Offering everything from chair cover rentals to floral design services, The Creative Bride specializes in customizing your wedding day, no matter what the budget is. Kimberley Rasokas, Owner and Creative Director, combines a passion for weddings with five years of experience in the wedding industry to offer local brides creative and innovative décor, flowers, gifts, accessories and guest favours. The Creative Bride can take care of it all, or just some, of your wedding needs, including backdrops, ceiling canopies, chair covers, centrepieces, bouquets, boutonnières and much more.

Kim mixes enthusiasm and passion for weddings with professionalism and friendly service to help brides make their dreams become a reality. With her experience and dedication to always take weddings to the next level, we think that The Creative Bride is destined to be famous among the bridal community. We met with Kim in her cozy home studio, browsed through her portfolio and product samples and found out more about what makes The Creative Bride so creative. Let us explain...

Personally speaking...

In 2002, Kim graduated from Sheridan College with a Diploma in Visual Art and Textile Design. She also received a Diploma in Professional Floral Design from the Canadian Institute of Floral Design (CIFD).

"I love weddings," Kim told The Ring. "I was born with an artistic flair and working with brides lets me use my skills to help those who might not have that." And Kim is constantly updating these skills. "I'm continuously immersed in weddings, researching in wedding magazines, websites and television shows to stay on top of and be aware of the newest styles and trends," – knowledge that she is more than happy to pass on to brides.

Kim has been a part of the wedding industry since 2003 when she started out in hospitality doing Sales & Marketing, Catering and assisting with planning events and conferences for large groups in hotels. For five years she was surrounded by weddings and became familiar with the trends and details involved in putting a wedding together, as well as running a business.

In 2004, Kim got married and that's when she fell in love with weddings; then in 2006 she found an opportunity to purchase stock from an existing company. Shortly thereafter Kim purchased more items to add to her growing product inventory – like chair covers – and created a website of all of the unique and creative items that she would have loved to have for her own wedding.

For almost three years now Kim has been decorating and assisting brides with selecting favours, accessories and gifts for their wedding. Kim also appeared on Breakfast Television in Toronto, where she was featured in a segment on trends for wedding favours in June of 2008. "We also made the favours for the Breakfast Television wedding," says Kim about a couple that married on-air for the show.

Kim says that "The trends and amazingly innovative products that The Creative Bride carries continue to inspire me to create new designs around them."

Her creativity for yours

Though Kim says she can customize her décor and floral designs to your taste, she says her specialty is "clean, crisp designs that are interesting, modern and trendy. Most brides hire me because they see that I have a real passion for their wedding, to make it the best day for them. I take great care in our consultation to go over many different ideas to make sure brides are happy and the budget is met," Kim told us. "I help them with advice, even if it's in regards to a service that I'm not providing them with; if I can help them, I will."

Jen and Mike Donnelly, who had Kim create a candy buffet and centrepieces for their September 2008 wedding told The Ring that Kim had great ideas but also welcomed theirs. "We worked together to come up with the most amazing candy buffet you have ever seen! She made things simple and handled the details with the hall so I wouldn't have to... She was just fantastic and took a lot of pressure off of us... She was very prompt when replying to emails and very patient with my ever changing mind!"

Just as the name suggests, Kim told us that the brides who shop at The Creative Bride are just that – creative. "They want something a little out of the ordinary or that special personal touch for their day," she says. "They don't want the 'cookie cutter' wedding. I want to do weddings with brides and grooms who really want their weddings to reflect themselves and why they fell in love." Kim adds, "I love to take a bride's idea or inspiration and put it outside of the box to go from the wedding design she 'likes' to the wedding design she 'loves' so that everyone will talk about it for years to come."

"Kim was amazing throughout the whole process!" says Tsha, who purchased favours and decorating services from The Creative Bride. "I really felt that Kim was able to reflect our tastes as a couple but at the same time make suggestions about what would make our day even greater. She told me (as the bride), not to worry about a thing, and I didn't. Kim took care of everything for us and did it all beautifully."

Decorating your dream

Because Kim is in the know on the latest wedding décor trends, she told us that "Fabric remains super popular." Layers and textures are a big thing, like the overlay on top of a table cloth or the sash on the chair cover, as well as unique fabrics that are rich and luxurious in both look and feel. "Also, the focus has been on the guest tables," adds Kim.

But whatever your décor preference is, The Creative Bride offers a variety of decoration rentals, including backdrops, ceiling canopies, chair covers (in black or white with coloured sashes), centrepieces (real and artificial), head table décor, table runners and overlays, and archways.

But if The Creative Bride doesn't have something that you want, Kim says that she can get "whatever you're looking for" and she will source it out for you and get you a great price.

"Knowing how much we were able to trust Kim throughout the whole process helped lift a big weight off our shoulders," says Tsha. "I remember walking into the reception hall and being amazed with the work Kim had done, and we didn't have to lift a finger!"

Flourishing flowers

Because Kim has received her Professional Floral Designer Diploma (in the summer of 2008), she is up-to-date on wedding floral trends. "Feathers, bling and a combination of colours and textures are popular right now. It's all about adding a new and unusual touch to make the bouquets as unique as the bride herself," says Kim.

"The Creative Bride creates unique and creative floral designs to make your wedding the talk of the town," says Kim. "Using tropical and rare flowers is our specialty as well as incorporating Swarovski crystals into your bouquet to create not just stunning floral design, but floral art that sparkles just as much as you do!" Kim can do this for centrepieces, bride bouquets, boutonnières and corsages. Each floral arrangement is conditioned to make sure the flowers stay beautiful throughout the day and she will drop them off to your location on your wedding day.

Creative Bride originals

Kim has also used her creativity on her own designs, including custom candy favour tables, which she says are especially popular. "Brides love this option because it is very impressive to guests at a wedding."

This rings true for Jen and Mike Donnelly's September 2008 wedding as Jen says that guests talked about the candy buffet for weeks after the event was over! "I loved the set-up Kim did with all of the different vases full of candy and the variety of candy she had. It was a beautiful addition to our wedding."

The unique candy table is meant to be used for guest favours, but it's also an addition to your décor as the colours of the candy are matched to your wedding colours. Kim shops for the candy for you (after finding out what you want, of course), sets it all up in vases and takes it down for you. She also custom designs eight ounce favour boxes with a photo or special message of your choice, with up to eight different designs possible. "This table is a great way to get your guests to chat and mingle," Kim says, as they fill their boxes with candy of their choice to take home.

All of the small things...

The Creative Bride's repertoire doesn't stop at decorating and creating floral arrangements (as if that's not enough!) as the online store also offers a variety of selections for the little details of your wedding, like creative favours, DIY items and accessories for you, the shower, stagette, ceremony, reception and honeymoon. Plus, you can also get funky accessories for yourself and the groom, like t-shirts, as well as gifts for your bridesmaids (e.g. monogrammed bags and kits) and groomsmen (a BBQ tool set or monogrammed coasters). And this is just a taste of the extensive products offered on the site.

Also featured in the online store is handmade jewellery by Glimpse Creations, a jewelry designer based in Burlington with many customizable options available, like hairpins, tiaras, necklaces, earrings and bracelets. Glimpse Creations has been one of the top twenty Swarovski Designers for North America for the past three years!

Pricing it out

Kim told The Ring, "I will work with any bride on any budget" – she just wants to help you make your dream wedding become a reality. Plus, she says that she is more than happy to create a custom quote with all of the costs detailed and up front. "There are no hidden costs or add-ons that will pop up later; what you see is what you get."

Jen told The Ring that for her order she gave Kim her wedding budget. "She worked with it and the outcome was amazing. Kim went above and beyond my expectations with the candy buffet."

A deposit of $250 to $500 – depending on what the estimated total for your decorating or floral needs is – is required to book The Creative Bride for your day. The remaining balance is due one week prior to your wedding for décor and upon delivery for floral arrangements. Online orders are paid upon ordering, either online with a credit card or by emailing or calling Kim. All prices are subject to taxes.

Details of Kim's décor rental and floral prices can be determined by discussing your needs with her; but as an example, chair covers start at $3 each and include set-up, take-down and coloured sash.

While Kim says she loves to do the complete package – décor, favours and flowers – you don't have to book all of them. "You can book whatever suits your style and budget."

"The value of the products/services we received seemed to go over and beyond the prices we paid," says Tsha. "Kim was able to help us work within our small budget and a short time frame. She got it all done, and was able to incorporate so many personal touches that were worth more than money could buy."

Walking you through it...

Email or phone Kim to book an appointment to discuss décor ideas, rentals or flowers. You can also book an appointment to discuss favours or other items from her online store or you can just place the order. Once you've discussed colour, theme, budget and wish list with Kim she and you come up with a realistic plan that suits your budget and desires. Then, the contract is signed and deposit is paid to secure Kim for your day.

Some days book up faster than others, so to ensure you get The Creative Bride all to yourself, you should book as soon as you know that you want Kim to be a part of your day. The rule of thumb is four to eight months in advance.

At a later date, you meet with Kim again to review any changes to plans and ideas and make sure that last minute details are in place. If Kim is designing your flowers, this is when you would bring in samples of your bridesmaid dress colour to make sure that everything matches and you like how it all looks.

A week before the wedding, numbers are confirmed and balances are due (except for flowers, which is due the day of). Flowers are delivered at a specified time the morning of your wedding. Since Kim is the key player in the company who meets with each bride, she designs all floral arrangements and though sometimes she hires people to assist with setting up and decorating weddings, she always makes sure that she's there and a part of it.

With so many services and products offered by The Creative Bride it is a one-stop shop for many details of your wedding. Kim's enthusiastic attitude showed us that she loves her work and it translates to the great job that she does at The Creative Bride.

Details, details, details

• Kim recommends ordering your wedding items from her online store or getting in touch with her at least 4 months ahead of your wedding date.
• Kim suggests booking her décor and floral design services 4 to 8 months before the wedding.
• All online orders must be paid for at time of order.
• Depending on what Kim is doing for your wedding, a $250 to $500 deposit is due at booking.
• The remainder is due a week before the wedding (unless you ordered flowers - that balance is due on your wedding day).