Sketching isn’t something that I do for every client, but it serves many purposes in my job. I love being able to provide my clients with superior customer service, and sometimes, sketches are needed to do just that. So, I wanted to show you all a little behind the scenes - from sketches to reality, how a wedding design comes together!

Most of the time when I sketch, it’s either to communicate a vision that isn’t clearly understood or shared, or it’s for an event design client who receives more detailed design plans as a part of working with me. I love being able to sketch out different elements for my event design clients, especially when they happen to live out of town. It helps them to make sure that I understand the features and limitations of the venues they’ve chosen, and above all, shows them that I have great ideas for how we can personalize their wedding and make sure that theirs will be a celebration that is really and truly custom to them.

This combination was one of my most popular posts on Instagram this year - and it’s what made me realize that you all like to see the behind the scenes a little more! Lise came to me inspired by maypoles and dreaming of a whimsical garden party. For her head table at Cielo’s Garden, I came up with the idea of a maypole-inspired floral chandelier but felt like my words were doing a poor job of describing what I was picturing - enter the sketch!
Photo by Ariana Tennyson

For Jessica and Liam’s wedding at the Rustic Wedding Barn, we wanted to do something a little fuller and more special for their head table and I wanted to give her and her wedding planner a visual to make sure we were on the same page. Sometimes when there are multiple heads involved in the design process, things can get a little muddy so it’s best to be as clear as possible!
Photo by Sugar & Soul Photography

Celia and Cam’s fall wedding at The Kitchen Sync was so lovely and intimate! They were planning from long distance, which can make it extra tricky to communicate a vision well. In this case, I did up two side-by-side sketches of a table garland option to communicate two budget options, showing differing amounts of greenery, floral spotlights, and candles. While this doesn’t always show the exact scale, I tried really hard to make this as close to accurate as possible and then allowed them to choose what budget point they were most comfortable with!
Photo by Sugar & Soul Photography

Heather (and her mom, who was very involved in the planning) wanted a feminine, garden-inspired wedding with lots of florals. The ballroom at St Charles Country Club is somewhat strangely U shaped, with low ceilings, so we felt that it would be really important to create a major focal point for the head table and I wanted to use these gold stands that were a new rental item for me. Mid-way through the planning, Heather’s mom was unsure if she liked the idea of a differently shaped head table, if it should have floral on it, etc. Sketching it out helped her to visualize the overall design, and also helped to calm her nerves about how it would look.
Photo by Joel Ross

I love being able to create a new vision for a space that’s been used a lot before. The loft space at Fort Gibraltar is used for a lot of wedding ceremonies (especially winter ones!) and I knew I wanted to do something different, that hadn’t been done there before. Rachel and Matt loved the idea of a hanging installation, and given that they were having a December wedding, I wanted it to be fragrant and seasonal. We wanted to incorporate lights (originally, we were planning on using cafe lights but on the day of, the venue told us we had to use the little Christmas lights to avoid the bulbs getting too hot, which was a bummer but it still worked out!).
Photo by Sugar & Soul Photography

And of course, sometimes sketching things out makes it obvious that it’s not the right design for a particular wedding. Here are a few of my favourite sketches that didn’t come to fruition, but would still be gorgeous options for a wedding!

Above and below were original design plans for Stephanie and Andrew, for whom I provided event design as well as floral design. While the overall plan stayed relatively the same, some things were edited or eliminated - like the potted fern table numbers.
Photo at bottom right by Ariana Tennyson

The sketches above and below are based on a wedding that I dreamed up at Whitetail Meadow for a competition I was a part of at the Team Flower Conference in 2018 (I ended up receiving the top award for this portion, “Mastery in Communication”). If you want me to make this a reality for you, I will do so VERY gladly!

This arch and head table sketch served very useful for my communication for a bride who spoke English, but not comfortably, and who also did most of her planning from China. I could tell she was worried that I wouldn’t understand her because of the language barrier, so putting these sketches together helped her to feel more comfortable and know that I shared her vision and understood what she was looking for!

The sketches below actually did come mostly to life for another event design client in 2017 (we ended up changing the ceremony design), but I never received the professional photos to share with you. I was so pleased on the day of the wedding - these sketches truly became reality and were just what I had promised to the clients. This was another case of a couple who lived out of town and were planning from another province, and I wanted to make the entire event and floral design process as simple as possible for them. Providing them with detailed ideas and sketches made them feel extra comfortable, despite the long distance.

Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?

My 2020 waitlist has already been started, and couples interested in full event and floral design will be contacted first about their dates. I offer a limited number of dates for event design each year, in order to allow me to work closely with each couple. Combining event and floral design is the perfect option for couples who live out of town, or couples who feel they need a little extra help in creating the visual plan for their wedding day. Click this link to learn more!