Nicole and Daniel's wedding at The Barn, Tunbridge Wells

Nicole and Daniel married in July on a lovely warm day at The Barn, Tunbridge WElls and chose a very striking puprle and ivory colour scheme for their wedding.  They wanted their flowers to be simple, yet striking and hence chose structural and noticeable flowers such as calla lilies and vanda orchids along with some softer hydrangeas, sweet peas and lisianthus.  A striking combination all around.

Nicole had chosen an ivory gown with embellishment at the top and a lovely sweetheart neckline.  It was gathered and fitted into the waist with quite a bit of detailing before flowing out into a full skirt.  We therefore decided to stick with the contemporary feeling of the flowers and design an overarm bouquet filled with Picasso calla lilies, purple vanda orchids, purple lisianthus, purple sweet peas along with curled aspidistra leaves, china, bear and steel grass to add a sense of "sprigginess".  We finished the stems with ivory ribbon, a purple bow and a crystal.  Just to show how versatile these bouquets can be, we photographed it as an overarm bouquet of turned around to trail downwards.  Nicole wasn't sure which way she wanted to carry her bouquet, but on the day opted for the striking overarm style.

For the bridesmaids, we used ivory calla lilies in a hand-tied style with sprigs of grass throughout.  We added a purple bow to the ivory ribbon on the stem to match Nicole's bouquet.  For the junior bridesmaids, we used a single calla lily surrounded with crystals and grasses and wrapped to match the others.

For the boys, we matched Daniel's buttonhole to Nicole's bouquet using a Picasso calla lily and a vanda orchid.  For the rest of the groomsmen, we used an ivory calla lily to tie in with the bridesmaids and a lisianthus at the front for a touch of colour.  We provided pretty corsages for the Mums and contemporary front facing thank-you bouquets.

At The Barn, we worked with the differing sizes and shapes of the tables by providing a range of oblong tablecentres designed in a contemporary packed and boxy style using the hydrangeas, lisianthus, orchids and carnations with folded black tie leaves at the base.  We spread them out along the tables and "joined" them by using hydrangea florets and sweet peas as table sprinkles.  It was so striking, and yet designed not to get in the way of the guests at the rectangular tables.  We added extras to the top table as we couldn't leave Nicole and Daniel just with her bouquet on the table could we!

For the celebrant table, we used another boxy arrangement and hydrangea florets and then decorated the windowledges with hydrangea florets as it was really too warm in the conservatory for the thirsty hydrangeas in the arrangements.

We thought it was  lovely set of flowers for a lovely couple.  We liked their style and LOVED the cake topper (photo taken from Facebook) with a wonderful replica of Nicole's bouquet.  We hope they had the best day and that these photos bring back happy memories. 

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.

Rachel and Mark's wedding at Cooling Castle Barn

Our most recent trip to Cooling Castle Barn involved three seperate vehicles, thanks to the size of the tablecentres for Rachel and Mark's wedding.  We think the logistical issues were worth it though as everyone seemed to love the final set-up..."fabulous statement flowers" was a phrase we liked that we heard on the day.   See what you think.

Rachel and Mark decided on an aubergine / deep purple and ivory theme with hints of gold and flashes of lime green.  Rachel had chosen the most exquisite dress in a pale gold colour with a bolero jacket to match.  It was perfect for her and we can't wait to see a picture of her wearing the dress...although it's nice to see the dress hanging up, they look so much better when on.  Rachel was looking gorgeous even with her make up only half done when we saw her and we know that the whole wedding party was going to be so glamorous and elegant in a contemporary style.

For Rachel's bouquet, we designed a teardrop bouquet of calla lilies, longiflora lilies, oriental lilies, lily of the valley and Maroussia roses along with grasses, rolled leaves and crystals.  The bouquet smelt lovely which is always a bonus and the very delicate lily of the valley really worked well against the larger more contemporary flowers.

For the Maid of Honour, we provided a hand-tied bouquet of oriental lilies, roses and germini with gold bear grass.  And for the remaining bridesmaids, wrist corsages were designed using smaller spray roses along with germinis and grasses, all on a dull gold ribbon.

For the boys (who we pinned down for quick photos when they arrived - very handsome they looked too!), we provided a Picasso Calla lily buttonhole for Mark and roses for the remainder of the bridal party, each with aspidistra leaves and gold bear grass.  For the Mums we provided corsages with spray roses, chincherinchee and the lovely and highly scented lily of the valley.

The celebrant table was dressed with a structural and more contemporary long and low arrangement of lilies (calla, oriental and longiflora), anthuriums, germinis and Shamrock style blooms along with a selection of folded leaves and grasses.  Additional purple colouring was added via the use of mitsumata branches.

In the main barn, the top table was dressed with a long and low contemporary arrangement and we then added Honeymoon tulips to each place setting.

The guest tables had central mirrors onto which was placed tall glass vases filled with fairy lights.  We added full and striking arrangements to the top of each vase using tulips, longiflora lilies, roses, germinis, anthuriums, blooms and mitsumata branches along with pandamues, palms, rolled aspidistra leaves and grasses. 

Finally, we added a few additional sections of flowers to the cake to reflect the structural tablecentres. 

Rachel and Mark are a lovely couple and were both really excited and looking forward to their special day.  I couldn't believe how calm Rachel was on the morning as she looked forward to the day ahead.  I think the rest of us made up for her calmness by running backwards and forwards trying to get everything ready in time, but I think you will agree it was worth it!.  I hope their day was as perfect as they'd dreamed of.