Charlotte and Andy's wedding at Cooling Castle Barn

After all the wintry weather we've been having recently, it was quite ironic that we provided the flowers for Charlotte's snowflake themed wedding on probably the nicest day in the year so far.  It was an unseasonably gorgeous, warm and sunny day...perfect for a wedding and drinks on the lawn.  Charlotte had chosen an elegant and strikingly simple colour scheme of white / ivory and platinum with lots of sparkles and it looked wonderful against the brick and wooden beams of Cooling Castle Barn.   If anything, the sunshine showed it off even more.

Charlotte and Andy chose a very simple and streamlined selection of flowers with white tulips as the main flower with lots of silver willow, birch and hazel.  We added lots of other lovely small headed spring flowers in the top table such as ranunculus, paperwhites, chincherinchee, bouvardia along with long stemmed french tulips and parrot tulips.  Crystal droplets were added everywhere along with snowflakes and scatterings of glitter.  It all worked so well.

For Charlotte, we provided a massed white tulip bouquet with lots of spriggy diamantes and glittered silvered decorative birch.  We wrapped the stems in platinum ribbon to match the bridesmaids' dresses and finished them with clusters of diamante pins.  Extremely elegant and different...on the day people were asking what the flower was which shows how different tulips look when massed together.

For the three adult bridesmaids, we provided smaller hand-tied tulip bouquets with glittered silvered birch and wrapped the stems in ivory ribbon to contrast against their platinum dresses.  For the three younger bridesmaids, we scaled down the hand-tied bouquets and provided smaller versions of the adult bridesmaids' bouquets.  Once again we wrapped them in ivory ribbon as their dresses were ivory with platinum sashes.

And just so you can see how stunning Charlotte and her girls looked (what a great choice of dresses and the hairstyles are beautiful), here's a photo courtesy of www.ianboothphotography.co.uk.

For the boys, who were wearing morning suits with platinum cravates, we provided tulip buttonholes.  Whilst not the strongest or longest lasting of flowers, they matched the girls' bouquets perfectly.  We provided a double tulip buttonhole for Andy with silver bear grass and birch.  For the rest of the groom's party, we provided single tulips with silver bear grass and birch.  For the four main female family members, we provided lovely spring hand-tied thank you bouquets full of all the flowers used in the top table.

For the ceremony room, we dressed the celebrant table with a long and low, full spriggy arrangement of spring flowers and silver birch, willow and bear grass with additional crystals.  To frame Charlotte and Andy taking their vows on the dais, we provided two tall glass vases with tulips, willow, birch and grasses with hanging crystals and snowflakes.

For the main barn for the reception, we dressed the tables with mirrors and tall lily vases with tulips down the stem in testtubes, some hung with metal snowflakes.  We then added a tall and striking hand-tied arrangement of silver willow, birch and hazel branches with white tulips and silver bear grass with added crystal droplets and snowflakes to catch the light.  Each was hand-tied with platinum ribbon as a final finish.  The crystals, snowflakes and glitter on some of the branches really caught the light and the whole room glittered.

Photo courtesy of www.ianboothphotography.co.uk

The top table had a long and low arrangement of spring flowers in front of Charlotte and Andy.  To finish www.your-beautiful-day.co.uk wrapped the beams with fairy lights and dressed the chairs with white covers and platinum sashes.  They also tied the napkins with platinum ribbon and finished them with a slightly larger crystal droplet to match those in the arrangements.  All done beautifully ensuring the guests would be wowed wherever they looked.

Finally, the cake was a lovely four tiered cake in white with platinum ribbons and with delicate snowflakes cascading all down the front.  It was really beautifully and worked so well with the rest of the decoration.  It was placed on a mirror to reflect the light and show off the snowflakes even more.  It was made by Debbie Downing on 01474 850952.

All in all I don't think there could have been a more perfect contrast for a February day...sunshine, sparkles, spring flowers and snowflakes.  We hope Charlotte and Andy enjoyed every second of their lovely special day.

Rachel and Mark's wedding at Cooling Castle Barn

Our most recent trip to Cooling Castle Barn involved three seperate vehicles, thanks to the size of the tablecentres for Rachel and Mark's wedding.  We think the logistical issues were worth it though as everyone seemed to love the final set-up..."fabulous statement flowers" was a phrase we liked that we heard on the day.   See what you think.

Rachel and Mark decided on an aubergine / deep purple and ivory theme with hints of gold and flashes of lime green.  Rachel had chosen the most exquisite dress in a pale gold colour with a bolero jacket to match.  It was perfect for her and we can't wait to see a picture of her wearing the dress...although it's nice to see the dress hanging up, they look so much better when on.  Rachel was looking gorgeous even with her make up only half done when we saw her and we know that the whole wedding party was going to be so glamorous and elegant in a contemporary style.

For Rachel's bouquet, we designed a teardrop bouquet of calla lilies, longiflora lilies, oriental lilies, lily of the valley and Maroussia roses along with grasses, rolled leaves and crystals.  The bouquet smelt lovely which is always a bonus and the very delicate lily of the valley really worked well against the larger more contemporary flowers.

For the Maid of Honour, we provided a hand-tied bouquet of oriental lilies, roses and germini with gold bear grass.  And for the remaining bridesmaids, wrist corsages were designed using smaller spray roses along with germinis and grasses, all on a dull gold ribbon.

For the boys (who we pinned down for quick photos when they arrived - very handsome they looked too!), we provided a Picasso Calla lily buttonhole for Mark and roses for the remainder of the bridal party, each with aspidistra leaves and gold bear grass.  For the Mums we provided corsages with spray roses, chincherinchee and the lovely and highly scented lily of the valley.

The celebrant table was dressed with a structural and more contemporary long and low arrangement of lilies (calla, oriental and longiflora), anthuriums, germinis and Shamrock style blooms along with a selection of folded leaves and grasses.  Additional purple colouring was added via the use of mitsumata branches.

In the main barn, the top table was dressed with a long and low contemporary arrangement and we then added Honeymoon tulips to each place setting.

The guest tables had central mirrors onto which was placed tall glass vases filled with fairy lights.  We added full and striking arrangements to the top of each vase using tulips, longiflora lilies, roses, germinis, anthuriums, blooms and mitsumata branches along with pandamues, palms, rolled aspidistra leaves and grasses. 

Finally, we added a few additional sections of flowers to the cake to reflect the structural tablecentres. 

Rachel and Mark are a lovely couple and were both really excited and looking forward to their special day.  I couldn't believe how calm Rachel was on the morning as she looked forward to the day ahead.  I think the rest of us made up for her calmness by running backwards and forwards trying to get everything ready in time, but I think you will agree it was worth it!.  I hope their day was as perfect as they'd dreamed of.