Carlie and her man got married at the end of May – for me a time when the gardens are bursting with summer colour. The Chelsea Flower Show has graced our screens and everyone who’s anyone is thinking about flowers! If I were to marry again, May would be my month. The peonies are just popping up, delphiniums are in full swing and sweet peas have burst onto the scene with all the scent and wow you’d expect.
Carlie’s brief was a perfect cacophony of colour – blues, whites, oranges and just a smidge of zesty green. The vibe – country garden, just picked and everything tied with raffia. Boy oh boy is it the perfect time of year to carry off this palette!
We just provided Carlie’s personal flowers – a gorgeous bouquet for her to hold, 2 for her maids and some bouts for the men and women. I love doing personal flowers, it sets the scene for the whole wedding and if budget is tight this is the perfect way to make your bucks go that little bit further. If you’re under tight budget constraints then the one area I’d splurge would be to get a florist to do my personals – then rope in a load of family and friends for your tables and the other decoration.
Carlie’s bouquet contained; delphinium, stocks, thistles, tenecetum, alchemilla mollis, butterfly flower, sweet peas, veronica, campanula all tied off with a pretty raffia bow.
The maid’s had a more simple affair, with blues and whites to tie in with their strong navy blue dresses. For these, we used stocks, delphiniums, scilla, alchemilla mollis, the subtlest touch of orange butterfly flower and white sweet peas in abundance. Again these were both tied in a raffia bow to give a really rustic vibe to the day.
I’ve ranted and raved about men’s boutonnieres until the cows come home so I’m not going to get on my high horse about them just now. All you need to know is if you want to give your wedding a true country vibe you absolutely MUST go for mismatched boutonnieres, preferably tied with string or ribbon, rather than those funny twirly pigs tales that some florists seem to love. Carlie took my advice (a wise girl!) and so each of the men’s pins was different with varying tints and tones to tie everything together.
I think blush and white is one of those colour palettes of which I will never tire. It’s the perfect romantic tone – not too much white and just the right amount of pink without going super girly. Its like a grown up romance novel translated into colours. All the tenderness you want with just the right amount of sexy.
Louise and Lewis married at the ever-beautiful Wasing Park back in April. The flowers were a seasonal affair, which works so well at this venue. Louise trusted us to go to town on the flowers and so in true Green Parlour style we did; with ranunculus, blousy roses, the last of the seasons anemones, lilac, trails of jasmine and astilbe. It encapsulated everything I adore about spring, wild abundance, un-arranged perfection and the perfect mix of textures. Plumes of fountain grass shot through the designs to give that delicate movement which I adore and I may have also snuck in a sweet pea or two, because there were some beauts available at market when I was collecting the fleurs and quite frankly it would have been rude not to.
This is what I love most about bridal work, the freedom that some give to create and flex the flowers used ever so slightly to achieve the look. Louise was a total dream to work with – she let me run with her brief and I knew from early on we’d be totally on the same page. Trust us florists, we literally adore flowers (believe me its not the kind of job you could do if you don’t adore flowers!) and we all want your day to be magical. I think choosing a florist is a little like buying a house, if you get a good vibe in the first meeting/contact then they are the one for you. Yes price can be a factor to consider, but it’s also important to have that connection. The florist is going to be interpreting what’s in your head, it’s so important your on the same page and that neither side has any niggling doubts.
If you’ve ever had the chance to visit Wasing Park you will know it has a certain elegance of its own. You don’t need to do loads to it to make this venue shine and there are no areas you need to hide! Louise opted for simple rose petal runners and lanterns for her ceremony. Romance, romance, romance! The more candles the better!
Tables were a simple affair but totally gorgeous with it. 5 jars each held a beautiful posy of flowers and throughout we scattered silver tea light holders just to make everything sparkle. Louise provided her own jars so the flowers could be given away as gifts for her guests. This is always one of my top tips because its so lovely for the flowers to be enjoyed that little bit longer and you’re guests will so appreciate the gesture.
“I just want to say a massive THANK YOU for the absolutely stunning flowers you did for us on Saturday. I actually can’t get over how perfect they were! We had so many compliments on how beautiful they are. We’ve brought them all home with us and our house is filled with them, it makes me so happy to be surrounded by them.
I’ll send you some pics when we get the official photos back, but it was just so wonderful, you and your team are incredibly talented and we can’t thank you enough!!!“
Felicity and Edward’s amazing wedding took place waaaay back in September. Its taken me forever to blog about this beauty, but the best things come to those who wait and believe me, I cannot wait to tell you all about it!
With March whizzing by in what felt like a moment, and a sea of soft pastels, Kelly and Alan’s big day came along and kicked us into full on bright, bold and colourful mode. I adore punchy colours and Kelly and Alan’s scheme didn’t disappoint. Plums, cerise, dusky mink tones and most importantly lots of texture – a florists dream!
Kelly and Alan tied the knot at their local church and then headed to The Olde Bell in Hurley for the big celebrations. We’ve been to The Olde Bell on many occasions and have floralled up so many different schemes over the years but nothing as bold and beautiful as this. Tying the knot at the end of March, we had the pick of the spring flowers to use along with some early summer fleurs making an appearance.
Every man should wear flowers … and not just on his wedding day. I’m such a firm believe in this – a little nod to the seasons pinned onto ones jacket certainly gives the wearer such an air of distinction it would be a shame to limit this effect just to your wedding day.
And boys, guess what – you don’t have to wear a single rose with a teeny tiny leaf … no! The modern man dons a tiny collection of fleurs fully embracing the season. Here to inspire (as always) are 3 of our winter buttonhole recipes (or if your feeling awfully posh, boutonnieres)
I’m still pinning down a name to call them, I know everyone KNOWS what a buttonhole is, but it just sounds so … none floral! Perhaps a floral jacket pin … or a jacket posy …. Ideas very much welcome!
The weeks just seem to keep rolling by, each one is filled with some of the most beautiful blooms to date – I’m fickle, each week brings a new favourite bouquet or a new floral crush. With only 2 weddings booked in for this weekend, we’ve also had a moment to catch our breath and write list upon list for the coming weeks floral extravaganzas.
First up were Kelly and Dan, such an amazing chilled out couple. They chose to tie the knot at Herons Barn, which was such a great match to their personalities. Their whole day was about creating a soft romantic vibe with lots of textures, hessian and flowers.
Kelly carried a bouquet of cosmos, dahlias, thistle, nigella, snapdragons, astilbe, sweet peas, lisianthus, scented geranium leaves, lavender, rosemary, purple sage, mint, scabiosa and veronica.
The night before Kelly and Dan’s big day I was busy picking things from my garden to enhance the scent. I’m totally obsessed with scented geranium leaves and I knew when I met Kelly and Dan they just HAD to be included.
Next up Rachel and Gareth tied the know at Ufton Court on Sunday. This couple have been the most fun to work with and there’s such joy walking away from a venue set up thinking “thats so them!” Rachel is a hair dresser and often works on clients wedding hair so she’s seen all sorts of different weddings in her time. Opting for a rose filled affair, Rachel’s bouquet contained some of my favourite rose varieties.
Rachel’s bouquet contained Mentha roses, Safi roses, Old Dutch roses, Amnesia roses, Sweet Avalanche roses and Bombastic roses with the most subtle hints of scented berried eucalyptus. Although the roses are not the heady scented old English varieties, there was still the most amazing soft scent about this bouquet. Almost as if the roses had inhaled a parma violet or two.
We are now busy beavering away preparing list after list ready for 3 wonderful flower filled weddings this weekend. Now we just need a little sun.
