Zoë first contacted us almost a year ago to start thinking about the flowers for her wedding taking place in The Black Barn, Rushall Farm. The barn is stunning, set in the middle of the Berkshire countryside with fields as far as you can see. With this stunning backdrop, we took full inspiration from the barns surroundings when designing the bridal bouquet and table centres for the wedding.
Zoë's wedding bouquet was filled with English grown roses, scented stocks, sweet peas, lisianthus and hints of scented Baby Blue eucalyptus, it certainly smelt amazing!
Collections of old glass jars filled the long banqueting tables in The Black Barn, each filled with a miniature hand-tie of flowers. Queen Anne's Lace is complimented with scented stocks, English grown roses, garden sedum, alchemilla mollis, eucalyptus, mint and agapanthus to create these wild, garden inspired wedding table centres.
The final touches involved winding ivy and fairy lights around the rustic centre pillars in the barn.
Gorgeous
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.
We are actually in love with this bridal bouquet we created this week! As much as we love roses, its so lovely to play with hedgerow texture, allowing us to create this gorgeous relaxed country bridal bouquet - designed to feel as if it has been gathered from the meadow on the way to the church. Filled to the brim with ammi majus and daucus carota, flowering clematis, scented eucalyptus and secured with an antique lace trim, this bouquet is perfect for a country inspired bride.
Miniature lace detailing on the Groom's buttonhole of flowering clematis, viburnum berries and eucalyptus ... perfect!
Large mismatched jam jars finished with antique lace detailing to match the bridal bouquet adorn the centre of the tables.
Today I was spurred into action by the wonderful Wedding Sparrow who tweeted she was going to nose at the blog for some inspiration before a meeting with her wedding florist in a few weeks time. Hugely flattering but I also realised everything was looking a little out of date so my interim offering, before I upload lots of gorgeous wedding photo's, is another homage to the white rose. Not only do I love its simplicity, its romantic ivy collar and the satin bow (I'm big on bows right now) but I also love my model mannequin with wooden arms.
She is called Dolly if you were wondering ...
In part two of our guide on How to Choose your Wedding Flowers we start to look at all the fun things! The actual flowers! First on my flower list is always the bridal bouquet. Along with the dress I believe the bridal bouquet helps to set the scene for the whole wedding, introducing the look of your day and containing your personality. In this, part 2 of our guide, we show you some of the key styles, talk about ways to introduce colour and … don’t forget the groom …
The bridal bouquet is always first on my list of flower requirements to talk about; it is my favourite part of the whole ‘let's talk about wedding flowers’ process, and also probably the most daunting – all the wedding ideas suddenly become super real!
This is the time to whip out all the mood boards, images of your dress (I love this part!), colours that you love, plans, ideas, thoughts, all the little details that you probably don’t think will be connected to flowers. As much information as you can load us up with.
And then it's time for the big questions … what style of bouquet do you want?
The hand tied wedding bouquet, sometimes known as a posy or an upright bouquet, is the must-have bridal bouquet right now. Definitely my favourite shape for its versatile nature, taking you from chic country bride to glitz and glam with a few tweaks here and there.
Fill with in-season flowers to create a wild, natural and just-picked-from-the-garden look, or go for a tightly packed rose dome bound in a satin ribbon for sheer elegance.
What I love most about a hand tied wedding bouquet is the fun you can have on the handle. It's my favourite place to add in extra details to make the bouquet completely unique. Why not try attaching old brooches, winding vintage lace detailing around the stem or platting together satin ribbon dotted with pearl-headed pins for a plush ornate feel?
Shower or cascade bouquets are in the midst of a major resurgence! Gone are the days of the Princess Diana (heavy, cumbersome and super showy) … in are a smaller, more delicate feminine cascade with subtle country twists and bags of movement using interesting foliage.
For an utterly romantic bouquet, fill with a mixture of scented English roses, smaller rosebuds and jasmine foliage in a soft feminine trail. Or go super modern: bold minimalist flowers with bags of colour … my favourite has to be deep purple vanda orchids which look like tropical butterflies.
This is such a gorgeous statement shape! I love seeing it with simple, elegant gowns or with vintage style dresses with delicate sparkly beading around the bodice. It's my dare-to-be-different bouquet of choice and should be made using some of the most standout flowers available.
For the 'wow' factor include crisp white calla lilies with modern leaves, or for a country twist go for strong groupings of zesty lime hydrangeas; a must-have colour for 2011.
The first rule is always reflect what's happening in nature ... Simple huh?
Every time I talk about reflecting the seasons, an episode of Don’t Tell the Bride pops into my mind. Specifically, the one when during a heat wave in July, a snow loving Groom transformed a barn into a winter wonderland. It looked beautiful, yes, but there was something slightly unnerving about seeing guests in very summery dresses, walking down an isle covered in snow. Flowers follow the same rules!
