We get so much praise about the quality of our wedding flowers and people are often intrigued to know how we acheive this.
Well it’s all in the preparation and of course having a good supplier. A lot of work is carried out on the flowers before a wedding and in the trade it’s referred to as conditioning. It’s my belief that good conditioning is the key to producing top quality wedding flowers. Well that and a creative eye and skilled handling of course!
The Flowers Arrive
So what happens to your wedding flowers before they make it to the wedding? Wedding flowers arrive at least two days before the wedding, coming in directly from Holland. The world wholesale auction house Flora Holland is based near Amsterdam and they are the suppliers of fresh flowers for the world. There are not many flowers that haven’t passes through Flora Holland.
When they arrive at our premises they are prepared by cutting the stems, removing the lower leaves and thorns and individually placed in fresh water, this happens to every single flower and foliage stem, there are no exceptions.
This can be quite a lengthy process, I think we had over 300 stems of roses last week as well as all the other flowers and foliage for just one wedding! It’s not until the flowers have had a chance to have a good drink (preferably 24hr) before we start work on them, creating them into table arrangements, bouquets etc.
The flowers arriving with us is one of the most exciting times; it’s wonderful to see them on mass and on many occasions our workshop smells heavenly.
Normally we make up the table arrangements, pedestals etc on the day before and then the bouquets and buttonholes on the morning of the wedding to ensure they are as fresh as possible. We often have lots of early morning starts in the height of the wedding season; this doesn’t really bother me, as I prefer early starts to late nights, good job really!
Delivering Wedding Flowers
All this hard work is really worth it.
There is nothing that tops delivering wedding flowers to a bride on her wedding morning.
I’ve had everything from hugs of gratitude to tears of joy it really does make your job worthwhile.
by Cindy on April 24, 2010
We now have a beautiful new set of silver candelabra stands that look stunning as wedding centrepiece decorations. I chose these candelabras because they have such an ornate and beautiful shape to them. They are also the correct height on the table allowing your guests to still chat to each other across the table and not obscure the view.
Oh So Popular
Candelabras have become increasingly popular for weddings as they add a very sophisticated and romantic look to any wedding venue. I find that our brides are often looking for ways to incorporate candles into their wedding table decorations and these candelabras are a perfect solution for this.
Above you can see how I have decorated the candelabra in flowers that run all the way around the stand. I’ve not placed any hanging foliage or flowers as I always like to see the main stand and it keeps the view across the table clear. The flowers I’ve used here are the beautiful red ‘Passion’ roses, red anemones, lime green ‘Shamrock’ chrysanthemums and Cymbidium orchids. I’ve also placed red rose petals onto the table to add colour at the base of the stand.
Alternatives
You don’t always have to decorate the candelabra stands with so many flowers, sometimes this comes down to style or budget.
You might not want such an ornate display, as the candelabras can look equally stunning when decorated simply. Here you can see how I have decorated this one with feathered pink gerberas hanging in small ornate glass bottles.
How We Can Help You
If you would like to have candelabra wedding centrepieces then please don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss your requirements. We have lots more designs and ways of decorating these stunning wedding centrepieces.
by Cindy on April 12, 2010
Pomander balls are really back in fashion for weddings. They are a very popular choice for flower girls aged from 3-7yrs as they have that cute appeal. Unfortunately any girls aged above this may deem themselves far too grown up to be holding such a thing!
Not only are they an adorable accessory for the little people, they are also really practical as they are so easy to hold. They are made with a ribbon loop handle that the flower girl simply carries – it couldn’t be easier.
Personalised Designs
A few years ago we designed a beautiful version for Andrea’s flower girl seen here in the photo. Andrea had large cream pearl beads featuring in lots of her arrangements so she asked us to make the pomander ball handle in pearl beads. It looked fabulous, so much so that many brides have since used the idea.
We often make pomander balls with chrysanthemum daisies, as these are available in a wide range of colours throughout the year. By making them in these flowers it also keeps the ball nice and light to carry.
We don’t often make them in roses unless for an adult bridesmaid as the ball needs so many rose heads it makes it rather expensive for a flower girl.
Cost
We usually advise brides not to spend too much money on the flower girl accessories, as you really don’t know how long they are going to be holding them. Some young girls can just loose interest in them or refuse to carry them after the ceremony.
You might want to think about pomander balls as an option if you’re having flower girls present at your wedding ceremony.
by Cindy on April 6, 2010
I just love anemones, they come in such vibrant rich colours and have really beautiful black centres which makes them really stunning wedding flowers. Their petals can be quite delicate but they are still suitable to be used in bridal bouquets.
I have just taken this photo which captures how beautiful they are. I’ve successfully used them in combination with other flowers for bridal bouquets (see photo here 2nd down on the left hand side).
Purple has been and continues to be a really popular wedding colour theme. Anemones come in a really deep purple that is hard to find in many flower varieties. So if you are planning a purple colour theme you might want to think about using anemone wedding flowers.
Anemones are in season from the autumn through to late spring, which makes them perfect for those of you that are planning a winter wedding.
by Cindy on March 29, 2010
I’ve just come back from a consultation with a couple that are planning their wedding flowers for this year. I thought I’d share their thoughts with you to give you a few ideas to think about.
The bride has had her heart set on having yellow wedding flowers right from the day her finance proposed to her, and although her ideas have wandered, she’s keen to stick to this original colour theme.
Be Bold and Go For Something Different
Yellow wedding flowers are not one of the most common choices of colour but that’s not to say there is anything wrong with that. On the contrary, they can look beautiful and fresh and are ideal for a spring wedding.
Yellow is a colour that would have been very popular years ago and as we all know things definitely come back into fashion. So you may just be a trailblazer if you veer away from the popular choices of the day. There is nothing wrong with going for something a little bit different. If you are anything like me I rather like doing things a little bit differently and funnily enough yellow featured in my wedding flowers – but that’s another blog post!
Flower Choice
Rachel had her heart set on using sunflowers originally but as she looked around and found inspiration she felt that although beautiful, they were a little bit too country style for her. I have to agree, sunflowers make the most beautiful natural, wild country style wedding flowers.
Rachel however was looking for something a bit more structured, elegant and slightly more formal. So after much discussion she has finally set her heart on calla lilies.
Calla lilies are a perfect choice for brides looking for an elegant stylish flower that can give you lots of impact when used on it’s own.
Rachel has chosen a hand tied bouquet of yellow and mango orange calla lilies (seen here in the photo), yellow freesias and dark green ruscus leaves. For her bridesmaids, who will be wearing mocha coloured dresses, she has chosen yellow calla lilies sheaf bouquets.
The Groom
To coordinate with the bridal party, the groom will be wearing a buttonhole featuring a mango calla lily, dark green aspidistra leaf finished off with spiralling gold wire detailing. The rest of the groom’s party will be wearing a similar buttonhole but made from the yellow calla lily. It’s often popular for the groom to have a slightly different buttonhole to the rest of the gents. This works really well if it ties in with the bridal bouquet as you will often be photographed together.
by Cindy on March 15, 2010
It’s a great idea to choose wedding flowers that are in season. Here are a few of the reasons why.
Quality
By choosing seasonal flowers you are assured quality, you know that your flowers haven’t been forced or grown in artificial conditions to produce them out of season.
Cost
Price is a definite reason why we advise brides to choose flowers that are in season. Purchasing flowers out of season means they could come in at any price and believe me it will always be high. Growers know that if your buying an out of season flower then the availability and chances of you getting it are low, so they demand a higher price for it.
Every Season has a Special Wedding Flower
Personally I just think it’s nice to work with your season. There are special wedding flowers for all the seasons including winter and by choosing the right ones it keeps the look and feel of your flowers in keeping with the time of the year.
Some people worry about the availability of flowers for winter weddings, they often worry that there won’t be many flowers available. This is simply not the case. I often say to winter brides that they are so lucky as they have some fantastic flowers available to them that the summer brides may struggle to find, such as cymbidium orchids and tulips.
Don’t forget that the seasonality of commercially grown flowers is slightly different to what you would find with flowers in your garden. The good thing about this is the seasons are often longer.
Here are just a few of our favourite flowers available to you in each of the four seasons.
Spring
Peonies through to summer
Alliums
Snapdragons through to autumn
Daffodils
Hyacinths
Summer
Stocks
Hydrangeas through to autumn
Gladioli
Delphiniums
Autumn
Ranunculus through to spring
Amaryllis through to winter
Anemones through to spring
Dahlias
Winter
Cymbidium orchids through to spring
Muscari through to spring
Eucharis lily
Ilex
Tulips through to spring
by Cindy on March 7, 2010
On many occasions I’ve chatted to brides about how to create fragrance in their wedding flowers. If fragrance is a key element to your wedding flowers then I hope you might find some useful tips in this post.
One bride that immediately springs to mind was Nancy. She had a real desire to choose flowers that would give her fragrance and link in with her country style wedding theme. You can see me here, loading her centrepieces into the van.
Nancy and Oliver chose to hold their wedding reception at Alverston Pastures, just on the outskirts of Straford Upon Avon in Warwickshire. This restored barn is situated in idyllic rural countryside making it a unique wedding venue.
Country Style Wedding Flowers
Nancy really wanted the fragrance of the flowers to fill this wonderfully authentic wedding space, giving you a feeling of the garden coming into the barn.
With our guidance she choose stocks which have the most amazing delicate fragrance, freesias which have a very pretty summery smell, eucalyptus leaves and rosemary which both give you that lovely natural herbal fragrance.
All of her table centrepieces were arranged in galvanised buckets to tie in with the country theme. Boy did they smell good, they were fantastic even before we had left the building. The flowers’ wonderful natural fragrance really filled this large space. She was delighted with them and even wrote to us afterwards telling us she could smell the flowers as soon as she entered the room.
Fragrance in Your Wedding Bouquet
For the bouquets we used roses, freesias and eucalyptus in very natural hand tied posies. Although very often commercially grown roses don’t give you much fragrance, freesias and eucalyptus certainly will.
Other fragrant flowers to consider using include peonies, lilies (although do be careful these can be overpowering in the summer and set off some peoples hay fever), lavender, hyacinths, nerine and lilac.
If fragrance is important to you, don’t forget to mention it to your florist at your consultation.
by Cindy on February 27, 2010
Julia (one of our recent brides) was obviously very excited when she emailed me the other day as her wedding story and photos had been published on an American wedding blog site.
We had a great deal of fun producing the flowers for Julia and Leighton’s wedding at Kenilworth Castle.
The couple went to a lot of trouble to give the whole wedding a truly vintage theme and boy did they achieve that.
I loved making the individual table centrepieces. Julia’s provided vintage vases and jam jars, which were perfect for this theme. Her bouquet was also wonderful to create with the fabulous cream Vendela roses and white ranunculus that you can see here in the photo.
Here is a link to the American site that has featured this unique wedding.
The photo above was kindly given to us from ashmorevisuals.co.uk
by Cindy on February 15, 2010
I had the great pleasure of working live on stage with David Domoney this Valentines weekend.
Some of you will have seen David on GMTV’s ‘This Morning’ show or exhibiting at prestigious events like the Chelsea Flower Show.
For this Valentines weekend we were live on stage in the Festival Place Shopping Centre advising people how to create unique flowers for their loved one on Valentines Day.
I had the wonderful job of creating fabulous display of flowers that were kindly provided by M&S.
David had the great ability of drawing the crowds in this very busy shopping centre.
Working alongside him, I demonstrated all kinds of different floral arrangements, whilst giving out tips and advice on how to get the best out of your flowers.
In a couple of days I hope to have produced a video to give you a snippet of the show.
It was a wonderful opportunity to work with in-front of a live audience and alongside this talented TV presenter.
by Cindy on February 15, 2010
A frequently asked question is when do I need to book my florist?
Here at Pure Botanics the answer is simple, as soon as possible.
But before you get that far I’ve just jotted down a few really important things to consider before you book your florist.
What To Look For
You need to establish that you feel your florist has a clear understanding of the types of flowers and look you are wishing to create. You should be able to determine this at the consultation but it should also be backed up in a detailed quote.
Have you seen lots of examples of previous wedding flowers this florist has produced? That’s not photos from magazines or trade brochures such as Interflora or Teleflorist etc but actual photographs of real weddings. What’s the quality like of the flowers they are showing you?
Do you get on with them, it really important to get on with any wedding supplier as you’ll want to be able to discuss ideas and details as your wedding plans progress.
What do they offer you in terms of customer service on your actual wedding day? How many weddings to they do on one day?
Have they got any testimonials from previous couples?
Once you have found the answers to these important questions then go ahead and book.
At Pure Botanics we take bookings from brides at all sorts of different stages of their wedding planning. Some couples decide to book having met us at a wedding event or having seen our previous work. They then arrange a consultation further down the road when it suits them. Other couples meet us, have a consultation, look at the quote and then book us, it’s entirely up to you. Everybody works differently it’s just important that you feel happy with your decision.
The Earlier the Better
At Pure Botanics the only thing we say is don’t leave it too late, we are dedicated to our customer service and therefore only book one wedding per date. We are also very fortunate to have a well-established reputation; this means that we do get booked up well in advance.
Although some last minute bookings can be lucky and find us still available, on the flip side only yesterday I had to turn away a lovely couple as we were already booked on their wedding date.
