Our story starts with Mel. In September she and her boyfriend, Matt bought their first house. In November, they started knocking down the walls and announced their engagement. In December, she was offered her dream job, which would relocate her and husband-to-be to a remote village in the Philippines. In January they almost finished renovations. In February they were married. And by April, a new country full of exciting experiences awaited their newly married life together.
When we first meet our couples, we like to gather as much information as possible to greater understand who they are as a couple and what they want from their day.
It was overwhelming just thinking about all that Mel and Matt had on their plate. And yet, whenever we spoke they were calm, collected and amazingly in control. When it came to talking flowers, Mel was wonderfully easygoing. We started by looking at her gown, a stunningly simple and elegant Mariana Hardwick dress. The bridesmaid’s dresses were fun and pretty suiting their garden wedding setting. Matt’s attire was smartly suited but not overly booted!
Tip: Mel showed pictures of her dress, her bridesmaids dresses and fabric samples. Something we advise all our brides to do. This is a great starting point as it enables us to create designs that will complement the dresses. Also, if your man is unable to attend the consultation, don’t forget to ask him what he might want to wear!
Mel’s style, personality and what she envisaged for their day all played a huge part in the planning of her flowers. What made Mel and Matt stand out from the crowd was their approach to planning their wedding. Although under huge stress, they were always wonderfully and positively in control. Their strength, passion, intelligence, worldly, practical and spiritual natures were a source of inspiration when designing their flowers. Her bridesmaids all had very strong and different looks and Mel wanted to embrace this. Her sense of fun, vivacity and passion to be individual was the starting point for her bouquet and she was completely happy to leave the creative process to us. The only direction Mel gave was that she loved the natural, unstructured feel and loved the look of a contemporary trailing bouquet.
Tip: When looking for inspiration for flowers and styling think about the look you want to achieve. Nature doesn’t come with guarantees. The flowers that you had your heart set on may not be available in the season you are getting married or may have been destroyed by the weather. If you remain open-minded you’ll never be disappointed.
The process of creating the bouquet came together quite organically. There was no pressure to have any preconceptions of what the final result would be before choosing flowers. This allowed for an instinctive and natural process with flowers chosen for their colour, texture and form. It was an eclectic explosion, representing elements of Mel’s personality; her strength, passion, vibrancy and of course the sense of celebration her’s and Matt’s day would encompass. The bridesmaid’s bouquets also included quirky elements of ornamental kale and apples. Buttonholes were designed with Matt’s laid-back and fun personality in mind.
Mel and Matt dared to be surprised on their wedding day. Having faith in our work and trusting our understanding of what they envisaged. As a florist, this process was an amazing, creative experience. Allowing a design to come from an instinctive understanding of the couple and a freedom to let nature express itself in all its glory (with a little help from some creative floristry fingers)!
Following their wedding, Mel sent through these words: “I could not have dreamed up a more beautiful and unique bouquet – thanks so much – I got so many comments from people saying it was a work of art!”
So … advice for excited brides-to-be planning their big day? Along with all the usual approaches to finding inspiration for flowers and styling (Polka Dot Bride of course) think about these things.
- What words would you use to describe your style/relationship/the important things in your life?
- Describe what you envisage from your special day?
- What atmosphere and experience do you want to create for your guests?
Start with these things and inspiration will follow. When it comes to flowers, this is the moral of our story …. Give a florist wings and they will fly!!! Dare to be surprised on your big day. Trust in our ability and be inspired by our passion. You won’t be disappointed.
Photography by Flos Florum
Ms Gingham says: It really is hard to know how to approach choosing your flowers so what better person than a florist (and a super talented one at that!) to show us the way. Thanks to Emma and the team from Flos Florum for sharing their gorgeous work with us and for inspiring us to think outside the square!
Emma says that her motivation is to create bespoke wedding flowers that will remain captured in your memories and photographs forever.
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