Our floral department offers a wide range of styles to choose from that enhances your style and personality.
Skyline is a stunning new venue with a spectacular view of Calgary. Owned and operated by Simply Elegant, it's the ideal location for weddings, private parties corporate events. Discover what Skyline has to offer.
Wedding flowers bring sunshine with them, no matter the weather. They make children smile, elders reminisce and beautiful brides even more stunning. They are a reflection of your personality and style. Our in-house floral designers know how to make yours perfect.
From the first meeting with our seasoned florists until the final delivery of your flower arrangement, you will know you are in capable hands. We start by understanding your company's culture and environment and what works specifically for you.
Whether it's a floral wall, decor arrangement or centrepieces, florals are one of our specialties. After all, this isn't just a regular floral arrangement. It's designed especially for your event's theme. Let our in-house florist customize florals for you.
Our floral experts encourage you to visit us at our studio to meet and discuss your ideas for your bouquets and room décor so we can capture your vision.
With over 30 years of seasoned floral experience, our designers bring a wealth of artistry, knowledge and expertise to your wedding ceremony and reception flower arrangements.
Your floral theme can be integrated into your bouquets, wedding archway, guest tables and backdrop. As a multi-division facility, each department collaborates to ensure the look and feel of your wedding is exactly as you envision it. From the catering, to planning, décor and flowers – we can manage all aspects of your wedding.
From your grandmother's broach in your bridal bouquet to unique statement corsages, our florists make sure your bridal party flowers are the hit of the wedding – this includes a custom designed bridal bouquet.
Each department updates your financial records which are summarized on a simple invoice for ease of understanding.
We are on trend and can advise the latest styles and themes for your wedding flowers.
Learn about seasonal trends in wedding flowers, corporate flowers and home party floral decor. Get insights and ideas from our expert writer articles.
Do I need a florist?
Professional florists make your job easier and stress free. We take great care in handcrafting wonderful floral arrangements that match your office environment. Our florists use only the very best flowers grown by reputable growers. A breathtaking reception arrangement is one that is carefully and artistically designed with top quality flowers all blended into your vision of the composition and design.
How much will my flowers cost?
Your investment in flowers depends on your taste, the type of flowers, how often you require replacement flowers, etc. Flowers purchased during peak floral times like Valentine's Day, Christmas and Mother's Day can increase your costs by 30%. Using flowers in season can help reduce costs although many flowers are shipped in from the USA, South America and Holland on a regular basis.
Do I need to match the flowers with my bridesmaid's dresses?
No as it is better from a cameras point of view to accent the dresses – not blend in.
Every event is unique. Browse through the site and let us know if you have a certain idea in mind. Contact us and we'll make it happen. And keep in mind that our crew at Simply Elegant Catering can cater your beautiful event in Calgary.
I have used Simply Elegant many times for catering though my work. While planning my wedding this past year, I had contact them to get quotes on catering, and to my surprise they also do wedding flowers. Now, being the procrastinator that I am, I left my flower purchase until the very end and not much left to spend on them either! After many emails back and forth with Sharon, she went above and beyond my expectations and saved me loads of money, while not compromising on the quality to get the flowers that I needed for myself, my husband, 8 people in the wedding party, parents and grandparents. I believe these flowers really added the special touch (and pop of colour) that would have been missing, and my husband and I could not be happier with the outcome.
I continue to use their catering whenever I can through work, and would highly recommend them to anyone one looking for exceptional quality, reasonable price and friendly staff wanting to help with any request you might have and then going over and beyond what is expected.
Thank you again to all the staff (and especially Sharon) for making our Wedding Day extra special!
Love simply elegant! My husband and I came in and were immediately surrounded by great energy! We used simply for our wedding bouquets, some decor and catering! We were so happy with everything! The food was AMAZING (I was glad there was left overs lol) the bouquets were stunning!! Peter and Sharon were fantastic to work with!! I will be using simply in the future for sure?
Everything was absolutely beautiful and the day went so smooth. No hiccups that I am aware of and no drama. The flowers were perfect and the color was bang on! So many compliments on the food. The selections were amazing and everyone said great things about your catering company. Thanks again for everything; it was a perfect day!
I wanted to thank all those at Simply Elegant for their help in making our Open House a success. Everyone loved the flowers Sharon, Peter, you have been so helpful from the start and the food was very well-received. Our staff for the evening, Marie and Nancy, were a perfect mix of practicality and professionalism, offering advice when asked and performing their tasks with the utmost of efficiency. I felt I could relax with them here, knowing everything was taken care of. Everyone enjoyed the event, and we look forward to planning another party in the future. We will be in touch!
Wow, so hard to believe it has been over a week since that anniversary! First of all, let me thank you and your team for a fabulous time last Saturday! You all did such an amazing job! Peter, you fit right in with everyone. I felt a bit stressed at times and you immediately put me at ease. Sharon, thanks for being so lovely and ensuring the flowers were beautiful and as I had suggested "less was more" no need to overdo it….it was perfect!!! You are just so great. Dave and I were so very pleased with it all and will most certainly be using you again in the future as well as referring you to others, in our circle it seems not many of us have the time to plan and hold these events but having them is important! So we will see you again for sure! Thanks to all of you and please pass it on to our server and the chefs!
Be it catering, event rentals, special event products or event florals. Browse, add to cart and make your order right through our online store. Our staff will respond immediately to confirm your order and organize the delivery for your event.
We are Simply Elegant, an accomplished events and catering company headquartered in Calgary Alberta. We provide expert planning, catering, floral, decor and management services for all kinds of events, including private parties, corporate events, and weddings.
We started as a catering company in 1996. Owner Robert Vidra, a trained chef, came to Calgary determined to open a catering operation that met the specific needs of the business community. He talked to everyone from receptionists to the CEO's of Calgary's largest companies, designing a catering company that would best meet the needs of the Calgary culture.
The business developed a reputation for providing excellent food, outstanding service and tremendous value. In fact, the service was so good that Simply Elegant's clients encouraged the company to move into events, because of their unwavering attention to detail. Simply Elegant expanded into events in 2005, adding a nationally recognized, award-winning designer and events planner to the staff.
Now, instead of having to deal with a variety of vendors, clients are able to turn over everything to Simply Elegant, right from the early planning through to the decorations, catering, entertainment, execution and clean up.
Robert is a certified chef and has worked in the hospitality industry for over 35 years. He founded Simply Elegant in 1996 and designed each division to complement each other. He named Simply Elegant after Albert Einstein's theory "if we can describe the universe in a 'simple but elegant way' we can understand the universe." Simply Elegant has prospered due to Robert's belief and nurturing the staff community. With his leadership Simply Elegant has grown from its humble beginnings as a catering company to a full-range hospitality firm.
Sharon is a Certified Special Event Professional (CSEP) and has been a manager with Simply Elegant since 2004 in the roles of operations manager, florist, decorator, wedding and event planner. Prior to Simply Elegant, she owned a successful Vancouver floral and event decorating company. As a key note speaker and educator in the event industry, she has been a member of the International Live Events Association for over 25 years. Sharon is also an educator at Mount Royal University where she teaches the Business of Weddings and Social Events.
Peter received his "top drawer" training at the Hotel Management School in Leipzig, Germany and honed his skills during his 8 years at Kempinski Hotels and Resorts, one of the oldest European hotel chains. His previous experience ranges from being a tea expert to an extensive knowledge of Champagne. His calm, professional demeanor is perfectly suited for coordinating large, international catered events to small, intimate dinner parties. Our clients love Peter's attention to detail and personalized service when it comes to menu selection for their events.
Toni oversees our marketing department from design work and social media programming to implementing other digital and traditional media campaigns for Simply Elegant. With more than 20 years experience in marketing and branding, Toni is also involved in marketing research and ROI estimates. She is experienced in measuring performance indicators for events. Plus she's been an adjunct professor for 10 years at MRU teaching courses in marketing, research and branding. Toni has a BA in Economics and an MBA in Marketing.
Jason started his career in the hospitality industry in 1997 and graduated from SAIT's Professional Cooking Program in 2001. Jason has worked his way up from a Garde Manger at well-known hotel chains to the Executive Sous Chef at Fort Calgary before joining our team. Armed with innovative ideas and creative food menus, he sources fresh produce from local suppliers and makes everything in-house from scratch. We're proud of this work because he's elevated the Simply Elegant brand with his unique approach to preparing quality food for our customers.
Shelley is the person behind the scenes keeping us organized by handling both the office and accounting functions. Shelley came to Simply Elegant with over 25 years in the industry where she did everything from being a short order cook, to serving and managing a downtown pub. Ten years of working at the famed King Eddy taught her a great deal about music and, more importantly, people. After 10 years with Simply Elegant, Shelley is a calm force during busy events. She has an eye for detail in our proposals and makes sure all the numbers add up.
Ed is a P.Eng. and an MBA who graduated from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Advanced Studies, in Mexico. With over 20 years of Information Technology consulting experience in North and Central America and the Caribbean, Ed is in charge of our Information Network. As part of our team since 2003, Ed has developed our information infrastructure onto a private cloud system which integrates communications, productivity, collaboration, data protection and security. He makes sure all of our internal systems are efficiently managed.
Alex has over 10 years experience managing marketing campaignsthrough digital channels such as display, paid search and social media advertising. He previously worked on client accounts including Rolex and Mercedes-Benz USA. Alex has a Bachelor of Management (Marketing) degree and is a certified professional in Google AdWords, Inbound Marketing by HubSpot and Social Media Marketing by Hootsuite. Alex has worked with Simply Elegant for the past 5 years and is responsible for website development and our online marketing.
We actively listen in order to understand the corporate culture and needs of our clients and create events that reflect their brand and values. We do not believe in "one size fits all." Rather, we customize events by working collaboratively with our clients. We never take for granted the trust that our clients and vendors put in us.
Simply Elegant staff are experts in their field. Numerous employees have enjoyed long-standing careers at Simply Elegant. We value their loyalty and support their continued education.
We have established strong, working relationships with our vendors and treat them how we want to be treated. We believe that honesty, integrity and social responsibility are vital to our corporate culture and seek out vendors with similar values. Our future includes caring for the planet and we actively seek ways to lessen our footprint on it. We are mindful of the environment as we design our events.
Leadership starts at the top. It has always been the core principle of Robert Vidra to accept responsibility for all that happens and not blame others; all of our staff follow that same conviction.
We enjoy what we do by creating fun and a little magic.
Our business is not an object but a live entity; we are a community of people who love to work and socialize together.
We believe that change is inevitable and by accepting the evolution of change, we can inspire others.
There is nothing more important than communication.
We are open to accepting constructive criticism.
We accept that each person has strengths and weaknesses; we recognize the strengths of others and minimize their weaknesses by providing support and working as a team.
Success is directly measured by those around you; we cannot be what we are without our staff and vendors – it's the people we work with that make us great.
Each person is required to work in other departments so they understand the other divisions.
We share in the joys of others and their lives.
We are community minded and give time, money, food and services to the Calgary community.
We believe in doing the right thing even when it is not the easy thing.
We believe business is earned and trust cannot be abused.
Enlightenment through education brings out the best in us.
We give employees company money to go out for dinners and experience new things that make them happy.
Supporting strong policies since 1996; we did what was right before most people cared.
We recycle, reuse and reduce.
We do not take advantage of our vendors; it is through collaborating with them that we can succeed.
There's no point being a premiere events and catering company if we've run out of planet to live on. So we take our responsibility to the environment very seriously.
Straight line food delivery for "green routing" to specific downtown corporate buildings to reduce fuel consumption, minimize vehicle exhaust plus conserve gas.
We're glad a healthier environment matters to you too. Thanks for wanting to know more about our green philosophy. We'll keep striving to find new ways to lessen our footprint on the planet.
Simply Elegant has been designing floral creations for events and weddings in Calgary since 1996. We focus on providing exceptional customer service be it wedding flowers, office flowers or event flowers. View Our Policies if you have specific questions.