This one makes my heart jump with excitement! “Modern tradition”, aka contemporary design – timely but timeless. It always looks elegant and classic, both things we love.

There are many ways to achieve this look but 3 of our favourites are:

i. A neutral colour palette: white, shades of taupe and ivory. A word of caution is to be careful with combining white and ivory together; when not done with purpose and thought the ivory can appear smoky next to the crispness of a pure white.

ii. Candles, candles, candles and more candles. Candlelight says warmth, comfort, tradition, love & welcome. As a bonus – it is a very cost effective way for big impact, particularly when coupled with flowers.

iii. Wax seals & vellum combined with textured paper for invitations, seating charts, menus and place cards – need we say more?

Stationery Design by Wedding Design by Anika

While this isn’t a new concept and shouldn’t be considered a trend (we all need to care about the environment and world we live in), it is something that is becoming more thought about by engaged couples and their guests. Your wedding is and should be an investment in your memories, however there are easy ways to keep the bigger picture in mind. A few areas to consider are:

i. Food: When it comes to food, more and more couples are being thoughtful and intentional about their menu, both in quantity and source. Yes, you can absolutely take care of your guests and ensure that their tummies are full without being wasteful. Also, consider where our food is coming from. When possible, work with caterers and venues who operate with farm to table practice, where food is locally and sustainably sourced.

ii. Florals: We love, and I repeat… we LOVE flowers. Real, delicious and lush fresh flowers. Yes they are an investment, particularly in areas such as Alberta where we don’t have the climate to grow our own, but nothing completes the look of your wedding design like flowers. So, don’t skip them and don’t do faux, if possible. Instead donate what you can to charitable organizations. In Edmonton, our team works with a wonderful non-profit called Stems from the Heart. Run by an amazing group of volunteers, they will pick up the flowers from your wedding venue, rearrange them into smaller pieces and deliver them to hospices, palliative care houses, cancer centers, women’s shelters and other deserving organizations within the community.

iii. General Waste: Use glass instead of plastic for drinks (it also helps to create a more elegant and luxurious feeling to your wedding), use biodegradable straws or skip them all together, choose your favours wisely – consumables are always best or make a donation to your favorite charity on behalf of your guests.

Photography by Nicole Ashley

DJ’s – we still love you and aren’t suggesting you go anywhere! Instead, couples are choosing to have both, a DJ and live entertainment and we dig this hard.

A few suggested options are:

Live ceremony music, whether classical instruments, a piano, singer or a mix creates an elegant and special feeling for the “I do’s”.

Cocktail hour is a great opportunity to wow your guests with live entertainment in the form of performers, magicians or musicians.

For the reception, why not start with a band and have the DJ finish the night off? You can also alternate the two throughout the evening but proceed with caution; it can throw off the flow of the night, so choose wisely and ensure the communication between DJ and band is seamless to avoid a choppy (and not fun) dance for your guests.

Other interactive entertainment such as a group dance lesson or cultural tradition is also sure to remain a highlight for you and your wedding guest.

The key is to consider your timeline and schedule everything strategically for optimal flow.

Photography by Tricia Victoria

Welcome to the Pantone colour of the year for 2020. Balancing and familiar, this colour will make its way into fashion, home and wedding design.

When designing with this colour, keep this in mind:

i. Use lavish materials and textures. Choose shine, texture or thick and heavy materials such as velvet.

ii. Keep the blue contained – a touch of bright colours goes a long way. OR…

iii. Go all out in full colour saturation, such as point 1 above.

iv. Incorporate natural elements – whether it’s foliage or another neutral such as rattan or pampas grass, it will soften and warm up the look.

v. Use complementary colours. For classic blue, we love jewel tones such as ruby or something in the purple colour family.

vi. Don’t forget metallics. Go classic with gold, cool and crisp with silver or bold with copper. Mixing metallics creates visual interest and layering at no additional cost.

Photography by Eternal Reflections

And finally, we don’t see this trend going anywhere soon.

Gone are the days of the word “rustic” being interpreted as mason jars and burlap – and we’re not complaining. But the down to earth, comfortable feeling that the rustic elements bring remain a wedding design favorite.

Now, instead of burlap runners and baby’s breath galore, couples are combining farm tables with more glamorous components such as raw silk linens, lush flowers adorned by greenery and customized stationery pieces. And yes, café lights are staying around, another trend we still adore.

Photography by We are Bubblerock