The soft, pretty spring wedding of Anna and Alex at Frasers Barn

Today is a real gem of a wedding (I love winter and spring weddings and adore spring flowers, so it was always going to be a winner with me).  Anna is very similar in her approach to me and had a very clear idea of what she wanted her wedding to look like, had purchased lots of containers, attached personalised labels, shopped on ebay, written list after list and had everything planned out...it might sound a nightmare to some of you, but it really is just how I work and I loved working with her.  We'd previously worked with her for her company's Christmas party and I was thus so looking forward to doing something special for her wedding day.

The brief was all white, green and ivory with a soft, spriggy, seasonal, slightly rustic feel and a vintage edge...right up my street!  We used calla lilies, freesias, tulips, hellebores, lilac, paperwhites, ranunculus, bouvardia, blossom, ginster, gypsophilia, pussy willow, birch and hypericum berries and it was a perfect combination (and smelt gorgeous too).

Anna's dress was a gorgeous all lace dress with a bolero for warmth.  Being petite, we didn't want to overpower her with too many flowers, so went for smaller headed flowers and provided a gorgeous hand-tied bouquet of small calla lilies, lilac, ranunculus, hellebores, tulips, freesias, blossom and birch.  We wraped the stems in lace and added an heirloom brooch (the actual brooch Anna used was attached at the venue, hence the one photographed was one of ours).

For her three bridesmaids, we provided smaller versions of the bouquets but omitting the lilac and calla lilies.  We then provided a heart-shaped wire basket dressed with flowers and filled with petals for her Flower Girl.  The boys had a range of buttonholes, dependent upon their role on the day and we also designed different corsages for the Mums.

To welcome guests to the barn, Anna provided us with a vintage suitcase which we overfilled with flowers and which sat on a table for the ceremony and moved to the gift table later in the day.  We then added vases of flowers to the celebrant table and tied glass lanterns filled with soft hand-tied of flowers to the aisle chairs...so very pretty.

For the marquee, we dressed the centre line (where there are no guest seats) with tall, dramatic and very pretty vases filled with hand-tied arrangements of flowers and then added smaller versions in between.  For the sprigs of the table where guests are seated, we filled a range of containers provided by Anna with hand-tied arrangements of all the flowers used elsewhere, and then added votives and tealights in between. 

I think it all looked truly gorgeous and heralded the start of Spring (well here's hoping).  The weather was variable and I left in the middle of a hailstorm BUT I also know it was fine for the wedding and photos outside and that Alex and Anna had a wonderful day.I can't leave without showing the lovely cake by Creative Cakes who, as a surprise for Alex from Anna, had designed a replica of the happy couple with their fabulous rottweilers...so cute!  Being a "dog person", this was literally the icing on the cake of a wonderful wedding.

Lisa and Simon's detail filled beautiful Cooling Castle Barn wedding

 

I loved Lisa and her family right from the start...and having met Simon and his family, loved them straight away too.  With a fab couple, great family, beautiful venue, loads of lovely details and items sourced from the family and Lisa's desire to have a soft, romantic and natural look, it was always going to be a fave.

The colour scheme was ivory and green with hints of blush pink, the flowers were soft and summery and the centrepieces a mix of high and low (candelabras and rosebowls) all with lots of other lovely vases and containers full of flowers.   It was the hottest day of the year so far, so the fab gardens at Cooling were used to their full, and as a strictly one-off agreement, Lisa and Simon brought in their own chevari chairs which finished off the overall look.

The bouquets were soft, spriggy, scented and textured and the buttonholes followed suit.

Guests were welcomed into the Heritage Barn with rustic, pearl draped hearts on the fireplace, a birdcage for cards on the table, and small vases of flowers on plates on the tables.

For the ceremony, the aisle was lined with gorgeous candlesticks and candelabra at the front.  The dais was dressed in soft blossom garlands and a rustic heart dressed with flowers was set off beautifully on the wall at the front and balanced with a smaller heart on the end of the stairs.

And then onto the main barn where the tables were overlaid with lace cloths and dressed with either a tall elegant candelabra with soft flowing floral tops and vases of flowers at the base or with rosebowls overflowing with flowers and additional flowers at the base.  Votives and tealights were added everywhere.

The top table was a long one and dressed with lots of different vases along the length, some being on rectangular mirrors which created fabulous reflections.  The plough was also dressed with another rustic heart fully finished with flowers.

For the rest of the details, we finished all the beams with faux blossom garlands intertwined with lights and added more subtle fairy lights to the staircase...enough to give a little twinkle without being too brash.  We then dressed other birdcages with flowers to place on the goody tables set up by the Groom's Mum.  We also loved her Wishing Tree (all the way from France).

The registrar came down to say she'd never loved it so much at Cooling, the bride said we'd "nailed it" and the groom said it was better than he imagined, so we've not stopped smiling. 

For more photos, check it out on the Featured Wedding of the Month under the Wedding Flowers Portfolio section off the front page of the website.  Enjoy!