It’s always fun to design for someone I know! Katelin is my brother-in-law’s sister, so I was excited about this Winnipeg Art Gallery wedding from the start. It also became the perfect combination of elements — an art museum, juicy colour, a collab with Soiree Event Planning, my cute niece and nephew as the flower girl and ring bearer…everything was awesome!

If you’ve been around here for any length of time, you’ll know I’m an unapologetic colour lover. This wedding shows you exactly why!

Photos by Cojo Photography

Another day, another one of my favourite colour palettes 😍😍 Katelin was totally on board for colour and I was thrilled. She was really drawn to oranges, and Soiree created this lovely palette of lavenders, peaches, a pop of orange so it wasn’t overwhelming, and a nice base of soft pinks. Some people think neutrals are only white/grey/beige…in my opinion, soft pink is totally a neutral.

Another bonus of August weddings — the LOCAL FLOWERS. Ugh they just make all the difference in the world. We had a ton of locally grown goods for this wedding.

Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: Locally grown foxglove, sweet pea, zinnias, and lisianthus along with cafe latte garden roses, anemones, and ranunculus.

(Pause for a moment to notice my ADORABLE (sassy) niece as flower girl!!)

This ceremony arch was so delicious. We’ve designed similar styles many times, but never in this palette and it was SO juicy and yummy. We wanted it to be fuller at the base and lighter at the top, in part because we were on the WAG rooftop, so we needed to heavily weight the base and ensure it was sturdy enough to not blow over.

Those orange dahlias were total perfection, and added just the right change in texture to pop in here.

Excuse the interruption while I tell you WHY YOU ABSOLUTELY WANT TO HIRE A WEDDING PLANNER. There’s no knowing what’s going to happen at your wedding. For example, there might be a wasp infestation…

While we were setting up the ceremony, there were a few wasps buzzing around and then a few more and then a few more…and I thought “this seems like more than usual” while Deanna was this close to losing her ever-loving mind over them. I walked over to the stone/tree area along the side of the rooftop, and realized I could hear a lot of buzzing. There were hundreds of wasps. I’m known for exaggeration, but there were HUNDREDS.

I went to Andrea from Soiree right away and let her know that we had an issue. And professional that she is, they took care of it. They had to call in an exterminator, who came in SO quickly, and move the cocktail hour from the rooftop to the Skylight Gallery. There were still wasps buzzing around during the ceremony BUT not a single sting because they had been sprayed and were on their way out. Soiree took care of all of this behind the scenes, and didn’t even worry the couple with the details.

SO YEAH. Hire a wedding planner. I’ve got a few recommendations for planners that we love, if you want (and yes, Soiree is on that list!).

Can we take a moment to talk about HOW LUCKY we got with the artwork in Eckhardt Hall?! Dang. One of the things about having a wedding in an art gallery is that you never know what the artwork itself is going to be. I know this very vibrant, colour-celebrating exhibit isn’t ideal for everyone but it was incredibly perfect for Katelin and Derek.

One of the design elements I was MOST looking forward to for Katelin and Derek’s wedding was the base palette of monochromatic pinks at the reception: light pink linen, pink glassware, pink vases, and then of course, tying pink into the flowers with vibrant pops of orange and lavender.

I LOVE how this gave a soft and fresh feeling base for the entire event — definitely something to consider for yourself!

A lot of the time, people get stuck in the idea of “white plus my accent colours” or “our main colour is x and therefore that’s what our linen needs to be.” That’s not necessarily true — I think it can work a lot better if you choose something as your neutral, and use it heavily as a base throughout. Then add your primary colour as a focal point but in fewer areas, and that’s what’s going to pop! Like here, the neutral is the soft pink, and the focal colour(s) are the lavender and orange.

Katelin comes from a family of dance-loving people — I wish I could have been there to see it in person! I am a horrible dancer, but I do love it and wish that I could. At my sister and brother-in-law’s wedding, their parents and friends just had their way with the dance floor and it was so impressive.

A huge thanks to my amazing team of freelancers who helped make this floral magic come together! My associate designer Deanna, Andrea from Addison Taylor Designs, and Andrea from Cameo Flowers. The WAG has a shorter setup timeline (which makes sense, they are open to the public during the day!), so when it comes time to setup, it’s GO TiME and all hands on deck. So grateful for these hands and the way they made my vision come together.

Cojo Photo ~ Soiree Event Planning ~ Winnipeg ARt Gallery ~ Planned Perfectly ~ Collective event rentals ~ Event Light ~ Bailey Delbigio ~ Taylor Neufeld Hair ~ DJ Sir Charles ~ Keith MacPherson

LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?

Getting married at the WAG? Stone House is one of their preferred vendors, and in our completely biased opinion, we’re the best at bringing the space to life 😎

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 to create the perfect ambiance for your wedding!