I believe that you need to surround yourself with a tribe of people who understand your vision, who get you and why you do the work you do, and from that, you are able to create a community of industry friends who are there to help build you up.

For me, styled shoots have been a way to build a community. Build up that super supportive tribe of industry friends who have become life friends as well!  
I enjoy seeing the success of others in our industry!  When they get a feature, or their images are shared over and over because they are so damn good!  
I applaud those in our community who reach out and work together; who boost each
other up; who make a difference in the lives of others.  
​
​Keep it up friends...it only gets better from here!!!

If you haven't seen the work of Kay from Social & Co. Events wedding planning, do yourself a favour and check her out!!  Relatively new to the wedding planning scene in Calgary, but a keen eye for design, and a well styled event has brought her to the forefront of wedding clients in Alberta & BC!!

We are so pleased to get the chance to work along side so many great wedding and event industry pros for our workshops!  And today we are introducing Kay to you as one of our new workshop vendors!!  

~ Below are some flat lay designs by Kay ~

Kay will be joining us to chat about the elements of her flat lay designs, and give us some tips and tricks on how to achieve these beauties!!!

We will have lots of beautiful stationery suites to play with as well, so watch for more info on our stationery sponsors!!

There are only 12 spots available for the Flat Lay workshop, so book your
spot  before they are gone!!!

Click here to send your ticket request!
​

ohhhhh yeah...here we go...lets get designing!!!

we have been planning this flat lay workshop for a while now...and we are finally able to announce this fun day to you all!

There are only 12 spots available for the Flat Lay workshop, so book your
spot  before they are gone!!!

Click here to send your ticket request!

from Laura of Birch & Bunny Weddings & Events:
Hey there!  I'm Laura, the founder and lead Planner at Birch & Bunny Weddings and Events.  I am an award winning, WPIC certified Wedding Planner.  I'm also Destination Wedding Certified, so although based in Calgary, Alberta I will travel wherever adventure calls me. 
My inspiration for wedding and event designs comes from each of my amazing couples!  We have so much fun together adding personal touches and enhancing the guest experience in memorable ways.  My goal is for your wedding day to tell your authentic love story because every wedding is as unique as the couple is- I'm extremely passionate about that.
I'm a total mush, who still gets emotional at every ceremony- how could I not after forming such a bond with my clients?  The event planning bug bit me at a very early age, and am big on lists and organizational systems!  This is why event planning just felt like the right fit for me, and weddings are my real passion.  Besides, life is too short to do something you don't truly love!
When I'm not planning unforgettable events for my clients, you'll find me in a messy bun at the dog park, at a concert, traveling, volunteering, or trying a new local restaurant with my hubster.  Well, that's me in a nutshell.
I would absolutely love to meet you, so don't be shy. Reach out, say "hi!" and let's grab a coffee and plan your adventurous, memorable wedding together!
Birch & Bunny Weddings & Events
@birchandbunny

Each of our attendees got paired with another to create four teams for our design challenge.    The teams consisted of a photographer and either a florist or a planner!!
​Laura and Glenda were paired together!  Below is a photo of Laura, from Glenda after their design was complete!

I loved the elements that went in to the design from the green team!!  They started with the green goblets, pairing them with blue, and creating a very earthy design.  They used elements of natural colours and products, and the table design flowed beautifully. 

Hope you all love seeing our design challenge, and features on our event planners and florists. I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming days!! ​

and welcome bags, and giveaways...oh my!!!
We are a spoiled bunch....and we know it!

Have you seen our amazing swag bags from this Mountain Love Workshop Retreat??? 
Let me tell you...they were amazing...if I do say so myself!!  We have some pretty amazing friends in and around town, and we sure are thankful!  And I want to send a big super thank you to my friend Shannon for helping me with every part of this workshop...she even helped me gather items & fill these swag bags for y'all!!  

FULL SWAG VENDOR LIST:
~ Lamb Soap Works; Fired Up Naturals;  Palm Bay; Corona; Sugar Shimmer; 
Design Jaybee; Needle & Pine; Jacob's Creek; Stevie & Bean; Tom Gore Vineyards; 
The Open Trunk; illo Leather; Rocky Mountain Bride; Confetti Wed Magazine; 
Dote Weddings;  Lace Brick Design; The Sugar Cube; Lovesky Design~

We can't forget to tell you about our fabulous local makers and industry friends who were so super generous with give aways for our attendees!

GIVEAWAYS:
Inspired Findings; Creekside Villa; Plaid & Prosecco; Shop Words & Co

We sure love how amazing our industry and local maker friends are.  We know how much they spoil us, and how well they treat us!!  So here's to all those amazing people in our lives...for all they do, all they create, and all they share in our world!!
Be sure to TAG YOUR SWAG friends!!!

from Clarissa of Foxtail Floral Designs:
I started my business in January of 2018. Officially on paper. But I took the Floral Design Certification at Mount Royal University in September of 2017. 
I originally started my business because I wanted to work for myself and have the flexibility to have a family one day but still work. 
I’ve been a full time contracted RMT for the past 5 years and really love running my own business. I always knew deep down that one day I would work 100% for myself. 
I fell in love with working with flowers back when I’d help my wedding planner friend with setup (Final Touches) and I knew after those experiences that the wedding community was something I wanted to be a part of. 
My goals: 1. Grow my business while providing exceptional/beautiful designs. 2. Be 100% self employed by the time I’m 35. 3.  Have 10-15 weddings each year. 

Foxtail Floral Designs
@foxtail.floral.designs

During our design challenge day, we gave each of our designers, a chance to deconstruct  the florals and use our decor store to design and style their own table scape.
I love the use of the red apples to accentuate the red tables theme, with the use of florals in the dark green goblets as well as the main centrepiece atop the stack of vintage books.

Hope you all love seeing our design challenge, and features on our event planners and florists. I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming days!! 

decor store vendors
Creekside Villa
OrangeTrunk Vintage Styling & Rentals
Shannon Valente Weddings
Chair Flair
illo Leather
The Knot Garden YYC
Hobbysmith Glass Co.
Needle & Pine
Fall For Florals
Many thanks to our vendors...they spoil us, and allow us to offer our attendees
​ a great design experience.   

I'm so excited to be sharing the images of the design elements of our two day workshop Canadian Mountain Love with you all.  We had two very talented florists, and equally talented event planners with us, and we had fun watching them do their thing!!  The images were taken by the photographers whose work we shared last week.  Have a look over the next few days, and let us know if you too want to join our workshops in the future!!

At our design Challenge, Megan and Amber were the yellow team.  Together they created this lovely table full of whimsy.  The beautiful play on colour contrast using blue to boost the yellow was a hit!!  The soft aqua blue glasses didn't over power the lighthearted table, and the lemons added a great pop of yellow.  I think my favourite part is the popcorn on the plate...thats the touch of whimsy I love!!

Hope you all love seeing our design challenge, and features on our event planners and florists. I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming days!! 

Day two brought us to the super fun design challenge.  More then just having photos taken of a styled set, we offer hands on styling and fun 'shopping' at our 'decor store' to help design your own table setting!  Check out the photo below of the store!

Many thanks to our vendors...they spoil us, and allow us to offer our attendees
​ a great design experience.   

We gathered together and enjoyed a yummy breakfast, gave away some prizes,  and dove into  the design challenges!  

We paired our attendees into groups...each group a photographer and a florist or planner.  How brilliant to have a stylist and a photographer together at each table!!

Each of our groups were given a colour from our Hudson Bay Company colour palette.  The teams were given a moment to chat about their ideas, and then the challenge began, with a draw for who got to choose from the decor store first!                                

The challenges of creating a table design can be few or many.  Sometimes, the challenges are with the table pieces themselves...not quite the right blue, or the table runner isn't long enough, the centrepiece isn't tall enough!  This is why we have a decor store at our workshops!!

With all the fun we have during our styled shoot workshops, I can't help want to plan more, and bring the fun to life time and again!  I hope you find our workshops interesting, and want to join us one day too!

don't miss out...get on our list to be notified of upcoming workshops.  Some will be full day, two day, or just an afternoon...there will be a different theme, and style to each one...and, if you are a photographer wanting to book a styled session for your next Photographer Workshop...we do that too!!  

you guys...I'm super pumped to finally share with you a little something we have been working on since January!!  

Are you a photographer planning a workshop to teach photography skills...and need a beautiful set to shoot??  
That is where we come in...with our styled sessions!  
​Big or small, we can bring together a gorgeous design within the theme you are shooting.  We work with lots of great vendors who are truly collaborative spirits!

What do you get with a 'styled session' ....check below for what we offer!!

styled sessions
book a private styled session for your photography group
you will receive:
*initial design meeting
*fully designed proposal for approval
​*fully styled set
*collaborative vendors
*insight into submitting to magazine & blog features
*portfolio building experience
​*industry networking
*confidence building experience
​(some restrictions apply...ask for details)