Flowering for all of our beautiful, modern couples is always a thrill, but there’s something * extra * special about flowering for our own loved ones. When my cousin, Emily, and her then-fiancé, James, announced their engagement I crossed my fingers that they might want Flourish & Knot to be involved. Their Halifax restaurant wedding was the team’s first Canadian destination wedding and it definitely left us wanting more! Together with Emily, James and their team of local vendors, we created a luxurious modern garden vibe for their romantic and moody restaurant wedding.

Doing destination floristry presents its own set of challenges – the two biggest: 1) where to source all the flowers and 2) where to physically put and then design all the flowers! My team rose to the challenge, helped enormously by a local floral wholesaler and by the fantastic Vermeulen Flower Farm. Lindsey Vermeulen provided us with the most incredible local flowers – zinnias, phlox, snapdragons, scabiosa, and globe thistle to name just a few of the beautiful blooms we received. The team worked out of our airbnb, and it was altogether a pretty smooth experience.

Emily and James’ venue, Lot Six Bar, was an intriguing space to design for – lots of moody little nooks and crannies and an incredible sunken main space with a glass ceiling. Because it was a restaurant wedding, we couldn’t necessarily work within a traditional ceremony set-up, so we had to design a ceremony that would work with the unusual space. The arched metal grill around the entrance to the stairs provided the perfect structure for our lush, abundant foam-free floral arch. The restaurant already contained some lovely hanging plants, so we carried that garden vibe onto the railings of the stairs, with a grounded floral meadow piece at the base of the stairs. Emily and James entered their ceremony together through a side door and processed up the stairs to take their places for the ceremony. Chairs were arranged in a semi-circular pattern below, giving everyone a great view of the ceremony.

Following the heartfelt ceremony, guests made their way up to the bar area for delicious cocktails (the “Norman” was a huge hit – named for their much-loved pet) and yummy bites. Kathryn MacPhee (of KM Event Co) and her team did a super job of flipping the ceremony space into an intimate, relaxed-yet-chic reception space that felt more like an elevated dinner party than a wedding reception. We had designed a combination of sculptural, airy small centrepieces and seasonal bud vases, in ceramic vessels, to be paired with coloured taper candles in glass candlesticks and textured glass votives. The linens were kept natural and refined, with sage-green and sand-coloured linen textures.

Kandr Weddings did a phenomal job of capturing the day through their lens, from the details of Emily’s vibrant and modern bridal bouquet to James’ funky floral pocket boutonnière to the warmth and intimacy of the reception.

The entire day personified Emily and James: relaxed, incredibly fun, modern, and stylish. It was such an honour to be a part of it. (The best part was getting to turn into a wedding guest and watch the magic happen!!) Restaurant weddings always have a creative, out-of-the-box vibe to them, and this was no exception. Congratulations, Emily & James! xo

Photography : Kandr Weddings | Planning: KM Event Co | Venue: Lot Six Bar & Restaurant | Floral & Event Design : Flourish & Knot | Gown:  | Hair & Makeup: Danielle Grasley | Linens & Rentals: Glow the Event Store | 

Looking for more modern garden wedding inspiration? Check out this beautiful French-garden wedding at L’espace Canal.