by M8dd4 | Aug 7, 2019 | Cornwall Wedding Flowers, Devon Wedding Flowers, London Wedding Flowers, Wedding Flower Ideas, Wedding Flowers Advice
The scent of an English-grown David Austin rose. The rustle of poppies as they brush stems with foliage. The delicacy of peonies adorning an archway… Plan an event that enchants every sense with these floral design ideas.
Somersaulting stems
A luscious and abundant floral arrangement will add instant impact to a space, but so too will a hundred single stems.
One of my favourite wedding floral design tips is to choose a bloom you want to celebrate and feature it many times over, in many different ways.
Think single stems in clusters of bud vases or trailing flower heads hanging from a chandelier.
Photo: Rik Pennington Photography
Garland greetings
What better way to welcome guests to an event than with a floral feature? This could be an arch that unfurls around a doorway or a structure that frames the aisle.
Add a modern twist by attaching blooms in an asymmetric design or pack them in abundantly for traditionally romantic wedding floral design ideas.
Ways with wildflowers
Embrace the trend for wildflower-inspired wedding floral design ideas with a green table runner.
Swap simple eucalyptus for an enchanting blend of foliage and wildflowers. The result is a pretty pastel swathe that decorates the length of the table.
Wild wreaths
Gone are the days when wreaths were floral designs of winter alone. Now, all manner of hoops, chandeliers and wreaths are garnished with garden-inspired blooms before being suspended from the ceiling, hung in groups of three from the wall or positioned as the perfect backdrop.
Towers of flowers
Once upon a time, martini glass wedding floral design ideas were all the rage. But while fashions and flowers change, the same perks still apply.
Tall arrangements to top tables that billow with ivy, peonies and roses add fragrance, romance and drama.
By raising the height of arrangements, they add even more impact as you enter the room. But when you’re ready to take your seats, your eye line remains clear, making for happy guests who can easily socialise without any compromise on floral style.
Photo: Venetia Norrington Photography
Discover more elegant and natural ways with blooms in my floral design gallery. Overflowing with the dreamiest designs and whimsical styles, prepare to be instantly transported into a blossoming country garden.
by M8dd4 | Jun 17, 2019 | Wedding Flowers Advice
Make choosing your wedding flowers a breeze with beautiful results. Whether you’re planning abundant arrangements flowing with roses or meadow-style freshly picked posies, these floral design secrets will help you choose.
Feature flowers
Many couples have difficulties in deciding which flowers to choose. The absolute array available they may’ve seen in magazines, gardens or in flower markets. A great place to start is to think of your favourite plant or bloom. It may be one with fond memories, a delicious scent or simply sheer beauty. Consider all the senses if you can for wedding flowers that evoke the strongest memories from the past and will for years to come.
Once you’ve worked out which blooms you want to be the stars of the show, weave them throughout your arrangements. Standard roses can be echoed using co-ordinating small spray roses which look so delicate in for example, buttonholes and corsages. This will create a romantic connection to the blooms you carry.
Fillers and spillers
Bouquets bursting at the ribbons with blooms aren’t the only way to create a breath-taking effect. Sometimes, the filler flowers – things like frothy white ammi and colourful achillea – are the accents your blooms need to really stand out.
Spillers come into play to give your arrangements movement and a more relaxed look. Trailing ivy, love lies bleeding and even panicle hydrangeas will create this romantic, floriferous, informal aesthetic.
Size matters
Wedding flowers come in all shapes and sizes, and there’s no one rule that works for everyone. Traditionally, the bridesmaid posies are smaller forms of the bouquet. But, more recently, these have been growing larger and more abundant, adding that whimsical finish.
Likewise, buttonholes were once simple affairs with one flower head, often a rose, and seasonal foliage. Now, blousy blooms prevail, with berries and even feathers featuring.
This is your chance to write the rules. Work with your florist to craft floral designs that are tailored to your vision, whether an oversized bouquet to contrast a sleek, A-line gown or a lighter posy with a fine art feel.
Go green
Just as foliage is the perfect foil for flowers in the garden, if also really sets off the blooms in your bouquet.
Grey/silvery leaves of foliages such as those in a variety of eucalyptuses, are always very popular. When choosing a wild, garden style, take your florist’s advice. Beautiful fronds can be sourced from surprising places, including raspberry and currant leaves. Don’t overlook grasses either. They may not seem as special at first glance, but many add the movement and subtle flowers your bouquet could be missing.
Less can be more
Did you know it’s possible to create an abundant look without using armfuls of flowers?
The trick is in the presentation. Single sprigs of blossom or tulip stems arranged in clusters or rows can create a beautiful effect. The added benefit of lots of little arrangements is that they’ll spread fragrance more evenly round the room too.
The same is true of using a more intimate palette of blooms. Sprigs of lavender tied to pew ends will create a sea of colour and scent with one single variety.
Shape up
One of the most important but often overlooked elements of floral design is shape. This will have an enormous effect on the overall style of your wedding flowers.
Take peonies, for example. Abundant clusters of fragrant blooms arranged with greenery and ivy will add fairy-tale romance to a ceremony arch. But add them to urns with unfurling branches of foliage in asymmetric designs, and your wedding flowers instantly feel more bohemian and relaxed.
Double the fun
If you’ve got big dreams for your blooms, you’ll want to add a floral touch to every part of your celebrations. Make your wedding flowers work hard for you for maximum impact on the day.
Careful floral design planning means an arch created from birch branches and woven with blooms could frame your ceremony. Then with stronger members of the wedding party or with the venue coordinator’s help, it could be moved and become a top table backdrop.
Choosing your perfect wedding flowers will be one of the most exciting elements of your wedding plans. It’s the perfect excuse to pore over Pinterest, visit English gardens for inspiration and discover a whole new world of floral beauty. Be inspired by the garden-style arrangements showcased in my portfolio and get in touch – I’d love to talk flowers with you.
by M8dd4 | Jun 6, 2019 | Wedding Flowers Advice
Whether you’re starting the search or already have a London wedding florist in mind, it may be useful to consider these questions to guide you.
Where to begin when choosing wedding flowers?
There’s an absolute plethora of flowers to delight or confuse you. Choosing your London wedding florist is the way forward. Now is the time to bury your heads in bridal magazines, scour Instagram, visit markets for the flowers that resonate most with you.
What style of flowers are you drawn to? What shape are the bouquets and arrangements? Is there a specific colour scheme? Identify the floral trends you love, then seek out a London wedding florist who works in that style.
What will be in season?
So many flowers are iconic of the season. From tulips and ranunculus in early spring, to peonies, delphiniums and cornflowers in the first throes of summer…
Floating clouds of ammi and cow parsley are available all summer long. Delicious velvety colours of poppies. Some poppy varieties come into flower as early as March and April, with others taking you through to late summer.
And of course, while I love to use English garden blooms when I can, if your heart is set on a flower or foliage that’s out of season, I’ll almost always be able to source it at the flower markets or British growers for a suitable alternative.
What trends should we know about?
Seasons change and so do styles. One year couples will be crazy about hydrangeas and snapdragons and the next, it’s all about architectural foliage and berries. And then, there are the wider trends in weddings – English garden, classic, luxue, bohemian and rustic, for example.
The key to embracing wedding trends is to follow those that feel a good fit and carve your own path. If the flowers you choose are personal to you, they’ll be timeless – trend-led or otherwise.
How can I add a sentimental touch to my bouquet?
Thought and emotion go hand in hand with blooms. They, in turn, go hand in hand with the memories you make.
That’s because the sight, texture and – most important of all – the fragrance of flowers all root deeply to the moments you encounter them.
To add sentimentality to your bouquet, think back to memories you have of flowers. This could be a bouquet you received or simply the blooms you grew up with in the garden. The more highly scented, the better. Unless of course you or any of the bridal party and guests have allergies. Homemade wool pompoms to match to match the flowers.
Where will our wedding flowers come from?
This is an often overlooked but important question to ask for two reasons. The first is that plane upon plane of blooms get imported for weddings every year. So, if you want to take a more eco-friendly approach, British-grown is the way to go.
But to balance that, the second reason is that if your heart is set on something very specific (like peonies or tropical varieties), you may need a florist who can source flowers from further afield to deliver your vision on the day.
I’m passionate about English garden style flowers, so sourcing local blooms from flower farmers in the UK is something I try to do as often as possible. But, in order to access a wider range of blooms over a longer season, I also buy from flower markets. This gives couples the best of both.
How far in advance do we need to choose our London wedding florist?
This varies from London wedding florist to florist. Some will have availability several months before the date of your wedding, others will be booked up at least a year in advance or beyond. There are certain times of year that are particularly regarded as ‘The ‘wedding season’ for example May and June. However, wedding dates are now spreading throughout the year, including traditionally quiet months such as February, October and November.
To ensure you have the perfect florist to work with, the sooner you book the better.
Once you’ve found a florist you feel comfortable and happy to work alongside, contact them at whatever point in the planning you are. There’s no harm in being organised. It just gives you both even longer to talk flowers, fragrance and perfect your floral vision!
I’ve got a wild idea I’d love to try. Can you help me achieve it?
Yes most definitely. Here at The Velvet Daisy we love a wild idea, something off beat. Your ideas would be nurtured and seeds sown for inspiration. Together, we’d create truly unique designs and arrangements in a profusion of blooms.
You can see a snapshot of the variety of arrangements I’ve created in my wedding flower portfolio, but what’s possible is bounded only by your imagination!
With these questions to ask in mind, you’ll be well on your way to finding the perfect florist for you. Find more tips for choosing your London wedding florist in my helpful guide.
by M8dd4 | May 9, 2019 | London Wedding Flowers, Wedding Flowers Advice
Exciting times ahead! You may well be on the way to planning your wedding and now the time has come to choose your wedding florist in London. I can’t tell you how many floral treats will be in store.
The floral world is brimming with creativity and passion, fragrance and beauty. Each London wedding florist has their own signature aesthetic and style of working with couples. So it’s important to take your time and find the right match for you.
Try a few of my top tips to help you along a little, in what may seem will like an overwhelming leap into the unknown.
1 Choosing your floral style
Before diving into details of which glories are seasonably available, whether you want your bouquet to be hand-tied, how many buttonholes, style of floral arch and so forth, you need to consider which style of flowers and foliage you have a preference for, eg. soft and gentle, brightly coloured, flamboyant or subtle.
Some will rush for tightly packed balls of peonies. For others, the magic lies in wild, asymmetric designs.
Couples come to me as their London wedding florist because they adore flowers with a freshly picked aesthetic. I bring the beauty and abundance of country flowers to weddings in the heart of the city.
2 Trace back to the roots
Where will your flowers come from? I’m a London wedding florist with an affinity for English garden styles and British-grown blooms. Think of a herbaceous border.
I source some of my wedding flowers from the markets, but I also take great care to work with English flower farms too.
The result, stunning and delicious designs that encapsulate the essence of each season and its charms, whether that’s blossom, berries or blousy peonies. By visiting flower markets, I can source a range of flowers that make your dreams achievable.
3 Create a moodboard of ideas
As your London wedding florist, I’ll work closely with you to understand your floral design vision. You might be head over heels for heavenly scented David Austin roses or have fallen for the drama of dahlias. We’ll talk varieties, colour schemes and arrangements for as long as you like.
But if you’re not green fingered, don’t panic! A simple Pinterest board or a few cut-outs from bridal magazines are all I need to understand your dream.
It’s my job to open up the possibilities of country-style wedding flowers to you and it’s one I absolutely love to do. So, with your wedding date, budget and theme in mind, I’ll guide you to pick the perfect English garden blooms that instantly evoke the romance of the country.
4 Start the conversation
However formed your floral plans and ideas, the first step is to say hello! Here at The Velvet Daisy, I will welcome you, listen to you, get to know you as a couple and any idiosyncrasies you may have.
All the rest will follow, from design consultations to selecting the perfect petals for your bouquet.
Wildly romantic, natural style wedding flowers are what I do best as a wedding florist in London. Let me know where and when you plan to wed and let’s nurture your ideas into something incredibly special, for an occasion when only the best flowers will do.
