I’ve been keeping a secret!

I don’t usually share too much of the personal side of my life here - ask me about my business, and I’m an open book, but for a multitude of reasons, I’ve always felt hesitant to share too much about my life on the world wide web, especially now that someone else’s privacy is thrown into the mix. But, my husband, Chad, and I are very excited that baby is coming January 2019 (or maybe a little earlier but I’m keeping my legs crossed for January!). Needless to say, there will be come changes in the coming months.

Maternity Leave Details

Starting this week, my mat leave officially begins! I’ll be monitoring my email until the baby shows up, and will then be taking a FULL maternity leave through the end of March. 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 2020 prospective clients who are already on my waitlist at this point.

Details for 2019 Current Clients

If you are planning a 2019 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 don’t want to guarantee that before I know what it’s actually like to be a mom! 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 2019 wedding and are not yet booked with me, please note that May through September are fully booked and I have zero availability. October 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 “2019 WEDDING - your wedding date” so I can make sure to prioritize your email when I return.

Details for Prospective 2020 Clients

My waitlist for 2020 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 “2020 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 2020 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 $2000, with a suggested budget of $3000+ 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 $2250 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 2019 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 my chest 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.

My husband and I have to say an enormous thank you to our friend Brittany Mahood for the blessing that is these photos. We went out to Birds Hill Park on a VERY cold day in October and had such a great time. Neither of us is very good at actually taking photos in our everyday lives, so having Brittany capture this very overwhelming time in our lives in such a beautiful way is an incredible gift. Winnipeg, you have NO idea how lucky you are that this world-class photographer is one of ours. If you’re still looking for your wedding photographer, book her. I promise you’ll love your photos.

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.

And, the world’s biggest thank you to my freelance/lead designer, Deanna. I am quite confident that I would not have been able to make it through the early days of this wedding season without her! In the beginning, I was so tired and so slow and she made sure everything happened. In the middle, I was less tired but still so slow 😂and she did such a beautiful job (as she would have anyways!). And in the late days, when I started getting enormous and realized just how much bending my job entails, she packed the van and did all the heavy lifting and climbed all the ladders. Deanna, you are so amazing and I am so blessed to have you on my team. Thank you THANK YOU for working with me!

Extra special thanks to Jessica Kmiec Artistry and Hair by Dana for making me feel so good this day!