As soon as we had our first consultation with Samantha and Kevin way back in the deepest depths of winter, we knew this wedding would be right up our street! The brief: country elegance. The colours: creams, ivory and zesty green. The venue: Lodge Park a completely gorgeous National Trust property near Cheltenham. HEAVEN!
Samantha knew from the start that she'd love hydrangeas and peonies to feature heavily, and scent was important too. I'm such an advocate for splashing out a little more for a wedding bouquet with scent. Freesias have to be one of my favourites, their heady citrus scent instantly transports me to a tranquil holiday somewhere in the south of France.
With a rather regal entrance with stunning, uninterrupted views across the Chiltons, Lodge Park needed something to bring a splash of Samantha and Kevin's day to the venue for the ceremony. We toiled with heaps of ideas, but after much deliberation (and a sign from him upstairs) we decided on bay trees, decorated elegantly with white Avalanche roses.
I'm not a pedestal girl, I have never been convinced of their beauty. A vase filled with gorgeous spring and summer flowers ... great! A hefty black iron pedestal stand ... not my bag. Lodge Park needed something light, clear glass and plain unassuming plinths. Just perfect. We filled the vases with scented eucalyptus, white hydrangeas, peonies, viburnum opulus, white delphiniums, and white Avalanche roses in a simple hand tied arrangement, which complimented the stairway perfectly.
The venue: Lodge Park and The Bay Tree
The flowers: Avalanche and Snowflake spray roses, white delphiniums, white hydrangeas, white peonies, scented white freesias, viburnum opulus, scented eucalyptus and ivory stocks.
My favourite spring bulb has to be fritillaria, their beautiful checkered heads are scattered throughout this spring inspired wedding bouquet which also contains white Avalanche roses, zesty green guelder rose, clematis, black centered anemones and scented eucalyptus.
We love the fresh zing that the guelder rose brings to the brides bouquet, especially when combined with the deep rich tones of the fritillaria, clematis and another favourite of ours - anemones. Bind wedding bouquets in bold ribbons - I love the polka-dot ribbon on this bouquet.
Choosing the right flowers to reflect you and your wedding day can be mind blowing! First there is the style of bouquet, then you have to think about colours and on top of that flower names and what may be available at that time of year ... and it goes without saying ... cost! Flowers are so important for adding the finishing touches to your day, reflecting your style, colour theme and enhancing your dress.
So where do you start in this daunting flower world? Follow our step by step guide to prepare for your first wedding consultation ...
It sounds a little interior-design-meets-changing-rooms but mood boards are a great way of gathering all sorts of visual information to show your wedding florist (and other suppliers). Go traditional and get creative with your scissors and glue and grab all of those lovely wedding magazines you've been hoarding and start ripping them to shreds! Fill it with images of your dress, your inspiration; basically fill it with you, your personality! If you are a little more technology minded give some of the online sites a try, some allow you to create your own mood boards using some of their existing photos as well as uploading your own images and taking a look at other peoples boards of inspiration while you are there (www.dessy.com).
Take a look at the blogs below for some gorgeous wedding inspiration that is sure to get you drooling at all the wedding loveliness out there:
... and don't forget to photocopy/print your creative hard work and give a copy to all your potential suppliers!
Budgets are always a difficult subject - how on earth with no knowledge of the cost of flowers are you meant to think of a figure to put in your budget? There is so much varying advise out there, it sounds pretty obvious but the more you spend, the more floral your decorations will become. We usually find the budget for the flowers should be between 5% - 10% of the total wedding budget but this is not prescriptive. It really depends on you!
The best advice we give is to be open with your budget, it allows you to get the most out of a consultation with any supplier and means that any ideas being discussed will be achievable for you!
Phew!
This is one of the most exciting parts! We usually suggest putting by around 1 hour 30 minutes for your first consultation, giving us plenty of time to talk about your dress, the look and feel of your day and of course the mood boards we talked about earlier! You can contact us about a consultation online here or you can call us on Tel: 0118 984 4000.
There is something about white wedding flowers that I love. Perhaps its there timeless elegance and the fact they can be a complete chameleon! Able to transform from crisp modern orchids right through to a relaxed, English country garden theme, they retain their simplicity and grace of style no matter what venue, vase or dress they find themselves near.
I personally love white flowers in a relaxed country feel, a look that suits Bradfield College perfectly, complimenting the dark wood that is present throughout the Main Hall and bringing a taste of the buildings gorgeous grounds inside. Filled with Avalanche Roses, white Veronica, scented Eucalyptus, Majolica spray Roses, Astilbe and Waxflower these glass cylinder vases work perfectly with the relaxed but elegant brief we were given!
I had to take a snap of the Bride and Groom's cake of cheese, the woodblock is amazing! and the theme of the white flowers become a little more obvious.
Anyone who reads a few of our notes will know that I have a huge amount of love for kissing balls! This one is a particular favourite of mine, the heavy oak door leading to the Main Hall in Bradfield College would not be out of place in a Harry Potter film is the perfect backdrop for a kissing ball filled to the brim with scented Eucalyptus, Ammi Majus, white Veronica, Majolica and Avalanche roses. Yum!
Sometimes you get the opportunity to meet a bride who wants something a little different for her wedding day, and is willing to put in the time to make it happen.
It was such a joy to meet Alice (the Bride) and Penny (Alice's Mum who just happens to be handy with a needle and thread and growing flowers amongst other things!) way back at our first meeting in deepest darkest depths of February. As soon as they started describing the theme for their wedding, relaxed elegant English country garden with a fete, party feel in the afternoon. Perfect! Its exactly how I'd have my wedding.
Alice's dress sounded perfect - lace with an elegant vintage feel and was having a birdcage hat specially made, their ideas for the marquee they were erecting in Mapledurham Estate just outside of Reading, Berkshire were getting more elaborate and ornate by the day.
I always have images of Penny sitting there surrounded by mounds of pastel coloured triangles ready to be made into the pretty bunting that adorned the interior of the marquee and definitely will never forget the amount of jam jars they collected ready to house the pretty table flowers that ran the entire length of the marquee. I think if you flashed a jar in front of them, to this day they would be able to identify exact content of the containers. Filling them with small hand tied arrangements was an absolute joy and I love the en mass look they create effortlessly. Less is definitely more.
At one of our first meetings Penny informed me of the plan to decorate the church, St Celement in Ashampstead, Berkshire, themselves. So a few weeks before the wedding I was invited up to Penny's house in the blazing summer sun to take a look at all the flowers she has been growing ready to be cut and arranged by her and her sister on the Thursday before the wedding. I was greeted with a garden full of lovely goodies including Ammi Majus (one of my all time favourite flowers) as well as Molucella with their lime green zest bringing the garden alive! At this stage, been in complete awe of her talents I decided that I want Penny to plan my wedding!
We set to work on creating the bespoke flower decorations for the big day, using all the wonderfully shaped jam jars and filling them with an abundance of seasonal flowers. Each jam jar was individual and so the flowers reflected this too, really adding to the mismatched relaxed look that the day was all about. I really think spreading the arrangements across the entire length of the table, scattered between cutlery, cake stands and, later on, storm lanterns created a pretty, country tone to the marquee, and I always think its lovely when your guests can leave with a little floral gift. The flowers reflected the time of year with some of my personal favourites including Peonies, Roses, Eycalyptus, Scabious, Ammi Majus, Molucella, Sweet Peas and Guelder Rose.
My favourite item however had to be the large kissing ball that hung from the central point of the marquee. Filled to the brim with a whole host of Eucalyptus, Ammi Majus, Avalanche and Deep Water Roses and Guelder Rose, it suited the theme and venue perfectly! I love having an unexpected twist in marquees and the kissing ball fits the bill perfectly.
They also hired an aeroplane stunt man to draw a heart in the sky.
Its wedding day! so another early start and croissant for breakfast (secretly I like getting up early, the pastry at 7.00am is worth it!)
Am really excited about white rose and freesia bouquet! Have them all lined up on the counter and the shop smells amazing! The girls made the table centers late yesterday ... can't wait to see them on the tables in the marquee at Basildon Park.
Finally have managed to take some pictures (hurray!) click to make them big!
An early start but does it matter when I get to use my favorite roses in a wedding bouquet and pomander this morning?!
Whats in - Juliet roses (perfect, the brides name is Juliet!) Patience roses, scented sweet peas, Peach Avalanche and Sweet Avalanche roses, peonies and a good dollop of creativity.
Enjoy!
I just want to bury my face in the scented marshmallows sitting in a vase on the counter! David Austin roses just take my breath away, I can't wait to use them in the bridal bouquet I get to make tomorrow.
ttfn x
Chloe and James certainly spread the love, not only with the fantastic home made jams on the table as wedding favors (mine pot donned many a crumpet) but the sheer amount of work they put into the barn, really making it their own!
The food menu read like a dream ... check out http://www.potkilnanywhere.co.uk/ for some fantastic food .. yum!
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