We met Jess and Carl through Jess' Mum for whom we had provided wedding flowers a few years ago. We loved working with her and knew it was going to be fun working with Jess and Carl, especially when we heard their engagement story. Basically they got engaged in the Galapagos Islands (lucky pair...it's on my bucket list!) and hence the wildlife on the island grabbed their attention, especially the gorgeous blue footed booby! They are such an endearing little bird, especially when the male does his cute mating dance... Anyway, enough wildlife facts but you can see how the theme began.
Jess and Carl decided to use the Galapagos wildlife as table names for their reception at Bodiam Castle....but not content to use an internet image as I've just done, Carl decided he would "become" each of the creatures for a photo for the table...you have to see the sea lions to believe it"! Are you now getting an idea of what a fun wedding this was going to be. To top it all, Jess and Carl married at Benenden Church (more in a mo) and then got the steam train over to Bodiam Castle on the day that Wallace and Gromit were making a special appearance....it was indeed a Grand Day Out pooch!
Anyway, back to the wedding. Despite the fun elements to the wedding, Jess and Carl both wanted it to be a classic and quintessentially English wedding using soft flowers in a palette of ivory, strong blue and hints of purple and lilac. We chose hydrangeas, roses, cornflowers, sweet peas, spray roses, lavender, flowering mint, gentiana, lisianthus, campanula, stocks and lots of lovely other soft and scented flowers.
Being petite and wearing a stunning gown (style, shape, faric, detailing were all exquisite), we decided on a not too large hand-tied bouquet of roses, cornflowers, sweet peas, lavender and springs of flowering mint and rosemary for Jess. We very simply tied the stems in ivory ribbon.
Jess decided to have only two Flower Girls so as not to upset all her friends, so we designed small posies for them using spray roses, sweet peas, lavender and flowering mint. Very sweet and sweetly scented.
For the boys, we used a large headed rose with a cornflower and foliage for Carl and then just the roses and foliage for the remainder of the bridal party. We also provided corsages for the readers.
For the church, we used zinc pails / buckets hung from the pew ends and filled with flowers to match the wedding. These were subsequently moved to be hung on Shepherds Crooks lining the walkway at Bodiam Castle. we also provided two large pedestal arrangements full of all the flowers used elsewhere to frame Jess and Carl taking their vows. These were also moved to the marquee by their wonderful wedding planner and coordinator Amanda Baer. Jess was proudly walked down the aisle by her brother and both look amazing (photos taken by guests and forward by Mum). I can imagine that Finn (Mum) had a tear in her eye....or was it dust!
At Bodiam Castle, the marquee stood facing the drawbridge and castle which was lit in the evening and evidently looked stunning. It was sectioned off the drinks on arrival in the Pagoda end, Reception in the mid section, for which the sides were removed, then dancing in the starlit end to a live band. From brief reports, it was indeed a wedding to remember. We provided a small jug arrangement for the table at the drinks reception to ensure there was some colour and a hint of things to come.
For the circular reception tables, we used our tall elegant chrome candelabras with battery operated candles and a full top section of blue and ivory flowers to match the wedding flowers. We also added additional small clusters of flowers in votives around the base of the candelabra to ensure that the smaller flowers such as sweet peas and lavender weren't missed. For the top table, we added sunflowers which are of particular significance to Jess and which made their table stand out. We also thought sprigs of lavender in the napkins would be a nice finishing touch.
The three tier cake by our friends at Creative Cakes (www.creativeweddingcakes.co.uk) was dressed with a cute pair of blue footed boobies (not sure if I spelt that right!) and a model of the bride and groom and was then fully dressed between each layer with flowers to match the wedding.
It really was a beautiful wedding and we hope that it was everything that Jess and Carl wanted. We helped their family take apart the candelabra arrangements the following morning so that none of the flowers went to waste, and additionally donated some to the lovely staff at Bodiam Castle, who had lovely smiles on their faces when we left. We really are lucky to work with such wonderful people as it was a joy from start to finish working on Jess and Carl's wedding and everyone we came into contact with was just lovely. We wish them all the very best for an exciting life together.
