Enchanted Garden Wedding Inspiration

I am not going to lie, I struggle with blogging. A lot. Which is weird, as anyone who has known me for a long time, know that I have actually had travel articles published, won writing awards in school and honestly thought that somewhere down the road I would have some sort of writing career. Fast forward twenty years and here we are. Blog struggles. I usually start the blog piece and then quickly put it off and push it so far to the side that I only feel a little guilty about not finishing it. Plus there is the unanswered question - does anyone actually read this?

This shoot took a lot to come together, it was a struggle. It almost felt cursed. We had models drop out, dress shops change their mind, a suit that didn’t materialize. It was so stressful, but the end product feels magical. Maybe it’s because we did put so much work into making it happen? I couldn’t have done with without the support and work of Casey Nolin Photography - not just for the gorgeous photos but for the late night texts and her unwavering positivity that this would come together. There may have also been wine?

The idea for this shoot started with the idea for this table. I was dreaming of a table that felt like it was on the forest floor - moss, succulents, ferns and a real wild energy. I think when I described it to Gloria at Beyond Flowers, the florist that collaborated, I said “I want it to look like the Earth is swallowing the table”. I layered a moss runner with real moss, succulents, antlers and these really incredible local flowers that Beyond Flowers sourced. It fit into the beautiful venue, La Lune so perfectly with Dianne’s greenery dripping chandeliers and fairy lights. The chargers had a lily pad feel to them which I instantly loved and the mercury tea lights felt like floating flowers on the table. This table is still hands down one of my favourite pieces.

When it came to the dress Anna Lang Bridal came to the rescue. Originally we had a different idea for the dress but Casey and I fell in love with the whimsical feel of this ballgown that had appliqué flower petals attached. Oh and can we take a moment to admire the bouquet of my dreams from Beyond Flowers??

Our amazing hair and make up team from Made Beauty Co. (Velangeline and Charlene) gave Jensen a fresh, glowing look and hair that embraced her natural curl. Charlene actually pulled out an old school crimper to finish the look. Our groom model, Ari, is a stylist at Waltz on in Barber Shop so he took care of his own styling.

This shoot makes me miss summer. The beautiful golden light, lush flowers and shades of green. I really am a summer baby at heart. I’d love to hear what you have to say about our inspiration shoot.

Credits to our all star group of vendors: Anna Lang Bridal, Beyond Flowers, Casey Nolin Photography, C&T Rentals, Dream Day Decorators, La Lune Event Venue, Made Beauty Co., The Vintage Nest for making my enchanted forest inspiration come true.

Real Wedding: Jocelyn & Stephane

I have been trying to get this wedding up on the blog before the official end of our eternal winter.   I figured that regardless of how beautiful this day was, you might cry if I showed this off when it was finally spring.  We are all dreaming of warm days, bright sun and the beauty of summer weddings, but take a moment to love this day as much as I did.  

It was so hard to choose images from this gallery to show - though I will say this is one of my many favourites.  If you're not familiar with Charmaine Mallari Photography I suggest you head over to her site immediately - well, ok, after you hang out here first.  She has an incredible gift at capturing emotion in a day.  This day was full of it.

I first met Jocelyn and Stephane on their venue search in early 2017.  Thanks to a referral from Charmaine we met again months later and they booked a Partial Planning Package to help what was jokingly referred to on the day of as "Stephane's Dream Wedding". Planning with Jocelyn and Stephane was like hanging out with close friends - it was fun, and full of laughter .  They always asked how I was, how my family was and were honestly interested in my answers.  One of the things I loved about them, and after meeting their friends and family day of I found everyone felt the same, was they are so genuine, kind hearted and have so much love for the people in their lives.  They really are incredible people to get to know.  

The two had booked Niakwa Country Club for their reception and had a clear idea of what they wanted, they just weren't sure how to get there.  They wanted a warm feel to the reception, but with a classic and elegant feel.  We selected a neutral palette of champagne and ivory tones and used uplighting from the crew at EventLight to minimize the effects of the dark wood on the walls.  Stephane was also very excited about having a live piano player (Ferro Montanino) for their cocktail reception because it reminded him of one of his favourite places - The Palm Lounge.  Niakwa Country Club was a lovely venue to work with and  delivered a well executed event with great food and one of the prettiest charcuterie displays I've seen. 

Now let's give a shout out to the wedding party!  I have spent time with a lot of wedding parties in my career and this was one of the best.  Especially the groomsmen.  They had such a strong bond that was evident throughout the day with their surprises for Stephane, their roasts and jokes and their heartfelt words.  Looking at photos you'd never guess that Jocelyn and Stephane got married on one of the coldest days of the year.  It was seriously -45 degrees celsius.  Not one word of complaint from any of them - just lots of laughter and smiles.

I literally could go on and on all day about what a perfect day it was, how much I love these two and their friends and family or how beautiful Charmaine's photos are, but you should see it for yourself.  Click here to visit Jocelyn and Stephane's Gallery.  Trust me, if I could put more photos in I would!

Real Wedding: Annamaria & Justin

Annamaria and Justin hosted a beautiful wedding in July of last year.  This was the first Greek wedding I'd coordinated and I really fell in love with the incredible Greek Orthodox Church where the two said their vows.  I am sure you can see why!  Greek weddings have some really beautiful traditions both in the church and outside - one of the best parts of the day was the traditional walk of the bride and her family to the church.  

The bride was escorted by both her parents, bridal party, family and a Greek band.

Annamaria and Justin had hired me just a couple of weeks before their wedding (see it's never too late to hire a day of coordinator!).  We quickly pulled all the last minute details together.  Annamaria had a very clear vision of what she wanted her wedding to look like and had incorporated some beautiful items - like the repurposed vintage plates as table numbers.  

The reception was held at the elegant and timeless Fort Garry Hotel in The Crystal Ballroom where the staff had prepared an incredible meal of oysters, custom created appetizers, steak and more. The Fort Garry Hotel is a great place for those who take their food seriously.  The Greek band played traditional music throughout dinner, so the dance floor was always full and people danced all night long.

To see more photos of Annamaria and Justin's wedding by  Austin Kylie Photography visit the gallery here.  I have select dates available for Month Of Coordination left for 2018 check your availability today.

Real Wedding: Ally & Josh

The Crystal Ballroom at the Fort Garry is one of the most spectacular backdrops for any wedding, but what I loved about it at Ally and Josh's brunch wedding was the light that streamed in.  It gave the day such a warm glow.  

For a brunch wedding, you can't pick a better venue than the Fort Garry Hotel, which in Winnipeg has long been famous for its elaborate brunch spreads.  Ally and Josh's wedding certainly didn't disappoint - complete with a mimosa bar, a Garnish Your Own Caesar Bar,  the Thom Bargen Coffee Cart and fresh made Bronuts with custom rose gold sprinkles thanks to the amazing woman behind Scientific Sweets.  You can see why Ally and Josh were pretty much my dream couple right?  As a non breakfast person (I don't eat eggs, am not a big bread eater and I don't like mushy things like oatmeal) I can get behind brunch.  SO many more options!  Plus it's perfectly acceptable to drink sparkling before noon at brunch.

Planning with Ally and Josh was so much fun.. I am not sure you can actually spend anytime with the two of them without laughing, a lot.    They were the type of client that invited you over for dinner and a glass of wine to plan. We bonded over a love of all things food and wine and the colour pink.  Ally had chosen the prettiest shades of pink and rose gold for her wedding with pops of navy blue to tie in Josh's suit.    Pinks, creams and golds are perfectly suited to the opulent Crystal Ballroom.

I loved the contrast of Josh's navy suit with the black ones the groomsmen wore.

Photos by Charmaine Mallari Photography

Ally and Josh had their ceremony in the room with their guests.  We used the head table as their ceremony backdrop, so we opted for larger pieces.

Photo by Charmaine Mallari Photography

Ally's dress details were incredible.  The best part of Ally's outfit though was her flip flops!

Take a peek at more photos from this beautiful wedding on the  Our Work Page.

2017 - A Year in Review

It's hard to believe that today is the last day of 2017.  This year has really been something else.  Had you told me last January that this is where I'd be in my life - running Inspired Elegance Events with a successful first year coming to a close, I would have said you were crazy.  

One year ago, I had a job that I loved with my whole heart, filled with the best clients, but in a place that wasn't healthy.  I ignored that latter because of how much I loved what I did and the people I did it for.  Then that changed. I didn't have that job any more and I was lost.  I had put so much energy into that job for so long I wasn't sure what came next.  Insert some amazing people here.  

When people started asking "What's next?" I'd stare blankly.  This was answered every single time with "Sheila, you're going to do what you love, what you're great at, where your passion is.  Start your own business."  When I couldn't see what came next, it was so obvious to everyone around me because no matter what happened, no one could take away what I loved doing.  

There it was.  Great life lesson.  Insert more amazing people here.  Friends and family who looked at logos for hours, website drafts, photo selections.  Individuals who took the time from their days and businesses to give advice, who helped me translate myself into Inspired Elegance Events, because even when I didn't know what I wanted it to say, I wanted it to feel personal and authentic.  I realized along the journey that this message was so important to me.  

Instagram's Best 9 have been flooding in the last week or two and I posted mine.  

This is what it looked like.  Some really personal moments - my first head shot, my business card design, my first "Friday Introduction" and my first booth design for a wedding show.

What I realized, as I looked through the images is that there were so many more moments that I was insanely proud of or that taught big lessons that weren't represented.  I have reflected over the last week about what exactly my personal best moments were for the year.  These were so hard to choose!

The first image (top left corner) is of a photoshoot I did with Casey Nolin Photography and an incredible cast of local Winnipeg talent.  This shoot was featured in Love Inc. Magazine, Aisle Society and locally with Host Winnipeg which was an exciting start to the first couple of months of running my own business.  I loved getting to work with vendors I'd known for years but in a different capacity.  It also allowed me to meet some new faces - Fauna and Fern, Brittany Jill Photography and Brenna Faris Photo. This photoshoot is also the first time I worked with Casey personally and am so blessed that this has developed into an incredible friendship.  Casey's support and optimism have been amazing to have.

The second image (moving clockwise) is of Ally and Josh's lovely brunch wedding in April.  Ally and Josh were one of my first booked clients after launch thanks to a referral.  Working with Ally and Josh was so much fun, they were the type of clients that invited you over for dinner to plan. They started off my year with a perfect reminder - personal and authentic.

The third image is of a beautiful wedding that taught me so much about being a business owner and about boundaries.  Thank you.  Image courtesy of Austin Kylie Photography.

Mandi and Juliano were a full coordination client that I had the pleasure of working with.  They had such an incredible sense of what they wanted their wedding to look and feel like, which makes planning so much easier.  I learned the importance of tailoring how I planned with a client to suit their specific set of needs and maintaining the consistency of this throughout the process.  It also brought Chantelle into my life who has brought a lot of laughter and a great sounding board for all things business.  Photo courtesy of Chantelle Dione Photography.

The bottom middle image was so hard to select from this photoshoot.  There were so many that I loved. Charmaine perfectly captured how I wanted this Boho shoot to feel (which is always a fear I have with photoshoots - that I won't be able to translate what I see in my head into what you see).  This photoshoot has been featured on Prairie Weddings and Style Inspired Weddings.  Charmaine has also a great teacher to me.  She has taught me about staying true to what you want to do and how you do it. This photoshoot introduced me to a florist that I hadn't worked with previously - Geranium Lake Botanicals.  If you aren't familiar with Amanda's work, I suggest you take a peek!  Her bouquet from this shoot was selected by Style Inspired Weddings in their Top 10 Gallery.

The final image is of Allison and Kevin's wedding.  I have selected it because when they hired me (after meeting with a couple of other planners) they told me that the reason they chose me was because they were confident in me and my experience.  One of the things that I have had to learn this year is how to sell myself.  I used to be a venue coordinator - I can sell you a venue.  Being a business owner though means that I have to sell me, my experience, it's almost like a running job interview.  It meant so much to me knowing that this was how they felt after a consultation.  I also got to work with Tony of BLF Studios, which I loved as BLF Studios has long been a favourite of mine. Photo courtesy of Tony at BLF Studios.

2017 has been a year of lessons and gratitude.  I can't thank all my family (especially Ken, Shannon and Yared),  friends and vendor friends enough for pushing me and supporting me.  Thank you to all the couples who've chosen me and trusted me.  Cheers to 2017 for showing me that anything is possible!