Sophisticated Ballroom Wedding with Garden Inspired Style

From winter to spring in a week! I can't believe that Stefanie and Jared's spring wedding at the Fairmont Hotel was almost a year ago already. Their wedding was at the end of May, and let me tell you: May sees the BEST combination of flowers. EVER. Of all the months (and if you've been around here for a while, then you'll remember me extolling all the virtues of a May wedding). So when it came time to plan all the florals and event design for Stefanie and Jared, we knew that a sophisticated, garden-inspired design would be perfect for them!

Fairmont Hotel ~ Dustin Leader Photography ~ Planned Perfectly

Along with the florals, I was also hired to do full event design for Stefanie and Jared. These weddings always end up being some of my favourites, because I get to be so much more involved with all of the aesthetic decisions. Some couples need a guiding eye, some have a hectic schedule so the introductions to other vendors are invaluable and time saving, and others just want to hand off the process. Any of those is perfectly fine for me! 

We always start the event design process with an exercise that helps me to get a really clear picture of what's important to the couple as we plan their wedding. For Stefanie and Jared, the clear direction that we created was for an elegant wedding filled with thoughtful, sophisticated details and sentimental charm.

The Fairmont Hotel was a beautiful choice (and it also made it so easy for the guests!) but as it's definitely a classic ballroom, my challenge was creating an overall style that was also fitting with the garden-inspired florals that the couple sought after. The result is one of my favourite styles: sort of an elegant garden party. Because there's no reason why a ballroom wedding has to feel stuffy! Most of my weddings aren't quite this formal, so it was a nice chance to merge my style with theirs.

I couldn't decide which angle of Stefanie's bridal bouquet that I liked best, so you get both ;) It was lush and organic, with a touch of trailing vine and the most delicious combo of fragrant blooms. 

Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: peonies, ranunculus (some of the most gorgeous I've ever seen!!), anemones, hyacinth, several varieties of roses, tulips, and finished with eucalyptus, italian ruscus, and the most perfect blooming jasmine vine (we literally NEVER get blooming jasmine).

For Jared and the guys, we just did a simple ranunculus boutonniere. It also bears mentioning that of this couple, Jared is the one who loves flowers, which made me laugh. He was more than willing to blow their wedding budget on massive centrepieces, ha!

I loved the ambiance we created for the ceremony. For logistical ease, we decided on having the ceremony take place in the far end of the ballroom, with a double-sided panel of draping installed by the masters over at Planned Perfectly to separate the ceremony space from the other side of the ballroom, where the reception would be. Candles lined the aisle, and I designed a detailed altar with 4 large floral arrangements set atop thin gold stands. All of this was intelligently incorporated into the wedding's reception design, as well! Take a peek - I'm so proud of how well this all came together and in a way that really maximized their budget.

On the other side of the drapery, we set the head table. Planned Perfectly created a gorgeous design that the couple loved. We let them do their thing with just a touch of guidance as to what Stefanie was drawn to, and I really think that that's when the very best things happen! You can see that we re-purposed two of the tall gold stands from the ceremony to the head table, which just helped to anchor the couple in the large room. The other two were used as centrepieces on the parents' tables, and we also moved over all of the candles from the ceremony to the head table as well.

One of my favourite days during the event design process is when we select linens. I usually have a pretty clear idea of what's going to look great based on the venue and the wedding's colour palette, and for Stefanie and Jared's wedding I knew we wanted to use something in the ivory/champagne/soft gold direction. I brought a few options with me to a walk-through with Stefanie at the Fairmont, which helped her to visualize the space a lot better (I also brought along a few chair cover and rental chair options - I love being able to do this for my clients!). She decided on this soft gold lace overlay, which perfectly toes the line between elegant sophistication and garden-inspired. 

We chose two centrepieces styles to bring dimension throughout the room, half tall and half low. The tall ones were my personal favourite! I loved adding the trailing fern to enhance that garden ambiance.

We worked with PSAV, the Fairmont's in-house audio/visual department, for the lighting. Whenever I'm working on event design, I think about a few key things: colour, lighting, and texture. We settled on a blushy amber tone, to create a romantic candlelit feeling.

Looking for a wedding florist in Winnipeg?

Getting married in Manitoba? I might be biased, but 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 - along with full event design - to create the perfect ambiance for your wedding! 

(Popular 2019 wedding dates are already booking up!)