FLORAL PARADISE

A FLORAL 15 showstopping and creative ways to use fl owers in your wedding paradise 1INSIDE THE BOX Louise Dawson of Boujee Boxes

Boujee Boxes says, “We love to incorporate boxes of all sizes and designs into our bespoke weddings. These may be hat boxes, metal, open frames, glass cubes, acrylic plinths and more. When used as a centrepiece they’re easy to gift to guests at the 2UNDERNEATH THE ARCHES Ceremony and moon arches are growing in popularity, symbolising the home you’ll create end of the night.” Boujee Boxes 3THANK YOU Louise says, “What about incorporating fl owers into your bespoke gifts for brides, together and offering a beautiful backdrop to proceedings and photos. When decorated with bridesmaids, mums or even the best man? fl owers they become truly special. Gemma Wakerley of Booker Flowers & Gifts says, “Wall- They’re great alongside a bottle of bubbly mounted hoops can also be used as a fl oating display for photo opportunities.” and a special gift.”

www.littlevintagephotography.co.uk for Booker Flowers & Gifts

4CROWNING GLORY With a whimsical feel fl ower crowns are the staple of bohemian weddings, with dried fl owers now making a splash. Gemma says, “Delicate and dainty or blousy and full they’re an excellent way to celebrate with fl owers and colour.” If your style is more traditional though, ask your hair stylist to tuck a few blooms into your up do for a softer alternative to a hair accessory.

5BUTTONHOLES Don’t forget the gents when planning your fl owers. Buttonholes are a great way to tie the wedding party together thematically and can help the groom stand out with a showstopping variation. This rustic vintage version by Flowers at the Dutch Barn ties in perfectly with the groom’s tweed suit.

6BLOOMIN’ BACKDROP

Flower walls offer a breathtaking focal point for the top table and a background for the speeches. Reposition later as a backdrop to your guests’ super-fun red-carpet arrival style shots.

7BOUQUETS Probably the first thing that springs to mind when we think of wedding flowers, and the most traditional. Your bouquet is a way to reflect your personality by choosing your favourite blooms and those that hold special meaning to you. Reflect your theme and the season by carefully selecting the style from free and easy meadow to formal glamour. We love these creations by Boujee Boxes and Flowers at the Dutch Barn.

Flowers at the Dutch Barn Boujee Boxes

8SELF-RAISING FLOWER Decorating your big-day bake with blooms to match your arrangements ties it together nicely with the rest of your styling. If you’re nervous about using fresh flowers, why not ask your cake-maker to replicate them in sugar paste or adorn the cake table with an arrangement transferred from the ceremony?

9PEW COMPLETE ME Sweet little posies of flowers tied to pew ends in a church or aisle ends in your venue’s ceremony space are a lovely finishing touch. Alternatively, to achieve the romantic feel of walking through a fragrant meadow towards your intended, opt for something more substantial such as these beauties by Flowers at the Dutch Barn, which can be transported to the reception space after the ceremony.

10 CHIT CHAT

At a banquetingstyle reception with long tables a floral runner laid down the centre makes a gorgeous alternative to traditional centrepieces, and means guests can be sociable. If you’re sitting at round tables however, you can still ensure unimpeded chit chat by opting for raised arrangements with clear bases like this one by Booker Flowers & Gifts, which almost looks like it’s floating.

https://jessypapasavvaphotography.com

11 NEAT PETITE

For long tables using small vases or jars filled with flowers is a supercute way to go. Pack each vase with an array of different blooms or create a repeat pattern of vases each containing a posy of one feature flower as per these delightful arrangements by Flowers at the Dutch Barn.

Boujee Boxes https://jessypapasavvaphotography.com

13 HANG ABOUT! If you don’t have room for table centres or need to fill a vast overhead space consider a hanging floral installation. Totally on trend and a fabulous focal point. These foliage versions by Flowers at the Dutch Barn make ingenious use of the festoon lighting cables.

Boujee Boxes

12 CORSAGE YOU CAN

Corsages offer a great bouquet alternative for your bridesmaids, bringing a little something different. They’re also a great way to make mum feel more involved in the bridal party, with a design to complement your bouquet.

14 BE SEATED Add some floral fascination to your place names. Let your theme guide you to a choice of rose head or sprig of foliage, lavender or pampas grass – all offer a gorgeous finishing touch making your guests feel extra special. 15 GO FOR BROKE Tall centrepieces can look top heavy, so try decorating the base. Think floating candles and flower heads in vases of varying heights grouped with small floral arrangements, votive candles and flower heads dotted in between. Simply stunning.

CONTACT OUR EXPERTS https://bookerflowersandgifts.co.uk www.boujeeboxes.com www.flowersatthedutchbarn.co.uk

HOT TOPIC

Stellar wedmin advice from those in the know

MUSIC FOR THE SOUL

How can we incorporate live music into our ceremony to make it even more meaningful?

One wonderful way is to walk down the aisle towards your beloved to the sound of a cello playing your special song. It’s an instrument with an incredibly beautiful and emotive sound, perfect for this moment. There won’t be a dry eye in the house!

Then, after the “I dos,” to avoid a lull in proceedings for your guests as you sign the register, have your cellist play music that refl ects your mutual interests before you walk out as husband and wife to your favourite upbeat song. The live acoustic of a cello can perfectly and romantically create your personalised, meaningful musical moment.

Claire Thackeray | CelloUna www.cellouna.com

A BLANK CANVAS

Hiring a marquee seemed like a good idea, but now we’re feeling overwhelmed by the vast blank space to fi ll. Where do we start?

Don’t worry – part of the reason you booked the marquee was because you loved the space. You don’t need to fi ll every part of it. Think about the different elements of your wedding: where are the key areas and how do you want to use them? Making a feature of your top table or sweetheart table by adding a backdrop or arch can give a focal point to the room. Adding dressings such as fl owers and lights to some of the marquee’s features such as poles or wires can also help to create the look you want, while breaking down the space and softening the structure.

Amanda Nelson Wachadoin Events www.wachadoin.events SWEET TOOTH

We love the idea of a wedding cake as a showstopping centrepiece, but neither of us are keen on sponge. Is there an alternative?

Why not try a different fi lling? You could always take the more traditional route with a fruit cake, rich with spices and bursting with fl avour. Or follow the lead of one of my couples who’ll be celebrating with an Irish chocolate biscuit cake in honour of the bride’s heritage. Based on the classic chocolate tiffi n, the cake is iced and could be used as a single tier of your design or for the whole cake.

Alternatively, you could consider a twist on tradition and opt for a macaron tower, providing an unusual and beautiful centrepiece with the opportunity to incorporate a combination of different fl avours such as salted caramel, raspberry, pistachio, coffee, vanilla, chocolate or honey. There are so many possibilities! You can choose to have your macarons all one colour, include hand-painted details, or even opt for a multi-shade ombré effect running up the height of the tower.

How can we tailor our stationery to suit our barn venue rustic theme?

I love to take inspiration from the venue, it’s always a great way of tying everything together. While it’s lovely to have a colour to bind your theme, I love it when the stationery is used to bring an extra element into the decor on the day, and I often do this using illustration. I also love to use materials which reflect the venue, and the rustic barn styling is perfect for this.

For example, the venue’s alpacas were the inspiration for the stationery pictured and I emphasised the rustic theme using natural twine, hessian wraps, wood-grain papers and kraft envelopes. All items were printed on a nice quality 100 per cent recycled board and the autumnal colours referenced the time of year. Like the contrast between the wedding decor and a barn venue’s walls, I like the unusual twist of adding crystals to kraft board. It’s reminiscent of fairylights twinkling against a rough wall.

My overall advice though would be to keep it simple and keep it green.

Ling Warlow | Dragonfly Couture Stationery www.paperbydragonfly.com

BE OUR GUEST

We’d like to have a guestbook as a memento of our day, but they’re such a chore for guests to do. How can we make it fun for them?

I’ve lost count of how many guest books I’ve seen containing only a handful of comments. The happy couple are so busy enjoying their day they don’t usually notice it’s empty until they see it afterwards and the disappointment is real. You can’t really blame your nearest and dearest as it’s so difficult to know what to say. At the end of the day, there’s only so many times you want to read, “You look absolutely fabulous” or, “Health, wealth and happiness to you both.” That’s why we supply a beautiful complimentary guest book with our photo booths. For every snap taken, our booth prints an extra copy, which is then stuck into the book by our attendant and its subjects are asked to write a comment alongside while they wait for their own prints. In our experience, guests are much more willing to contribute as they’re having fun and actually have something to comment on. In fact, we find that these are so popular they’re usually filled by the end of the night providing a fun-filled and happy memento for the newlyweds.

www.sjm-photo.com

ESPECIALLY FOR YOU

We’ve waited so long to get married due to the pandemic and are now rethinking our registrar-led ceremony in favour of something more meaningful. What would you recommend?

This sounds like a great idea! A celebrant in England and Wales writes and performs a non-legal wedding ceremony. It’s written entirely for you, so there’ll be no other like it. You can ask friends and family to take part as well, making it that much more meaningful. The legal admin side of your marriage can be sorted out with a couple of short visits to the registry office, so no worries there.

Your celebrant should meet with you to find out more about you both and what you envisage for your wedding. They’ll use this information to structure and write a script, which you should be able to check along the way. Most celebrants will also help you create your own vows.

For a wedding ceremony that will be remembered for all the best reasons.

Why be ordinary when you can be unique?

Message me, Sarah, at enquiry@momentsto.co.uk or on 07450 391 374 www.momentsto.co.uk

High end women’s bridal designer. Matthew will work with you to create your perfect, bespoke occasion wear.

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