Wedding consultations: we know stuff about flowers

January and February are huge booking months for us. Once brides have their venue booked for both their wedding and social, maybe they've booked a wedding planner and a photographer; somewhere in there, it's time to visit the florist. Without doing a sales pitch here, we are very into giving brides the best insight into what their flowers actually look like. We whip up little samples and make sure we talk brides through everything they could possibly want for their special day. With that said, we've decided to provide you with a little bit of a list of how to prepare and what to expect for your wedding flower consultation (you know, just in case you were wondering).

1. Get online. Look through many, many examples of bouquets. Try and get a feel for the style you'd like. Do you want to stay with simple and white? (very popular for celebrity weddings) or do you want something bright and colourful? The only way to know is to look at lots of bouquets; big, small, oblong, round. The more you look, the better a feel you'll get for your personal taste. And bring the photos of bouquets you really like to your consultation!

2. Check availability of flowers. If you have your heart set on tulips and you're getting married late September, it's best to let go of that sooner rather than later. Easily Googleable (yes, I made up that word).

3. Talk to your married friends. They've been through it. They know what worked for them and their opinion on colours/styles/shapes could be invaluable to you. Did they look back on their wedding photos and wish they had gotten a bigger bouquet?

4. How do you want to make your bouquet special? Many people attach little family charms or use a special ribbon or cloth for the handle. It could be in honour or in memory of someone or just something you think is beautiful and special and you'd like to incorporate. Bring these things to the consultation. We know what works and what doesn't and to be honest, we love adding special touches and making one-of-a-kind bouquets.

5. We know stuff. Sounds silly but it's true. We know things about flowers that you would never even dream to think about. Not only are we there to help you pick the perfect floral decor for your special day but we can offer you fantastic advice that can help you make the best choice for you.

Another wedding show!

Just in case you didn't get enough excitement at The Wonderful Wedding Show last weekend, we're at it again! That's right, another wedding show! If you weren't able to attend The WWS or you'd just like to attend a more "intimate" wedding show, Madeline's is putting on another on February 5 at the Delta Winnipeg. We can't get enough of these things. Seriously!

The event is free to attend, however, you must register here: http://madelinesweddingsandevents.eventbrite.com/

Some other vendors that will be there:

Madeline’s Weddings & Events
Delta Hotel
Michelle Zerr Photography
The Floral Fixx
Fine Eyes Make Up
A Moving Pictures Studio
Dwayne Larson Photography
Cake Studio
Marc Desrosiers – Marriage Commissioner
Sunlife Financial – Kate Brito
Harp Oasis
Tania Jane
The Bagpiper
David’s Bridal
Academy Florist
Steven Fehr – Marriage Commissioner


Here's a look at Madeline's previous wedding shows at the Delta Winnipeg thanks to photographer, Michelle Zerr. 

(A few) Pics from the Wedding Show!

We had an absolutely fabulous time at the wedding show this year (as we do every year!) and we took a couple pictures so I thought it would be nice to share a couple with you.

We had a combined booth with Madeline's and we were able to meet a ton of fantastic brides and as always, enjoyed taking in all of the fantastic booths all the other vendors had. The fashion show was great and we hope all the brides who attended had just as much fun as we did.

A Picture's worth a thousand words, a video's worth a million

I have had some discussions with friends as of late regarding the wedding video. Is a video necessary? Will you really watch it later? Is it worth the money if you're getting professional photos? I've heard lots of opinions so I thought I'd take the time to write about what it takes to make your wedding video perfect (if you choose to do one, that is).

1. Make sure you have a good relationship with your videographer. This goes for any wedding vendor you might have. Make sure you have lots of communication and discussion with them before the big day. It's better to be redundant and repetitive than to end up with something you are disappointed with. Make sure you see samples of what they've done in the past and if you don't like their style, keep shopping.


2. Know what you want. Watch a bunch of wedding videos online before you meet with a videographer. Do you want your video to have a vintage feel? Do you want it to look like a preview to a feature film? Is there a certain shot or activity you want to make sure he or she captures? Know the answers to these questions before you book someone.

3. Think hard about what you will watch after. Nothing beats being there. What I mean is, while listening to your parents' speeches is wonderful at your wedding, think hard about if you're going to want to watch them later. Chances are, you will never get around to it and to be honest, it's boring watching something like that in a video. If you decide beforehand that you'll likely only watch a 5 minute video with shots of you and your husband getting ready and shots from the ceremony, then that's all you'll need to pay for.

4. Know what you're getting and negotiate a price for it. Make sure you know how much footage will be shot, how long it will take to edit and how you will be given copies. This way, you'll know what will be happening on the day of. You'll know if the videographer will need to set lights or other equipment.

5. Choose the right soundtrack. Picking the song to go with your video isn't about using your favourite song. You want this to be timeless. The song can set the mood and style of the video. Make sure you choose something you'll always be happy with.

This video is by a very talented wedding videographer in Winnipeg - Jake Arida

Jennifer & Andrew Wedding Highlights from Jake Arida on Vimeo.

Grand Opening of David's Bridal

Your Life Milestones Captured By Jake Arida Video: David’s Bridal Winnipeg Grand Opening Highlights

Check out the video from the grand opening of David's Bridal on Kenaston. It was a fantastic event and we were so happy to do the flowers! We're so happy to be working with David's Bridal and think it's awesome they chose Winnipeg for their third Canadian location. Thanks to Jake Arida for this beautiful video.

Tara & Paul - Testimonial and Photos

We received a lovely email from one of our lovely brides and we thought it would be a great idea to share it with our blog readers (with photos, of course). Thanks for sharing, Tara! We're so glad we could make your special day that much more spectacular. You looked beautiful!


Our wedding was on the Sunday of the September long weekend, September 4, 2011. Both the ceremony and reception were held at The Gates on Roblin. It was a great venue because we had a beautiful outdoor reception, then our guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d'oeuvres outside on the wrap around patio, and the doors to the ballroom opened half an hour before the reception began. Everyone was seated by the time we returned from taking wedding photos in the area.  

My hair and makeup was done at my parents’ place. One of my bridesmaids suggested her hairdresser and one of my colleagues suggested a MAC makeup artist. It would have been hard to find a shop open early enough to accommodate us on a Sunday. It was nice to roll out of bed and get ready in the comfort of our own home.  I think referrals are the best way to go!


Working with Julie was great! For almost every vendor we used at our wedding, we scoped out three potential businesses. The Floral Fixx was the third florist we visited. What immediately grabbed our attention was Julie's natural ability to pull flowers and greenery from different places in the shop, twist, turn, spray paint, and…voila! She put together a mini sample of what our special day would look like. We appreciated that the very next morning we received a quote based on our first discussion. She invited us back for another consultation and the opportunity to see a sample centerpiece (including chocolate cymbidium orchids which she had to order in). 


At our final meeting, she offered to take the curly willow, vines and roses that were on our arch and use them to decorate the head table. It was so beautiful! But, my favourite part of the ballroom was that she also used the leftover curly willow to make a candle display on the back counter. It was above and beyond what I was expecting and it took my breath away!  


Thanks Julie! You and your crew rock!


Yours truly, Tara & Paul

If we did the flowers for your wedding, feel free to email us (juliesflowers@mts.net) and we'll feature your wedding on our blog!

Open House with Madeline's

Back in November we did the flowers for Madeline's Weddings & Events' open house so these photos are long overdue!

Madeline's designed three different themed wedding tables that we created complimentary table centres for. The first was a black and white theme with splashes of Damask. We designed a tall centre piece in a sleek black glass vase with white ostrich feathers. 

The next table was a little more bold. It incorporated lime greens and purples to create a whimsical colour scheme. We did a hand-tied bouquet on the top of a square glass vase with two smaller vases with orchids in them to compliment the main table centre.

The last table centre we did was a classic hydrangea and rose in a funky martini glass vase.

We are thrilled to be working with Madeline's for The Wonderful Wedding Show coming up next weekend in Winnipeg. We can't wait to meet all you lovely brides and work with Madeline's on the event.