Being a part of weddings this year felt a little different than it has in the past.

(Spoiler alert: the changes have felt realllllly good)

When we would normally kick of wedding season (May and June), we had extremely tight restrictions (does anyone else barely remember those days?!), which gradually loosened throughout July, giving me the opportunity to design for several smaller weddings in July. August came, and with it, much looser restrictions, which made for a season of CRAZY. Multiple weekends saw 3 weddings, sometimes 4 and a few Thursday weddings, too! Many of our weddings were outdoors, and ironically thanks to the drought this year, our couples got pretty lucky with weather (although some extreme heat and bits of wind can make it pretty tricky with flowers!).

I had always planned on having a slower fall (if you missed it, I'm pregnant, and knew that I wouldn't have the same energy levels toward the end of my pregnancy) so September had a luxurious pace of just 1 or 2 weddings per weekend, and honestly, some of the most beautiful fall weddings I've ever witnessed. This year's fall leaves and weather were unbeatable!

I finished off the busy season with the largest wedding I've ever done (see some of those highlights below, with many, many more to come!) and am now officially be on maternity leave until next spring. Let's all hope that come 2022, we have an easier time planning and all the couples who've been postponing can simply celebrate with hearts full of joy and happiness, and not need to worry about anything else.

Here are a few highlights from the 2021 season!

My Largest Wedding…Ever

October saw the largest wedding I’ve ever been a part of, and it was a GLORIOUS, flower-filled heaven. Deanna and I tag-teamed the full floral design for this wedding, which was originally scheduled for May 2020 (see their elopement here!). Needless to say, we’d been stressing about the details of this wedding for a looong time — but it came together so beautifully, and so seamlessly!

Thanks to our incredible team, a killer design plan by Soiree Event Planning, and a lot of flexibility from the couple, we created a floral experience that really wowed everyone — including us.

There will be plenty more to share, but for now, I’ll leave it at I’m both glad that this enormous wedding is complete and also wish that I could step back, pause time, and luxuriate in the florals that we designed to really take it all in.

You can see a few of the behind the scenes on my Instagram, here!

Event Design

I love working through full event design with a couple. It’s something I only offer to 2-3 couples per season due to the hands-on nature of the service, and it’s always a joy to see those spots being filled! This summer I worked with 2 couples to bring their full event design to life, and they couldn’t have been more beautiful. I’m constantly refining my process, and couldn’t be more excited about it!

The Portfolio Builder

We really weren’t sure if we were going to be able to host this year’s Portfolio Builder! With gathering restrictions the way they were, we honestly didn’t know up until a few days beforehand if we’d actually be able to pull this off the way we wanted to, but with Emily from Feast & Festivities’ optimism leading us, we did.

I’m just realizing how little I’ve shared from this day back in June — it was a whirlwind of a day with multiple photographers and videographers coming through, and re-setting to ensure the content they’d capture was unique to them. Busy, but gorgeous, and it felt so good to be creating!

Marrying So Many Postponed Couples!

I think I had 14 or 15 couples get married this year who had postponed from 2020, and I have to say, it was really amazing to see the love, joy, and support surrounding all of them. A lot of couples still didn’t get to have quite the wedding of their dreams, but many of them also said they wouldn’t have changed a thing (except for maybe the stress levels). I’ve got a few more couples next year who had postponed, so I’m looking forward to helping them get excited and enjoying their wedding planning again!

More Outdoor Events

Almost all of my weddings this year were outdoor! This is actually not just a highlight though…there can be a lot of stress that comes along with an outdoor event, but once it’s all worked out, the ambiance is truly unparalleled. Wind and extreme heat were definitely things we battled with this year (though for once, not the bugs!), but we also celebrated under twinkling light canopies, with the breeze rustling through the trees.

This wedding is going to be featured soon on Junebug Weddings, and for now, you can see more on my blog here!

Notable Features

It's always a thrill to have my work featured or to be interviewed in a publication! This year has seen some wonderful press mentions, including Brides, Junebug (upcoming!), Wedding Chicks (3 times!), and the Winnipeg Free Press.

If you’re interested, you can find all my press features highlighted here.

My 7th Anniversary

Stone House turned 7 this past June! And did I forget all about it, in the chaos of the world? You bet I did. I forgot about it until November lol. So obviously there was no celebrating, but it still feels good to have that anniversary and be proud of how my business has grown.

And a few things coming up over the next few months:

Maternity Leave

Technically, I’m already on maternity leave! I’m excited to be taking a FULL maternity leave through April. 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 2023 prospective clients who are already on my waitlist at this point.

The Blog Won’t be Silent!

Despite being on mat leave, I still have some great content scheduled on both my blog and my Instagram to keep you inspired and excited about your weddings. PLus, I want to show off some of the amazing 2021 weddings I was able to be part of. So I won’t be immediately accessible, but I’ll still have some great things to show off!

2023 Wedding Bookings

Taking the summer off of appointments and consultations was SO nice but I’m also looking forward to talking with couples, hearing their plans and beginning to envision what I can do to make their weddings even more special. My 2022 wedding calendar is quite full — assuming all goes to plan with the rescheduled weddings from this year, next year’s calendar has just 1 date available in July and 1 date available in August, and then a handful in October, November, and December. 2023 dates will become available at the end of my maternity leave in the spring, but I do have a waitlist started in case you want to tentatively put your date on my calendar. I’m really looking forward to getting into some brainstorming sessions to design your days!