Weddings With a Flourish - Eco-Friendly Events, Wedding Advice & Inspiration

On Vacation!

2012-02-01T12:05:00.001-06:00

I thought I'd be clever and schedule posts while I'm away, but the internet I'm using is too slow to post pictures or links...so I'll be back to regular posting on Febuary 16th!

Talk to you soon!

Fascinator Friday

2012-01-27T15:18:00.000-06:00

Hair accessories are my absolute favourite - they can liven up any outfit or bad hair day, they're easy to wear and so so cute. While a veil is timeless and beautiful, we love the idea of changing things up in favour of other hair accessories (one great idea is to wear a veil for the ceremony and fascinator or headband for the reception). Here's a few of our favourite hair accessories for a wedding.

These pieces from ban.do are simple and romantic:

I love these simple but beautiful clips from Anthropologie:

And my very favourite, this simple and sparkly headband from modcloth. I love the sparkly trend, and hope it carries over to weddings in a big way:

Give us your ideas! What are you wearing in your hair for your big day?

Time Line Tuesday!

2012-01-24T09:25:00.000-06:00

Hi There! If you are newly engaged, congratulations on your upcoming wedding! We're so glad you stopped by our little blog. We're going to be sharing a time line, month by month, until Summer. I love using time lines for two reasons: 1. It lets you know what you should be thinking about. 2. It lets you know what you don't need to think about yet. So often people stress out looking at every single detail of a wedding, but honestly, you don't need to book your limo a year ahead of time, or look for a guest book (gathering information/inspiration about these things is great, but stressing yourself out about things that come later in the time line is unnecessary).

Alright, for today we have a basic checklist for the first few months of your wedding planning...depending on formality, style and your personality, everything is flexible according to what you want (just remember that if you're looking for a particular photographer or venue, it's best to book as soon as you can).

12 Or More Months Before:

□ Announce your engagement tofriends and family.

□ Arrange for both sets ofparents to meet if they haven't already.

□ Start thinking about the bigpicture: formal/informal, theme, colour scheme and number of guests.

□ Select a few possible wedding datesif you do not have one picked.

□ Determine your overall weddingbudget, and divide it into flexible categories.

□ Start a record-keeping systemfor payments, deposits, and due dates.

□ Using your budget, finalizeyour wedding vision: decide on formalitylevel, theme, colour scheme, number of guests, and wedding date.

□ Select your attendants, maid ofhonour, and best man.

□ Select your ring bearer, flowergirl, and train bearer, if you plan to have them.

□ Begin putting together yourguest list. Start gathering contactinformation.

□ If you plan to use a weddingcoordinator, hire one now.

□ Start shopping for the weddinggown.

□ Start looking at ceremony andreception locations.

□ If your reception locationoffers catering, arrange to meet with the caterer.

□ If your reception location doesnot offer catering, begin researching and meeting with caterers.

□ Begin researching and meetingwith photographers and videographers.

□ Start thinking about ceremony,cocktail hour, and reception music preferences.

□ Begin researching and meetingwith DJs, bands, and musicians.

□ Begin researching florists.

8-10 Months Before:

□ Finalize any ceremony sitedetails: keep a copy of the contract and receipt.

□ As a couple, meet with yourofficiant and discuss any premarital requirements.

□ Confirm your receptionlocation: keep a copy of the contract and receipt.

□ Book your caterer.

□ Book your photographer.

□ Book your videographer.

□ Book your entertainment,including a DJ and other musicians.

□ Book your florist.

□ Select and order the weddinggown.

□ Schedule your first gownfitting.

□ Begin looking for bridesmaidsdresses.

□ Start a gift registry.

□ Reserve accommodations for yourout-of-town guests at a hotel near the wedding reception.

□ Rent tables, chairs, lighting,a tent for an outdoor wedding.

□ Start looking for other décoritems to rent.

□ Begin looking for stationery.

Fache Forward Designs - Wedding Flowers in Winnipeg

2012-01-19T09:45:00.003-06:00

I am so excited to feature Britney and Fache Forward Designs on the blog today!

Britney has to be one of the most talented floral designers in the city, and the nicest. She's been doing floral design for 6 years, and studied at the Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design. Fache Forward Designs has been in business for just over a year.

You may remember a Free Press article about Britney, who was anonymously putting free flowers in the lobby of her apartment building for her neighbours to pick up. She calls this a highlight because "of the recognition it brought to the simple joy of giving through something so small."

Our eco-lovely brides will be happy to know that Britney has experience working with locally grown flowers and she would love to help you out with some eco-options for your wedding!

Check out Britney's website, send her an email and be sure to stop by her booth at the Wonderful Wedding Show this weekend!

Photos courtesy of Fache Forward Designs

Eco-Lovely Shoes

2012-01-17T09:00:00.000-06:00

I love shoes, especially when they're fair trade and eco-friendly. Today I've been looking through the Beyond Skin collection of recycled material, made-in-Spain shoes, and above are some of my favourite styles to wear with a wedding dress.

My favourite is the sparkly flat on the top left (also available with a heel). What do you think of adding a colourful pair of shoes to your wedding day look?

And as a bonus, Five Two Boutique right here in Winnipeg sells Beyond Skin shoes!

Sara & Charlie's Wedding

2012-01-10T16:00:00.000-06:00

We're excited to finally show the pictures from Sara and Charlie's July 23rd wedding. The wedding took place at the lovely Red River College, and was full of DIY details, from the favours wrapped with dictionary pages to Sara's paper flower bouquet (purchased from Etsy). We loved the purple and green palette, potted plant centrepieces (such a cute and eco-friendly idea), and most of all the bright smiles on Sara and Charlie's faces and the cheery atmosphere in the room! Thanks so much Sara and Charlie, we loved working on your wedding!

Thanks to Simply Chic Photography for sharing these photos!

Year-End Review!

2012-01-01T16:24:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

2011 has been a very exciting year for With a Flourish, it seems that every year gets better and better. Thank you so much to everyone we have worked with this year! Here's a few highlights:

We took on a limited number of weddings because I (Jess) moved to Bolivia in May. I'll be back in 2012 and we're already talking about some great new ideas.

Adrienne planned our weddings for 2011, and here are some favourites:

Heather and Joe had a beautiful wedding including natural elements and a super fun atmosphere. Check out the photos here!

Sara and Charlie's fabulous wedding was full of handmade details. Pictures will be coming to the blog soon, but for now check out engagement photos by the delightful Simply Chic Photography here!

Besides planning weddings for fantastic and good looking couples:

We had a real grown-up photo shoot of the two of us...it's so nice to have a photo to send whenever we're asked for a headshot! (thanks Nicole). :)

Our website was redesigned and we also changed our company tagline to "eco-lovely events" going back to our green roots.

The Winnipeg Free Press wrote a full page article about green weddings and interviewed us for it! It's been a goal to get in the Free Press since 2008, and we were so excited to be interviewed along with the amazing photographer Patty Boge!

Yoko Chapman of Ayoko Design included us in her brand new portfolio (coming soon). It looks amazing and we are really excited to see the whole portfolio magazine. Yoko is an inspirational businesswoman and we're so grateful that she included us! There's just something so special about seeing our company name in print...

So far it looks like 2012 will be amazing and we can't wait to share our new weddings and projects with you! Would you give us a fabulous start to the year by liking us on facebook and following us on twitter? Thanks!

Merry Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T17:39:00.003-06:00

We hope you all have a very merry, eco-lovely Christmas!

Coming Up...Sara & Charlie

2011-12-08T19:57:00.001-06:00

We're very excited to share Sara and Charlie's wedding with you soon! This photo is courtesy of the fantastic Simply Chic Photography.

FROGBOX Winnipeg

2011-09-13T07:16:00.002-05:00

Todays post is a bit different, but relevant as so many of our couples move just before or after getting married! FROGBOX is a new-to-Winnipeg company that rents reusable moving boxes. Last year, I saw FROGBOX on the Dragon's Den, where they had probably the best presentation I've seen on the show. I liked the straightforward, smart concept, and so did the dragons, as two of them are now investors. Having moved 5 times in the past 6 years, I like the idea of anything that makes moving easier, and that's what FROGBOX is all about.

Here's how FROGBOX works: You call them to rent boxes. Here's a link to pricing in Winnipeg. They deliver sturdy lightweight reusable plastic boxes with flip-top lids. You move your stuff in them, and FROGBOX picks up the boxes at your new place. Simple, right? The last time I moved, I collected boxes in our storage room for a month beforehand, and then drove around town picking up extra boxes from friends. After that, simple sounds pretty good to me!

Check out the FROGBOX Winnipeg website here.