Minimalist Meets Maximalist Wedding at The White Poplar
Lindsay came to me requesting monochromatic, minimalist meets maximalist vibes with spotlight floral features. Over time, things shifted a bit into a luxurious, modern European direction and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.
I always love to start my blog posts for the new calendar year with some of my favourite weddings from the previous year. Lindsay and Michael’s wedding was absolutely a highlight of 2025!
Photos by Michael & Melanie
Planning and Design by Melanie Parent Events
Lindsay came to me requesting monochromatic, minimalist meets maximalist vibes with spotlight floral features. Over time, things shifted a bit into a luxurious, modern European direction and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.
I always love to start my blog posts for the new calendar year with some of my favourite weddings from the previous year. Lindsay and Michael’s wedding was absolutely a highlight of 2025!
Photos by Michael & Melanie
Planning and Design by Melanie Parent Events
The Bridal Bouquet
Lindsay’s vision for the wedding design shifted and flowed throughout their engagement, but one thing that remained the entire time was my suggestion for her bridal bouquet: smaller, scaled back, slightly floaty, and with absolutely no focal flowers. I wanted the overall feel of her bouquet to be refined, and definitely as an accent to her dress isntead of taking centre stage on its own.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: hydrangea (as a base), phlox, corn cockle, and lisianthus.
The Ceremony
With the overarching design goal to feature maximalist moments, we decided that the ceremony chuppah and aisle would be the primary floral feature. This was one of the areas where the design fluctuated a lot! We weren’t originally planning to have anything down the aisle, and the ceremony focal point was originally planned to be a ground-based arch.
Chuppah: we designed with full coverage on the front of the chuppah, with grouped floral placements to create a lot of visual interest. The colour pockets allowed both the green and the white to stand out more, instead of creating a polka dotted effect (which would have been the DEATH of me).
Aisle: I was pumped after Lindsay saw an image of another wedding with a beautiful aisle and asked if we could incorporate floral pieces. While a full aisle is not necessary to create a beautiful space, it really makes a visual impact! I focused on longer stems and lots of texture, to create a fluttery path that felt organic and modern.
The draping textures were gorgeous, but one unexpected, hilarious moment happened at the beginning the ceremony: Michael stood at the chuppah, and decided he didn’t care for the draping green amaranthus bits that Lindsay loved…so he ripped them down 😂 We were all standing inside the venue just quietly killing ourselves laughing.
Memory Bouquets: A few beloved family members had passed and we wanted to find a simple, thoughtful way to honour them during the ceremony. We decided on a handtied bouquet placed at each chair. Each bridesmaid and Lindsay carried a single white rose that was tucked into the back of their bouquets, and placed on the memory chairs as they walked down the aisle.
The Reception
Florals on the tables were not a design priority for Lindsay. She wanted a twinkling candlelit evening, and Reveal Event Decor absolutely LOADED the tables with candles. I was so glad it wasn’t us that needed to light everything (though we did pitch in — you wouldn’t believe how long it took ha!) and even more glad that we weren’t responsible for cleaning the wax out of all the holders afterwards!
We repurposed all of the aisle florals to the ends of the tables and around the base of the cake table, allowing the sweetheart table to be the second major focal point.
The Floral Waterfalls
From the sweetheart table to the bar, we incorporated these cascading waterfall moments to create a major impact.
These babies are gorgeous but sure aren’t a design to underestimate. These are time-intensive, full of product, and tricky to get properly weighted. But the end result? Total magic!
Luxurious moments were added to cocktail hour on the patio, with floral touches cascading out of the fountain, floral urns on either side of the bar, and a gorgeous seating chart.
It can be really hard to sift through all of this inspiration that’s available out there, and figure out what you want to do for your own wedding — especially when your engagement is long. Lindsay’s design ideas were generally within the same vein, but we tossed around a brighter green with some more modern styling choices, or possibly incorporating some deep burgundy, and we also considered waterfall floral features cascading off the ends of each table. All of these would have been gorgeous choices and led to a great design and ambiance.
Sometimes, my advice to couples is to take your time and not put pressure on making every single decision. Save images, and see what your thoughts keep coming back to.
And sometimes, my advice is to hire a planner (technically, my advice is always to hire a planner because a good planner is truly invaluable). Melanie Parent came on board and really helped Lindsay to refine her vision and ease the worries.
Michael & Melanie Photography ~ Melanie Parent Events ~ The White poplar ~ Stone House Creative ~ Lauren B Wycoff ~ REveal Event Decor ~ Planned Perfectly ~ Collective event rentals ~ Creating a Scene ~ Sweet Retreat Bakery ~ Asarye Paperie ~ Bride Files ~ Hair by KelCey Marie ~ Refinery Event Rentals ~ All SEason’s Catering ~
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
Getting married at The White Poplar? We happen to know the space REALLY well, and in our completely biased opinion, we’re the best at bringing the space to life 😎
At Stone House Creative, florals are crafted in harmony with the surrounding space, bringing balance, atmosphere, and a quietly elevated feel to your celebration.
Year in Review 2025
2025 is coming to an end, and I’m grateful for a slower season this winter as well as the end of an amazing wedding season!
This year was a bit different for me, and it was really nice. It was paced differently, with small breaks peppered throughout my calendar. Next year looks like it’ll be a bit different, too, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves!
It’s kind of weird to write an annual recap, because to be completely honest, I don’t remember much of the year. I have a rather pathetic memory to begin with, but designing for different weddings every single weekend and then “on to the next!” makes it really difficult to be able to truly take anything in and make memories. But I think it was a good year 😂
2025 is coming to an end, and I’m grateful for a slower season this winter as well as the end of an amazing wedding season!
This year was a bit different for me, and it was really nice. It was paced differently, with small breaks peppered throughout my calendar. Next year looks like it’ll be a bit different, too, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves!
It’s kind of weird to write an annual recap, because to be completely honest, I don’t remember much of the year. I have a rather pathetic memory to begin with, but designing for different weddings every single weekend and then “on to the next!” makes it really difficult to be able to truly take anything in and make memories. But I think it was a good year 😂
A few Numbers to kick things off…
34 weddings
7 corporate events plus a handful of social events (birthday parties, bat mizvahs, and baby showers!)
40 girls between 8-11 years old. I taught a “design in a mug” class to the Girls’ Club at my parents’ church 🫠 (it was honestly so sweet and they were all so excited!)
2 flower arranging classes: I used to do this annually pre-Covid and it’s always so much fun!
11th Anniversary!
I’m so grateful for Stone House, for 11 years, and for all of my clients past and present who have trusted me with their flowers. I’m one of the rare people that gets to say that I TRULY LOVE my job. Even the meh things like bucket washing and emptying the van out all the time aren’t that horrid.
That being said, this year was the year that I realized I’m no longer the young, cute florist on the scene anymore 😂 I’m 37, so I could have realized this quite a long time ago. But in the post below, you’ll see what I mean:
I used to be the young and cute one. Those days are gone now ☠️ I laughed when I realized this (it doesn’t help that it was a rainy and humid day and we were all frizzy) but it also got me thinking: I used to be the young and cute florist who wedding couples were excited to invest in because they both loved my work AND they loved the idea of supporting a small woman-owned business.
I’m STILL a small woman-owned business, and it’s because of all of you who have trusted me with your wedding flowers over the last 11 years, who have referred me to your friends and family or your clients, that I’ve been able to grow this business substantially.
I may no longer be the cute, young florist -- now, I’m the experienced, talented florist who your vendors love to work with because they know that I’ll make them look good without missing anything. I’m the one who’s able to pull together any size of team needed to create your wedding because there are a lot of talented floral designers and set up crew members who really enjoy freelancing with me, because I’m kind, organized, and a solid leader. I’m the one who's been able to grow in this business, raise my babies in this business, and support my community with this business.
So no, I’m not the cute, young florist anymore. And I owe a lot of thanks to you that I’m now the experienced, talented, long-lasting florist 😘
A Few Highlights
My wedding season was kicked off very early in January 2025, starting with this beautiful, intimate, moody engagement party/surprise wedding at the Manitoba Club.
Photos below: Kass Donaldson
In July, I flowered for my largest floral wedding of the year but with a relatively small guest count, which means I had a lot of fun with the flowers. This couple was quite possibly the most joyful I’ve ever worked with. Eager to allow me to get creative, and just so HAPPY on their wedding day. It was so wonderful! Photos are still incoming, but this video of their wedding weekend is stunning! Kaira’s bridal bouquet was one of my favourites that I’ve ever created.
Video below: Jay and Mack
We bumped around all over Manitoba and Southern Ontario this year, heading up to Clear Lake a couple of times, Neepawa, and Kenora area. While these semi-destination weddings are so much fun, they’re also a TON of extra work to get all the logistics down. And I love every part of that. My brain functions well in logistics :)
Photos below: Cody Goetz, Pretty Burd, Jennifer Fortier
Corporate Work
While the bulk of my work is and always will be weddings, I also love the opportunity to work on a few corporate jobs each year. Some small, some large, all special. It gives me the chance to get out of wedding mode and really consider how I can best help that particular business showcase itself best.
Below: branding photos for the beautiful Holly of Evergreen Weddings; Mad About Style’s 15th anniversary celebration; Wellington Altus’ client holiday party.
In October, I designed an event for the launch of the Modern Ambition brand, in conjunction with Natasha from Studio Giorg. And we only had about 4 weeks to do it, from start to finish. It was stressful, I’ll say that, but it came together so beautifully. They hosted a VIP dinner under the polar bear tunnel at the Assiniboine Park Zoo, with featured guests including Wab Kinew, Scott Gillingham, and notably, Jim Moore, Creative Director at GQ Magazine. We needed to impress, while also making sure the event was functional (that tunnel is smaller than it looks!).
Favourite Moments
Of course it’s impossible to choose favourites from such a full year! But here are a few, in no particular order, and with many still yet to come as their galleries come in from photographers! (and ps, if I did your flowers this year or even last year, I’d still love to get your galleries!)
Photographers: Brittany Mahood, CoJo, Karina Walker, Michael & Melanie, Ally Sigurdson
Room Reveals
I always love seeing these moments! The moment when you first see your wedding space, completely finished. Your dreaming has actually, finally, happened. It’s exciting!! For a lot of you, this moment won’t be caught on camera (a lot of logistical planning needs to happen to allow for this!) and those moments are just as sweet to me. Even if I’m standing in a pile of stems I’m in the midst of sweeping up, when you walk in and see it all, it’s so exciting.
I also want to note, these images are from weddings of all sizes and budgets. You should love your wedding flowers this much, no matter how much you have to spend on them.
Above photos by Michael & Melanie, Brittany Mahood, and CoJo Photo
I always like to promote some charitable offerings at the end of the year, in case any of you are looking for a great cause to donate to. Here’s a couple that I love:
Villages of Hope is an amazing Canadian organization that partners with communities in the poorest nations in Africa, providing schools, shelter, safety, nutrition, healthcare, and above all, hope. Their Hope Packs are a super cost-effective way to make a huge difference for a child, and include books, toys, clothing, and treats. They’re only $25!
Mainstreet Project: Amazon Wishlist
The Mainstreet Project is a Winnipeg organization that serves our city’s most marginalized people. Their Amazon wishlist is such an easy way to support them with the items they need, without needing to worry about Canada Post.
So what’s coming up next?
Next year you’ll see a beautifully refreshed and updated Stone House Creative brand and website. We’re working on it now and I cannot wait to put it all together and launch it into the world!
2026 will see more incredible weddings, both large and small, many of whom are referrals or family members of my past clients. That means the world to me — thank you! I do still have some space available next fall (September, October, November) so if you know someone planning their wedding in those months, I’ve got some killer ideas I’d love to make happen and I might be available!
Below, my inspiration board for 2026! Or shall I saw, one of my inspiration boards for 2026. I’ve never done this before, but I often write out a wish list of design elements I’d like to incorporate into my designs, and I thought a visual representation could be a lot of fun. I’ve got a few that I’m causally working on — my fall inspo board is looking particularly delicious!
If you’re interested in following along for more regular updates, I post on Instagram every few days with snippets of my wedding season, featured weddings, and behind the scenes of my work!
The Winnipeg wedding industry is an amazing industry to be a part of. There are a lot of great people, working to make sure that all of your weddings come together wonderfully. There is also a lot of creativity and professionalism, a lot of knowledge and excellent service. It’s an honour to be a part of that. Thank you to all of my colleagues for making every wedding such a great work environment.
How Much Do Wedding Flowers Cost? Warm Neutral Wedding Reception at Novella
It’s not all that frequent that I get to design the entire reception from start to finish, and I really enjoy digging into that complete process. For this warm, neutral wedding reception at Novella, I started with a brief overview of the colour palette and textural elements I wanted to highlight.
As I got going, I knew I wanted to share a glance at the real life costs behind a reception design like this. Many of my clients come to me asking for designs like this, but have no frame of reference for pricing. So, let’s jump into the design and then the cost!
It’s not all that frequent that I get to design the entire reception from start to finish, and I really enjoy digging into that complete process. For this warm, neutral wedding reception at Novella, I started with a brief overview of the colour palette and textural elements I wanted to highlight.
As I got going, I knew I wanted to share a glance at the real life costs behind a reception design like this. Many of my clients come to me asking for designs like this, but have no frame of reference for pricing. So, let’s jump into the design and then the cost!
PS - If you’re wondering, YES, I do offer event design services where I can do this for you! Find more info here. I take on a maximum of 3 event design clients per year and I do require that I’m designing your florals, too.
Photos by Vanessa Renae Photography
The Design Plan
Below you’ll get a glimpse at the brief visual overview I created to help guide my decision making. I find this to be a really important step that a lot of people overlook when planning their weddings. Anyone can make a pinterest board but it’ll likely still feel disparate, disjointed because it’s usually lacking that thread that ties everything together. A single page, just a few images and colour swatches, is one of the first things I do when working through event design, to set the mood, confirm colouring, and keep my design goals in mind.
For this wedding reception design, I had a few things in mind: mostly warm, neutral tones with touches of cool blue added in, multi-tonal drapery above the tables to soften the industrial ceiling and warm up the white walls, and bringing in natural textures through stone elements.
When it came to the floor plan, I really didn’t need to go this all-out as this was an editorial shoot. But, I believe strongly in doing things right the first time (when I’m tempted to be lazy, this always rings through my thoughts!) and I think that a photo shoot with 1 single table looks, quite frankly, dumb. It doesn’t give a potential couple a proper frame for how the entire wedding could look, and it doesn’t give the wedding professionals imagery that actually reflects the reality of our work.
Novella works amazingly as a single space for both ceremony and reception for an intimate wedding, and the floor plan below is just one example of how you can utilize the space.
A few things I knew right away: I wanted to use Collective’s black bentwood chairs because I love them, and the Melodia glassware because they really elevate a design with a subtle, elegant air. I wanted to layer in stone fragments, and thought this would be a great way to catch any candle wax drips.
The Completed Design
Normally I am fully invested in colour, so choosing to work in a neutral palette felt a little out of left field for me. I really enjoyed the warmth that I was able to create — this isn’t yet another basic white and green wedding. The short cappuccino toned candles (I wanted them as stumpy as I could get them) picked up on the brown veining in the pieris and the tulips. This kind of blending and colour play is essential, no matter what your palette is.
Layering in taupe napkins and sand toned vessels added more warmth, and the black cutlery and lamps tied through to the chairs in a clean, simple way.
How Much Does a Wedding Tablescape Cost?
It's important to note that every tablecsape is going to be different in terms of the elements included, the quantities, and additional rental items. For our purposes today, I've included everything that came from me: florals, vases, candles. The glassware, flatware, lamps, napkins, linens, chairs, and stationery would be in addition.
I also want to note that if you're looking to save on your floral budget, long tables may not be the best choice for you. There is simply more empty space on long tables, which makes them really fun to style but would also be more costly.
For each 8 foot table, I included:
1x fuller, low floral arrangement
2x petite flower frog arrangements
2-3x stem vases
4x chunky pillar candles and stone remnants for styling
8 Foot Table Cost: $345
When I first approached Kayla from Sugar & Salt Bakeshoppe about this project, I shared my full design board and asked for a simple, textured buttercream cutting cake. I didn’t want to be an imposition when she was likely already busy. Her response? “Let me put a spin on it and challenge myself!” And look at this stunning masterpiece inspired by the wedding dress we used! What incredible art.
The Bar
Including a bar feature was a must-have for me, to show how we can extend a design further. Collective’s Waverly collection was perfect. We added a champagne tower (one of Vanessa’s only requests!), layered in some stone vases, and repurposed florals from the ceremony aisle to the base of the cake table to make it a moment.
I hope this was helpful to you in your planning! I’ll link a few more budget-related posts below to assist you in building a realistic wedding flower budget. It’ll either come down to “I will pay what I need to in order to get what I want” or “I have $xx to spend, what can I get within that?” My top advice for couples is to be open about your goals and budget when you’re talking with a floral designer. Knowing which way you lean means we can get creative and make sure we’re proposing the best things for you.
Lead Photo & Host: Vanessa Renae Photography
Floral and Event Design: Stone House Creative
Venue: The Novella
Rentals: Collective Rentals
Drapery and Linens: Planned Perfectly
Stationery: Rae & Dot Studio
Cake: Sugar & Salt BakeShoppe
Hair: Isabel Nayet
Makeup: Jessica K Artistry
Dress: Vintage J Mendel
Jewellery: Mokada Jewelry
Models: @meghanheppner and @brendanzebrynski
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL and Event DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
I love taking a venue and making it into anything but ordinanry.
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!
Design Notes: Textural Wedding Ceremony Florals at Novella
Last spring, I designed an editorial for Vanessa Renae and a group of photographers who were itching to get creative, and practise some new photography techniques. Vanessa had found this gorgeous blue vintage dress, and then she asked me to take the reigns on the overall design. Needless to say, I had a lot of fun.
Warm browns paired with cool blues, layers of natural textures, minimalistic yet elevated stationery, a dreamy meandering aisle, multi-tonal drapery, it was all so good. A total dream day ✨
Today, I’m sharing some design notes focusing on the ceremony design, featuring textured florals and a natural style.
Photos by Vanessa Renae Photography
Last spring, I designed an editorial for Vanessa Renae Photography and a group of photographers who were itching to get creative, and practise some new photography techniques. Vanessa had found this gorgeous blue vintage dress, and then she asked me to take the reigns on the overall design. Needless to say, I had a lot of fun.
Warm browns paired with cool blues, layers of natural textures, minimalistic yet elevated stationery, a dreamy meandering aisle, multi-tonal drapery, it was all so good. A total dream day ✨
Today, I’m sharing some design notes focusing on the ceremony design, featuring textured florals and a natural style.
Photos by Vanessa Renae Photography
The Design Plan
Every element of this design was envisioned around the dress. I allowed that to take the lead and then found that everything else came together really easily: I wanted to incorporate a lot of airy and natural textures (floaty florals, stone elements) and soften the entire space with modern drapery.
The Completed Design
Layered and multi-tonal draping, a curved aisle, and an organic focal feature at the front were the pieces that came together to really make this ceremony design.
The Novella is a really, really white space. I didn’t want to go fully white with the drape because it would just feel too stark, so Planned Perfectly added panels of this oatmeal toned drape along with the white. The ceilings are Novella are perfect for this! The draping also made for a really cool photo opportunity that I’d encourage photographers to play with a bit.
I came across these pleated paper stands on Amazon and really liked the idea of their shape and texture — ideally they would have been a bit taller, but beggars can’t be choosers all the time. Incorporating large rocks was part of my vision, BUT as we were shooting in the winter, it was a bit tricky. I actually dug these all up from the snow and ice at my parents’ farm! I would have loved even more, to tuck into the aisle, but the rest were fully frozen.
The Aisle
I love a meandering aisle!! That refers to the curved chair placement, instead of lining up all the chairs in straight rows. This gives us a slightly more dynamic walk down the aisle, typically lending a more casual look/less formal. With the shifts in the chair placements, it also gives us varied amounts of space for aisle florals, so you’ll notice that some of these pieces are smaller, some are larger. I personally love the dynamic and visually intriguing effect this creates.
We added in the floor length blue satin bows to the chairs to bring a hint of that watery blue tone, which was great because I didn’t want to use actual blue in the flowers. I kept the aisle floral pieces very airy and textural, primarily using fillers with a few elongated stems here and there to give a floaty butterfly vibe.
(Photo grid above by Kate Elizabeth Photography)
One of the great things about a ceremony design composed of multiple pieces is that gives you lots of options for repurposing at the reception.
We wanted the champagne tower to really be a moment here, so we added 4 mixed size pieces to the base of that table.
I had a few mixed cocktail tables and coffee tables available from the Waverly collection via Collective Event Rentals, and so I popped a few on those tables as well to give it a little more oomph.
Love this bouquet as much as I did? Click the image above to take you a post where I break down the cost and the flowers included!
Lead Photo & Host: Vanessa Renae Photography
Floral and Event Design: Stone House Creative
Venue: The Novella
Rentals: Collective Rentals
Drapery and Linens: Planned Perfectly
Stationery: Rae & Dot Studio
Cake: Sugar & Salt BakeShoppe
Hair: Isabel Nayet
Makeup: Jessica K Artistry
Dress: Vintage J Mendel
Jewellery: Mokada Jewelry
Models: @meghanheppner and @brendanzebrynski
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL and Event DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
I love taking a venue and making it into anything but ordinanry.
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!
Elegant Fall Wedding with Fun Colour Palette
I’m continuing to catch up on sharing stories from last fall’s weddings, and today we’re looking at Tatiana and Kevin’s! They planned an elegant fall wedding, with a fun colour palette and some moody details.
One of my personal highlights from the day was setting up the ceremony arch. We were working in the garden, enjoying the flowers, and just peeking through the fence at the wedding party taking their photos. They were so happy, so chill, the bridesmaid dress selection was gorgeous, and it just looked like they were having the best day!
I’m continuing to catch up on sharing stories from last fall’s weddings, and today we’re looking at Tatiana and Kevin’s! They planned an elegant fall wedding, with a fun colour palette and some moody details.
One of my personal highlights from the day was setting up the ceremony arch. We were working in the garden, enjoying the flowers, and just peeking through the fence at the wedding party taking their photos. They were so happy, so chill, the bridesmaid dress selection was gorgeous, and it looked like they were having just the best day — which is exactly how we want you to feel!
Photos by Brittany Mahood Photography
See what I mean about a fun colour palette and a great combination of bridesmaid dresses? Everything feels rich, layered, with a cinnamon-and-spice vibe. The varied textures and fabrics of the dresses are gorgeous, too, and I happen to think the flowers look quite delicious in those hands.
The Flowers
Moody, elegant, and romantic. Tatiana wanted the flowers to do a lot of the work within the overall design. She liked gardenesque shapes and luscious flower-filled designs. I designed a pretty large bouquet for her, with smaller, coordinating bouquets for the bridesmaids.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: nina roses, salmon ranunculus, toffee roses, plum scabiosa, plum dahlias, antique carnations, ninebark and nandina foliages.
The Colour Palette
One thing I love about fall weddings is the saturated colour palettes. Now, don’t hear what what I’m not saying: just because it’s fall, doesn’t mean you need to do a Crayola bright orange/red/yellow palette. I will almost never suggest this, because it mostly looks like a Dollarama wedding and that’s just not the vibe.
What I AM saying is, go for the colour. Add in richness and depth with deep shades, add in vibrancy and warmth with something bold, and blend it all together with variegated foliages.
For Tatiana and Kevin’s palette, we planned to use 70% bright and deep reds, with 30% accents of salmon/toffee/blush pink. Her bouquet would not have looked or felt the same without the deep reds/burgundies in there. That result would have been a lot less moody, and it would have been more difficult to create a feeling of elegance. You need some variation and depth to bring that about.
The Ceremony
Let’s pause for a moment and talk about how adorable this flower girl is!! Walking down the aisle and scattering her petals, only to walk back and pick them up. So sweet!
The ceremony was held in the Bonnycastle Gardens at the Manitoba Club, to the sounds of a very cool live jazzy/punk trio and with a fair bit more wind than I like to have 🫠 The welcome sign kept blowing over (granted, it was very lightweight, as they almost always are) but the arch was well weighted down and it stayed put (thank goodness! I could always do without wind!).
The arch was always going to be a focal point. The Garden has a perfect nook that overlooks the Upper Fort Garry gate, and it’s just a really lovely setting! I went for full greenery coverage (with the most delicious nandina foliage) and we went for a little more dark burgundy as the base here, so the golden toffee tones and the bright reds stood out more. One of my favourite elements was the really dark lilies — adding in a star shaped flower here and there can really bring a design to life!
The Reception
Reception time! The reception was in the Provencher Ballroom on the main floor of the Fort Garry, which is conveniently right across the street from the Manitoba Club. This meant that we could set up the reception while the ceremony was going on, then pop across the street to grab the arch post-ceremony, and wheel it into the Provencher Room on trolleys! I’ll tell you what, it’s pretty fun crossing the street with a big floral arch! It feels very New York.
We repurposed the arch behind the head table, to which we added a low, lush floral piece that coordinated. Guest tables were all round, and they chose toffee linens from Planned Perfectly with gold chairs from Collective. This was such an elegant base and looked perfect with the Provencher Room’s warm neutral walls.
We elected to go with 2 coordinating styles of table centrepieces: on half, a low, lush floral arrangement in a hammered copper bowl, and on the other half, a trio of stem vases with black taper candles. Both looked awesome, adding pops of colour and flickering candlelight throughout the room.
One look at this photo to the right, and you’ll understand my plea to never have coffee cups pre-placed on the tables. See how much space these things take up? If it’s a brunch wedding and you know that everyone’s going to have a coffee, then sure. But otherwise, ask your venue if you can have coffee service at the bar/tableside, or if there can be a coffee station set up!
Looking for a Wedding Floral Designer in Winnipeg?
Flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. 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!
I remember what it was like to be engaged, attempting to plan an budget for a wedding when I had ABSOLUTELY no idea what anything could cost. I have a specific memory of sitting at my fiance’s (now husband’s) computer and googling “wedding photographer in Winnipeg”, opening up every single website on the first 5 or so pages of Google, and sending a form submission to every single one. Because NONE of them had any pricing information available (and I only heard back from about 5 of them!).
That was a long time ago, and pricing transparency has definitely improved in the Winnipeg market, but I think that now, more than ever, couples are anxiously seeking pricing information. Since covid, costs on a lot of things have increased and not gone down, and now we get the joys of all this tariff business. All that to say, I understand where you’re coming from and I’m here to give you some insight on wedding flower pricing!