So we feel a bit like we're bragging about all the lovely thank you's we've received below, but when we put our heart and sole into creating each of our couples wedding flowers its such a delight to hear that they loved them just as much as we loved creating them.
Read some of our testimonials below:
"Friendly, enthusiastic, professional, talented and with a portfolio to back that up. It was an easy choice and I couldn't recommend her highly enough.
A huge personal thank you from me and Ben. You truly were wonderful and you really did add to the excitement of the day."
"I just wanted to write to say a HUGE thank you for our beautiful wedding flowers on 12th July. There were simply stunning! The shades of fuschia and purple were exactly what we were after and had so many lovely comments throughout the day.
The trees in the barn were particularly stunning and really made for a magical evening. Thank you and the team for all your hard work on the arrangements, and for all your time with us on the run up to the wedding. Sam & I are so grateful as they made our day so beautiful."
"Where do I even begin….
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!
Hard to express in words how thankful I am to you, you were a total treasure on Saturday and I couldn’t have enjoyed your work more, I spent the whole evening getting comments on how beautiful the flowers were. I’m so grateful I had such an awesome florist and you made my day.
I absolutely LOVED my bouquet, the urn, the registrar tables… the list goes on. You are one VERY talented lady!!
Thank you!"
"We just wanted to say a very big thank you for doing such a beautiful job of the venue and to all our flowers and button holes. Thank you again"
If your on the search for barn wedding venues in Oxfordshire, Caswell House has to be right up there on your must look round list.
It is absolutely stunning! From the rustic barn through to the amazing gardens, once you've seen it you're sure to fall in love. It was such a privilege to provide the flowers for Catherine and Glen's big day in July. As well as having the must have floral colour palette of 2014, the arrangements were also filled to the brim with Juliette David Austin roses. Winner!
There are so many unique areas to "floral up" at Caswell House and the cow briar in the main barn became quite a feature. Filled with fluffy white hydrangea plants interwoven with fairy lights it created such a magical feel to the space. Olive trees adorned the side walls, filled with fairy lights creating a truely magical feel to the space.
Rustic white washed baskets of flowers became the centre pieces, with soft peach Apple Tea carnations (I know I said the banned word, but seriously these guys are to die for!) Vuvuzela roses, white lisianthus, white veronica, thlaspi and scented eucalyptus. Baskets full of delicious peach and white flowers.
Catherine's bouquet was an absolute stunner David Austin Juliette roses, scented freesias, white veronica, lisianthus and Majolika spray roses all arranged into this scented bundle of joy. I think its one of my favourite bouquets of the season so far.
Country weddings are big business at the moment, the current trend for big beautiful barns, yards of bunting and blousy blooms is right up our street!
If your after an English country wedding, our top 5 country bridal bouquets will be the perfect compliment to your relaxed wedding day.
Read on for some jaw dropping gorgeous floral inspiration ...
You can't get much more country than the blousy David Austin roses. The Juliette rose is an absolute favourite of mine, I can't help but think 'huge peach marshmallow' every time I see them. Combine this gorgeous specimen with some of my favourite country flowers including sweet peas, veronica, scabiosa and berried eucalytpus. Wrap the bouquet with hessian to complete the look and you're ready for your big barn entrance with this beauty!
Getting married between May and June? In that case peonies just HAVE to be on your country wedding flower list. One might say that they are the ultimate country wedding flower with tones from soft pinks, the most amazing coral, blush and white. Going bold? Combine the peony with marigolds, sweet william, clematis, veronica and babies breath. Tie up this beauty with multi-coloured ribbon trails for the ultimate wow factor.
Photo courtesy of Benjamin Stuart Photography
Ok, Ok I admit it this is my favourite, probably because its the bouquet I chose for my big day! Delicate flowers are complimented with tons of textures and foliage. The bouquet was jam packed with ferns, berries, sweet peas, Caramel Antique roses and eucalyptus. If woodland imp is your look, this is the bouquet for you.
This elegant country garden wedding bouquet is filled with sweet peas, roses, ammi majus, berried eucalyptus, veronica and astrantia. I adore the neutral colour palette of this bouquet and the scent was just to die for! Delicate sweet peas are perfect for bridal bouquets, filling them with keep-on-breathing-in scent. Lets hear an mmm....
Early spring brides don't despair! There are tons of gorgeous blooms available to help create the garden look your heart desired. Use snowdrops, paperwhites, helleborus, guelder rose and blossom to create a delicate loose springtime bouquet filled with beautiful texture and soft romantic colours.
A few weeks ago these beauties hit my inbox from the wonderful Benjamin Stuart Photography. We were lucky enough to both be involved in Natasha and Sam's romantic country wedding at Combe Manor in Hungerford, Berkshire. I think you'll agree Benjamin has captured our flowers beautifully and the images really are a feast for the eyes.
We were lucky enough to deliver Natasha's bridal bouquet to her at Combe Manor, it has to be one of my favourite parts as a florist. Suddenly this wedding bouquet, which you've spent months planning, writing about, tweaking until its perfect is delivered to the Bride. All that love and emotion we have put into creating the wedding bouquet then takes on a whole new meaning as she walks down the aisle.
Natasha and Sam tied the knot in late May, its such a gorgeous time for flowers, with some of my all time favourite blooms in abundance. I literally cannot get enough of sweet peas during the summer months, and for me they are the most perfect wedding flower. Having scented items (unless you are suddenly going to be struck down with a major allergy) should be something top of your bridal agenda. There is something completely magical about the power of smell. Who wouldn't want to be reminded of their big day when they smell the delicate scent of sweet peas in the future.
All the flowers were designed to compliment a soft romantic yet rustic theme. Combe Manor is set in the most idyllic Berkshire countryside one could wish for, and the reception barn is really something else. With bags of character from the hanging murals to big black barn doors, the space really suits some light, dreamy flowers to compliment the drama.
Natasha and Sam tied the knot at St Swithun's Church next to Combe Manor, with this beautiful archway reaching high into the rafters. Filled with tons of scented foliage, as well as seasonal stocks, daisies and roses, the arch really brought the space alive. I love the idea of an internal archway too, and then it can be enjoyed throughout the service.
The tables were adorned with rustic matt zinc jugs each holding chic country hand-tied bouquets. These were filled with sweet peas, alchemilla mollis, scented stocks, Sweet Avalanche roses, daisies and lots of scented foliage.
Thank you so much to Benjamin Stuart for sharing the love with these wonderful photographs, I think you'll agree he's one to watch in 2014/2015. We can't wait to work with you again.
Summer is definitely in full swing in our lovely flower studio. We're bursting with gorgeous peonies, scented stocks and our favourite delphiniums. I think the heady scent is getting to us as we're busy planning our next flower school course on Tuesday 10th June.
If your a budding flower designer, our Vase Arrangement course is for you! Not only do you get lots of gorgeous flowers to arrange with you also get to take home your vessel and a whole load of inspiration to boot.
Held in our working studio, we will talk you through the know-how of using oasis to create wonderful arrangements as well as touching upon hand-tied skills required for some containers.
We teach you the tricks of the trade, walking you through a step by step guide to perfect vase arrangements!
Date: Tuesday 10th June
Time: 19.00 - 21.00
Tickets: £55.00
Bookings: You can book your place online at www.greenparlour.com or by calling our studio on 0118 984 4000
This beauty almost fell into my handbag on the way home today. I think it may be my favourite urn arrangement to date. These miniature metal urns are completely perfect - the right size for plants, arrangements and not too huge that they would swap a table setting for a dinner party.
They are also super versatile to arrange in. Make a hand-tied bouquet, use some oasis, chicken wire (always my preference) or those funny little pin cushion flower frogs. I'm more of a chicken wire lady myself, scrunch a tiny piece up and simply just start threading your stems through, starting with your foliage and voila! A scaled down vase suitable for any stately home (or semi-detached terrace house)
The ingredience of my urn arrangement includes; jasmine, eucalyptus, forget-me-nots, sweet peas, spirea, astilbe, helleborus and the most gorgeous to die for ever roses (aka Caramel Antique) the perfect amount of blouse, don't you think?
For more spring/summer loveliness you should really take a little peek at our recent post about some of our favourite flowers of the season. Take a look here Early Summer Flower Inspiration
There may be more arrangements to come this week that may want to accidentally come home with me.
The vintage vibe is so big in wedding flowers, I don't think I'll ever tire of it! Amnesia and Ocean Song roses always steal my heart, and the berried eucalyptus is just heavenly. Combine these beautiful colours with lots of texture, as we did here. Waxflower is so versatile, with its soft ivory star shaped flowers providing a subtle lemon scent and with the silvery sage green dusty millar it ensures the roses are the stars of the show but with the relaxed vintage country garden vibe.
These vintage flowers can be re-created for your wedding day in different shades to suit your colour scheme. For me the key to creating a vintage bridal bouquet is keeping the flower selection simple, but using all sorts of foliage to soften the flowers. Some of my favourite foliages include berried eucalyptus, jasmine trails, clematis, passionflower trails, dusty millar and in the winter tons of skimmia.
I love the romance of roses, especially in your bridal flowers, go for lots of different tints and tones to stop your design feeling too formal. Different sized roses also help create that chic vintage vibe, if you've ever spoken to me about flowers you will know I am a complete spray rose addict. My all time favourites (yes I have 2 because they are both just so beautiful) are Bombastic and Majolika. Both are just the perfect shade of ivory and blush. Delicious!
We're busy arranging lots of vintage wedding bouquets over the coming months, we can't wait to share with you all how different they can be!
It may be tipping it down outside but we are busy planning our next flower school course on Wednesday 14th May.
The studio is full of late spring and early summer flowers and we are literally bursting with inspiration. If your a budding flower designer, our Vase Arrangement course is for you! Not only do you get lots of gorgeous flowers to arrange with you also get to take home your vessel and a whole load of inspiration to boot.
Held in our working studio, we will talk you through the know-how of using oasis to create wonderful arrangements as well as touching upon hand-tied skills required for some containers.
We teach you the tricks of the trade, walking you through a step by step guide to perfect vase arrangements!
Date: Wednesday 14th May
Time: 10.00 - 12.00
Tickets: £55.00
Bookings: You can book your place online at www.greenparlour.com or by calling our studio on 0118 984 4000
We often get asked for some inspirational ideas for spring and early summer flowers. I think it’s the time of the year when suddenly planting seems to take over our lives, and we suddenly feel all inspired to get our gardening and floral arranging groove on.
The bulbs are suddenly in decline and we start to see some of the flower worlds greatest blooms shine. Personally its my favourite time of the year, I think after a long winter the arrival of these early summer blooms reminds me that eventually … eventually we will get long evenings, hot days and a glut of garden goodies to play with.
Here are a few of my favourite early summer flowers and some top inspiration on how they can be arranged.
I’m completely in awe of these gorgeous little fellows. Beautiful piercing dancing blue flowers are a perfect compliment to any arrangement. If your after a woodland wedding bouquet, the forget-me-knot will be a wonderful addition to your bouquet, will it be your something blue?
Heady scent, delicate star shaped flowers and the most inspiring trailing foliage. If you like free flowing arrangements, jasmine is a must to include. Its flowing tendrils again look perfect combined with lots of dainty flowers for a relaxed arrangement or bouquet.
My namesake (a long story!) has to be top of my list. I cannot tell you how much I love these beautiful flowers. Gorgeous colours ranging from the softest blush through to yolk yellows, deep oranges, raspberry reds and pillar box reds. If your fond of poppies plant them in drifts in your garden for the most eye-catching country border.
Oh me oh my, these beauties steal our hearts each year. Gorgeous marshmallow blooms that carry on opening and opening. The colours available are just stunning, with blush, white, hot pinks, oranges, red … the list goes on! If you haven’t seen the frilly variety they are to die for.
My most recent garden purchase, these lovely plants house the most delicate blossom and I have been assured they are one of the easiest flowering shrubs to grow. These delicate plants produce beautiful cascades of blossom flowers throughout spring to early summer.
Do you have any spring or summer flower favourites you'd love us to feature? We're always on the look out for new floral inspiration!
Spring has well and truly sprung ... our gorgeous flower stand is filled with some beautiful seasonal blooms from scetned muscari through to poppy like anemones, what a perfect time of year to get married!
Harriet and Rory certainly chose a beautiful weekend to tie the knot in the Tithe Barn in Yattendon. With their rustic, country vibe perfectly reflecting their surroundings. You are in for a treat when you look at all their gorgeous DIY detailing!
We had a selection of flowers that screamed country garden. From sea holly, gypsophilia, spray roses, iris to anemones and muscari. Bring on country styling ...
Harriet's wedding bouquet contained clusters of gypsophilia, iris, scented anemones, groupings of sea holly, ivory Majolika spray roses and scented foliage. This completely summed up the country wedding brief to me.
Harriet's bridesmaids bouquets were filled with seasonal hyacinths, scented muscari, ivory Majolika spray roses, hints of eucalyptus and gypsophilia. Beautifully rustic and the perfect compliment to the bridal bouquet wouldn't you agree?
We got a little bit snap happy when we visited the Tithe Barn in Yattendon ... boy oh boy had this couple put in a lot of work. We literally walked in the door and our breath was taken away! Greeted by 3 trees filled with origami escort cards through to hay bale sofas draped in old quilts and cushions, through to old wire reels used as poser tables. We were in Pinterest wedding heaven!
I love banqueting style layouts, and a barn really lends itself to this informal table layout, especially when said tables are covered in old doilies, book stacks and amazing folded books acting as menu holders.
I want the bride to come and style my wedding now! Oh and yes that is a home made wedding cake ... gorgeousness
