Chic Minimalist Wedding at The White Poplar

Tara and James’ wedding is the perfect exhibit of total trust within artistic collaboration — she is an incredible stationery designer and paper maker, and had a chic vision for the wedding. I was so thrilled to bring it to life.

The vision was an airy, clean, natural feeling design with minimal yet elevated details. I chose limited floral ingredients, and Tara requested chic, unfussy arrangements. The overall vibe was structured yet unstructured, and it was idyllic.

Photos by Nicole Plett

Small Bridal Bouquet with White tulips and Bleeding Hearts

Oh my gosh, how much did I LOVE THIS BOUQUET!! I knew that the best way to accomplish Tara’s vision was with limited floral varieties. This creates a more elevated, chic look and given the shape of her dress and the petite bouquet size she wanted, I chose to keep it simple but organic.

Bridal bouquet ingredients: locally grown bleeding hearts (totally the star of the show!!), tulips, freesia, and hellebore.

There’s definitely an art to selecting the perfect mis-matching bridesmaid dresses, and this group did an amazing job. The textures, tones, and subtle touches of pattern combined beautifully. And HELLO, can we talk about Tara’s dress?! Custom-made by Cathy Wiebe, it was literally divine. The sleeve length, the drape of the shoulder, the flow of the skirt…I’ve never seen anything like it.

Tara and James chose to orient their ceremony towards the back of where The White Poplar normally does it, and I thought it looked beautiful! The two oak trees were really important to them, and Tara actually used them as part of the letter-pressed line sketch in their wedding invitations (Oh! Did I mention that Tara is an incredibly talented paper artist and wedding invitation designer? You’re going to want to check out her work here).

For the ceremony floral, we wanted to create floral pieces that really blended into the setting, bringing an organic softness. There wasn’t a lot of spatial depth for us to work with, so instead of the typical curved ground arch, I went for two large, overgrown-inspired ground-based pieces that were positioned straight along the edge of the ceremony site.

This reception design was one of my very favourites of the entire year. It felt like an elevated take on an organic, simple design and the ambiance was just perfect. Tara carefully chose such beautiful elements to bring it all together: the king’s table for the wedding party, her stunning stationery, and each rental piece was curated so perfectly to bring the right texture and chic feel.

The florals fit right in. Tara and I chose these bowls (so glad she wanted them, as I’ve used them so many times since then!), and I designed several different centrepiece styles to bring movement and organic texture down the length of the tables. I primarily used tulips, hellebore, and Queen Anne’s Lace, tucking in some locally grown pansies and bleeding heart to finish it off.

We repurposed some of the ceremony floral to the base of the king’s table, and more of it to the entrance and seating chart.

If this look is what you dream of, here are some tips to creating the right vibe:

-Elevated rentals are key. Touches of textured glassware, this gorgeous bar from Collective, and the perfect textured linens elevate an empty space.

-Floral ingredients should be minimized. I chose a few things and used them en masse and in repetition to create the look I was going for.

-Aim for some outdoor space! They were able to have their ceremony, cocktail hour, and dancing under the stars and it was perfect (while still making sure their guests were comfortable indoors for the dinner).