Carlie and her partner tied the knot at the end of May, the perfect time for a wedding in a garden bursting with the colours of summer. With the Chelsea Flower Show fresh in our minds, it's the time of year when floral inspiration is at its peak, and everyone’s thinking about flowers! If I were to marry again, May would be my month – when peonies are at their best, delphiniums are in full bloom, and sweet peas are making their fragrant debut.
Carlie’s brief was a riot of colour whilst keeping to a tonal palette – vibrant blues, whites, oranges, and a hint of zesty green. The theme? A rustic country garden vibe, as if the flowers had been freshly picked and tied with raffia. It was the perfect season for this bold and beautiful palette!
For Carlie's wedding, we focused on the personal flowers – the ones that make a real impact. She had a stunning bouquet, two for her bridesmaids, and buttonholes for both the men and women. Personal flowers are a key element in setting the tone for your day, and if you’re working with a tight budget, they’re a great area to invest in. When funds are limited, I always suggest spending a little extra on your personal flowers and then enlisting family and friends to help with table decorations and other floral elements.
Carlie’s bridal bouquet was a stunning mix of delphinium, stocks, thistles, tanacetum, alchemilla mollis, butterfly flowers, sweet peas, veronica, and campanula, all beautifully tied with a rustic raffia bow. The combination of blues, whites, and pops of zesty green created the perfect country garden feel.
The bridesmaids' bouquets were simpler but equally charming, using blues and whites to tie in with their navy dresses. We incorporated stocks, delphiniums, scilla, alchemilla mollis, a touch of orange butterfly flower, and plenty of white sweet peas. Like the bridal bouquet, these were finished with raffia for that rustic, country garden look.
I’ve mentioned men's boutonnieres a lot in the past, but I’ll keep it brief – if you’re after a true country wedding feel, mismatched boutonnieres are a must. Forget the uniform, formal look and opt for something more laidback, with each boutonniere having its own unique charm. Carlie took this advice and had the men wear individual boutonnieres, each with its own mix of tones and textures, tied with string or ribbon, adding to the rustic elegance of the day.
Your personal flowers, including the bridal bouquet and the bridesmaids' bouquets, are one of the most important aspects of your wedding day. They set the tone and style, and they’re often the first thing guests notice. Investing in your personal flowers is a great way to ensure that your wedding feels cohesive and beautifully coordinated. If you're on a budget, focusing on your personal flowers and having family help with other arrangements is a smart option.
If you're interested in a more tailored floral experience, be sure to check out my A La Carte service for more options to suit your vision and budget.
Blush and white wedding flowers are a timeless colour palette that will never go out of style. It strikes the perfect balance—soft and romantic without being too sugary, with just the right touch of pink to keep things sophisticated. It’s like the perfect love story translated into hues: tender yet with a hint of elegance.
Louise and Lewis tied the knot at the stunning Wasing Park in April. The flowers were a seasonal affair, a perfect match for this beautiful venue. Louise gave us the creative freedom to go all out with the florals, and we truly embraced the opportunity. In true Green Parlour style, we used a dreamy mix of ranunculus, blousy roses, the last of the season's anemones, lilac, jasmine trails, and soft astilbe. It perfectly captured the essence of spring—wild, abundant, and naturally beautiful. The mix of textures added depth, while the delicate plumes of fountain grass brought movement to the designs. And, I must admit, I couldn’t resist sneaking in a few sweet peas—market day had some gorgeous blooms, and it would have been rude not to!
What I love most about working on bridal florals is the freedom to play with the flowers, subtly adjusting to create the perfect look. Louise was an absolute dream to work with—she trusted me completely, which made it easy to bring her vision to life. From our first meeting, I knew we were on the same page. Trust is everything when choosing a florist, and it’s just like buying a house—if you get a good feeling from the very first interaction, you’ll know they’re the right fit. Price matters, but that connection is essential. After all, your florist is interpreting your vision, so it’s vital that you're both aligned, with no lingering doubts.
For those who have visited Wasing Park, you’ll know it has an elegance that needs little embellishment. It’s one of those venues where the beauty speaks for itself, and there’s no need to hide anything. Louise chose to keep the ceremony décor simple but romantic, with rose petal runners down the aisle and lanterns to add a soft, glowing atmosphere. After all, the more candles, the better!
The tables were simple yet stunning. Five beautiful jars each held a small posy of flowers, and throughout the space, silver tea light holders added a little extra sparkle. Louise had the lovely idea of providing her own jars, which allowed the flowers to be given away as gifts to guests. It’s one of my favourite tips because it’s such a thoughtful gesture, allowing the flowers to be enjoyed even after the wedding day. Your guests will truly appreciate it, and it’s a lovely way to extend the beauty of the flowers beyond the celebration.
“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!!!“
If you’re inspired by these timeless blush and white wedding flowers and want to create your own perfect floral vision, we’d love to help bring your dream to life. Whether you're envisioning something romantic and rustic, or a completely bespoke design, we specialise in creating beautiful, unique floral arrangements that perfectly complement your style and venue. Discover more about our bespoke wedding flowers and get in touch with us today to start planning your floral journey.
This week has been jam packed in the Parlour, with a total of 6 weddings leaving our doors over 3 days. I adored all the bouquets, but I have to say Laura's vintage rose wedding bouquet totally stole my heart. With the carte blanche brief of something of a grown-up but vintage nature, we blended rose after rose after rose to create her bouquet.
Laura married her boy Phil on Sunday at the Swan in Streatley and thank goodness the sun shone for there ceremony was taking place on the beautiful barge they have registered for weddings.
We often get asked if we have a minimum order for our wedding flowers, I know this is how some florists operate, but we wholeheartedly do not! Its so amazing to be part of a brides big day, however small. Basically we just totally adore making wedding flowers, from every bridal bouquet right through to church flowers and beyond.
Laura enlisted our help to create her bouquet, a bridesmaids bouquet, something cute for her bridesmaids to hold and the all important men's boutonnieres.
Laura's wedding was all about the DIY - she made the table flowers herself, there was a whole bevvy of helpers to decorate her village hall reception venue and there were the most darling cakes made by friends and family.
To recreate the vintage gown-up vibe of this bouquet, we blended a whole host of roses including Amnesia, Mentha, Safi, Old Dutch and Majolika roses. I love using herbs in wedding work and this bouquet smelt heavenly containing flowering mint, ammi majus, oregano, berried eucalytpus, rosemary and the most amazing sweet peas.
Laura's bridesmaids bouquet followed the vintage vibe with roses, sweet peas and scented herbs.
Watch this space for some pictures of our other creations
We were lucky enough to work with the super talented (and also very lovely) Hannah McClune back in May 2013. I know, its taken us forever to blog the amazing images she took of Tracey and Simon's big day, but, we're sure you'll agree they are worth the wait!
We know once you take a look at Hannah's images below you'll be hooked. As well as shooting fabulous weddings, she also takes baby portraits and family shots. Hannah's definately one to watch, after scooping the Wedding Industry Expert award for " Best new photographer, Berkshire" we're pretty sure she'll be on to even greater things in 2014.
The men wore succulent and herb buttonholes. Here's simon getting pinned, the succulent is the perfect match next to his charcoal/blue suit. I love playing with textures on buttonholes, for any regular readers of our blog you'll know I've done an extensive post on boutonniers ... get the lowdown here
Tracey's bouquet was filled with Sweet Avalanche roses, peonies, Majolika spray roses, scented eucalyptus, succulents and heavily scented sweet peas. Gorgeous soft pastel colours were chosen to compliment the flowers girl dresses. Each wore a different pastel tone from soft powder blue, through to pink and a subtle lilac. Beautiful!
I think you'll all agree, Hannah's photographs are wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing them with us. We're really looking forward to working with you again in 2014
Forget diets ... January is all about THE CAKE! We've been getting our Bake Off grove on, but I have to admit that our efforts are not a patch on these beauties above.
Style Me Pretty have done it again featuring my favourite wedding cake, possibly ever! Made by the super talented folks at Charm City Cakes (I've been browsing their site for at least 2 hours looking at all the deliciousness, its filled with tons of inspiration) and shot by Evelyn Alas Photography for a Peter Pan inspired photo shoot.
Get ready for your goldspiration wedding cake extravaganza ...
Ladies (and gentlemen of course), gold is going to be BIG in 2014! We'd love to know your latest trend watch for 2014, drop us a note below xx
Men, weddings and flowers.
There may be a few sweeping statements in this little blog post, and I know there are always a few occasions where people buck the trend, but generally men have little say in wedding flowers. I also know for most men its not always the most exciting topic when it comes to planning a wedding - food, yup I get that, drinks, suits, games, ties, table plans ... generally flowers come some way down their list. I'm not complaining, but I do like it when a groom wants to step away from the traditional rose buttonhole. I also love it when a groom says to hell with the bridal flowers, I want something unique thats going to match my suit ... so there!
Buttonhole inspiration is something we get asked about a lot, so we thought we'd take a few snaps of some more manly buttonholes to give you that lightbulb moment. I love all of the below for their texture, the fact that they are not too floral, and most importantly they are not massive!
Remember boys ... buttonholes don't have to be boring, they don't have to be floral and they certainly don't have to match everything else.
Hannah visited with her mother, Diane a few months ago to discuss all the flowers for Hannah's big day. Filling me in on all the details including lots of DIY bunting which would be hung throughout Ufton Court. I love setting up wedding flowers at Ufton Court, such an amazing venue and each wedding we do there is completely different! Hannah had chosen a colour palette of peach, blue and yellow, based around the amazing soft lemon bridesmaids dresses and her groom's love of cornflowers.
I admit it ... I am a complete David Austin rose-a-holic. This gorgeous Juliette rose is my absolute favourite, teamed with the soft blue delphiniums and deeper blue cornfowers, this is a bouquet I'm seriously considering for my wedding day!
I always feel a little uneasy uttering the word "carnation" but this soft peach Apple Tea carnation is perfect for weddings, just the right shade, not too orange and not too pink. I'm sure when I suggest it brides think I've completely lost the plot, but I hope you'll agree, its a stunning carnation.
Do you love Hannah's colour palette? Let us know what you think! xx
Red and gorgeous! Marshmallow Piano roses are my current new beau … they make my heart skip a few beats.
I’ve always wanted to use them in a bridal bouquet and finally I got my chance!
How happy we’re we when a beautiful bride asked us to create the wedding bouquet filled with berried ivy (delicious – although not when eaten) scented eucalyptus, the marshmallows aka Piano roses and Red Naomi roses.
Seriously romantic, seriously seasonal, seriously gorgeous.
More please!
Take a look at some more of our wedding work here: https://greenparlour.com/blog/category/wedding-flowers/
Over a year before their big day, Emily and Paul met with the Green Parlour wedding team to plan their wedding flowers. From the start, their vision was clear and distinctive.
We love when couples bring an inspiration book or 'look book' to their consultations. It helps us understand their style and ensures that the floral designs align with everything from the dress to the venue. Your book doesn’t need to feature flowers—save-the-dates, magazine clippings, wedding blogs, or color swatches all provide valuable insight into your vision.
Emily’s book was filled with vintage glamour—pearls, dusky roses, mercury glass tea lights, and ‘Mr & Mrs’ letters, all inspired by 1940s elegance. It was a pleasure to bring her ideas to life.
To reflect Emily’s style, we designed a bouquet blending vintage charm with a soft, natural feel. It included Amnesia roses, Bombastic spray roses, fragrant ivory sweet peas, Majolika spray roses, and Upper Secret roses, accented with eucalyptus and delicate wired pearls. The bouquet was wrapped in ruched nude satin ribbon, finished with pearl details.
Set in the grounds of Warbrook House in Hampshire, the reception venue provided an elegant backdrop for a color palette of soft sage greens, vintage pinks, and classic ivory tones.
To create visual impact, we designed tall centerpieces atop sleek lily vases. These arrangements—featuring white delphiniums, Memory Lane and Amnesia roses, hydrangeas, eucalyptus, and Bombastic spray roses—added height and elegance to the reception space while tying the theme together.
Personal touches make all the difference. One standout feature was Emily’s signing tree, a stylish alternative to a traditional guest book. Displayed in an urn (provided by Green Parlour), it gave guests a unique way to leave their mark on the couple’s special day.
Emily and Paul’s wedding was a beautiful example of a well-thought-out vision coming to life. We were delighted to be part of their journey, creating floral designs that perfectly complemented their day.
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
