Garden-Inspired Winter Wedding at SMITH
I’ve been waiting a long time to share Morgan and Josiah’s garden-inspired winter wedding at SMITH! They were married December 28, 2019 in a big, joyous celebration and is the perfect example of why winter weddings are awesome.
Rich, luxurious while still approachable, warm, and overloaded with delicious food, there’s probably nothing that I would change about their wedding. The temperature wasn’t even that cold! Read on for more inspiration on throwing a killer winter wedding here in Winnipeg.
I’ve been waiting a long time to share Morgan and Josiah’s garden-inspired winter wedding at SMITH! But, it just didn’t feel right to post winter images during June. They were married December 28, 2019 in a big, joyous celebration and is the perfect example of why winter weddings are awesome.
Rich, luxurious while still approachable, warm, and overloaded with delicious food, there’s probably nothing that I would change about their wedding. The temperature wasn’t even that cold! Read on for more inspiration on throwing a killer winter wedding here in Winnipeg.
Photos by The Picture & The Poet
Morgan and I actually know each other a bit from church, where we both volunteer with the student ministries, so I was really excited to get her email! She and Josiah weren’t technically engaged yet, but let me tell you: that happens ALL the time.
Bridal bouquet ingredients: Tess and Keira garden roses, amnesia roses, plum and blush ranunculus, mauve astrantia, blush rice flower, and wine amaryllis.
Even though it was winter, Morgan wanted her bouquet to feel very garden-inspired and lush, so that’s what I did!
Morgan both made the centre arch AND did all the calligraphy and signage for her wedding! Her ceremony design concept was to feature the calligraphy paper roll and frame it in with flowers, so I flanked it with my copper stands and absolutely filled them with flowers. It smelled SO GREAT.
After the ceremony in the ballroom upstairs, the party moved to SMITH. We varied the flower arrangements here, knowing that the tables are very different sizes. Some got a single bud vase, and some were filled with fuller arrangements and tons of candles. The flowers brought in a lot of colour to the moody, rustic space.
When you’re planning a winter wedding, there are a few more logistical issues to work through — and specifically with flowers, you need to make sure those flowers aren’t going to freeze to death. Sometimes my brides will order a second bouquet for outdoor pictures, often a simpler posy composed of hardy winter greens and berries. Like I said earlier, it was actually pretty warm for Morgan and Josiah’s wedding (remarkable, because late December is usually AWFUL) so that worked out just fine for them!
On the other hand, when you’re designing a winter wedding, you should definitely take full advantage by playing up the best parts of the season. Ask yourself how you like to feel in winter/during the holidays — I’ll tell you that I like to feel cozy, fat (lol), warm, and surrounded by people I love, good smelling food, and dim lights. Now aside from feeling fat, the rest of that would make for a pretty stinking great wedding, and I think that’s really how Morgan and Josiah’s wedding felt! Morgan’s hand-crafted details aded so much personality and tied it all together.
The Picture & The Poet ~ Smith ~ inn at the Forks ~ AShley Brooke WEddings & Events ~ Bliss Bridal Boutique ~ Hair by Danille ~ Colour me Artistry ~ EPH Apparel ~
LOOKING FOR A WEDDING FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGNER IN WINNIPEG?
Getting married in 2022? Wedding flower appointments will start in the new year and I have a wait list started in the meantime. Click the button below to get on my wait list!
Burgundy and Gold Fall Wedding at Qualico Family Centre
I’m continuing on with sharing more or my fall weddings, even though what we’re all longing for right now are the lazy, hazy days of summer :) Those days will be here in a flash, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from working in weddings, it’s that time moves very quickly. One minute you’re engaged and getting married in a year and a half, and then next you suddenly find yourself collecting RSVPS and making your floor plan. So, those fall weddings are really just around the corner!
I’m continuing on with sharing more or my fall weddings, even though what we’re all longing for right now are the lazy, hazy days of summer :) Those days will be here in a flash, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from working in weddings, it’s that time moves very quickly. One minute you’re engaged and getting married in a year and a half, and then next you suddenly find yourself collecting RSVPS and making your floor plan. So, those fall weddings are really just around the corner!
Jaclyn and Chad’s wedding was in September at the Qualico Family Centre, featuring a palette of burgundy and gold with a fairly formal feel and some really beautiful flowers.
Amanda Gundrum Photography (and some iphone photos from me!) ~ Amanda Douglas Events ~ Qualico Family Centre ~ Two Chicks and a Bag of Makeup ~ Planned Perfectly ~ C&T Rentals
Oh, how I LOVED Jaclyn’s bouquet! It was lush and delicious with one special little ingredient: faux lily of the valley. I don’t normally use faux flowers, but Jaclyn’s grandma’s favourite flower was lily of the valley and since that’s only available for about 12 minutes in May, I suggested I track down a high quality silk and it worked beautifully. It tucked in really nicely!
Bridal Bouquet ingredients: burgundy dahlias, quicksand roses, sahara sensation spray roses, mauve astrantia, rice flower, and antique carnations with hasmine vine and nagi foliages. The spray roses were actually a sub for something else that I was hoping to get, but in the end, they were actually my favourite variety in the entire bouquet!
I always like working at the Qualico Family Centre. Why? Because it’s so easy to make beautiful! It’s a nice, neutral space on its own with a warm and airy feel thanks to soaring ceilings and enormous windows, but with the right colour palette in there, the space really becomes something special. Personally, I love using warm neutrals with an accent of rich colour at Qualico. You can see how the gold and champagne tones are the perfect base, and the accents of burgundy are just delicious.
The focal point of the reception design was definitely the head table. Set in front of a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, the long table was set apart with a contrasting sequinned linen and a full greenery and floral garland lining the front. On the guest tables, we alternated tall arrangements with low ones. The tall were designed on a baroque-style brass pedestal we sub-rented from Dream Day Decor, and the low arrangements were a lush combination of blooms from the bouquets in my ceramic brass urns.
Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?
I’m now booking 2020 wedding dates for both floral and event design!
I offer a limited number of dates for event design each year, in order to allow me to work closely with each couple. Combining event and floral design is the perfect option for couples who live out of town, or couples who feel they need a little extra help in creating the visual plan for their wedding day. Click this link to learn more!
Warm and Cosy Fall Wedding at Whitetail Meadow
We’re looking forward to sunny days right now, but the weather this past September was super weird - when we normally would have mild temperatures, often with some serious heat still coming through when the sun is high, we instead got rain and snow. I can’t be the only one who thought it was a major bummer! Mackenzie and Brendan planned their wedding for the end of September, and they woke up to a windy, chilly day with sprinkles of rain throughout…so what did they do? Switched around their plans and decided to make their Whitetail Meadow as warm and cosy as possible!
We’re looking forward to sunny days right now, but the weather this past September was super weird - when we normally would have mild temperatures, often with some serious heat still coming through when the sun is high, we instead got rain and snow. I can’t be the only one who thought it was a major bummer! Mackenzie and Brendan planned their wedding for the end of September, and they woke up to a windy, chilly day with sprinkles of rain throughout…so what did they do? Switched around their plans and decided to make their Whitetail Meadow as warm and cosy as possible!
Luckily, Whitetail Meadow’s indoor space is really beautiful, with several options for layout if you need to do your ceremony indoors. Mackenzie decided to make the fireplace the focal point, and with the warm autumn tones that we were already planning for the flowers, it worked perfectly. I was so happy they decided to move the ceremony indoors - not just because it would have been cold for me to design outside, but because I think the backdrop they ended up with indoors is gorgeous!
We went really textural and deep for Mackenzie’s bouquet, focusing on the deep reds, plums, and touches of oranges with plenty of deep greenery. I loved the cascading foliages and the movement they brought! We kept things simpler for the bridesmaids, focusing more on the greenery with just touches of the fall tones tucked in.
Bridal Bouquet Ingredients: Several varieties of roses, dahlias, mums, sweet William, scabiosa, and amaranthus with pepperberry and ruscus foliages.
You can see why it was a good call to move the ceremony indoors! While it was raining outside, guests were treated to a warm, cosy atmosphere inside with a crackling fire. I loved designing the mantle piece - Mackenzie just let me do whatever I wanted, which in my opinion is always the best move! I repeated a lot of the floral elements that we used in her bouquet, adding in lots of texture through the use of sedum and amaranthus and then adding in the focal points of the different toned red roses and rust mums. The couple had collected all of these old family wedding photos from the various sides of their families, some going back a LONG time, and it was a nice touch to tuck those in as well.
I also added a garland-style piece to the top of the staircase that became the aisle, so those shots of the bride walking down the aisle would have a beautiful touch, along with large arrangements in stone urns and varied sizes of potted fall mums to mark the aisle itself. Mini pumpkins and gourds were tucked in throughout as well!
We decided to design two complementary table styles for the reception. The long wood tables at Whitetail are so pretty, so to emphasize that and pick up on the warm tones, one table was a moss runner with touches of flowers tucked right in, and the other featured repeating long arrangements in rustic wood boxes with arrangements that coordinated with the bridal party flowers.
I just had to include this one of me and the babe. Luckily this was my only wedding on this day, because that baby was feeling HEAVY. Little did I know it could get sooooo much bigger and heavier 😂You don’t quite realize how much bending and lifting a florist does until you have this massive weight throwing you off balance and making you exhausted!
Looking for a Wedding Floral and Event Designer in Winnipeg?
Whether you’re planning a whimsical garden-inspired celebration or a formal ballroom fete, I think flowers are the best way to make a statement at your wedding. Maybe you already have a specific vision or you might want me to dream up something custom just for you - either way, 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!
Now booking 2020 wedding dates!