Thanks Nik! Wedding photos from the Gates

Check out the flowers from a wedding we did on Saturday at the Gates on Roblin. Our friend Nik, the Reservations Manager there snapped these pics for us and was thoughtful enough to share them. So, we're sharing them with you! We'll show you the professional pics when we get them but in the meantime, here's a sneak peek!

Mother's Day

As you (should) know, Mother's Day is fast approaching and the pace is picking up at the store! This is the time of year where we're busy bees and quite frankly, we love it. Especially because we know spring is here, it's nice out and we get tulips, daffodils and hyacinth in the store.

This post will be short and sweet since we don’t have a lot of time on our hands right now! What are you doing for Mother’s Day? Comment below or let us know on our Facebook page!

Just one example of a beautiful Mother’s Day arrangement J

Photo Showcase: WSO event

We had the pleasure of doing the flowers for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra's Spring Gala and Awards dinner last Monday. We always love giving to a great cause and supporting the arts so we thought we'd show you some pictures from the event. The centerpieces looked beautiful in the room and everyone seemed to have a great time!

Outdoor wedding ceremony set-up

Outdoor weddings are so beautiful. As long as the weather cooperates, being outside is wonderful for a wedding. Below are an example of how we decorated the ceremony area for an outdoor wedding. Remember, all of the arrangements and pew bows can be transferred from the ceremony and incorporated into the reception decorations so you get to enjoy them for the entire night, not just for less than an hour. 

Feature bloom: Billy Balls

If you're not a florist, the title of this blog post might throw you off a little bit. But don't worry, billy balls are a real flower. They come from the same family as a daisy but they don't really look like a typical flower would.

Their scientific name is actually Craspedia and they can also be called billy buttons. They come in a beautiful, vibrant yellow colour and they are wonderful on their own or as an accent to other flowers. Great as an accent or even featured on their own, billy balls are popping up more and more lately. Here are some examples of some beautiful bouquets, boutonnières and other ways to use them. 

http://www.designsponge.com/2011/06/diy-project-felt-billy-balls.html

http://www.cakesforwedding.net/2011/01/billy-balls-wedding-cake-ideas.html

http://www.elizabethannedesigns.com/blog/2010/09/17/modern-portland-wedding-venue-pearl/

theknot.com

http://sugarpluminvitations.blogspot.ca/2011/08/umbrella-tree-sugar-plum-billy-balls.html

A Green Wedding

No, I’m not talking about a St. Patrick’s Day theme for your big day. I’m talking about a few things you can do to help reduce your carbon footprint. Many people are living the eco-chic lifestyle and if you are conscious of the environment, here are a few tips to help reduce, reuse and recycle on your big day.

Save the trees – When you’re looking into getting your invitations printed, look for somewhere that will print on recycled paper. Or better yet, skip the paper all together and send an email out to your guests. There are amazing programs and designers out there that can make you a beautiful, customized e-invitation.

http://www.minted.com/

Green dress – Your wedding dress is something you’ll wear once. And every bride before you has worn hers once. Consider going with a vintage or only-worn-once dress. There are plenty of women out there who aren’t looking to hold on to their dress and with the power of the Internet, you might find your perfect designer dress for a lot cheaper than you would pay if it was brand new. And let’s face it, a dress that was worn once for eight hours can hardly be considered “used”.

Organic/seasonal menu – When planning your menu, choose organic and local ingredients. Not only do they save the environment, support your local economy and farmers, but they taste better! Vegetables, meat and fruit grown in your backyard is way fresher than something that’s traveled a million miles on a truck.

Eco-friendly wedding favours – Instead of the traditional mints in a net bag, try giving your guests something that will help the environment. A little tree growing kit or a customized seed packet is not only eco-friendly but fun, original and fairly gender neutral.

Green transportation – Instead of a limo, consider renting a horse-drawn carriage for your transportation. There won’t be any pollution and it’s lovely and romantic. Or, rent a hybrid vehicle for you and your wedding party. Encourage your guests to carpool or rent a shuttle bus for your guests to use.

Green blooms – There are plenty of locally grown, in season flowers that we can help you pick out for your bouquet. Garden-style is becoming more and more popular for wedding flowers and at The Floral Fixx, we can help you pick your perfect “green” bouquet because we know exactly when flowers are in season and where they come from.

We all have to do our part to keep the planet green for our future generations.

The Perfect Stagette

Your stagette is really your last hoorah. You and everyone else are thrilled you're getting married but the stagette is one of those super-fun traditions that almost every bride appreciates. I mean, who doesn't want to get together and have a great time with their girlfriends?

Traditionally, the bride's friends would dress her up in some ridiculous costume and she would have to parade around the bar, dance with random guys and drink from penis straws. But, the "rules" for stagettes aren't as rigid anymore. Here are some tips to help make your stagette the best time it can be:

1. Make sure the girls who are planning it know what you want (and more importantly, what you don't want). You're planning the wedding but most likely, your bridal party is planning the stagette. Make sure they know if you don't want any male genitalia paraphernalia or if you don't want a stripper.

2. Consider your and your bridal parties' budget. Not everyone has the money to go to Vegas for the weekend. You can have just as much fun on a night out in Winnipeg and you won't have to break the bank. You want all your girlfriends to be there. Is it worth going out of town knowing some of them won't be able to come?

3. Roll with the punches. You're the bride. Your friends want to have fun. If they ask you to do something weird or embarrassing, just finish your drink and go with it. You'll have more fun if you just go with the flow. It's your special day and remember, you'll get your chance to embarrass them too!

4. Don't worry about what your fiance is doing. If the stag happens to be the same night, just have a good time and don't worry about whether or not the guys are at a strip club. This is your night. Just focus on having your own fun!

5. If you're looking for something fun, look no further than The Floral Fixx. We make these one-of-a-kind condom corsages that you and your bridal party can wear on the big night!

Pretty in Pink

We've been featuring some different colour bouquets lately and there's no way we could forget pink! Pink is one of the most popular wedding colours for spring/summer and it's one of the most versatile flower colours. First of all, many varieties come in pink; roses, gerbera daisies, peonies, and the list goes on. Also, pink tends to go well with other colours so if your wedding colours don't include pink, you can still have soft pink flowers and it won't clash.

Here are some of our favourite pink bouquets we've found.

http://bouquetbridal.blogspot.ca/2010/04/pink-gerbera-and-rose-wedding-bouquet.html

the knot.com

This one's by Holly Chapple :) And photo cred to Kristen Gardner

By STEMS by Abby Daigle 

By STEMS by Abby Daigle

Deep Purple Showcase

Deep purple has been a popular wedding colour for a few years now and as far as we're concerned, it's still as fantastic as it was when it first came onto the scene. We love it! Purple is amazing for any season so we thought we'd show you some of our favourite bouquets featuring one of our favourite wedding colours.

Bridal shoe options

You have endless options for your bridal shoes, mostly because people won't really see them. Many brides choose simple, white canvas shoes, others flip-flops and others just can't go without the fashionable stilettos.

We've put together a few bridal shoe options and their pros and cons.

You may recognize these from the first Sex and the City movie. They're the shoes Carrie leaves in the closet of the dream apartment; the shoes she goes back to get before it goes on the market. She also wears them when she eventually marries Big.

These shoes have become super popular for weddings. And, they make a knock-off version so you don't have to drop $1000+ buying Manolo Blahnik shoes. They are perfect because they also take care of the "something blue".

I don't know if you can see here, but these Toms are actually white with a bit of glitter. These would be perfect for a summer, outdoorsy wedding. They're so comfy (anyone who has Toms knows this) and by buying Toms, you're helping to give shoes to children in need. Read about the Toms movement here. 

These are very classic and cute. They give you that tiny heel without hurting your feet.

These are also classic and the thick heel makes them more comfortable than a stiletto. They are also dyeable so if you would like your bridesmaids to wear them too, they can match their dresses!

I don't think they make a knock-off of these yet but these are Manolo Blahnik and they're actually the wedding shoes Kristen Stewart wears in Breaking Dawn - Part 1.

Last, but not least, we have something like this. These are for the bride who isn't afraid of anything. They're high, they're blingy and they are fantastic.

Photo Showcase

Because who doesn't love a photo showcase, right?

We just thought it would be nice to post some photos of what we've been up to on the blog!

WeddingWire showcase video!

Don't cheap out!

Weddings are expensive these days. There are so many different things that you can spend money on so it’s important to prioritize. In our opinion, there are a few things it’s important not to cheap out on so we’ve compiled a list.

1. Lighting – The right reception lighting can help camouflage some unflattering spots in the room like shabby curtains or carpet. It can also help to highlight your favourite details such as your fantastic table centres.

2. Ceremony Décor – A personalized ceremony can go a long way and can make your guests feel welcome. Also, you can use the flowers at your ceremony at your reception. We often strategically place pew bows around the reception room and we’re happy to arrange for pickup at the ceremony and then delivery and set up at the reception! This way, the flowers used at your ceremony don’t go to waste for the rest of the wedding.

3. The Photo Booth – We’ve blogged about this before but we just love the idea of having a photo booth at the reception. It’s such a nice way to get a photo of each and every one of your guests. Just a tip – make sure you designate someone to encourage guests to go and get their picture taken.

4. Late-Night snacks – just like at your social, people get hungry later on at night. Help to make sure they aren’t hungry and in turn, unhappy by providing a little snack around midnight. It doesn’t have to be anything too spectacular but that will be a nice touch your guests will remember and appreciated.

5. Linens – While sometimes pricey, customized chair and table covers do wonders to the décor of a room. Hotels often have such ugly chairs and the covers help to tie in your colours consistently throughout the room.

6. FLOWERS! – Obviously we’re biased but we can’t stress this enough. If there’s anything not to cheap out on, it’s the flowers. Leave it to us professionals to put your bouquets and table centres together and even to set up and decorate the room. Everyone in your wedding party and your parents will be busy the day of. Don’t rely on them to be available to decorate. Not to mention, flowers are part of nature and nature cannot be controlled. If you let us at The Floral Fixx do your flowers, we will be responsible for them. If something goes wrong that’s out of anyone’s control like the hydrangea’s going wilty, we’ll fix it! We’re responsible and we will fix it for you. You don’t need the flowers stressing you out on your big day. 

Bout, Bout, Who's got the Bout?

I can't believe I haven't done a blog post on the boutonniere yet! The bout is sometimes the poor, forgotten groom's flower that takes about as much planning as it takes to decide which flower from the bride's bouquet to use. But, I'm here to change all this (well not really) but I am here to give you some ideas.

I challenge the brides out there to put some more thought into your groom's flowers. Even if you're trying to match it with your bouquet (which most brides are), why not be a little creative (or more accurately, let US be creative for you) and pick something kinda different for your groom to wear on the big day (it's his big day too!).

We've compiled some photos of interesting boutonnieres for your man.