Claire and Lu's wedding at Chapeldown

We first met Claire and Lu at Chapeldown's Open Evening in 2009 where Claure loved the venue and Lu was not so sure (we thought!).  Little did we know that Lu had planned the whole wedding day and venue as a Christmas surprise for Claire...how lovely is that.  So Chapeldown it was and we started planning a theatrical themed wedding.

Both Claire and Lu had chosen gorgeous ivory dresses but wanted their flowers to be different yet complement each other.  So for Claire we provided a hand-tied bouquet of deep red Black Baccara roses along with ivory roses, finished with a simple looped grass edge and with crystal pins added.  For Lu, we decided on ivory calla lilies in an overarm style, finished with a burgundy feather.

Both Claire and Lu had bridesmaids, so we decided to use a single calla lily with feather for Claire's bridesmaids so that they tied in with Lu's bouquet and contrasted Claire's roses.  For Lu's bridesmaids we reversed the flowers and used a single rose to tie in with Claire's bouquet.

Buttonholes were simple calla lilies with loops of grass and aspidistra leaf.

For the tables, Claire and Lu had already seen one of our exotic martini vase arrangements and were completely "sold" on them straight away.  We therefore provided large martini vases filled with ivory sisal and fairy lights.  We then added an exotic arrangement of monstera leaves, palms, aspidistras along with red and ivory oriental lilies, Black Baccara and ivory roses, anthuriums and grasses.  Each had dramatic ostrich feathers added and the mask table name provided by Claire and Lu.  We finished the tables with a mirror and rose petals for the final touch of drama. 

We then dressed the gazebo in the herb garden with a loose foliage garland with wired roses, anthuriums and lilies to reflec the flowers used inside.

Despite being extremely nervous, Claire and Lu both had a wonderful day with friends and family and all their hard work, planning and surprises paid off.  They are a fantastic couple who look after each other wonderfully and we hope their gorgeous wedding day is the start of a long and fabulous life together.

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.