Hello, Maternity Leave!
Hello from maternity leave! Starting this week, my mat leave officially begins! I’ll be monitoring my email until the baby shows up (which could be literally any time!), and will then be taking a FULL maternity leave through April. I recognize with gratitude how much of a blessing this dedicated time with the baby will be, and am so happy that even as a self-employed person, I’ll be able to take this time off. During this time I will not be responding to any emails (in fact, my contact form will be turned off). I will begin limited office hours in April and plan to begin meeting with 2023 prospective clients who are already on my waitlist at this point.
Maternity Leave Details
Starting this week, my mat leave officially begins! I’ll be monitoring my email until the baby shows up (which could be literally any time!), and will then be taking a FULL maternity leave through April. I recognize with gratitude how much of a blessing this dedicated time with the baby will be, and am so happy that even as a self-employed person, I’ll be able to take this time off. During this time I will not be responding to any emails (in fact, my contact form will be turned off). I will begin limited office hours in April and plan to begin meeting with 2023 prospective clients who are already on my waitlist at this point.
Details for 2022 Current Clients
If you are planning a 2022 wedding and are already one of my clients, please feel free to email me directly if anything major comes up. Please title your email MAJOR UPDATE and when I’m back in the office in April, your email will be prioritized (major changes would be things like change of date, cancellation, etc). I may be checking my emails once in a while while I’m on mat leave, but I’m making no guarantees — I have no idea what it’s like to have 2 kiddos at home! If you have a minor update (table number changes, colour palette change, change in the number of bridal party persons you have, etc) these things can all wait until closer to the wedding. I WILL STILL BE IN TOUCH WITH EACH OF YOU 1 MONTH PRIOR TO THE WEDDING, AS NORMAL. Your payment schedules will not change, though I may forget to click “send” on your invoices so those may once in a while be a little delayed. Blame the baby :)
If you are planning a 2022 wedding and are not yet booked with me, please note that May through September are fully booked and I have zero availability. October, November, and December have limited dates available and I always love the chance to get creative with different seasonal palettes and ingredients! If you’re comfortable waiting to officially book your flowers until the springtime when I begin office hours, please email me at info@stonehouseweddings.com with the subject line “2022 WEDDING - your wedding date” so I can make sure to prioritize your email when I return.
Details for Prospective 2023 Clients
My waitlist for 2023 wedding dates is already open! If you wish to have your wedding date placed on the list, please email me directly to info@stonehouseweddings.com with the subject line “2023 WAIT LIST - your wedding date” so I can make sure to pop you onto my list efficiently during the limited windows of time I’ll have while baby naps.
In the body of your email, please include the following details: date of wedding, wedding venue locations, your email address and phone number, the number of bridesmaids and groomsmen you anticipate, your estimated guest count, your estimated wedding flower budget, whether you are interested in floral design only OR if you’re interested in adding on Event Design services as well, along with some details about your vision and ideas for the wedding! If you have a Pinterest board, you can include this link here as well.
Prospective 2023 clients will be added to my waitlist in the order in which the requests are received, and you will be contacted in April/May to set up your complimentary floral appointment so I can begin the proposal process for you. Please note that I do require a minimum floral investment of $2500, with a suggested budget of $4000+ to achieve the look that I find most of my clients desire. Some exceptions may be made for intimate weddings, and clients who are adding on Event Design (typically a $1500+ investment on top of their floral budget) may receive first priority of date (though I cannot always guarantee this), as I have limited availability for these services.
My 2022 wedding season begins in May, and while I’m taking on fewer weddings this year than I typically have in the past, I am SO excited for the amazing designs and celebrations that are already planned. I don’t anticipate that you will notice a change in my services aside from a slightly longer email response time, and once in a while, you might see a little baby strapped to me on your wedding day ;) I do have a great team prepared to help me with weddings again this year, so don’t worry: you will be in the same excellent hands as always! While my priorities will be shifting a bit, rest assured that caring for my clients and my business will always be one of the things that I love doing the most.
I also want to say thank you to everyone who has supported us throughout this pregnancy and the kind and excited words that I’ve received from clients and vendor friends as well. Mama friends, especially mom-preneur friends, your advice and feedback on everything from bottles to maternity leave structure has been invaluable. At the beginning, I didn’t think this pregnancy would ever end and now that I’m suddenly close to that point, I feel so much more prepared because of all of your help and guidance.
Intimate Winter Wedding at Hawthorn Estates
It only takes 2 weeks and a bit of flexibility to plan a gorgeous wedding! Caitlin and Michael’s intimate winter wedding at Hawthorn Estates was a complete dream to flower for, with just a few pieces that each made a major impact. Her easy-going nature combined with beautiful vision and complete trust in me allowed this design to become what it did!
It only takes 2 weeks and a bit of flexibility to plan a gorgeous wedding! Caitlin and Michael’s intimate winter wedding at Hawthorn Estates was a complete dream to flower for, with just a few pieces that each made a major impact. Her easy-going nature combined with beautiful vision and complete trust in me allowed this design to become what it did!
Photos by Ariana Tennyson
A 2 week planning timeline is just what happened for Caitlin and Michael - she reached out a few weeks beforehand, saying that she was pretty sure they would be planning their wedding for the end of February but they wouldn’t be sure until they heard the latest round of Covid restrictions. We chatted a bit about her ideas (originally, just the fireplace installation for the ceremony) and then added in a bouquet and the hanging piece above the head table, confirming everything just 2 weeks prior to the wedding when weddings were allowed to have 10 guests.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: Toffee roses, combo roses, quicksand roses, bunny tails, dried palmettos, phragmite grass, dried strawflower, waxflower, and phalaenopsis orchids (the bride’s favourite!).
The winter wedding ceremony of my dreams ✨
I love venues that have fireplaces, and wish that all ceremonies took place in front of them. They’re such a good way to create a killer ambiance. Caitlin added the million candles, and I took care of the extremely luscious flowers, and the entire space just glowed with beauty.
More roses, delphinium, flowering branches (that weren’t actually flowering 😭), bouvardia, strawflower, a few orchids, and greenery - all good things!
Up next…the piece de resistance! When Caitlin asked about adding something spectacular hanging over the head table and shared a few incredibly luscious images with me, you could say I got a little bit excited.
A few things I knew: first, that I wanted to go overboard (lol). Second, that I wanted to make this really special. Third, that I had a huge hanging chandelier composed entirely of copper plumosa fern left from this Planned Perfectly product shoot that would be PERFECT. We started with a base of chicken wire, added in the fresh greenery and the copper plumosa, and then started tucking in the flowers…and lots of them. Some were on water tubes, some without, and this entire piece was foam free! We finished it off by adding in some of Hawthorn’s glass hanging bulbs for a little extra candle twinkle!
Want to see how this came together? I time-lapsed this install and love watching it, right here on my Instagram Reels.
I just wanted to say that the flowers were amazing!! Thank you for bringing my vision to life - it was absolutely perfect! Last night was a dream. Thank you so much!
Ariana Tennyson Photography ~ Hawthorn Estates ~ Bliss Bridal Boutique ~ Colleen Olafson ~ Modern Plate Catering
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
My 2023 wedding date wait list has been started!
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!
Warm Fall Wedding at Hawthorn Estates
Historically, I don’t have the easiest time transitioning to fall. In my school years, I loved it — finally getting to see my friends again, and bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils are good things. But when I started working in weddings, I realized how quickly my summers were disappearing and so fall was a beacon of sadness for me.
ENTER KELSIE AND NICK’S WEDDING. Their late summer/early fall colour palette really spoke to my colour loving heart and felt so warm and juicy at the same time.
Historically, I don’t have the easiest time transitioning to fall. In my school years, I loved it — finally getting to see my friends again, and bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils are good things. But when I started working in weddings, I realized how quickly my summers were disappearing and so fall was a beacon of sadness for me.
ENTER KELSIE AND NICK’S WEDDING. Their late summer/early fall colour palette really spoke to my colour loving heart and felt so warm and juicy at the same time.
Photos by Megan Steen Photography
Soooo many of these flowers were locally grown. Late August is an awesome time in the Manitoba flower fields — there’s still a lot blooming, and we’re starting to see some of those autumnal colours that were just perfect for Kelsie’s style.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: Locally grown lisianthus, zinnias, amaranthus, rudbeckia, ninebark, jewel of opar with imported barista and combo roses, and olive foliage. I finished it with this stunning rust coloured silk velvet ribbon from Stella Wolfe.
The ceremony spot at Breezy is quite lovely, beautifully framed in with trees. We kept the florals simple with 2 oversized, overgrown urns featuring the last of the locally grown crabapple branches of the season. Ah, they were gorgeous to include.
This reception just came together so beautifully. It was actually planned to be in a tent on Breezy’s property until just a couple of weeks before the wedding, and with some changes to the table shapes and last minute details pulled together by Jen from Breezy, it all looked amazing! The ballroom at Breezy is such a neutral space, and is pretty easily adaptable to different styles and palettes.
The warm taupe linens and crossback chairs from Planned Perfectly are the perfect neutral base, aren’t they? A few gold accents and amber glassware, olive green napkins, and mixed orange, taupe, and white taper candles are such dreamy accents. We did two styles of table centrepieces: one, a low, full floral arrangement with some of the most gorgeous locally grown dahlias (the last of the year before the farm pulled up their garden!), and two, a clustering of 7 pottery stem vases with mixd petite arrangements that coordinated with everything else.
I also added a lush, low arrangement to the centre of the head table to help draw the eye in to the newlyweds and camouflage the joint of two tables, as well as some super cute florals onto the cake!
A few things were repurposed throughout the day to get the most action out of the florals. The low floral centrepieces were tucked along the aisle chairs to give a little extra colour and freshness out at the ceremony, and once the ceremony was complete, the large urn arrangements were brought in to flank their “Better Together” neon sign to create a photo backdrop.
You want to know something else amazing? This was originally supposed to be a summer wedding at the beach, but we all know how the last year has gone for weddings. I truly couldn’t imagine this wedding being more beautiful or more joyful — so suck it, beach weddings. You’ve got nothing on a delicious fall celebration!
And before wrapping up, I need to comment on this wedding party’s fashion. The suits! The bridesmaid dresses! The colour tones here are just flawless. It’s all so good.
Megan Steen Photography ~ Hawthorn Estates ~ Prairie Sky Events ~ Collective Event Rentals ~ Let’s Celebrate Rentals ~ Rae & Dot STudio ~ Martina Liana Bridal ~ EPH Apparel ~ Made Beauty Co
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
My 2023 wedding date wait list has been started!
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!
Whimsical Summer Camp Wedding at the Lake
I love a good wedding at the lake, and when Caitlyn first reached out to me, I was so excited to hear some of her preliminary ideas and the general idea of having the wedding at a camp!
Mid-way through the planning, the venue actually changed and they ended up at King’s Cabins, which I think is kind of a fishing camp and it was SO COOL. The ambiance was amazing and I can’t wait to show you how everything came together!
I love a good wedding at the lake, and when Caitlyn first reached out to me, I was so excited to hear some of her preliminary ideas and the general idea of having the wedding at a camp!
Mid-way through the planning, the venue actually changed and they ended up at King’s Cabins (just outside of Emerald Bay, about an hour past Kenora), which I think is kind of a fishing camp and it was SO COOL. The ambiance was amazing and I can’t wait to show you how everything came together!
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: dahlias, ranunculus, toffee roses, delphinium, solidago, cosmos, amaranthus, feverfew, ferns, and dried poppy pods. A LOT of these ingredients were locally grown — always my fave!
As you can already see, this wedding was completely awesome. I suggested to Caitlyn that she hire a wedding planner, because hosting a wedding in a location where weddings don’t normally take place is a LOT of work. I was so happy to hear that she had hired Emily from Feast & Festivities, because I knew that the details Emily would pull together would be so unique and creative, and really bring the camp feel to life.
The focus was creating a whimsical, youthful ambiance with cheerful colours that played well with the natural woodsy surroundings.
The setting of the camp truly couldn’t have been more incredible. A long, windy driveway through the woods leading to the lake, with rustic log cabins sprinkled throughout the property. Some of the couple’s closest friends stayed on-site in the cabins, and it was so awesome to see how much fun they were all having and the way they supported the couple throughout the day. It wasn’t a hot day, so hearing some of the men squeal as they took some cold dives into the lake while I was setting up was pretty enjoyable for me 😂
The ceremony was tucked into the treeline, with guests seated along wood benches. The couple built and transported the arch to the cabin, and I designed a completely foam-free floral installation. If you’re not sure what that means, know that floral foam is really horrendous to the environment but like many things, it’s really easy to use. So, I’ve been challenging myself to get out of that comfort zone and design in a more sustainable way. This arch came together PERFECTLY using a single design tray lined with chicken wire, and some re-usable installation mechanics that hold water and are ziptied onto the arch structure. Everything aside from the zipties was reusable! Hooray!
I wanted this arch to feel really natural, bringing in lots of texture and greenery while popping the colour palette throughout to tie into the overall event design. I used a lot of different ferns, as they grow abundantly in the area, along with pine boughs that I foraged from the property on my drive in that morning.
Feast & Festivities curated some truly adorable camp-themed design elements, like the pennants, a chalkboard schedule, a mess hall-inspired seating chart, and camping mug favours.
Just take a look at this reception space! The tent was set up near the ceremony space as a backup, and though it was kind of misting throughout the morning, we decided to go for it and keep the reception al fresco — I love when couples make this decision! The stress is worth it when you can look around and see all your loved ones enjoying the open air and just having an awesome time together.
String lights, banquet and round tables surrounding an old stone fireplace, and the trees…the ambiance could not have been better!
I LOVE the way the colour palette was pulled throughout the wedding. I think a lot of people just say “I’m having a blue wedding” and then choose a blue tablecloth and bridesmaid dresses and leave it at that. This palette was so expertly layered to create depth and visual interest.
The florals on the tables were actually super simple — the round tables featured a short cylinder vase with a simple arrangement of ferns and white cosmos, and the banquet tables saw clusters of my cream pottery stem vases with petite arrangements. Adding in the coloured candles on those terracotta planter trays was another perfect addition.
I just LOVED Caitlyn’s dress — it’s dramatic in all the right ways, without taking any attention away from her stunning natural beauty. I don’t usually get to see any of the wedding pictures being taken, but given that everything happened on site, I actually got to be a bit of a peeping tom while their photos were happening and I was SO excited to see how they turned out. Aren’t these just gorgeous?
Lake weddings for the win, people!
gina brandt photography ~ Feast & Festivities ~ planned perfectly ~ collective event rentals ~ Emerald Event Rentals ~ Spark Rentals ~ Minted ~ Steven King Cabins
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
My 2023 wedding wait list has been started!
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!
Toffee and Cream at the Rustic Wedding Barn
Kaleigh and Marc’s wedding was a really special one. They were originally scheduled for May 2020, and we all know what happened there. When they decided to postpone to October 2020, I’ll be honest that I wasn’t optimistic that we would be able to go ahead. When October rolled around, the restrictions on gatherings were tightening and it was getting a little nerve-wracking, but their date was one of the last weekends we were allowed to gather in groups — they made it!
Kaleigh and Marc’s wedding was a really special one. They were originally scheduled for May 2020, and we all know what happened there. When they decided to postpone to October 2020, I’ll be honest that I wasn’t optimistic that we would be able to go ahead. When October rolled around, the restrictions on gatherings were tightening and it was getting a little nerve-wracking, but their date was one of the last weekends we were allowed to gather in groups — they made it!
They were also my first postponed wedding to actually come to their new date…and I CRIED. It was just so wonderful seeing how happy they were, and knowing how fully they deserved to celebrate their marriage — it just made me so happy. So, I cried while I delivered Kaleigh’s bouquet!
It was a happy accident that what we originally planned for Kaleigh’s bouquet for their original spring date ended up bring an absolutely perfect for their fall date! Kaleigh originally wanted a simpler white palette, and then fell in love with the toffee roses when she saw me design with them at the Gates on Roblin’s open house. We decided to add them in, and then when the wedding was pushed to October, I was excited because I knew they would add the perfect seasonal warmth.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: Toffee roses, playa blanca roses, ranunculus, spray roses, stock, nine bark, camellia, and jasmine foliages.
The ceremony setup at the Rustic Wedding Barn’s wedding chapel is quite nicely done, in that the wood arches draw your eye in to the couple right off the bat. We simply added a pair of wood pedestals and oversized arrangements in my gold urns to complete the look! I love doing large arrangements like this, because a) they’re fun to design, and b) they’re super easy to repurpose to the reception without needing floral expertise or too much work!
Inside the barn loft for the reception, we decided to keep things pretty simple and minimal, with a little more attention paid to the head table. I added some clusters of bud vases to the head table along with their candles and gold-rimmed glassware, and on the guest tables we simply placed one of my large black metal lanterns with a pillar candle inside. It all played really nicely with the taupe linen, black napkin and gold-rimmed charger plates!
Words cannot describe how amazing Lauren and her work is! She was so friendly, patient and accommodating throughout the planning process, especially when we rescheduled our wedding due to COVID. When we originally met with her, I had ideas but her designs were amazing and more than I could ever dreamed! We appreciated her encouragement and excitement for doing something unique and different from other weddings. Plus the colours and flowers she used were stunning! We cannot recommend her enough, and we could not imagine our wedding without her!
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
My 2023 wedding wait list has been started!
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!