Rachel and Mark's professional photos by David Burke Photography



My fave photo ... fab lighting and oh so glam!

The gorgeous Rachel preparing for her special day.

Following Rachel and Mark's gorgeous wedding in February at Cooling Castle Barn, her wonderful photographer David Burke kindly sent us loads of blog friendly photos (I kept seeing others I liked and adding them to my faves list).  In the original blog we talked about Rachel's beautiful pale gold dress and how we couldn't wait to see her wearing it....thanks to David and his team, it's here to be seen in detail.  Being obsessed with weddings and all things related, it is so nice to see the final picture as we are usually long gone before the final details are in place. 

The Happy Couple

Thanks to the photos from David, we get to see the fabulous detail of the dress...

...how the hairdresser finished Rachel's hair...

...and how the chief bridesmaid looked with the hand-tied bouquet....

...and how the other bridesmaids liked the flowers...

...and how fabulous the Barn looked with noone in it (it's always a hive of activity when we're there).

...oh, and a few photos of our flowers...



Having gorgeous photos like this really bring the day to life and it was clear to us what a happy and relaxed day Rachel and Mark had.  We love the stylish shots of the happy couple taken by David and his team.  Check out more of his work on www.davidburkephotography.co.uk

The dapper gents

Happy and relaxed and extremely glamorous



Admiring her chosen flowers

And who said it was a stressful time...very relaxed before the ceremony

Are you ready Mark..?

A poignant moment for the bridal party

Ready to take their vows

A budding videographer in the making!

Mr and Mrs!

The bouquet looked beautiful against Rachel's dress

Laughing and happy as ever

Enjoy!!  We know Rachel, Mark and their guests did.

Spring has sprung

Finally I think it's safe to say that spring is here and we certainly have all the fabulous spring flowers available to us now.  It's one of my most favourite times of the year and spring flowers are often sadly overlooked for special occasions, so I thought I'd show you some images of where we've used them recently and how beautiful they are. 


Simply Spring...a selection of vases and candles on a dining table

It is worth dealing with the misconception that spring flowers don't last more than a couple of days.  If they are top quality flowers, and are bought fresh and looked after, they can last weeks.  I've just thrown away a few spare parrot tulips that we used in a wedding three weeks ago...three weeks is pretty good for any cut flower so it shows how well they can last.  A customer said at the weekend that tulips always look limp and hang out of the side of vases and that's why they didn't like them...this again is a misunderstanding of how tulips grow...unlike other flowers, they continue to grown when cut and hence when they start to "droop" over the side of the vase they have in fact grown several inches and need cutting back or pulling back within a mixed bouquet.  Also, whilst all flowers like fresh water every couple of days, it is especially true of spring flowers and we tend to change the vase water every other day.  Beware bouquets with narcissi and daffodils included as they emit sap which other flowers may not like.  It certainly doesn't mean they should be avoided though...just keep changing the water.

So to prove the versatility of spring flowers, here is a selection used for...

Weddings

Massed white tulip bouquets - so elegant and different



Beautiful ranunculus, freesias, rosemary and buttons in a hand-tied bouquet



A beautiful scented Paperwhite bouquet for a bridesmaid

Frothy peonies on a top table

Ranunculus, roses and freesias in a bridal bouquet

Soft and sugary peonies with roses in a bridal bouquet

Fabulous Honeymoon tulips with eryngium in bridesmaids' bouquets





Bright and cheerful parrot tulips in a hand-tied bouquet

Ranunculus taking centre stage in a contemporary hand-tied bouquet with wire frame

A stunning parrot tulip shower bouquet for a bride

Saying "I love you" on Mothers Day

Sending thoughts at the sad loss of a loved one

Just brightening up tables

A Wild West Party at Leeds Castle

Because I tend to put more weddings on the blog than anything else, some people think it is all we do.  However, if it involves flowers (or plants, styling, cases etc), we do it!  And so to prove it, here's a recent birthday party we were involved in at Leeds Castle.  The event was planned and devised by www.jennifersueweddings.co.uk with their usual fabulous attention to detail.  It was a Wild West themed party, with the most amazing soundtrack (Dolly Parton to Rednex and everything Western in between), blow-up cacti, gingham napkins and fancy dress for the guests.

Every table was different, the candles shed a lovely light and threw strange shapes on the tablecloth from the cacti, and the Distinctly Floral team spent weeks (literally) getting some of the prickles out of their fingers.  All in a good cause though as it really worked well.

As you can see, we don't just do flowers and weddings...!!