Planning a Beautiful Garden Wedding

With so many brides wanting a summer wedding and there being a limited amount of venues and dates, brides are looking at creating their own perfect outdoor wedding. This is no easy feat though! There are so many things to consider (from weather to bathrooms). I found a wonderful article written by Ms. Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall that sums up all the things to consider for a perfect garden wedding. Here are her tips:

• Check local climate records. Go for a time of low rainfall, warm days and frost-free nights. Make sure your wedding site is in an area that won't get muddy or flood if it rains.
• Choose a date to suit your garden. This may mean planning a long time ahead -- I was sad my beautiful roses were not blooming for Sophy's wedding, but by the time we came to book the church, the only Saturday available was a week too early for the roses.
• Decide where the tent will go. You're convinced it won't rain on the day? Don't push your luck. You can get tents with windows so guests can still see your lovely garden. If the weather turns out perfect, roll up the tent's sides, leaving just a canopy providing welcome shade.
• Provide shade from the sun and shelter from showers. Older guests appreciate a choice of places to sit down, as does anyone in stiletto heels whose feet are killing them. Set out a few tables and chairs under canvas gazebos or garden umbrellas.
• Take your cue for decorating the tent and tables from the garden, basing color schemes and themes on flowers that will be blooming on the day. Keep it simple -- let the garden be the star.
• It may get chilly in the evening. Arrange for heat lamps or splurge on a heated tent.
• Bathrooms! If there aren't enough in your house, hire portable facilities. The nice looking ones!
• Rent a P.A. system so guests can clearly hear the ceremony. Useful too for speeches and music at the reception. Make sure an electricity supply is available.
• Let the neighbors know. If you're using your own backyard, make sure to ask the neighbors if you can use their driveway and apologize in advance for the noise. Better yet, invite them!
• Make a smooth path from car to garden. Nobody expects a red carpet, but some kind of matting is useful to cover mud or dust.
• Have a policy about children and stick to it. They are easier guests in a garden than at a more formal venue, and parents do appreciate being able to bring them along. One of the best things we did for Sophy's wedding was to hire a professional nanny service to look after babies and toddlers.
• Finally, nobody, not the groom, not the maid of honor, not even the father of the bride, should make a speech lasting more than five minutes.

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Anne Designs

Decorate Your Outdoor Wedding Tent

If you are planning an outdoor wedding ceremony or reception, someone probably would have told you by now that you need a Plan B in case the weather does not cooperate. If you are in Calgary, you know that you can be wearing a parka in the morning and then a sundress in the afternoon. Better to be prepared. Rain and snow can happen all year round!

An outdoor tent is a practical solution but not the prettiest I admit. Here are some ideas on how to dress it up. It is truly amazing how a little bit of flowers, ribbon, fabric, and accessories can transform a "blah" tent to a "breath-taking" tent!

~Monica













Photo Credits: 1), 4) Kristin Newman Designs 2), 3) , 5) Mindy Weiss

Thematic Thursdays: Wedding Furniture

With more couples planning a wedding that suits their personality, style and budget, we are finding a lot of different configurations for wedding receptions. Rather than formal sit down dinners, cocktails and lounge receptions are becoming more and more popular.

Having lounge furniture at your wedding allows you to have a lot of versatility to fully utilize the venue space. The idea of having lounge furniture may sound too informal and not-very-wedding-like but you can have sleek, vintage, or rustic furniture to really pull off your wedding theme.

Incorporating wedding furniture is not just for outdoor weddings. It can also be used for indoor weddings as well. Keep in mind if you do want to have wedding furniture brought into your venue, it will cost more because rather than using the venue's table and chairs, you are now renting and bringing in your own furniture. One way to save some money and to still incorporate wedding furniture is to have a couple of pieces as statement pieces. You can have a piece of furniture at your sweetheart table, photo area, or near the bar area!

I absolutely look forward to seeing more weddings with unique configurations! Do share if you are doing something different for your wedding!

~Monica

Photo Credits: 1) Fete 2), 3), 4) Trendsetting Weddings 5) James Christianson Photographer | Via: Style Me Pretty

Pioneer Hill Outdoor Wedding

Sonia and I hit it off right away when we each pulled out our binder full of wedding ideas. Our first meeting lasted almost three hours. All subsequent meetings usually last about two hours too. During some of these meetings, our conversations would turn to turn to shoes or Chinese tv series. Oops! Andrew was always patient with us during these meetings. He doesn’t say much and usually is staring at something (or secretly hoping the meeting will end soon.) When he does speak up, it is to make an executive decision!

Both Sonia and Andrew were awesome clients to work with. They wanted a beautiful outdoor wedding ceremony at Pioneer Hill and a unique and grand wedding reception at the Sheraton Eau Claire. The week before their wedding, Calgary poured rain non-stop. Although, an outdoor wedding was planned, there was a lot of discussion behind the scenes with their wedding planner, Rhoda Wong at Red Button Creations and Tracey Wilkinson at the Sheraton Eau Claire. We were all trying to figure out an alternative plan for their wedding ceremony. On the Thursday before the wedding, Andrew made another executive decision and said the ceremony will be held outdoors regardless of the weather.

On the day of the wedding, it didn’t rain but it still posed its own set of problems. It was incredibly windy during the set up of the wedding. I even had a couple of morning runners come by to help hold things down or provide me with suggestions. Luckily, I had tons of stuff in the car and was able to make some last minute changes. Just before the wedding, the sky managed to clear up and the wind toned down.

GlenEagles Golf Course Wedding

I am finally getting back into the groove of writing on my blog after taking a mini vacation and decorating two weddings! I am so excited to share the first wedding I did in August.


Amy and Frankie got married at the GlenEagles golf course on August 2, 2009. Amy had chosen purple as the main wedding color, silver as the secondary wedding color, and white gerber daisies as decorative floral accents. (Frankie, man of very little words, went along with these ideas.)


On the day of the wedding, I was really happy that the weather was absolutely beautiful (30 plus degrees) but was frantic (and ultimately hot) when it came to decorating their outdoor ceremony. Some of the planned decorating elements had to be changed due to the weather. The ceremony aisle was to be lined with gerber daisies and then transferred to the reception centerpieces. The weather did not allow this to happen. As it turns out, gerber daisies do not do well in 30 plus degrees outside even in water and in the shade. I had to make some quick changes and decided to use the majority of the flowers for the centerpieces.


I am so happy Amy and Frankie loved the decorations and understood why I had to make some of the changes to the original decorating plan. Here are some pictures of their decorated wedding ceremony and reception.

Outdoor Wedding Tips

My previous blog post was about decorating outdoor weddings. Now (assuming) that the ceremony venue is all decorated and pretty, I would like to provide some tips on outdoor weddings itself. While there are many aspects to planning a wedding, there are also many considerations when planning an outdoor wedding. Here are some of my tips.

1. Have signs that direct your guests to your ceremony site. You don’t want your guests to break a sweat (walking around or stressing out driving) to find your ceremony site!


2. If there is a “hike” to the ceremony site, tell your guests that. This information can be relayed to guests on the invitation “A short 10 minute walk is required to get to the ceremony site” or by word of mouth. Whichever way you chose, communicate this to your guests, they will thank you for it (and wear appropriate footwear!)


3. Check the weather and be prepared. If there is a 30% chance of showers, have extra umbrellas for your guests. If it is going to be 30 degrees outside, have some bottled water and/or fans for your guests. The more comfortable your guests are, the more they are going to enjoy your ceremony.


4. Seated ceremony. It does not matter how many guests you are having at your ceremony. It is necessary to have chairs for your guest to sit on if your ceremony is going to be longer than 30 minutes. Standing any longer than 30 minutes is just plain uncomfortable.


5. Let guests know what to expect next. After the ceremony, have your friend/family member/MC tell all your guests what is next on the agenda. Guests like to know if they are to leave for the reception, stay behind for pictures, or help move chairs (hopefully, not!)

Here are some inspiration pictures from fellow WPIC wedding planner, Terra Law with Inspired Occasions. Terra definitely thinks about all the details to ensure you and your guests have a wonderful time. If you are in need of a fabulous wedding planner, contact Terra!

Outdoor Weddings

Last weekend I went camping in an attempt to enjoy the outdoors, relax, and not think about weddings. I succeeded on the first two, the last not so much. I really didn't think I had a chance to succeed on the last. As I was sitting at the camp site I started to look around and really enjoy my surroundings. Immediately I thought about outdoor wedding ceremonies and how they are decorated. Here are some of my tips for brides that are planning to decorate their own outdoor wedding.

1. Work with your surroundings – The advantage of having an outdoor wedding is you may already have a beautiful backdrop. Don’t cover it up by adding a lot of “eye clutter.” Keep it clean and simple.
2. Plan around your surroundings – If there is a beautiful pathway with wild flowers, make this the aisle that you walk down. Have your ceremony at end of the pathway.
3. Resist pruning, cutting or laying down sod – Even if there is a bare patch of grass, resist the urge to lay down some sod. Instead of standing on top of this bare patch, you can turn your ceremony 180 degrees and face the other way. Your guests won’t notice they are sitting on a bare patch of grass.
4. Add natural elements for decorations – Add decorations that would fit in with your surroundings naturally. Potted plants, leaves, and stones are all good choices.
5. Take in the outdoors, the good and bad – You get a beautiful backdrop for your ceremony but you also get the insects and pests along with it. Relax, ignore pests, and enjoy your day. Afterall, they were there first. You are actually interrupting their space and possible wedding ceremony.

Here are some inspiration pictures taken by the talented Wei Quek at Photobolic.