two weeks before the big day (sorry)!
I originally had an amazing vision for the big affair – that we still hope to incorporate into our plans for next spring – but I could not be inspired by the Garden Theme for the covid wedding.
At that time, Lauren suggested having fun with it and planning something totally different, and to make the best out of a tough situation. Lauren suggested a few blogs for me to research and after reading through a few of them, the lightbulb went off!!
In the end, we planned a completely different affair – we chose to host a beautiful Modern Garden Party in my parents’ backyard, at the home I grew up in. This consisted of an intimate ceremony that incorporated stories of our childhood and reminiscing about family members who shaped the people we became. Our wedding featured brighter colours than I would have originally chosen and now wish I had incorporated even brighter hues into the day! This new vision even enabled us to host an intimate dinner featuring a locally renowned chef – a true farm-to-table culinary experience!
Our smaller, intimate wedding became everything we could have ever wanted, even though we never envisioned it in the beginning. It was simply perfect, and we truly have Lauren to thank for her constant guidance, support, and attention to detail!
In the end, all the details that seemed to bring me down, all the things we weren’t able to have – we had to let it go and embrace what we did have, we had each other, we had our families and we had our love. At the end of the day, we focused on our love story and let go of everything we ‘lost’ because of the pandemic and started to focus on the things we gained. It could not have been more perfect.
I loved making this cheery bouquet for Lainie. It felt really juicy 🍑🍓🍉🍋 My husband said it was his favourite bouquet that I’ve made! For the “big wedding,” we’re planning to go a lot simpler and more neutral, but for the intimate wedding, I suggested that we go a little bolder with the colour. As the spring weather turned to summer, Lainie was finding herself more drawn to those seasonal fresh colours and there was no good reason not to indulge in them!
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: locally grown peonies, ranunculus, columbine and anemonies with Canadian grown ranunculus, olive foliage, and hosta leaves from my own garden. I knew that Lainie’s dress was quite streamlined and she’s very petite, so I didn’t want to design a bouquet that would overwhelm her frame. the smaller, slightly tidier shape was perfect.
Oh, and that perfect bow in the back of her dress? I got to tie that for her after they just couldn’t get it quite right. Talk about one of the most stressful moments in my life 😂😂
It was SO HOT on this day, guys. It was over 40 celcius, and there was also a decent breeze. But you know what? When everything else has gone off plan, the hot sun doesn’t bother you quite as much. One thing did happen that took me by surprise: the pillar candles melted. MELTED. I never expected that to happen!
Trust your gut and do not let the negativity take over. This is a special time for you as a couple, focus your love and trust me from experience, everything will turn out perfectly!
I honestly think having to plan a wedding through a pandemic was the best thing that could have happened to me, because I learned how to let go. I had trust in my vendors (shout out to Lauren) who were instrumental in the success of our day. And, if you are nervous about how this new, potentially additional event, may impact your budget…speak to your vendors as they have the experience and can help guide you accordingly.
Lainie and Daniel had about 30 guests at their ceremony and reception, with one long dinner table lining the backyard. Knowing that we’re planning for part 2 of the wedding next year, the couple requested that we restrain the budget on this celebration while still making the day feel special with fresh florals. I came up with a few different options for the tabletop, and love the one they chose. The few elements that they knew off the bat they would use were the harvest tables and the copper flatware. I suggested one larger floral centrepiece in my copper bowl, set in the centre of the table in front of the newly married couple. I tucked in a few stem vases with petite florals (in the same vases that we’re planning to use for the reception next year, so we’ll have a bit of similarity), and black pillar candles and black metal candleholders.
The best advice we can give to others going through this challenging time is to focus on yourselves, focus on your love, and just do it!
Try to tune out the news, it can and will bring you down. Perhaps ask a close friend or family member to watch for any updates in case they impact your plans…and ask them to watch the weather for you. We were very fortunate that it did not rain on our day, however, it was one of the hottest days this summer…so be sure to water those flowers throughout the day and keep them cool so they stay fresh for when you need them!
Need more Covid-style intimate wedding inspiration?
Check out this Birds Hill Park elopement (they’re planning their reception for 2021!).
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
2021 wedding dates are limited! Flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Whether you already have a specific vision or want me to dream up something custom just for you, 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!
Covid Elopement in Birds Hill Park
2020 has been a weird year for weddings, and sometimes it seems like it’s not even worth talking about anymore. That’s exactly why I’m starting this new blog series, because I want to celebrate our “Covid weddings” and, at the same time, inspire you with ideas on how you can make sure that Covid-19 doesn’t define your wedding!
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing images and stories from the weddings of couples who chose to take 2020 and Covid-19 head-on, changing and changing and changing their wedding plans to ultimately allow them to celebrate when and how they best saw fit.
2020 has been a weird year for weddings, and sometimes it seems like it’s not even worth talking about anymore. That’s exactly why I’m starting this new blog series, because I want to celebrate our “Covid weddings” and, at the same time, inspire you with ideas on how you can make sure that Covid-19 doesn’t define your wedding!
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing images and stories from the weddings of couples who chose to take 2020 and Covid-19 head-on, changing and changing and changing their wedding plans to ultimately allow them to celebrate when and how they best saw fit.
Paula and Steve ~ June 27, 2020
Photos by Ally Papko Photography
We made the decision to postpone our original plans for a big wedding celebration until 2021. We plan to have a one year anniversary/postponed wedding celebration almost exactly one year from when our original wedding date was planned. However, after being engaged for a year and a half and being so excited to finally be husband and wife, we decided to also have a very small, intimate ceremony this year on our original wedding date.
In our original wedding floral plans, Paula wanted a very natural, wildflower feel, taking inspiration from the wildflowers that grow near their cabin as well as the daisies her mother carried down the aisle on her wedding day. There are a lot of yellow wildflowers that grow locally, so with that and the daisies in mind, I added in some more whites and a touch of light blue delphinium, along with ferns and olive foliages.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: daisies, locally grown ranunculus and Queen Anne’s Lace, delphinium, snap dragons, campanula, olive, ferns.
I wanted to share these first look photos to show you that, even if your covid wedding isn’t how you pictured your wedding to be, the emotion is still SO REAL. This is not a practice wedding! It’s the real deal, and you deserve to feel all that excitement, all that happiness, all that amazement!
One of the biggest things that changed is we went from planning the day with a wedding coordinator at a venue that does weddings every weekend all year to planning something ourselves with no blueprint. One of the challenges was that aside from not knowing anyone who had eloped before, there also just wasn't really any resources for how to plan a COVID wedding. Nobody had been through this before so it wasn't as though we could just google it. In terms of how we felt, obviously there was quite a bit of disappointment at first, but then as our plan came together it turned to optimism. We ended up really excited that we got to do something that felt very personal, as opposed to more of a cookie cutter wedding designed to accommodate 200+ guests. We ended up really looking forward to getting to make the day a lot less structured and way more intimate for the few guests we did have on hand. What didn't matter anymore was basically anything that didn't lead to us getting married. After having to change, cancel, rework, restructure so much of our plan over the months proceeding, we ended up just really focused on "by the end of the day we'll be married." Anything else was a luxury.
Funny story about this arch…
This was supposed to be a 5-10 minute install for me. Paula and Steve sent me the directions to exactly where in the park they’d be getting married, and I had everything prepared. I didn’t feel like going alone, so I asked my husband and toddler to come along with me just for fun. I thought our little guy could run around outside for a little while. While we got into the van, my husband asked me, “Should I bring my drill bag?” And I said, “No, we won’t need it… Actually, might as well.” That was a VERY lucky thing.
The arch was borrowed from some friends of the couple, and must have been staked or drilled into whatever surface it was originally built for, because let me tell you: this arch was LIGHT. And when I say light, I mean it could have nearly blown away with just the breath from my mouth. Steve and his groomsman were setting it up, and wouldn’t you know, it toppled over and one of the sides snapped. Well, out came the drill and I got to work coming up with an alternative plan because all of the floral I had planned for the arch definitely wasn’t going to work. Steve’s dad brought a piece of 2x4 that my husband created a brace out of to add extra support to the broken side, and we grabbed some sand bags out of the back of Steve’s truck to weight the base.
I added one floral piece to attach slightly above the broken piece, so that the snap line would be covered. The second floral piece was also supposed to hang on the arch, but I decided to re-work it and place it on the opposite side of the triangle’s base, so that I could hide the sandbag. I had to rearrange some of the stems to give it more height, and then I actually shoved some water tubes deep into the grass and added taller foliage stems around it, so that it felt a little more natural. I did the same on the other side, adding the foliage to make it look as though it was growing naturally and to hide that sand bag as well.
I'm not sure anything was easier than our previous plan. We did a lot ourselves that we had planned to outsource. One of the biggest challenges wasn't actually deciding who could come to a small ceremony, but dealing with the emotions of people we knew we were disappointing by not including them. We made our plan at the tightest of COVID restrictions and told everyone that no matter what the government changed between then and the ceremony date, our plan was staying the same. However, as restrictions loosened a lot of people seemed to expect us to change our plan and that made for some lengthy and disheartening conversations with family members.
Looking back we absolutely LOOOOOVED our day. It was magical. It felt so special. Two things we really felt like we missed out on: the first is that it's the one day you get to have a full day with your people. We've both been in wedding parties before and that day is always so fun, but its someone else’s friends. There's always a sibling, or a work friend, or someone that you just don't know as well as the rest of the group. That day was supposed to be our day with our people. The second is getting to celebrate with our friends afterwards. Having a real reception and getting to drink and dance and celebrate our day. However we do have that planned for June of next year, so here's hoping that's able to happen and we get those things we missed out on then.
Here’s what we would pass on to other couples: It's your day. Simple as that. There will be lots of people with lots of advice on how you should do things or how they would do things, but everything comes back to what you envision and what will make you happy. Always keep that in mind and make every decision based on that. You may ruffle some feathers along the way, but in the end, you'll look back and know you got exactly what you wanted on your day. And enjoy the ride, if at the end of the day you're married then nothing else matters.
(And you know, stuff like your arch snapping in half and your florist's husband having to screw it back together while you run off to take first look photos … All part of the experience!)
Obviously I couldn’t resist ending with this adorable puppy portrait!
Ally Papko Photography ~ Prairie Film Co ~ Bliss Bridal Boutique ~ Harry Rosen
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
2021 wedding dates are limited! Flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Whether you already have a specific vision or want me to dream up something custom just for you, 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!
Intimate Country Wedding during Covid
Please tell me that you all love this colour palette as much as I do! It’s juicy, interesting, deep, with both warm and cool tones. The peachy tones with a bit of blue were the original focal point, and we added in the darker blue/purple a little later on as the bridesmaids’ dresses were selected. I love that the palette is vibrant and full of life, without looking immature or too “Crayola,” if you know what I mean.
I’ve known Amanda casually since we were kids — I played soccer with her sister, she’s close friends with one of my best friends, we grew up just outside of the same town — that kind of thing. I was so excited to be asked to be part of her wedding, because Amanda has gorgeous style and is an incredibly talented person at basically everything she puts her mind to — she built her own arch, created all the gorgeous signage, crafted her own gumpaste flowers for their cake…she’s one of those people who can just DO the things that she sees, and she does these things to a very high level.
This intimate wedding in the country (just outside of Stonewall) was a dream to be a part of — covid and all.
Amanda is tall and willowy, and she didn’t want her bridal bouquet to be too large. We wanted interesting texture and a garden-inspired and airy feel, but without any massive focal flowers. Amanda is a big flower lover and had some really great ideas for specific blooms and colours, and I just filled in the rest.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: ranunculus, bachelor buttons, tweedia, lisianthus, sweet pea, wheat (Ryan is a farmer, after all!), and eucalyptus foliages.
Please tell me that you all love this colour palette as much as I do! It’s juicy, interesting, deep, with both warm and cool tones. The peachy tones with a bit of blue were the original focal point, and we added in the darker blue/purple a little later on as the bridesmaids’ dresses were selected. I love that the palette is vibrant and full of life, without looking immature or too “Crayola,” if you know what I mean.
We finished them off with beautiful Stella Wolfe ribbons that we’ll hopefully be able to re-use for part 2 of the wedding next year!
One thing I really appreciated about Amanda and the way they planned their Covid-friendly celebration was the seriousness with which they took the comfort of their guests in this uncertain time. As you can tell, there was LOTS of space available for social distancing thanks to their country property just outside of Stonewall, and they made sure to give their guests a lot of room with the seating arrangements for the ceremony.
Amanda, Ryan, and her dad built the arch together and I really loved it! The stain was a beautiful tone, and it was super sturdy which is an oft-overlooked necessity 😂We worked with the peaches/purples/blues to create a few floral pieces for the arch and they were the perfect finishing touch to the ceremony space.
I bet those gorgeous stone walls have caught your eye. Aren’t they the perfect photo backdrop? If you’re anything like me, they might also be the perfect inspiration for your business name…that’s right! These photos were taken in the ruins of the stone foundation of a barn across the road from my parents’ farm (their stone farm house is the one that I pay homage to in my business name), built by my ancestors. My husband and I took our wedding photos here, my cousin was married here in the barn, and the week after Amanda and Ryan’s wedding, one of her bridesmaids (who is also my cousin!) also had her wedding photos taken in the stone barn!
And of course, a few wheat field shots for this newlywed farming couple!
I love this sweet little teaser trailer from Prairie Film Co… the slow mo in the wheat is gorgeous!
I can’t wait for part 2 of this wedding next year, where they’ll be able to celebrate with a larger group of people!
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
2021 wedding dates are limited! Flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Whether you already have a specific vision or want me to dream up something custom just for you, 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!
Hello from Lauren in 2020
A slightly pessimistic, attempting to be realistic personal post from Lauren in 2020!
This might be a bit pessimistic
but I just looked back at my Instagram post on December 30, 2019 and rolled my eyes.
All that hope. All that excitement. All that “2020 is going to be AMAZEBALLS” crap.
Oh, to be Naive Lauren once again.
I’ve not been very active on my blog this summer — partially because I’ve been WAY busier than I expected, and partially because I just haven’t felt like it.
For much of the summer here in Winnipeg, we were really lucky to have an extremely low case-load, and so a lot of couples were able to go ahead with their wedding plans, whether that was just a ceremony with a reception coming next year, or scaling back on the guest list for their full wedding. I also worked with a lot of “last minute” couples who were planning their weddings for elsewhere, but were no longer able to travel to those destinations, and so a local wedding it was! Each one of the weddings that I was able to be a part of was AMAZING in their own way and gave me a lot of energy and inspiration, and I’ll be sharing more of these stories in the coming weeks and months. My work load was way higher than I expected, which I was so grateful for!
On the other hand, I still lost about 75% of my revenue for this year. Oooff. It really hurts to write that out (side note here: please give grace to anyone whose job requires the gathering of people…the entire live events industry is often looked at as frivolous but the reality is that it employs MILLIONS of people across Canada and is a huge contributor to the economy). So with that massive loss to my income, I had to cut out my childcare budget, which meant that I had a lot less time to get my work done in. Of course, I’m incredibly grateful for the increased amount of time that I’ve gotten to spend with my toddler this summer, but this has still been a large factor in needing to prioritize what work got done, and when it got done.
So before I get too far down the pessimistic path of darkness…
I thought I’d share some highlights from this weird wedding (and personal) season, as it’s been so far.
Family photos with Austin Kylie Photography with my side of the family, at my parents’ farm (where the stone house is!). She even captured our little Jack doing what he loves to do best: climbing.
Having my little guy working in the shop with me. He LOVES picking flowers out of the garbage can and throwing them into the recycling bin, he’s always sweeping, and he’s only smashed a couple of my vases 🤦🏼♀️
Flower Club! As a way to support my family in the absence of wedding income, and to support my local flower farmer Lily Stone Gardens (they are THE BEST!!), I created the Stone House Flower Club! It was a monthly bouquet subscription, composed entirely of locally grown flowers. I loved being able to fill your homes with fresh flowers and have you see the beauty that can be grown right here in Manitoba. I’m not sure if I’ll have the opportunity to offer the Club again in the future (it’ll completely depend upon my wedding schedule), but I am so thankful for the 30 people who joined this year!
My cousin/best friend got married at the beginning of August, with a guest list of 15. Her husband’s family is from Mexico, and because they couldn’t come, the wedding was kept as intimate as possible. Aside from the addition of people they love, there was not a thing missing from that wedding and I can’t wait to share it ALL with you (in the meantime, here’s a look at her laidback bachelorette party!). The vibe was amazing: it was comfortable, relaxed, and celebratory. And man, I’m so glad because this wedding deserved to be celebrated. And so does yours! (Photo of her bouquet above, by Esther Funk Photography)
Stone House turned 6 back in June! There wasn’t much celebrating done, but it’s been a really good 6 years 🎉 and that’s a pretty cool anniversary to celebrate.
A bunch of photoshoots! Literally every time I design for a photoshoot, I say I’m never doing it again 😂😂 And then I get sucked back in! They are a lot of fun, but they are also a LOT of work. I’m very pleased with the 4 projects I was able to complete this year and look forward to sharing it here, but please, remind me not to take on another shoot for at least a year, mmmk? (The images scattered about this post are from a shoot I did in July at The Gables Wedding Barn, a brand new venue, with Vanessa Renae Photography. More to come soon!)
And, because literally no one asked 🤪, here’s a peek at what I’ve got upcoming that I’m looking forward to:
The Portfolio Builder is BACK!!
Emily (from Feast & Festivities) and I partnered up many months ago to create an incredible portfolio building day for photographers and videographers, and it was supposed to take place back in April. Well, obviously that got cancelled. We’re excited to move forward with our new date of October 4, 2020 — and since this is something that I’ve been envisioning and planning for 2+ years, I’m SO excited to finally make it happen! We will have a set of covid protocols in place to ensure everyone’s safety, so you can create and feel inspired but also feel at ease.
A few weeks off!
I’ve decided that every year, from now on, I should block off a full week after I finish weddings (usually sometime in October), and then again for my son’s birthday (which is a week before Christmas…so basically I’ll take two weeks off at Christmas time). I’ve never done this before and to be honest, I’m not good at “not working,” so we’ll see how dedicated I am to it. Nevertheless, I’m excited at the prospect of “holidays” and will have the autoresponder turned on.
email list
One of my goals this winter is to really figure out how to use my email list (yet another thing that kind of went out the window this summer…) and I’m creating what I hope will be a great resource for all of you who are planning weddings, to entice you to join the list. Can’t wait to get on that!
A staycation with my husband
to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary (no, I’m not that old, we just got married really young lol!). Originally the plan was to spend a week or two in NYC (where we honeymooned), in October after wedding season would be over…so obviously that was kiboshed. Then we thought, let’s keep our money in Canada and drive out to Banff instead — I’ve never seen the Rockies, and I can’t wait to get there. Well, I’m going to be waiting a little longer 😂 We have scaled all the way back to a 1 night stay at the Inn at the Forks BUT we chose the fanciest room in the hotel and it’s our son’s first sleepover with Oma and Opa, and I won’t be cooking the ENTIRE weekend, so it’s still cool.
Hopefully a few more weddings!
I’ve got some great events scheduled throughout the end of September, a couple in October, and one in November. Fingers crossed that we’ll be able to proceed as planned and get those couples married and celebrated! I’ll be the first to say that I’m a little bit anxious about the back-to-school situation and will probably be obsessively checking the covid counts, but hopefully we’ll be able to safely proceed with our events and gatherings with the current restrictions in place.
I’ll also begin wedding bookings again!
Taking the summer off of appointments and consultations was SO nice but I’m also looking forward to talking with couples, hearing their plans and beginning to envision what I can do to make their weddings even more special. My 2021 wedding calendar is quite full — assuming all goes to plan with the rescheduled weddings from this year, next year’s calendar has just 1 date available in July and 1 date available in August, and then a handful in October and December. 2022 dates will become available in the new year, but I do have a waitlist started in case you want to tentatively put your date on my calendar. I’m really looking forward to getting into some brainstorming sessions to design your days!
