Norwood Florist

There are many different times or situations in life that flowers seem to heighten the moment. They bring a spash of brilliant colour; they glow on your kitchen table, your desk at work, your hands as you walk down the isle in a wedding, or on a stand encompassing a memorial photo at a funeral. Their scent wafts through the air catching every nose and turning every head, curiosity looming every mind... what is the beautiful scent?

Flowers.

I have to say, that at this moment, I am sitting in my dining room, drinking coffee and sincerely enjoying the scent of beautiful lilac's that Kyle's dad brought home for his mum. I couldn't think of better inspiration when writing to you about our stunning florist, Michele Pitre, or the company she owns called Norwood Florist. 

We could not have been approached by a better company or woman to design and create our floral arrangements.  She is innovative, creative, and the symbolism that goes into what she creates could make any bride's heart melt!

Norwood Florist has been around for almost seventy years in the same location; the heart of St. Boniface (Winnipeg). Throughout their history, their reputation has exceeded itself, bringing innovative and creative design, and a family-type feeling to every customer. Extreme value is placed on each and every customer, which is the true reason for their returning customer base. 

From the large and luscious bouquets in Winnipeg's finest hotels, to the "just because I love you" bouquets from husband to wife, Michele Pitre and her design team are known for their ability to personalize each arrangement for you and yours. 

Honestly, we could not be more thrilled to be working with Michele. Her work is excellent, and we look forward to what is to come for the wedding!!

Now, this is the promotion video that was done by Mark Hiebert at Epic Videography. Please do enjoy it and fall in love with the beautiful creativity of Norwood Florist.

Norwood Florist Design Studio from Mark Hiebert on Vimeo.

Due stay tuned... There is more to come from Norwood Florist, including the beautiful breakdown in design that Michele and her team put into the symbolism of their bouquets!

Feel free to contact us or Michele for further information!

The Crumbling Cookie Co.

Dream with me for a moment. You are a child and you have just come home from school. The bus has just dropped you off  you hit the ground running for the house! You know what your after school snack is, and your Mum is the best because she always lets you have it. What am I talking about? Cookies. Two of them, with a tall glass of cold milk. Its every childs favourite snack... What could be better? 

I have to say, that as an adult, the cravings for sweet or savory tastes don't really need to be questioned when the result is always the childhood after school snack. Two cookies and milk. For me, the best kind always has chocolate in it. Chocolate chip, or Double chocolate chip, Mint chocolate chip, Chocolate Fudge, or even Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Mint Chunk. Wow. My mouth is salivating just thinking of it. 

What could be better?

Nothing!

Now that I have your attention, the best way to possibly explain my excitement when Melanie Chouinard of The Crumbling Cookie Co., the owner, founder and cookie-maker herself, contacted us is... EXCITEMENT! After the article came out in the Winnipeg Free Press about a month ago, we have been contacted by some wonderful and amazing 'outside the box' thinkers. And why not?! Today's society is full of people trying new things, and 'having a go' at making it work... And the best thing about each company, is that they are thinking as we are.

Outside the box. 

Now, inside the box (her box), Melanie bakes a wonderful array of cookies. From the finest ingredients, she creates masterpiece cookies that taste like a little dot of heaven. Her varieties are vast and its pretty apparent that if you are looking for a particular flavor or combination, Melanie is the woman to call! 

The gourmet cookie: a golden brown creation to delight the senses; chewy, satisfying texture, deliciously rich in authentic flavor; the warmth and irresistible aroma of home baking. What could be better?

So it is with great delight that I announce that we are working alongside Melanie and The Crumbling Cookie Co. to make the best and most delish cookies to use as our 'wedding favours'. They represent everything that we, as a couple, love. 

And of course, we are having some form of Chocolate!

So if you are one of our guests, please let us know once you have tasted your dot of heaven at the conclusion of the wedding, how much you liked them! The best exposure is word of mouth, and we believe that once you try The Crumbling Cookie Co.'s cookies, you will be wanting more! 

As an Aussie would put it, they are undoubtedly... MORE-ISH!!

Now Melanie Chouinard has only just begun her work. So, she has not yet been able to put up a website. This will be available near the beginning of June, so watch out! We are super excited about what it will look like and will let you know as soon as it is available for you to see!

Just to give you a look at the options that are available for order from The Crumbling Cookie Co., please peruse our photos. We hope you will feel as good about these cookies as we do!!

 Fudgey Caramel

 Peanut Butter and Honey

 Pecan and Macaroons

 Pistachio and Macaroons

 Toffee

From here, its up to you. Contact details for The Crumbling Cookie Co. are available on our website.

Enjoy and Tell us what you think!

Have a great week!!!

Cupcakes.

Cupcakes.

What comes to mind when you hear the word “Cupcakes”?

I have to say that the first thing that comes to my mind is... FUN!

They remind me of days as a child, romping around in a sundress with ribbons tied in my hair, at a birthday party, with nothing but sheer laughter and giggles... at least as a little girl that is what I would think of.

Cupcakes have this way of bringing out a smile. Individual, you feel as though each were made specifically for the person eating it. That you were somehow thought of, as a special person, apart from anyone else.

Well, this said, I would like to introduce you to another amazing and wonderful sponsor....

Cupcakes. 

This company, as half of our sponsors are... is NEW! The owner has just begun to commercialize herself a little more. Cora Nelson is an incredible woman, with a heart of gold! She began baking from a young age, and now a mother, has begun to realise that her work is just too much to contain in her own freezer, her families freezers, her friends freezers... the list could go on!

She decided to expand on a more commercial scale, when people had tried her cupcakes, and were asking her to make them for their special occasions! I believe that the pictures will speak for themselves, but her work is creative, colourful, fun, and reminds you that you are special, just as you.

Along with delicious, her cupcakes come in every colour, and to any taste. Simply chatting with her lets you know that she is able to make anything to your taste and liking.

As a kickstart for Cora and her Cupcakes. we truly feel blessed to have her apart of our wedding, working along-side our pastry chef, we know that both will perfectly reflect their own work, and compliment the wedding, blessing all who attend!

If you would like further information regarding Cora or Cupcakes. please take a look at our website and find her contact information!

Photos of her work:

Heritage Centre Video

Heritage Center - Niverville from Mark Hiebert on Vimeo.

Well, its official. The Niverville Heritage Centre has a Promo Video!! We hope it is to your liking, and helps anyone interested in supporting the centre, through donations, hosting events, providing business opportunities for their expansion... Kyle and I sincerely believe in the work of this organization, and it helped extensively knowing that the funding that we put towards our own wedding, will help to reduce the living costs of the residents. We get to have a beautiful wedding, and know that this day is so much bigger than just us!

I have to admit, the last few weeks of planning this wedding have felt like a black hole. Once the article came out in the paper about us, the publicity that it generated, although wonderful for our sponsors, was a little overwhelming. I don't know that I can say that we really knew that we would get the response that we have!

Since then, we have really had to think long and hard about how to legally cover ourselves. How to make sure that we are protected in all the negotiations of this wedding. We believe in our sponsors and trust them completely! They are the work of great minds, skillful hands and savvy creative people. They are trustworthy to a 'T' and truly believe in what we are doing, how we are accomplishing it, and helping others to see how 'outside the box' thinking can really generate creativity!

To those of you reading our blog, thinking if this is the type of wedding that you think you could have, or do, or attempt... I need a warning to you. I believe that this type of wedding should only be had, when the circumstances of the engagement/life/financial/etc. are all in place. Kyle and I decided to do this because we want to celebrate our union with everyone that is close and special to us. Kyle has a family of 75 and I have a family of around 20. Then add in the friends, and you have a HUGE cocktail mix!! Our wedding is not 'grand' or 'expensive' and we are not attempting to live outside our means. I am a skilled event planner, and have been doing so on a voluntary basis for a number of years. This wedding is to allow us to celebrate and not go into debt doing so.

There are so many people out there today that will 'credit card' it, or just 'take out a loan' because its 'your big day and you only get one so you might as well go all out'! We don't believe that that should be the case.

Having said that, I think the sanctity of a marriage can only be seen so much when a couple really puts working into their relationship. Every relationship stands on the ground, and like a plant or a tree, its stability is based on the fact that its roots grow deep. What you see on the top are the fruits of the roots that are planted deep into good ground. One of the biggest causes of a breakdown in relationship is the use of finance... you could say, the mis-use of finance. Kyle and I want to produce good fruit in our relationship and in doing so, we are refusing to allow ourselves to be un-wise.

I am not really sure how I got onto that, but that said, The Niverville Heritage Centre has a beautiful facility, and as you can see from the promo, its not hard to decide to have our wedding there!