Monday, November 1, 2010

Holiday Home Tour


Just three weeks until the Niagara Life Centre Holiday Home Tour. It's hard to believe that it is almost here (and so is Christmas). The committee began it's planning last Jan and thanks to all the feedback from past surveys, we strive to make the tour better each year. I have added a couple of more pictures from last year's tour that VFD created in a century farmhome. The tour this year is again centered in the Vineland/Jordan/Port Dalhousie area. What a selection of historical and renovated homes we have on this tour. Each location has it's own uniqueness about it. St John's Church in Jordan will be decorated to reflect a Huron Carol, the historic homestead on Gregory Road dates back to the 1700's (but deaded in the 1800's), the retro revival on Jordan Rd is not to be missed. Francis Denny from Aquisitions Interiors has gutted and revived this home - to sum up this home - WOW!. Francis will also be decorating the home herself for the tour. When you visit the cottages at Nokara, do not be mistaken that you are still in Port Dalhousie. When you sit in the Muskoka chairs on the back deck and hear the waves lap up from Lake Ontario, you could just as easily be up north at the cottage. These are just teasers of what will be on the tour.


Do not forget the lunch at the Fireside room at St John's Church available both tour days 11:00-3:00 featuring Nokara Farms pies, homemade soups and Starbucks coffee.


The tour is Fri Nov 19 10:00-8:00 and Sat Nov 20 10:00-5:00.


Ticket information and tour guide are available at http://www.nlchometour.com/


We still have spots for volunteeers that can come out and help in the homes for a short shift. All volunteers receive a complimentary ticket for the tour. If interested please contact Carol @ info@viniferafloraldesign.com or Helena at helena@niagaralifecenter.ca







Caroline & Ben

Thanksgiving weekend brought beautiful crisp and sunny weather for Caroline & Ben's wedding. The ceremony was held in the Cave Springs Vineyard. The bride choose red (for obvious reasons) as the base colour for the fall themed flowers. Beyond a doubt, my favourite time of the year for flowers/foliage. In the autumn, flowers produce rich, deep colours and their petals give way to pods and vines load up with berries.
Local flowers were alliums, freesia, sedum, dahlias, ornamental khale, lilies, broom corn and my favourite for this time of year, bittersweet (which is almost local - actually from cottage country just north of Toronto.)

The complete wedding party flew in from Alberta to help celebrate the day. This wedding had the smallest (and best coordinating) bridesmaid of the season. What a fun wedding party this was.



This was the view of the skyline of Toronto from the vineyard on the afternoon of the ceremony.
The vineyard (located on the escarpment bench in Beamsville) produces the grapes for Cave Spring Cellars (www.cavespringcellars.com) in Jordan Village.





The reception was held in the Windows room at Inn On The Twenty in Jordan Village. True to its name, the Windows room has a full wall of floor to ceiling windows which look out over the lagoon and the twenty mile creek. Each season brings it's own unique flavour to the ravine.
Congratulations Caroline & Ben.








Sunday, October 3, 2010

Niagara Life Center Holiday Home Tour

Some may think that it is too early to start your holiday planning, but those of us in the design related industry have been working for months for the upcoming season. In fact, the committee for the Holiday Home Tour benefiting Niagara Life Center began its planning process last Jan. This tour has become an annual fundraiser for the centre. Niagara Life Centre(http://www.niagaralifecentre.ca/) is a Christian-based counseling ministry sustained entirely through donations, providing aid for individuals experiencing life crises, including marriage and family breakdown, depression, grief, anger, co-dependency, unplanned pregnancy, parenting and post abortion trauma. The centre provides education and assistance in an effort to establish coping skills for those in need. The centre does not discriminate in any way and all services are free and confidential. I have the privilege to once again be on the planning committee for this tour as well as designing one of the homes for the holidays.

The following pictures taken by Debbie Stec (also a committee member) from Stec Photography (http://www.stecphoto.com/) show some of the home decor VFD created in the Culp Homestead presented in the 2009 tour.





This year's homes include A Century Manor, a Historic Homestead and St John's Anglican Church as well as four other homes in the Vineland/Jordan/west St Catharines area. The tour dates are Fri Nov 19 10:00 am - 8:00 pm and Sat Nov 20 10:00 am - 5:00 pm. View the tour website at http://www.nlchometour.com/.










Additional decorators/florists for the 2010 tour include Vine Floral, United Floral Design, Northland Floral, Home Sense, Ooh La La Designs, Aquisitions & Interiors, The Bowring, Naturally Staged, The Watering Can, Fleurish Designs and Artiface. A luncheon is available both days from 11:00-3:00 in the Fireside Room at St John's Anglican Church featuring homemade soup, rolls and pie. Also available on the tour will be complimentary Starbucks coffee and Marble Slab Creamery ice cream.
Put together a girl's day out (husbands are welcome also) and come and be inspired for your holiday decorating. Ticket information is available on the home tour website http://www.nlchometour.com/.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Tara & Dave

Fall is here which means berries ,pods, branches, peppers and anyother interesting element that comes with the changing of the leaves. The brides colour choice of white with orange accents was a fresh early autumn theme reflected in her whimsical bridal bouquet which included locally grown rannunculas, dahlias, and freesia with orange bittersweet from northern Ontario. We incorporated the bride's grandmother's vintage hat pins throughout her bouquet in memory of her. Unfortunately hat pins are an accessory of the past, but what a touch of elegance they bring.
The bridesmaids' bouquets included lisianthus, hypericum berries, ornamental peppers, spray roses, dahlia, freesia and stellata pods.




I couldn't resist a close-up shot of the bittersweet and ornamental peppers. The vibrant oranges and contrasting textures gave the whimsical unexpected finishing touch to the white arrangements.











The reception was held at White Oaks Resort & Spa. (http://www.whiteoaksresort.com/). This venue is Ontario's only 4 diamond/5 star resort. The ballroom was filled with two styles of tall centerpieces incorporating hanging amaranthus in one style and the bride's favourite, hanging pearls on the other. Tall, lit branch arrangements and a whimsical 'just married' sign were the backdrop to the head table. Bryan Caporicci (www.bcapphoto.com) was the professional phographer for this wedding. One of the leading photographers in the Niagara Peninsula, Bryan is providing VFD with photos to be featured in the portfolio on the website.










Monday, September 20, 2010

Joanne & Dave

Joanne & Dave choose Peninsula Ridge Winery (http://www.peninsularidge.com/) in Beamsville to celebrate their wedding ceremony this past weekend on a windy but beautiful sun filled day. Their wine themed wedding combined purples & blues in the handtied bridal flowers using lisianthus, agapanthus, roses, trichilium, freesia and eucalyptus.





The ceremony was performed on the winery property with a panoramic view of Lake Ontario in the background. Being set upon the escarpment, Peninsula Ridge Winery has an uninterupted view of Toronto across the lake.

Music was provided by Glissandi (http://www.music4u.ca/). This violin/harp/flute trio is one of the most popular music groups in the peninsula for events. Here David Braun, Debroah Braun & Heather Snowden fought the winds on the side lawn of the winery's red brick victorian restaurant. It is true talent when a musician can simultaneously secure the base of the music stand with his foot and hold the music down with the end of his violin while playing some of the most beautiful music you will ever hear.




The bride's wine theme carried over onto the cupcakes created by Vineyard Sweets (http://www.vineyardsweets.ca/).





The reception was held in the carriage house which along with the outdoor covered deck provides an imtimate setting for small gatherings.






Congratulations Joanne & Dave - here's to many happy years.





Monday, August 30, 2010

Iris & Mike

After eight years of being best friends, confidants and lovers, Iris & Mike became man and wife in a tradition filled Jewish wedding ceremony in Cave Springs Vineyard. Iris choose a vintage theme for her wedding flowers in blue and yellows. Locally grown dahlias, lisianthus, freesia and alstromeria along with roses created the look. The bride's bouquet was a soft palette which brought out the romantic vintage style of her dress.



Bolder hues of yellow along with silver leaf accents were added to the bridesmaids' bouquet to compliment there french blue dresses.






The chuppah which represents God's covering of the marriage and the new home they are entering into was provided by Simple Beautiful Decor (http://www.simplybeauty.ca/










After the ceremony the couple along with their close friends and families celebrated at On The Twenty in Jordan Village. Congratulations Iris & Mike.










Sunday, August 22, 2010

Laura & Ryan



It was another perfect weather day (minus the humidity) for Laura & Ryan to say their vows up next to the escarpment in the Cave Springs Vineyard. This week the pictures are all about the 'boys'. The women and their flowers are usually the feature, but this week I thought I would switch the spotlight. The bride & groom were all for designs 'outside of the box'.

A groom really needs to trust his friends when they are this close to water


The ring bearer carried the rings on a button mum pillow




I couldn't resist a close-up of the bride's bouquet with the green/white parrot tulips. The tulips were the perfect surprise element in the bride's bouquet.

























The featured flowers were locally grown except for the roses and hypericum berries. They included hydrangea, lisianthus, sedum, alstromeria, freesia, bells of ireland, curly willow and asters. After the ceremony the guest enjoyed a wine tour of the Cave Springs Cellars in Jordan Village then dined and danced at Inn on the Twenty.
















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