Garden-Inspired Art Gallery Wedding

Julie and Reid’s elegant, garden-inspired wedding was one I had been so looking forward to, but not without a few kinks in the planning!

Julie has a really demanding career, so I primarily worked with her mom and planner, Alli Mae Events. Julie gave us some inspiration for the visual direction, and we took it away from there — except, it was originally planned for another venue and due to flooding this spring, they scrambled to book a new venue just 4 weeks prior to their wedding!

In the end, I actually think the WAG was the absolute perfect location for them and I wouldn’t have chosen it to be any other way!

Photos by Izabela Rachwal

“you were able to make my vision come to life, putting your own twist and imagination into it to make the florals and décor even more special.”

- Julie

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Winnipeg Wedding Florist (@stonehouseweddings)

Their original wedding venue had a lot of green space and opportunity for outdoor photos, and I knew they’d be missing that in their switch to the WAG. So, I offered to set up a sort of portrait garden on the rooftop, using their aisle flowers to bring some colour and life to the sculpture garden.

Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: wabara garden roses, peonies, ranunculus, scabiosa, quicksand rose, delphinium, Queen Anne’s Lace, anemones, lisianthus.

Rooftop wedding ceremonies at the WAG are always super windy, no matter what the weather is at the ground, but this chuppah from Dream Day Decor was sturdy and did the job!

I know a lot of people choose the WAG because it’s neutral (and it is — those tyndall stone walls are just 😍). But where people go wrong, in my opinion, is choosing white linens. The white just falls flat, dulling the room. Opting for a soft neutral, like these taupe linens from Planned Perfectly, or adding richness with a warmer tone, is definitely the way to go!

If you’re planning an all-white wedding, choosing the taupe is just a warmer neutral base that blends into the venue’s walls, but you can still opt for white florals and it’s not going to feel bland.

The floor plan is one of the most underrated elements to a great wedding atmosphere, and I love that Julie and Reid opted for an oversized “King’s Table” for their head table — double-sided seating, and double wide, allowing for plenty of space for the wedding party and their partners to join you. This gives you the opportunity to actually chat and enjoy your evening with your loved ones, instead of feeling like you’re on display all evening long.

It’s also great that this King’s Table was situated in the middle of the room, creating great guest flow and movement throughout the room. And obviously, the full floral runner lining the middle of the table was just divine!

“What an amazing display of your creativity. I knew you would create the magic and I trusted you every step of the way. There was lots of uncertainty with the wedding plans, but I knew you were the one aspect I had complete faith in.

Lauren, you were wonderful right from the beginning. Thank you for creating a wonderful moment in time that will sustain me for the remainder of my lifetime.”

-Adele (Mother of the Bride)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Winnipeg Wedding Florist (@stonehouseweddings)

Izabela Rachwal Photography ~ Alli Mae Events ~ Winnipeg Art Gallery ~ Stone House Creative ~ Planned Perfectly ~ Beyond the Lounge ~ Collective Event Rentals ~ Myuz Artistry ~ TwoFold Paper Co ~ Flour & Flower

---

“Lauren at Stone House was so amazing to work with. She was very professional, responsive and extremely creative!

Lauren detailed and sketched her design in advance so I was able to provide feedback and envision her plan. With a last minute venue change, Lauren remained calm and was able to adapt with no problems.

She was helpful and her creativity went beyond florals. I am so glad I worked with Stone House for my wedding. She is artistic, resourceful and original.” - Julie

---

Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?

2023 wedding dates are limited, and my 2024 wait list has been started! Whether it’s an intimate wedding for 30 or a celebration the likes of which have never been seen before, 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! 

How Much Do Wedding Flowers Cost in Manitoba

How much do wedding flowers cost?

If you’re getting married in 2023, you have to be prepared to spend 2023 money.

Izabela Rachwal Photography

Over the years, I’ve written multiple blog posts about wedding flower budgets in Manitoba, how much bouquets actually cost, ideas for maximizing your flower budget, and more. I personally think those posts are extremely helpful…except for the fact that in this post-(ish)Covid world w’ere living in, with inflation and costs being what they are, literally everything has changed.

So, I figured it was time to revisit the topic of what wedding flowers actually cost in Manitoba, and hopefully it’s a good time of year for you as you’re planning your 2023 and 2024 weddings!

The other day, I was talking with a wedding planner friend of mine. I had just received an inquiry that was so unrealistic in her budget expectations that I had to vent about it. Her answer was amazing, and it’s everything that you need to keep in mind:

“If you’re planning a wedding in 2023, you have to be willing to spend 2023 money.”

AKA if you’re planning a 200 person wedding at a high end venue, and your floral requests are “lush and full,” you absolutely cannot expect to spend less than the $2500 budget this particular bride had budgeted. In fact, you can’t expect to spend less than probably $7000.

To be clear, inflation hasn’t risen so much that a $2500 budget from a few years ago is now equivalent to a $7000 budget…it’s definitely risen BUT that $2500 budget wouldn’t have been sufficient for that bride’s floral wish list for at least the last 15 years. Maybe never, I don’t know. I’ve only been doing this for 12 years 😉

So, here we go. What do wedding flowers, in Manitoba, in 2023 and beyond, ACTUALLY COST?

---

Figuring out how much to budget for your wedding flowers can be a major challenge — for most newly engaged couples, it's just going to be a major shot in the dark. Most of the online resources available are in American dollars, from very different markets than we are in, and are written by magazine editors — not florists — who haven't bothered to do their research on how much things actually cost, making their supposedly helpful suggestions to be completely unrealistic. Some of the big magazines and wedding planning sites offer "helpful" wedding budget breakdowns, with a suggestion for spending 10-20% of your overall budget on flowers, but there's a big difference between 10 and 20%!

So, before you even try to figure out a preliminary wedding flower budget, start here:

1) Figure out your priorities and what aspects of the flowers you really care about, and what aspects may be less important.
2) Understand that your budget needs to match your wants and needs list. If you don't want to spend a lot of money on flowers (which is perfectly fine! I was a budget bride, too!), you can't expect the world. 

Probably the worst part of my job is finding a way to delicately tell a couple that their wish list is just way too enormous for the amount of money they're comfortable spending. While I adjust some prices on my end, most of what I have to charge is set by the growers and the wholesalers. There are a LOT of hard costs in this industry, which means that as much as we would love to, your floral designers can't just give you everything you want without a price tag attached to them. If you take just one thing away from this entire post, please know this: we aren't trying to rip you off. Believe me, we don't make a lot of money, especially when compared to the intensive work we do. There are simply very definite hard costs in the floral industry, and that just kind of sucks, because it means that we can't necessarily give you as much as we would honestly love to!

There are many things to consider that contribute to the overall amount of money you're spending on wedding flowers, including:
-The flowers themselves (duh).
-The amount of items your florist needs to make (8 bridesmaid bouquets add up really quickly!).
-The time of year (sorry to everyone who wants to get married in February, but all growers increase wholesale flower pricing for the month of Valentine's!).
-What your style is (some design styles require a lot more or less floral than others).
-The supplies required to create a design (you'd be surprised at how much time floral designers spend in Rona!).
-There's also, unfortunately, the border crossing factor. While I love to use locally grown flowers as much as possible, there are many things that just don't grow here in Manitoba. Anytime a flower crosses the border, there are increased expenses. It's a bummer, but a simple reality. What a florist in California might pay $0.50 per stem for, I have to pay $1.50 for.
-You're also paying for the service that you receive and the experience and expertise of the floral designer you've chosen. Perhaps you've chosen to work with someone who's been working with flowers for 15 years. Their experience deserves a higher pay grade. You'd expect to pay an experienced accountant more than a brand new one, wouldn't you? Or maybe you've chosen someone based on their creativity and the unique designs they create. Part of what you're paying for is their brain, which no one else has - being able to access their creativity is a benefit to you! 
-Set up and delivery has a price tag attached to it, too (more on this coming in a future post!).

a few notes on what impacts flower pricing:

Covid:

Covid has affected so many areas of the floral industry. When it first hit, basically every farm worldwide had to lay off staff because they couldn't safely have their employees work, and because there was no demand for flowers. With that, they completely mowed down their crops. Some of these crops are flowers that take multiple years to grow before you can actually cut and produce them. This means we're looking at several years before production returns to full normal. At the same time, Americans decided that everything was "back to normal", causing a huge surge in demand with very limited availbility. Farms are still struggling with financial losses, and prices have increased. And as can expected, covid caused many wrinkles with shipping. Fewer airplanes are in the air, everything associated with crossing the border is more expensive, etc etc. Everything costs more to get here.

Supply and Demand:

Supply and demand, baby. Wedding trends affect pricing. The more people who want the coveted toffee rose, the more expensive they're going to be (and hot dang, they are expensive).

Supply Chain Issues:

Yep, just like the rest of the world, the supply chain is affecting hard goods and supplies in the floral industry. It's definitely getting better, but it's still hard to find the quantity of vases that we want, and the ones we can get are more expensive than they used to be. There are also certain supply products (like floral glue) that are just no longer made.

---

So, how much do wedding bouquets cost?

The graphic below has long been one of my favourites, though the pricing is no longer relevant. My wholesale costs have risen, on average, 30% this past year. So, add 30% minimum to each of these bouquets and I guess you’d be closer to accurate pricing; $150 is now $200, $250 is now $325, and $350 is now $455. The graphic is still a great visual comparison. For those of you who like a certain style but aren't so picky about the types of flowers that are used, be sure to take a closer look - this might give you some thoughts on how you can lower your overall budget! 

For reference, my bridal bouquet pricing now starts at $300 each, with some exceptions.

Snippet and Ink

Quill + Oak, a florist friend of mine in Ontario, recently put together this comparison on centrepiece sizing and pricing, and it's also a pretty good estimation on what you could expect to receive in Manitoba!

Bud Vases: $15-$45 each

Small: ~$50 each

Medium: $85+ each

Large Centrepiece: $150+ each

Full Compote: $150+ each

Long and Low: $200+ each

Statement Arrangement: $300+ each

Large Ceremony Urn: $450+ each

Floral designs by Quill + Oak | Photos by Olive Photography

I’d suggest that if you’re looking for a nice, medium sized centrepiece, you start your budget at $100 each. A bud vase trio can be more cost-effective, while a tall arrangement you’ll want to budget minimum $250 each, and keep in mind that that is the bare minimum and not the lush, full arrangement you’re seeing on Pinterest and Instagram.

Candles are always a must-add, in my opinion. Whether you’re looking at taper candles, pillar or floating candles, or simple votives, aim for 3-7 per table depending on the centrepiece design and combine smaller votives with larger/taller candles for a more interesting look. But there’s this misconception that candles are the cheap option…I mean, if you’re doing 1 candle on a table, sure. That’s $10-$15. But that’s not what’s shown in the inspo pic that you’re giving me…you’re probably showing me something with $75 worth of candles and rental, per table. Just keep that in mind.

If you’re looking for an arch of some kind, those price ranges can vary wildly. A floral arch is going to be a minimum of $1500 - $2000, but I’d really suggest planning on $3000+ if you want full coverage, double that if the entire back of the arch needs to be covered (most of the time we have a light green coverage on the back). If you like the idea of a single floral piece added to an arch, plan for at least $500 per piece.

---

So, let's get down to IT. How much can you expect to spend on wedding flowers in Manitoba? 

For full service florals (bridal party and family flowers, ceremony decor, reception decor), my clients are spending an average of $7500 + taxes. This might not apply to your specific needs, your guest list, your vision, but I hope that’s helpful as you budget!

---

And if you need to reduce your spend, here are my top tips for lowering your wedding flower quote:

-Cut out all boutonnieres and corsages. They’re small details that don’t get much attention and are kind of tacky and outdated, anyways.

-Cut or reduce your bridesmaids’ bouquets. I’ve had quite a few weddings this year opt for single roses just for the girls to have something in their hands walking down the aisle. At this Spanish-inspired wedding, the women carried hand fans and it was so chic!

-Create a couple of large, focal design moments that your guests will interact with, that will set the tone, and simplify the rest. Scaled back candle centrepieces are all you need if you’ve got a killer hanging installation above. Forgo aisle flowers and increase the arch. Eliminate boutonnieres and corsages to add a beautiful floral arrangement at your welcome table.

-Forget about the lie that greenery is cheap. It’s not. Costs on foliage have risen so high that I honestly can’t afford to include much greenery in my floral orders anymore. You get WAY more bang for your buck with colourful floral than you ever will with a couple of stems of greenery.

-Cut out the flowers on your signage. For the last maybe 5 years, everyone has wanted a “floral or greenery touch” on their welcome sign, their seating chart sign, etc etc. Man, this is a waste (in my opinion). Unless you have the budget to really make this special, save the $150 and push it to something that will actually be noticed and make your design more impactful.

---

Here's what I offer to clients: 
-Full Service Floral Design (with a minimum investment budget of $5000)
-Event Design (in addition to floral design, and you can find out more about that here!)

I would love to discuss your wedding flower needs. I can help you narrow down your style, determine what are the most important aspects of the flowers to you (and therefore, where you should focus your budget and where you can reduce your spending), and also come up with some great ideas for unique designs that your friends didn't all have at their weddings.

Don't hesitate to reach out by clicking the button below!

---

Read More Like This

Misconceptions About Flower Pricing (Copy)

How to Maximize Your Budget (Copy)

What's the Actual Cost of a Bouquet? (Copy)

---

Artful Summer Wedding Flowers in Clear Lake

I love when I get the chance to head up to Clear Lake for a wedding! It happens once every couple of years and each that I’ve done has been so different from the last.

Jamie and Garth were after a joyful, colourful, artful summer wedding. A little whimsical, a little surprising, chic and stylish…all the good words.

Jamie is a creative herself, and had a beautiful vision — it just came down to making it happen. And since they live in BC, it was kind of like they were planning a destination wedding within a destination wedding!

This delicious colour palette was so so good. Poppy pastels, juicy touches of berry tones…mmm. Jamie had a long list of flowers that she loved, and most of them were growing locally (though I did have to change a few plans at the last minute because the spring flooding set our local growers back so much!).

Bridal bouquet ingredients: dahlias, cosmos, icelandic poppies, zinnias, feverfew, sweet pea, and snapdragons.

We designed a deconstructed arch composed with branching elements to keep the ceremony feeling really natural. White sunflowers reflected her Ukrainian heritage, while gladiolas were a nod to her grandfather who grew them. I also “grew” a few pieces down the aisle, creating that whimsical feel.

I had never actually seen a Jumping the Broom ceremony before, so I was thrilled to be able to see it incorporated into their service. If you don’t know the history of the tradition, look it up — it’s beautiful.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Winnipeg Wedding Florist (@stonehouseweddings)

Jamie is not afraid of colour. After a few iterations of her palette, she had nailed down a gorgeous combination of lighter pinks, peach, lavender, a warm beige, celery green, and a pop of berry pink.

The reception was set in a small, clear top tent with the guests at round tables and the couple’s family at a double-sided family table in the centre. It felt really fresh with crisp white linens, juicy florals, and coloured glassware.

The ceremony florals were repurposed to the tent entrance, and the aisle florals to the base of the seating signage.

You know I love a good hanging piece! It doesn’t need to be huge to make a big impact, especially when it features great colours. We really didn’t know how we were going to be able to do this piece, because we had no idea what the interior roof of the tent was going to be like. But, I often feel like that “on the fly” work often ends up best!

I loved that Jamie chose brighter coloured candles for the head table, and we paired them with petite arrangements scattered with fuller pieces for a lot of movement and undulation down the table.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Winnipeg Wedding Florist (@stonehouseweddings)

Photos: Brittany Mahood ~ Venue: Elkhorn Manor ~ Coordination: Tricia Bachewich Events ~ Tent and Rentals: Special Event Rentals Regina ~ Cake and Desserts: Flour and Flower ~ Stationery: Division 17 and Leech Letter Co ~ Makeup: Jelo Alindayu Artistry

LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?

2023 wedding dates are now booking! Whether it’s an intimate wedding for 30 or a celebration the likes of which have never been seen before, 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! 

Wistful Romantic Wedding Photo Shoot

Now that I’m finally back to blogging on a regular basis and sharing some of the gorgeous weddings and events I’ve been part of over the last year, I knew I needed to share these images from Florence Photography from our Portfolio Builder last spring.

These images are romantic, and wistful, and have a bit of old-world charm to them, with a really sleek editorial vibe that I’ve come to know as Florence Photography’s signature style. I love the moody flirtation she captured!

Portfolio Builder designed in collaboration with the one and only Emily from Feast & Festivities.

A dreamy outdoor location in a leafy grove, a delicate butterfly theme, a whimsical floral garden…I loved designing this photo spot with the intention of creating a naturally growing garden. We wanted to add the ladder and I had the perfect old ladder in my yard…except I didn’t realize quite how rickety it was 😂 It’s not surprising that she didn’t climb the ladder lol!

This location — it was such a dream! Emily found this circular grove of trees in Churchill Drive Park and always thought it would make an amazing wedding spot. She was right. With champagne draping and wicker pendant lights suspended from the trees, it’s the perfect little spot for an intimate dinner.

If you’re spending money on a wedding cake — PLEASE make it a focal point at your reception. Give it its own table, throw a specialty linen on it, add some flowers around it (you know I love doing that!), add a specialty bottle of champagne for the two of you to toast with…just give it its own moment.

There are so many pretty textures and elements tucked into this overall design that make it what it is. — repeated butterfly details (the sweetest sugar butterflies on the cake, gold butterflies on the escort cards, 3D butterflies on the bride’s gloves) is one of my favourite pieces. Add to that the layered table linens with dual runners lining the length of the table on either side, the rattan baskets, and the ribbed beeswax candles…it all adds up to an overall lovely design!

I chose to do one long, lush floral arrangement down the centre of the table here, tucking in the earliest locally grown flowers of the summer (ranunculus, delphinium, and pansies) in a juicy palette.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Winnipeg Wedding Florist (@stonehouseweddings)

Florence Photography ~ Feast & Festivities ~ Planned Perfectly ~ Collective Event Rentals ~ Event Light ~ Minted ~ Jenna Rae Cakes ~ Bliss Bridal Boutique ~ O M Couture ~ Eph Apparel ~ Isabel Styles ~ Makeup by Lidia ~ Kind Regards Calligraphy ~ Mokada Jewelry ~ White Willow Co ~ Trend Decor

---

Looking for a Wedding Floral Designer in Winnipeg?

2023 wedding dates are now booking! Whether it’s an intimate wedding for 30 or a celebration the likes of which have never been seen before, 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! 

Modern Retro Inspired Wedding at Starlit Point

Ah, Karina and Matt’s wedding. The absolute perfect fall wedding — gorgeous scenery that dreamily coordinated with her colour palette, the greatest vibes, and amazing weather (and the last of the locally grown flowers for the year!). I’ve been waiting to share this modern retro inspired wedding at Starlit Point for the perfect time of the year, and right around their first anniversary seems perfect.

Karina is a talented videographer, with a really well-defined personal style. It was a delight to be part of making her vision come to life last October.

Karina’s bridal style and bridesmaids’ style was off the charts. Her gown was custom made by Cathy Wiebe, and dang was it ever incredible. All the saucy, all the sweet, all the vintage vibes were hit perfectly. And the palette of those bridesmaid dresses, combining velvet, chiffon and satin? Hot dang. See what I mean, Karina knows her own style really well?

IS SHE NOT SO GLAMOROUS?

Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: toffee and cappuccino roses, marigold, leucadendron, smokebush, spray roses, bunny tails, amaranthus, phragmites, and nandina foliage.

I love seeing how your entire wedding day turns out. It makes me so happy to see my couples surrounded by people who obviously love and support them so much ❤️

When it comes to styling a ceremony site, Karina’s wedding was a dream. Why? Because she brought us PROPS. We had multiple baskets and large jars and bottles to tuck florals and dried foliages in to, and the rug at their altar grounded the space. It wasn’t just an arch — it was an entire SPACE.

We were originally going to use Starlit’s usual house-shaped arch, and a few weeks before the wedding, Karina asked if we could pivot and use my gold 2 piece deconstructed arch instead. I love the more earthy vibe this gives, and that it doesn’t compete with that killer view.

FYI to all of you looking for unique rental pieces for your wedding — Karina actually rents this lounge set up, along with the orange love seat pictured at their head table below! Check out all her pieces here!

Karina planned everything out to such beautiful detail that I knew I shouldn’t have been worried…but I was still worried that the arch pieces were going to look bad with the curved name sign behind their head table. I was happy to be very wrong on that :)

She also sourced all of these orange table runners and mixed glass and amber bottles, so we had mixed arrangements running down all the tables. It honestly couldn’t have looked more beautiful out at Starlit Point — with the leaves having perfectly turned colour, everything just coordinated so beautifully and just looked and felt like KARINA.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Winnipeg Wedding Florist (@stonehouseweddings)

Kass Donaldson Photography ~ Soiree Event Planning ~ Cathy Wiebe Clothes ~ Starlit Point

---

Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?

Limited 2022 wedding dates still remain. Whether it’s an intimate wedding for 30 or a celebration the likes of which have never been seen before, 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!