Eight months after H originally got in touch we met at her venue on the sunniest day in July. Always the host, Michelle from @overgrownacres gave us iced lemon water to sip while we finalised the details of the flowers. After three lockdowns and barely leaving the house in a year, the whole day felt blissful.
Find my five favourite things about this wedding and all the details of the flowers below
Their wedding their way
Any wedding website will tell you the importance of doing what you want on your big day. This is exactly what H and J did. They wanted an elegant black-tie wedding in the countryside with plenty of space for all their family and friends to enjoy the day with them.
Outdoor wedding ceremony – tick
Wedding breakfast in a tipi – tick
This had me hooked immediately; elegant and outdoors – where do I sign up? H sent me her mood board ahead of our initial consultation and her ideas were gorgeous. Clean white flowers with lush foliage and super stylish black bridesmaid dresses, but I am jumping ahead a bit here!
Their clear ideas for the day made them an incredibly easy couple to work with. They knew what was important to them, prioritised that and didn’t get distracted. A top tip for any couple planning a wedding.
Their look of love
Seeing H and J together, both on that day in July and on their wedding day, I could almost feel the sparks. The way they looked at each other was something special. You may think that happens at every wedding, but it doesn’t. The world seemed to fall away when they looked at each other.
This is one of the great side benefits of being a wedding florist. I get a glimpse into the happiest days and it fills me up with joy. Couples like H and J make every rose thorn embedded in my thumb completely worth it.
A stylish day
It is always an equal mix of excitement and nerves when a couple enquires about their wedding flowers. Will we get on, do they want to book me, will I like their flower choices, what does the rest of their day look like?
When H said she wanted white peonies but knew they were out of season, I knew we were going to get along. Combine this with her showstopping dress, the slinky black satin bridesmaid dresses and the men in black-tie – I knew it was going to be all kinds of gorgeous.
Plus, I knew they had a lovely venue and with the early September wedding date they had the perfect mix of warm weather, followed by the sun setting over the trees. Everyone then went into the tipi for the wedding breakfast and dancing the night away.
Serenity
While there were nerves, all of H and J’s planning seemed incredibly smooth and in control. This made them a dream to work with.
I am sure it may not have felt serene to H and J at the time, yet this is how they appeared to others. Maybe it was their clarity on what was important to them or maybe that is who they are all of the time!
Whatever the reason, I felt I knew exactly what they wanted for their day and that they trusted me to deliver it for them. This not only enabled me to focus on the creative side of their flowers but it also pushed me to deliver my absolute best for them.
Turning it around it is another great tip for anyone planning a wedding. Only book suppliers you like and trust, then trust them to get on with it. We are the specialists in what we do and you will get something more amazing than you imagined if you allow us the room to do so.
Special touches
Every wedding is different and it is often those special touches of personality that each couple add to their wedding that make them memorable.
I will always remember H’s really cute bag and the smile on her face when I noticed it.
All about the flowers
Incredibly most of the flowers and foliage for H and J were British grown. This includes the ridiculous amount of beech foliage needed for the floral pillars and arch over the tipi.
When I arrived at Elaine’s to pick up the foliage, she gestured to all the beech foliage she had cut and made a comment, that I can’t remember exactly, about how much there was. The look of panic on her face when I said I needed around twice as much is probably something she would prefer I didn’t mention!
That said, she went to cut more and delivered it all to me an hour later. What a star. I think I also took all of Elaine’s white phlox against her protest that they couldn’t possibly be good enough to go into a bridal bouquet. They were – they really were. These little gems just add an extra layer of softness that I am becoming obsessed with.
While the phlox was doing a grand job in a supporting role, the real stars of the show were the roses from @therealflowerco including just a few of the extra stunning David Austen wedding roses. These really are the premium wedding roses. Hundreds of ruffly petals and the most incredible scent. These roses are also incredible divas – just look how they arrive with me and how they look in the actual bouquet. You might not even think they were the same flower!
This is the job of your florist; to know that each one will need around four days opening to look perfect and to have picked off every damaged and bruised petal (plus all the thorns) so they can shine on your day.
These roses are the imported portion of the flowers, so yes, they do have a much higher carbon footprint. Balancing this against being eco-friendly is a tricky decision and one I will talk about in much more detail in another blog. On the plus side, the imported roses were certified Fairtrade. This means that the workers are better paid and protected and there are small environmental gains compared to farms that are not certified.
Now, I couldn’t finish this section about the flowers without mentioning the dahlias. The super cute mini pompom white dahlias grown by Trevor and June. I used to hate dahlias and then I saw these and I was instantly converted. These are not the dahlias of your grannies garden (unless you are June’s grandchildren that is). These are the most perfectly formed pompom balls of gorgeousness. Unlike the roses, these have a short life and have to be picked almost ‘bouquet ready’ this means they are one of the last flowers to arrive at the studio. Once the dahlias are in, I know it is time to start creating.
There is so much more I could tell you – how I popped to another grower to get some extra hydrangea as I didn’t think I had enough. About the gorgeous trails of jasmine and the tall Japanese anenomes from Elaine that just looked perfect in the floral pillars. However, I think that is enough for now!
The flowers were sourced from four specialist flower growers, plus a little from my own garden. Together, with the botanically dyed silk ribbon from @bertieandfred and my freelancer who helped out, that is six small businesses plus my own that were supported with just one wedding flower order.
- Photographers: @emilyandkaty
- Venue: @overgrownacresweddings
- Videographer: @songbird.wedding.films
- Dress: @pronovias
- Photobooth: @the_luxbooth
- Outdoor seating: @bobbiwrenevents
Flowers and foliage from: @therealflowerco @theflowerhutatbarnowlcottage @longfieldgrower @lincolnshireflowerco
