With a Flourish Full Wedding Coordination - Liz & Andy

This past weekend was the wedding of Liz & Andy, who were among my first clients to sign on the dotted line. I've been working with them since October, and I knew from the beginning that this was not going to be a run of the mill wedding. Living in Toronto, Liz & Andy were not able to run around Winnipeg checking out venues, or meet with photographers, etc. They enlisted myself and the Maid-Of-Honour (Liz's sister Aileen) to do the planning on the Winnipeg side of things. Liz & Andy wanted a venue that would allow them to be outdoors but have shelter, somewhere they could bring homemade wine, somehwhere close to the city and somewhere that guests could mingle freely and not be stuck in one room all night. An afternoon of phoning around later, we found the venue: Six Pines Ranch.

A Ranch that provides tours and a petting farm, and is likely best known for their Halloween tours, Six Pines is run by a friendly and very accommodating couple. I'll likely do a Feature Venue post in the future, but want to highlight how very flexible James and Judy were before I go over the rest of Liz & Andy's story.

We moved 20 something picnic tables out of the shelter and then back again, brought in chairs, tables, a dance floor, lighting and decorations. Liz is a DIY bride all the way and her family was in on it - they provided the bartending, DJ-ing and flowers. Liz made her bouquet and the boutonnieres, Liz & Andy made the invitations, and Liz and her bridesmaids made the truffle tower, and the list goes on.

One idea that Liz had was chairs, tables and blankets outside, and people sitting and eating in different areas: some at tables, some on chairs, and some on picnic blankets on the ground. This was something we went over again and again, and I was hesitant. I thought that since there are picnic tables at the Ranch, people would be more likely to search for a picnic table than eat on the ground. Liz insisted something along the lines of "out of sight, out of mind" would work, so the solution was to "hide" the picnic tables. And we did, and it worked. The guests loved the idea of a picnic style dinner, and when Liz & Andy plunked themselves on a picnic blanket, guests gladly followed.

This wedding was a tremendous amount of work on everybody's part, and (since I'm done carrying around tables and chairs) I can say it was totally worth the effort. I'm sure there are few wedding venues where guests can go look at the horses and goats and cuddle a cat between supper (which was eaten off of blue and gold banded china) and speeches - it was relaxed and celebratory and wonderful and congratulations to Liz & Andy on your wedding and for pulling off such a unique celebration!

A few photos of the dinner set up:

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if you're looking for some wedding photos today, Style Me Pretty is the place to be - newest posts feature gorgeous dresses, a fantastic chandelier, eco-fabric gift wrap and some great real weddings.

Beautiful Barns - Wedding Decor Inspiration

In honour of this weeks wedding, which I am excited to show pictures from in the near future, I've been looking for pictures of barn weddings. Weddings that are held in unexpected venues have a certain personality and I love transforming raw space into an elegant reception. It's a little more creativity and lot more work than most venues, for sure, but couples that have a love of design and desire to beautify something that is not usually considered beautiful would be hard pressed to find something more appropriate than a barn.

Here are some barns photos hanging around the internet:

Photo: Weddingbee

The chandelier in this photo is amazing:

Photo: Emily Style

Love the pops of green in this photo:

Photo: Weddingbee

This is one of my favourite wedding photos ever. I've had it on my radar for a year because it is so simple but so high impact:

Photo: SillaPere

Happy Monday and Happy Planning!

Q&A - Wedding Planning in Advance

A few months ago, one of my brides emailed me this question: "I've booked my venue, photographer, and wedding coordinator. What else can I do to plan my wedding a year and a half in advance?" After clapping my hands with glee, I replied with a couple of ideas. If you are planning your wedding far in advance, first of all, lucky you. You are way more likely to book with your first choice venue and vendors. Here are 5 things you can do to plan early on:

1. Keep a file. Clip favourite ideas from magazines, copy ideas from the internet, and keep them all together in a folder (or computer folder). Every few months, go through your folder and get rid of the pictures that you know you will not need. Over time you will distinguish what elements you would like to add into your wedding. Purchase a wedding planning book or organizer if you plan to.

2. Keep track of receipts. Create an excel document and use it to track your estimated costs, final costs, deposits, and next payments. Play around with your budget a bit. If photography is really important to you but you can grow your own flowers, take some funds from the floral budget and put it into photography. Establish your budget early in planning and stick to it - you'll be happy that you did!

3. Plan the music. Just a few decisions you will need to make for music include songs you want played for the: processional, recessional, special ceremony music, walking into the reception, cake cutting and first dance. When your organist/DJ asks you for a list of songs, it's so easy to draw a blank and forget some of your favourites. Keep track of favourite songs as you hear them on the radio.

4. Hunt for deals. You've got time to check out websites like www.recycleyourwedding.com for great prices, and wait for sales at bridal shops.

5. Book some vendors. If you know you would like a certain venue, the earlier you book the better. Photographers and officiants can also book up really early. If you plan to work with a wedding coordinator, the earlier you start the more help they will be able to provide.

Wedding Inspiration

Today I'm back at home procrastinating. For anyone who has emailed in the past week and a half that I have not replied to, tomorrow is the day. Promise.

I am very much looking forward to sharing photos from our upcoming weddings in the next few weeks, and for now, if you are looking for wedding inspiration check out Southern Weddings. This site is wonderful and is always my first stop when I am looking for creative and beautiful design ideas.

Happy planning!

Free Range and Organic Food in Manitoba

Photo from www.dandelioneatery.com

This morning I was doing a bit of menu research for a couple who are adamant that their reception venue must serve meat from animals that were raised in a free range/organic environment. I called a few venues in Winnipeg and got varying responses from "no, we can't accommodate special requests" to "we can serve free range/organic poultry but it is pricey." I also had a banquet manager ask me over the phone, "Hey, what does free range mean?"

Winnipeg, I think, is just on the verge of really getting into organic menu options. There are a few restaurants that serve organic local meats, and as interest from consumers is increasing, restaurants and caterers are beginning to offer some wonderful options.

I'm sure that the banquet manager that asked what free range means knows the idea behind free range, but has heard a different name for it. That's part of the problem - there are so many different terms and most of them are not well regulated, or not regulated at all. I could purchase chicken that is free range, free run, grass fed, organic, or locally raised. Most of these terms mean basically the same thing, so how do we know which is best?

There are a few things to consider. First off, free range and free run mean that the animal has access to the outdoors, for some time out of the day. The animal doesn't necessarily have to take the opportunity to go outside, but as long as it has a chance it is considered free range. Grass fed means that the animal can go outside and eat grass and bugs off the ground. Organic means that the animal hasn't been given any hormones or antibiotics and locally raised means that the animal came from close by (in our case, Manitoba).

An animal that is able to run around is usually healthier and stronger and produces better meat than one that is forced into a standing position for its entire life. An animal that is not in cramped quarters often needs less antibiotics - there is less of a chance of all the animals coming down with a disease. Locally farmed animals don't sit on a truck for hours and hours where they are likely to become ill just before they are slaughtered.

With the lack of regulation it's hard to know whether the label on the package is reliable. The best thing to do would be to buy meat directly from a farm, or from a storeowner that is able to tell you where the meat comes from. That way you will know that it has the qualifications that you are looking for.

I'm so glad that the banquet manager (from a well known Winnipeg venue) asked what free range means. Understanding that couples are interested is the first step towards banquet facilities offering organic menu options! And in case you are thinking that I am a treehugging activist person I will tell you first that I am a little bit of a treehugger. And second, organic meat tastes better. It just does.

Our Family is on Vacation

This past week, my family has been on vacation in Pinawa Manitoba, house/dog sitting for friends who are away on their summer vacation. We've been enjoying the beach, taking Vivian the dog for a swim, sipping tea on the deck and all of the musical instruments that are in this house. Our friends and their daughter came out for the weekend and we went to this suspension bridge: (photo from http://www.pinawa.com/)

I've been working pretty well normal work hours this week, and I am excited to take two full days off this weekend and just play. I know that coming home will bring a lot of work on 3 fabulous weddings that I have coming up and packing up our apartment because we are moving across Winnipeg on August 1st. I love my job and I am excited to get back into it, but I love Sam and Miles even more and I am happy to be relaxing with them!

We pulled this broom out of the suitcase on Monday morning. Since then Miles has slept with it, brought it in the car and to the grocery store, and swept every place we've been to including the restaurant we bought supper at. Thanks Auntie Char!

We don't have a yard at home so this was pretty exciting:

Because I know everyone wants to know what I look like through a screen door:

And finally, Vivian:

The only downside to being in Pinawa is that it does not have these two things which I am really craving...

...and should have picked up yesterday while I was in Winnipeg for meetings. Another upside is that juice is almost as expensive as wine, which of course justifies buying wine:)

Happy weekend everyone! I hope to be back to normal wedding blogging next week:)

With a Flourish 'Rehearsal Dinner 101' Article

Photo: BLF Studios

Weddings in Winnipeg has been updated with loads of new great information. My latest article is called "Rehearsal Dinner 101" and is now on weddingsinwinnipeg.ca.

Happy Canada Day!

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