A Tale of Two Weddings (and a trip to Tatton Park)
Busy weekend had here! Thursday saw a huge delivery of fresh materials for 2 very different weddings. Highlights were some INCREDIBLE garden Roses, cool grasses, and extra long Ivy. 4 hours of conditioning! I'm still wearing rose barbs in the skin of my fingers 😅. You assume the chunky thorns are the worst attribute of a Rose, but the hairy barbs are pure evil!
Friday was all about the arranging. The first wedding had a super cool, wild, "unkept" aesthetic, and was due to take place at High House Farm in Northumberland. Kerry wanted an XL, flowing to the floor, "I just scooped up a meadow" bouquet, with mixed foliages and wildflowers. I WAS OBSESSED! I loved making this bouquet and can't wait to get my hands on some pics I can share! Kerry's Maid of Honour's bouquet was a more standard sized bundle of foliages and white waxflower, with the buttonholes simply being tiny versions of this - except the groom, Alec's, which had pops of colour to match the bride! Corsages were wrist bands with glued foliage and waxflower. Great option if the mams have posh frocks they don't want to stick pins in!
The aisle set up was just as cool, with ruscus submerged in demi-johns, and tiny bundles of wildflowers in jars. Kerry and Alec hired a copper pipe arch which they decorated with a homemade banner, and I finished with a corner arrangement of greens and waxflower.
The guest tables were simply decorated with pieces of ruscus, and the top table had an epic long-and-low (but not really low!) arrangement which matched Kerry's bouquet - wild, flowing, and accented with pops of colourful wildflowers. LUSH!
The second wedding of the weekend was to be held at St. Andrews Church in Stanley, followed by a festival-style reception at The South Causey Inn. Stacey opted for what I would describe as "modern traditional" if that isn't an oxymoron! Ivory and blush blooms, with soft eucalyptus. I ordered a mix of varieties of garden Rose including white Ohara and Dorchester, with white Majolica spray roses for the buttonholes. They were stunning! I also picked up some white Campanula at the last minute which was fully open and a lush addition to Stacey's bouquet.
Stacey had 5 bridesmaids who all received a smaller version of Stacey's medium/large bouquet, and a flower girl who was given a wand finished with wired roses, gypsophila, ruscus and navy ribbon.
Buttonholes were a mix of ivory and blush spray rose heads, gypsophila, astrantia, and ruscus. I had the pleasure of attending the wedding as a guest so got to see everyone looking absolutely amazing!
After 3 hours sleep on Friday night (yup! 3 hours!) my alarm went off at 4am Saturday so I could make all the buttonholes and corsages fresh, finish off bouquets and box them up, set up some pew ends for Stacey and Jordan at their church, set up the aisle decor and finish the top table arrangement at High House Farm, deliver all bridal party flowers, then get myself spruced up to be a guest at the South Causey. It was a LONG, tiring weekend but I LOVED IT!
Just to top up my tiredness levels, on Sunday I took a trip to the RHS Tatton Park flower show with my mam and Cora. My mam is a keen gardener and was excited to see the show gardens, while I was looking forward to the floristry/flower arranging aspect. It was interesting to see how the heat had affected the arrangements over the weekend since the RHS has gone floral foam-free, and I had a good look at the mechanics used to try and ensure a water source for the materials. Cora loved the giant bees, all the doggies, and the ice cream! Can't wait for next year!