They hold weddings of all sizes.  In the main house, Nick and his team coordinate all the smaller weddings with indoor or outdoor locations to choose from for your ceremony and reception.  The main ballroom out in the back of the property hosts the larger weddings and is coordinated by Melissa Morrow and her team.  The Gates is also a full service restaurant so if you want a taste, please go check them out… you will love it!  Amanda and I go there for our anniversary each year:)

Thanks so much to the entire team at the Gates for all the passion and quality you put into your work.  See you this wedding season!  Please check out an interview below by Melissa… thanks and enjoy!

The Gates on Roblin

How long have you been in business?

I have been a part of The Gates team for 3 and a half years!

If you have a store front or location that clients visit… where is it?

6945 Roblin blvd, our 7 acres back onto the Assinaboine river

How many weddings to you do per year?

In the ballroom we host between 45-50 weddings per year. We host numerous smaller weddings in our smaller rooms year round.

What is your businesses “mission statement”?

We try to create a custom wedding for each of our couples. In each wedding I want people to be able to see the bride and grooms personality shine through.

What is your favorite thing about what you do?

I love getting to know the couples and see everything come together. Each couple has their own story, their own dream, I love to hear what they are looking for in a wedding and make it a reality.

What is something neat and/or surprising about about what you do behind the scenes?

I personally quality check each and every plate that goes out to our guests. Even if it is a function for 400. Not many people would think this is something we do, but we know how important food is!

What has been your favourite Wedding to date and why?

I have so many weddings I have loved and all for different reasons. I do love seeing when couples take the time to make a gift for each guest, it is so amazing to know that the busy bride and groom hand painted 200 mini flower pots for each guest.

What are you most excited about for this Wedding season?

I am excited to see the vintage theme! I really like this one because the possibilities are endless! All of the cute little DIY projects that come in, keep me loving this theme.

Your best advice to your couples getting married in the planning process?

Surround your self with a good team of people (your florist, photographer, decorator etc) and you will never be stressed. Trust your first reaction and trust the people you are working with. When you find the people who are driven by passion, they will always go the extra mile for you.

What set’s you apart from all your fellow vendors? What is unique to you?

Location! We have the most amazing set up for a wedding. Outdoor ceremony facing the assinaboine, cocktails and appetizers on your own private deck and a grand ballroom for the formal portion of the evening. At one single venue you have three different locations to host each part of your night.

Food, Each wedding menu is created by the bride and groom, we have 63 appetizer options, 14 different soups, 8 different salads, 29 entree options and 21 desserts to chose from. Each couple will select their favorites to create their perfect wedding meal.

What’s your funniest story (that you can share)?

One of our Brides had ordered a floral arrangement for the arbor, which never showed up. The maid of Honors bouquet also was not delivered by the florist. with not much time before the ceremony, I sent one of our staff to the florist to pick up the bouquet. While I went and took one flower from each center piece. (there was plenty in each, so no one would notice) With enough flowers I got some pins and tulle, i looped the tulle to the arbor and pinned the flowers to the tulle. I created the floral arrangement that was supposed to have been there, 40 minutes before they said their vows under it. The bride said, “I am so glad I decorated the arbor, it really looked nice in the pictures.” I did not let her know until after the wedding about what the florist forgot to deliver, so she was able to enjoy her day.

I shoot engagement sessions every Tuesday and Wednesday evening every week.  Anytime starting at 6pm, during sunset or even at night when the sun is down and the stars are out.  Just contact me by phone or email to schedule your session.  It does’t matter if your wedding is this year or next year… you can schedule yours for any week you wish.

Nervous???  Not to worry… I will prepare you and ensure you have a blast during the session.  After your date is scheduled, you will fill out a simple questionnaire to help plan the session (including location preferences) and even some helpful tips on what to expect and how to dress. If you are worried that you will forget this, please don’t.  I will contact you personally 14 weeks before your wedding to ensure we have the session scheduled and completed in time.

For those who don’t already know… Why do I do engagement sessions and why should you have your own?  Well yes, it is great practice for the wedding, we get to know each other much better and you have a great time together during the session.  More importantly, I truly believe that a session together at this time in your lives is just as important as your wedding day, children’s birth and any other precious family event in your life.  Please check out this great post by my friends at Rowell Photography… they sum it up much better than I can.

This post is for the brides and grooms that have an engagement session included in their package and need to schedule it. However… I will have dates available for any other couple that might be interested in a session.  Please contact me if you have any questions or would like to schedule one.  You can also visit my Frequently Asked Questions page to get more information on engagement sessions.  Thanks and have a great week everyone!

If you would like to register for their online gallery… CLICK HERE.

If you would like to register for their event to see all the wedding photos online when they are ready, CLICK HERE!

This year I upgraded to the new Canon 5d Mark III for my weapon of choice.  As soon as I got it, I sent out a call to my clients for a test shoot and Val & Paul were more than excited.  Unfortunately this might be a boring review folks… I’m not much of a “pixel peeper” and this specific shoot didn’t make much of a technical difference compared to the older model.

I can say one thing… it feels soooooo good in my hands!  Seriously.  The shape of it, the material, the new button placements… and the shutter release… OMG!  An amazing technical accomplishment by Canon and far beyond any model that they have released since I have started taking photos with Canon (2007). I have since tested the ISO and focus capabilities in low light and it is worth every penny.  I will give a more detailed review on that during this wedding season with examples.

So that is my initial review for now.  Should you buy it??  It is great but if it’s beyond your business’s budget right now I would hold off.  The mark II is still a great model and is selling at a great price since the release of this one.  Thanks so much Val and Paul for coming out and I’m so excited for you!  All the best and I can’t wait for the wedding next year.  For the record…. I think it’s a girl, we shall see.  Enjoy!

Oh yah… Laura is actually a Florist with on of my favourites here in the city, Academy Florist!  I’m also anticipating some beautiful arrangements on the wedding day.  Thanks again you two for the fun times and see you soon.  Enjoy!

If you would like to register for their event to see all the wedding photos online when they are ready, CLICK HERE!

Today, we start with Britney Fache from Fache Forward Designs.  She is a florist doing great work here in Manitoba.  We had done a few weddings together last year and officially met during her Engagement Session.  That’s right… she’s getting married!  Check out her engagement session from last year.  She actually won the session by entering the best engagement story to Weddings in Winnipeg.  Anyways… my clients were beyond happy with her work and she is always a pleasure to work with!  I’ll let her do the rest of the talking… please check out her interview to get to know her more. Her younger sister Riley joined her for the photo shoot, as she will be assisting with the many weddings FFD has this season.  Thanks for all the great work you do Britney!

Fache Forward Designs

How long have you been in business?

FFD had been in business for just over a year and a half, however this Spring marked my seventh year as a designer in the industry overall.

How many weddings to you do per year?

What is your favourite thing about what you do?

I feel lucky to have a lot of favourite things that I love about what I do… 

I love connecting with clients – falling in love with their themes, helping them develop colour schemes and textures that accentuate their ideas, and as a result – getting excited with them about their big day.

I love that I’ve adored flowers my whole life, and have been fortunate enough to make my passion into a career that allows me to play with flowers, while connecting me with people – another passion of mine – amazing clients and industry vendors alike.

I love that while they may not last forever, flowers are the final, beautiful accessories that bring together the overall theme of a wedding – the pop of colour on the tables at a reception, the textured blooms in bridesmaids hands and on groomsmen’s lapels signifying their connection to the bride and groom they stand next to – I get to create these items that tie into a theme that not only celebrates the personalities of the clients, it also celebrates the overall day that marks the next step of their lives together. It’s a beautiful thing, to feel like you get to be a part of completing their special day.

What is something neat and/or surprising about about what you do behind the scenes?

In the summer, on nice days, I set up a work station outside. My studio is in a neighbourhood park setting, so it’s a lovely spot to be out enjoying some fresh air while cleaning product and prepping arrangements before I store them in the cooler overnight.

What has been your favourite Wedding to date and why?

To date, my favourites would have to be last year when I was lucky enough to design the florals for two weddings that made the online Weddings In Winnipeg National Inspiration Post. The brides were gorgeous, the weddings were gorgeous, and my favourite part was that they were each other’s Maid of Honour! Too fun, to be part of both their beautiful days * and such a pleasure working with them!

What are you most excited about for this Wedding season?

I’d have to say I’m most excited for MY wedding this season!!!  However I’m also super excited for this season because I have some truly amazing brides that I’ve really connected with, which I love, because it makes my job that much more fun! Also I’m excited for the trends this season – woodsy, antique, rustic, soft colour palettes, organic mixes, lots of texture – I’m a huge fan of all of them, and can’t wait to get my hands on all the product in the coming months!

Your best advice to your couples getting married in the planning process?

Plan early, and take your time!  Enjoy each step, because all the planning that comes with organizing this one amazing day comes so quickly and is gone so fast * and then it’s on to the next exciting stage of your lives! * * As a bride myself this season, it’s been such an awesome experience going through the planning process alongside my clients over the past two years. Taking our time with the planning process was the best decision we could’ve made as a team, and we’ve enjoyed each step of the way.

If you have a store front or location that clients visit… where is it?

I have a home-based studio location that I work out of in the South end. Consultations are often done at my in-home office, or over a cup of coffee at a local Starbucks.

What is your businesses “mission statement”?

To connect with clients on a personal level, so we trust and are comfortable with one another, so I can learn about their floral decor needs, and provide them with excellent, reliable design services, that are accessible, affordable, and complimentary to making their wedding unique to them.

What set’s you apart from all your fellow vendors? What is unique to you?

What has been unique to me since FFD started, has been the process of planning my own wedding alongside my clients. Not only has it allowed me to be relatable in that sense, but more importantly I believe it has given me insight as to how I respond as a vendor, knowing what is expected or desired of someone in the industry in terms of meeting needs, as I’ve been on the other side as a client as well.  I think another thing that has set me apart as a vendor, is that I chose to step away from the retail experience and specialize in floral design that allows me to focus on connecting with my clients as well as the industry, it’s standards, and trends. This awareness and focus has helped me hone in on the details of each client’s inspirational ideas, and make them into a reality. 

I feel very fortunate to do what I love and love what I do, and am incredibly grateful to all those – vendors, friends, and family alike – who have supported me and continue to support me along the way!