Hadlow Manor Wedding Fair

On what was probably the nicest day weekend of the year so far, Hadlow Manor Hotel opened it's newly refurbished doors for a wedding fair.  We decided to take just a small space and to try to show a range of colours and styles....not easy with a small space, but hey ho. 

Firstly we decided to go for soft, slightly vintage and rustic greens and whites / ivories and made a birdcage arrangement, a textured bridal bouquet, a hand-tied parrot tulip bouquet with a paper wire frame, and a flower girl wand using roses, bouvardia ,bupleurum and small flower shaped crystals. Everything was designed to show texture and also to show how pretty and versatile green and white / ivory can be.

We then went to the other extreme and designed some multi-coloured contemporary flowers using the martini vase and goblet vase for table centres (lavish to simple) along with a hand-tied bouquet, a fluffy wand, a grouped heart bouquet and an overarm anthurium tail bouquet.  All beautifully colourful and eye-catching and a complete contrast to the previous section.

As a final balance, we provided a pale pink and ivory section using just oriental lilies, calla liles, gerberas and a few roses.  For the tablecentre / contemporary pedestal, we used a flat topped lily vase with an arrangement nestled in a mossed wreath and with calla lilies inside the stem of the vase for extra interest.  We also provided a hand-tied bridal bouquet, an overarm calla lily bouquet with ostrich feathers, a calla lily fluffy flower girl wand, a wrist corsage (worn on the day but not photographed) and a buttonhole.

Everyone had their favourite section and I think that many people went away with a few new ideas and perhaps a little more enthusiasm for their wedding flowers, and we look forward to speaking to people again soon.  In the meantime, thanks for all the nice comments and for the hospitality extended by Hadlow Manor Hotel, and Zoe in particular.

Bright and colourful sympathy flowers

Often when planning and ordering flowers for funerals, customers assume that older people should have more traditional flowers and they frequently order safer colour schemes.  However, I believe that sympathy flowers should match the personality of the deceased and also include the personality and style of the sender...they don't have to be white and they certainly don't have to include chrysanthemums and carnations....not really our type of flowers.  They can however include favourite flowers, memories of wedding days and happier times for example the butterflies included in this particular set of flowers.

To demonstrate how lovely colourful flowers can be, we've included some of the flowers recently provided for a bright and bubbly older lady...her family wanted something different, something colourful and something she would have appreciated herself. 

For the casket, we decided to provide the main spray in a crescent which was positioned over the centre, leaving room either end for two other tributes.  Again, it shows how a little bit of thought and creativity can create a different and beautiful look.

Other family tributes included a heart, a contemporary styled wreath, and an arrangement to sit at the foot of the casket.  The colours and flowers from each of the individual pieces were all included in the crescent to ensure continuity.

Flowers from friends were also designed to tone with the bright and colourful scheme, and a few different pieces are included, all designed to be taken home and enjoyed further by the family.  We also provided some multi-coloured tulip hand-tied bouquets which were again a non traditional arrangement of flowers for a funeral, but which complemented all the other tributes perfectly.

We love the mix of colours chosen and hope it inspires you to chose something a little different when next sending flowers for a funeral.

Spring weddings

As it's such a sunny day today (at last) and the spring flowers are shooting up in the garden, I thought it was time to include a selection of seasonal spring wedding flower photos.  I personally think that tulips, ranunculus, narcissi, iris etc are fabulous, but are often overlooked in favour of the more formal roses, lilies etc.  So to redress the balance, here are some of our seasonal spring favourites.

Some lovely spring bouquets....

And some venue flowers to match....

Roll on more sunshine and more lovely spring weddings.



Nicola and Andy's wedding at Cooling Castle Barn

Nicola and Andy's recent wedding at Cooling Castle Barn was an elegant, simple, yet striking collection of calla lilies and gerberas in aubergine and ivory.  Butterflies were a central theme, and Nicola used these in designing her post box, table centres, stationery and other finishing touches, all of which she made herself.

For her bouquet, Nicola carried an overarm bouquet of Schwarzwalder and Picasso Calla lilies along with rolls of aspidistra leaf, grasses, crystals and butterflies.  It was a very striking bouquet, but as Nicola was carrying it over her arm, it allowed all the beautiful detailing on her dress to be shown to best effect.  Nicola and her bridal party were extremely relaxed and happy on the morning of the wedding and even without hair and make-up complete, they looked lovely.  Mum was enjoying her glass of bubbles and I have to say it was a pleasure spending some time with them all.....the most relaxed bridal party I've seen in recent times.

For Nicola's four lovely bridesmaids, we use very simple, but striking bouquets of large ivory calla lilies, rolled aspidistra leaves, grasses and a single butterfly.  For the Flower Girl, we provided a silk gerbera wand to enable it to be a permanent keepsake (and also less likely to be eaten!)

Andy's buttonhole was a single Schwarzwalder calla lily with rolled aspidistra leaf whilst the remaining groomsmen had ivory calla lilies with leaves and grass.  The Mums had mini calla lilies and chincherinchee along with light foliage, and the two Witnesses / Readers had lovely mini calla lily wrist corsages.

As Nicola had made her own silk tablecentres for the guest tables, we provided a long and low arrangement of gerberas and calla lilies, with obligatory butterflies for the Celebrant Table and the Top Table.  We also provided a series of thank-you bouquets.

Nicola and Andy had done so much work on their own wedding and it all paid off on the day as all the plans were put into place.  Nicola and Andy are such a wonderful couple, that I know that they will have had a fabulous day surrounded by their lovely family and friends.