Floral Design Workshop

I am very excited to be partnering with my good friend Noella of This Sweet Love Photography to bring you an opportunity to join us for a spring floral design workshop. All participants will take home a beautiful arrangement in a ceramic container that they've designed themselves! We will cover some tips to care for cut flowers and design basics.  All materials and tools will be provided as well some sweet treats. There will be a chance for some shopping after too with some of our favourite local artists and vendors.  Two sessions are scheduled for the afternoon so please email to reserve a spot and be assigned a class. Space is limited and we will do our best to accommodate groups.

See you there!

XOX Kasandra 

New Season

I can't believe that the 2014 Season is already a month old! Thanks to my fantastic brides who spread the word and all the family referrals I am almost fully booked through November.

Things are a bit different than they were three years ago for Purple Peony.  As a mother of two very active boys I have decided to limit the number of weddings I book each week.  Before Jake was born and when he was a wee one I would book everything that came my way leaving me with three, four sometimes five events each weekend.  I just can't keep up that pace anymore and provide the best service and quality to my ultra important brides.  My bookings have been cut back significantly to one wedding a day/ two per weekend and as a result I don't do as many weddings but the ones that I do get my hands on are the most beautiful they can be. 

Thank you to all my past and present brides.  I even have a ton of Future weddings booked for 2015 and I can't begin to express how lucky I feel.  To be home with my boys and still get to do what I LOVE is a blessing that I incredibly grateful for.  I am humbled that so many women feel confident in my abilities to make their floral vision come to life and I do not take the responsibility lightly.

Looking forward to a year full of beautiful blooms and loads of love!!

XOX
Kasandra

My beautiful bride Katie sent me this photo from her big day.  By Mark Willis Photography

Nautical Inspiration Shoot

Way back in May we worked on an inspiration shoot with some other talented vendors.  The theme was Nautical Chic with a navy and coral-tones pallet and hints of what is today's ultra hot pattern, chevron.  This Sweet Love Photography was the driving force behind getting us all together.

The models were so great and the stylist had a few wardrobe changes planned giving us nice variety in shots.

For the bridal bouquet we were only limited to what was in season so of course we had to have coral peonies. Along with gladiola blooms, garden roses, spray roses and tulips we included a classic bridal favorite - Lily of the Valley.

One of the trends from Europe that I LOVE is larger button holes for grooms.  Instead of the understated and often simple boutioneers we favor here our counterparts across the pond go big.  Ribbons, multiple blooms and other embellishments are the norm and in a nod to those beautiful adornments I went much bigger then usual with this one.

For the past three seasons many brides have chosen table scape's that include different collected vintage vases for their guest tables.  We wanted to expand on the look and opted for the increasingly popular banquet tables instead of round.  We included modern vases along with our vintage milk glass vessels and used higher end blooms instead of mostly filler flowers to show that it's possible to achieve the eclectic feel with a luxurious tone instead of a casual or rustic vibe.

Each place setting had a small Jade Plant favor.  We dressed them in navy and white ribbon to compliment the nautical vibe and added pearl accent just like the fantastic cake.

Check out this stationary!

All the images above were captured by the ladies of This Sweet Love Photography.

Thank you for inviting us to be a part of such a pretty shoot!

Our other friends from the shoot:

Venue: Larters Golf & Country Club  www.larters.com

Wardrobe Styling & Hair: Allana Schmidt with www.f2se.ca

Makeup: Fine Eyes Make up Artists www.fineeyesmakeupartists.com

Cake: Jenna Rae Cakes www.jennaraecakes.com

Stationary: www.sweetnessbuffet.com

Chiavari Chairs: Accessible Elegance Event Rentals

Table Cloth: Cherish your Moments

Wedding Dress: Stella’s Bridal www.stellasbridal.com

Tux Rental: TipTop Tailors www.tiptop.ca

Playing Catch up

There has been complete radio silence here on the blog for a few months.  We didn't really get going until May but once we did it was crazy for a few weeks.  We had 11 in four weeks not to mention a few showers and birthdays to do as well so blogging has fallen behind in a big way.

But, there is a little bit of rest on the horizon with only one wedding next weekend and then a totally  unheard of WEEKEND OFF so I should have time to catch up and showcase some of our beautiful brides and their blooms.

First up is our very own Liz's wedding!! This event was major for a few reasons and not just because of it's size.  There were a ton of pieces to make and combined with being the MOH as well as the florist I was running around like a loon trying to get it all done and ready for the big day.  But just as these things always so,  it came together in the end and she said that the decore looked just like she had pictured it in her head.  From a florist's point of view that's exactly what you're going for!

We have to say a huge thank you to Chair-ish Your Moments for being such a helpful resource for us.  Sandy provided all of the linens as well as the crystal globe rentals and the up lighting for the ceremony and reception.  She was so accommodating and her prices were exactly what we had in mind so overall she was a great vendor to work with and her linens and rentals completed Liz's picture perfectly.

Another vendor we were so happy to work with was Jennifer from Jennifer Price Photography.  Jen shot my own wedding almost seven years ago and has done all our family and newborn portraits since.  I've been in couple weddings as an attendant with her too and we knew that we would get nothing but stunning images from her.  I am still picking new favorites from our wedding and had a new one printed just last year!  She posted a huge sneak peek on her facebook page that showcases Liz's beautiful Vera Wang dress and the love and excitement of the day.  Check it out because there are 50 Pics to look at and I just can't post them all here.

Other Vendor sources:

Venues

Church  - Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship

Photos - Level 3 Studios

Reception - Larter's At St Andrews Golf & Country Club

Invitations

Sweetness Buffet & Stationary

Linens & Rentals

Chair-ish your moments

Photography

Jennifer Price Photography

Backdrop Rental:

Academy Florists

For more pictures of the day you can visit our Facebook page

~K

The Details

Some brides have it all covered.

Bridal Guide featured this image as their photo of the day, and for good reason.

This bride obviously had a plan and she worked it.  Right down to her maid's polish the look is seamless and completely pulled together. 

Photo Credit: FionaLorne Photography

Walk like an Egyptian

Today I want to share an inspiration shoot out of California.

The creative power behind the concept was Lindsay from Petalicious Flowers and she sent the shoot into to The Boho Wedding Blog who jumped at the chance to feature it.

Often the inspiration shoots that we see are very reflective of the current trends and feature the same details that their real life counter parts do.  Right now vintage and rustic are standing center stage together meaning we are seeing lots of handmade elements including signs and cake stands, thrifted and found pieces like old books and suitcases and mixed florals in soft colours like pale pink and peach with lots of texture.  And succulents.  Lots of succulents.  When we used them in our first wedding two seasons ago we loved them like crazy and while we still do it would be nice to see them used a bit differently.  Obviously Lindsay agreed. 

Succulent painted gold?!?!!? Yes Please! 

She also incorporates one of the most asked for colors into her pallet for this Egyptian styled shoot.  Blue can be so hard for some brides because there are very few varieties of flowers that are naturally blue in colour and if they are looking to stay away from anything artificially tinted it's not as easy to include.

Instead of limiting her floral pieces to rounded, dome shaped clutches she went with a more natural linear style to incorporated the delicate blue delphinium blooms and anemones.  She used like shaped flowers such as veronica and stock in purple hues to complete the clutch that is STUNNING.  Check out the stem wrap!

Photography credit goes to Brienne Michelle Photography

For the complete list of participating vendors and to see the rest of this amazing inspiration shoot that really does inspire brides and their florists to creative a look that is personalize and truly one of a kind  click here.  It can be hard to stand out from the barrage of weddings each season but by changing things up to reflect cultural backgrounds, personal interests and shared experiences you can personalize your event and achieve beautiful, one of a kind results!

~K

Bridal Mussings

Just this week I found a new wedding blog that I thought was Ah-mazing. There are about a million worth while and realistic DIYs, tips and ideas that are worth pursuing.

One post I LOVED was by the ladies at Chillisauce.  These ultra cool event planners from the UK were invited to guest post on their top ten Hen Party (stagettes) ideas and it made me wish I was getting married all over again so I could have one!

Check out the link here!

# 7 is probably my favorite ever.  One of my brides a few years ago did the exact same thing and I thought it was brilliant!

If you think outside the box and have an open minded bride you can come up with fun and unique ideas that will appeal to everyone and will ensure your party is memorable and well attended.

~K