Gemma and Nik's professional photos from Chilston Park

Those of you following the blog may remember a gorgeous, colourful and glamorous wedding we featured earlier in the year at Chilston Park Hotel.  Gemma and Nick chose an eclectic and beautiful seleciton of flowers and matched these with an assortment of items on their tables reflecting their travels and personalities.  I was so intrigued to see Gemma's dress after her description of it, and it looked even better than I thought it could....stunning!  It was lovely to receive a selection of photos from the day from their professional photographer www.tobyphillipsphotography.co.uk   I'll let them speak for themselves as they are wonderful and do sum up what a great wedding day Gemma and Nik had....such a pleasure to have been a part of it.

Charlotte and Dan's wedding at Cooling Castle Barn

When we first met the lovely Charlotte, we knew her wedding flowers would be elegant and striking.  As an artist, she knew how she wanted everything to look and was very clear about her ivory floral theme with hints of fuschia pink.  We decided to keep the personal flowers to roses and "jasmine" to tie in with Charlotte's daughter Jasmine.  We then incorporated delphiniums, lilies and trachellium with eucalyptus and grasses.  Strategic "sparkle" was added where appropriate.

Charlotte's bouquet was a hand-tied bouquet of Dolce Vita roses with sprigs of crystal and sprigs of stephanotis (instead of Jasmine) added throughout.

For the bridesmaids, we provided hand-tied bouquets of large headed Maroussia roses along with stephanotis.  We added the tough of pink via a small bow at the top of the stems.  All the girls had stephanotis wired for their hair as well, and Charlotte had a couple of roses wired for her hair. 

Dan's buttonhole was a Dolce Vita rose to match Charlotte's whilst the remainder of the party wore ivory roses to match the bridesmaids. 

For the top table, we decided to use the bouquets from the bridal party in low vases (they needed to be kept in water for freshness in any event and of course matched the overall theme, therefore were perfect).  We also added a couple of extra vases for the centre of the table with hand-tied bouquets of roses and foliage to match the remainder of the flowers.

For the tablecentres, we used large martini vases and kept the arrangements largely ivory with just a few Dolce Vita roses to add the colour. 

We then dressed the wedding cake (made beautifully by Charlotte's friend) with clusters of roses and sparkles.

All in all a lovely, elegant and simple floral theme.

Lorna and Alex's professional photos from Chiddingstone Castle

Those of you who follow the blog will know how much we love seeing photos of our happy couples after their wedding days, and Laura and Alex's photos are no exception.  They are STUNNING!  Have a look below for a taster of the fabulous photos from the lovely Laura Dodsworth at www.lauradodsworth.co.uk 

 I'm loving all the detail shots as well, which show all the attention to detail put into the wedding. 

These all represent to me a quintessentially English Wedding.  You may have seen our photos on the blog a while ago, but see how Laura has brought the flowers to life and how fabulous the light and the castle look.  I'm loving them and also loving the dresses and Alex's suit...all very gorgeous.  Thanks again to the talented Laura for sorting all the photos for me.

And now for my personal favourites...see what you think.

Exclusive Diamondart boutonniere buttonholes and corsages

Often when planning wedding flowers, it seems such a shame that the smallest and cheapest item on the quote is for the Groom himself...such an important person with so little design decisions to be made.  Having started to work with the fabulous Assuntina and her team at www.diamondart.co.uk, we have now had the chance to design buttonholes and corsages using her exclusive lapel vase / boutonniere from the Diamond Love collection.  We think it is gorgeous and adds a certain "je ne sais quoi" to the Groom's flowers.

It is made from jewellers gilding metal, and coated in rhodium (from the platinum family) plating and has one half point diamond at the base in the lowest disc.  It is extremely sturdy and very versatile.  Inspiration is art deco and art nouveau and it fits perfectly with today's vintage focus.

Buttonholes or boutonnieres have a long history.  Knights wore their ladies' colours when duelling, and men wore buttonholes to ward off evil spirits and to give protection against odors and diseases.  Following on to less practical demands, in the 18th century it became fashionable to wear large flowers to fasten back frock coats and in the 19th century, buttonholes provided a splash of colour against very conservative suits.  Buttonholes became the sign of a well dressed man and can be seen right through to the earlier part of the 20th century as shown by film stars such as Cary Grant.

Today the buttonhole is normally worn only at weddings or proms and is usually designed to match the flowers provided for the bride or female partner.  For weddings we like to ensure that the groom wears a buttonhole to match flowers in the bridal bouquet, and the remainder of the grooms' party wear flowers to tie in with the bridesmaids.  Using the gorgeous Diamondart holder, we can now differentiate members of the bridal party using accessories and not just flowers.

To demonstrate how versatile these holders are, here are just a few buttonhole designs.

And because the holders are designed so well, they are equally suitable for ladies' corsages making them lovely keepsakes for Mums from such a special day. 

Hope you all like them and agree that they add a touch of elegance for the all important and often overlooked Groom!  Ask us for availability or contact Assuntina at Diamondart.