Sue and Anton's wedding at Hadlow Manor Hotel

We've been looking forward to Sue and Anton's glamorous wedding for some time.  Sue's fabulous evening dress set the scene for a black, white and burgundy theme, and as Anton's favourite flower is the orchid, we knew where we had to start for the flowers.  As Sue is so slim and her dress was quite streamlined, we designed a long slimline phalaenopsis orchid cascade incorporating grasses and pearls but also sprigs of local Hadlow ivy to add a natural feel to the bouquet.  We mirrored Sue's bouquet with an elegant orchid, ivy and grass buttonhole for Anton. 

Sue decided to wear her dark hair loose at the back, and she was concerned that as she and Anton took their vows, the view of the back of her dress may not have enough interest, and hence we designed a hair comb using Black Baccara roses and matching spray roses with ivy and grasses with long trails of invisible thread onto which ivory spray roses and pearls were attached.  Photos of the hairpiece without Sue's hair were wholly inadequate, so you can only see it nestling in the box.  Hopefully we will get to see it in full glory in photos in the future.

Reversing the usual colour scheme for the bridal outfits, Sue's bridesmaids wore ivory dresses to contrast with hers and we therefore used Black Baccara roses to best effect in neat hand-tied bouquets edged in ivy.  We added the touch of black with a bow around the top of the bouquet stems.  We finished their look with matching roses for their hair.  Buttonholes followed the theme, with Black Baccara taking centre stage to match cravates and ladies wearing corsages of spray roses, ivy and grasses.

Sue (not having enough to organise for her day) decided to make the cake herself and wanted us to provide a full and rich dressing of roses, ivy, lily of the valley and a single orchid.  She wanted the flowers to flow around and in between each tier and to have a natural, yet striking appearance.  We added blueberries throughout in wired strings as Sue liked the idea of fruit and this was the best colour match.  The cake was Sue's piece de resistance and was on view throughout the ceremony, hence we spent quite a while getting it right.  Anton and his groomsmen did a sterling job of putting the dowels in and assembling the cake, making it very easy to dress on site.  We hope that the flowers lived up to Sue's cake making skills on the day.  We certainly enjoyed preparing them.