We haven’t reached Easter yet, but the wedding season has definitely started and it is going to be a busy and varied one!
We’ve had gorgeous fragrant sandy toned Roses with Roisin at the beginning of January followed by delicate ivory and pale pink flowers with Becky at the fabulous Dartmouth House
Then it was off to South London with the cool early Spring scented delights of Hyacinths, Narcissi and Snowdrops with Alison in February and today, amid the St Patrick’s Day celebrations in central London, we were back at One Whitehall 
with Becky’s friend Amy, who chose a gorgeous mix of pinks and ivories highlighted with accents of acid green achieved with our favourite, the glorious Guelder Rose
Next up we have a birthday party at Hampton Court House featuring daffodils and Spring flowers in honour of the Welsh birthday boy and a host of wedding consultations for both this year and next which are coming in thick and fast – some as close as May this year, others for June 2013. Either way we are having a great time and enjoying seeing our happy brides and grooms
This Summer has been so busy with weddings and parties, that it is easy to see where the time has gone. August seemed to go by in a flash and we are nearly at the end of September
Blue Sky Flowers has passed a 10 year milestone and I am really proud of where we are today – we have hundreds of weddings under our belts, have helped to prettify the launch of countless products and contributed to not an insignificant amount of magazines and blogs – here is to the next decade of all things floral!
But closer to hand, we’ve had a storming Summer. July was a record with the team handling 7 weddings over the month but August was pretty busy with 5!
I’ll eventually get round to posting photos from all the weddings with links to the relevant wonderful suppliers that we worked with but in many cases I’m waiting for the incredibly busy photographers to find time to send the shots through
For now here are some early shots from Holly and Simon’s beautiful wedding at the fabulous One Whitehall Place – we used tall silver candelabra with ivory and champagne Roses, Hydrangea, Lisianthus and Stock for a very elegant effect teamed with low glass cake stands and mirror plates. Holly fell in love with some shocking pink Gloriosa lilies that matched perfectly the Roseberry Roses that the bridesmaids carried so we used them with ‘Lucky’ Bamboo at the drinks reception in the Reading and Writing Room
Back in February of this year, I was contacted by a bride to be in the States who was getting married in Mayfair. Sibyl and I shared many emails before we actually managed to speak but we were able, by the power of the great wedding vibe, to understand each other and gather together a pretty powerful look for her wedding in June at Dartmouth House
This beautiful mansion in the heart of Mayfair is home to the English Speaking Union but also plays host to many weddings and parties throughout the year. If the weather is fine, it is possible to take advantage of the lovely secluded courtyard but otherwise there are several wonderful, character-filled rooms in which to entertain guests
The dark wood panelled Churchill Room is a fantastic space for the ceremony from which the party can move downstairs to the red-walled Revelstoke Room for drinks before alighting on the delicate features of the two interconnecting first floor Drawing Rooms
These rooms can be used together or separately, decorated in the same pale blue tones, they welcome almost any colour theme – except yellow perhaps. But then I have a problem with yellow in most places!
Following on from the pure white Hydrangea and Peony in the ceremony room, Sibyl wanted a dark red theme to the wedding flowers at the reception and we decided to set the flowers off with a dark red organza runner down the length of the long table
The silver vases worked really well with the gleaming cutlery and the tall silver candelabra were the perfect finishing touch
When I first met up with Amber, she had a very firm idea of what she wanted and I was very happy to make her dreams reality for her wedding to Jon back in April. The venue was one of our favourites, the lovely One Whitehall Place in the centre of Westminster
The Gladstone Library was to host the ceremony first of all so we set out the table candelabra, masses of silvered tea lights and ivory rose petals around the edges of the room to create a really magical effect
These were then moved onto mirrored plates on each table whilst the guests had drinks in the Reading and Writing Room next door
The lovely Anna Rosell www.annarosell.com has captured the essence of the wedding day with some wonderful photos – take a look, she may inspire you too!
Yes we are nearly out of Spring and into Summer and we’ve been a bit inundated with weddings and events – so much so that I’ve not had a chance to update these pages
I’m going to post some photographs from a few of last year’s weddings first as I like to look back as well as forward. I love to see shots of our happy couples as often we’re well out of the way by the time they arrive on the scene
The first collection of shots is from Nic and Katherine’s wedding this time last year at the beautiful St James’ in Clerkenwell and The Larder restaurant in nearby St John Street. It had to be the hottest day of the year and we had a tough job keeping the Peonies from opening too quickly! The day was run perfectly by the ever calm Helen at Helen Carter Weddings
Katherine wanted a bright selection of flowers and we certainly managed to get that right – hot pink Peonies and Roses to match the heat of the day AND the bridesmaids’ dresses were teamed with paler pink Peonies and Astrantia and fragrant Jasmine adorned the church pews
Moving to The Larder after the ceremony, the colour theme continued to co-ordinate with the bright decor at the restaurant. So we had mixed posies of Peonies, Roses, Astrantia, Sage, Rosemary and flowering Mint in shiny silver vases on each table
Nic was a brave groom – involved in the flower decision right from the start, he insisted on having a pink Peony buttonhole. So we gave him a neat small one but the flower gradually opened more and more to end up almost the size of a saucer
These fabulous photos are courtesy of Katharine Peachey at Peachey Photography. She really managed to catch the fun, relaxed essence of the day and just how much these two wonderful people felt about each other
I’ve just seen the photos from Josephine and Rupert’s wedding back in July and they are really lovely!
The photographer, Nick at Wild Weddings, really managed to capture the essence of the day – relaxed, a sense of the country in the middle of town and a very happy couple!
Josephine’s beautifully simple and elegant 1930’s style satin drop back dress was designed and made by Jacqueline Byrne
Josie wanted to continue the country style with long tables so everyone could sit together – we had masses of vases, tall short and round, all along the centre of each table. We had great fun at the flower market
choosing Peonies, Roses, Gladioli, Freesia, Dill and lots of other beautiful fragrant stems to use in all the table vases and the balls of flowers on top of the iron candlesticks used for the altar
With crisp white chair covers and organza sashes from the lovely Blanca at Host with Style, the Gladstone Library at One Whitehall Place looked wonderful and very different with the long trestle style tables
We reused the tall candlesticks from the altar on the top table – I do like maximising a budget, and was generally very pleased with the whole look of the day!
August has definitely been a busy month culminating in a wedding filled Bank Holiday Weekend. We’ve had a couple of trips to Greenwich, to Charlton House and the Trafalgar Tavern. Photos of these weddings will follow later but they were all very different in style
Firstly at Charlton House we had a very bright mix of flowers – burnt orange Maryo Roses teamed with deep pink Amalia Roses for the bridesmaids plus a little replica made with fake flowers for 5 year old flower girl Dion to play with at home
The top table and guests’ tables featured hot pink, gold and purple Orchids with burnt orange Roses, purple Celosia and bright green Shamrock Chrysanthemums. The colours worked brilliantly in the dark panelled Library and were highlighted with some fairy lights around the Gallery and a starlight curtain installed by wedding planners 15 Degrees
The next day were were back in Greenwich again at the Trafalgar Tavern situated right down on the waterfront with wonderful views over the river. I can show you Kasia’s bouquet in our signature brown box but will have more photos to follow soon. The delicate, pale creamy Vendella Roses were teamed with fragrant ivory Freesia and the beautiful starry flowers of white Bouvardia, bound with ivory grosgrain ribbon and lace details
Next we were off to One Whitehall Place for Daniela
and Jakub’s wedding set in the glorious surroundings of the Gladstone Library
We had tall vases with white Singapore Orchids and low displays comprising fragrant white Lilies, Akito Roses, Freesia and wonderful pale green English Lisianthus
We used the tall vase displays in the ceremony room first and then moved them to the Reception tables which gave a lovely continuity to the proceedings . . . and extended the budget
It does get a little ‘skin of the teeth’ when you have
a Monday wedding followed by a Friday wedding! But everything went perfectly in both cases and the weather held too. After Monday’s wedding in deep countryside at up Brocket Hall, we were today in the heart of Mayfair at the wonderful Grade II listed Dartmouth House. See photographer Yvonne Blume’s blog on the wedding here with better photos than I can take!
We used a white palette for the reception flowers, which were perfect against the soft blue decor in the main Drawing Room
Rich purple Delphinium and Lisianthus mixed with pure white fragrant Stock, Roses and Gladioli set the scene at St Oswalds in Norbury (photos to follow) and we used creamy white Amaryllis in both tall and low displays at Dartmouth House.
Bride Julie was able to have her favourite glorious white Peony -
practically the last of the season, they just about held on for the day and I even managed to sneak a few into the top table display! Her bridesmaids carried a purple and white mix of Freesia, Lisianthus, Agapanthus and spray Roses
Today’s wedding was being co-ordinated by the lovely Helen at Helen Carter Weddings
Helen has a very innovative take on wedding planning and is happy to get involved right from the get go, straight after he pops the question or just help with last minute organisation and on the day. Have a look at her website – it may give you something to think about . . .
Last weekend, I was very glad that the temperature had cooled a little. It is difficult to keep wedding flowers looking at their best when the heat is intense and the flowers are wilting – not to mention the florist who is also melting! 
On Friday we were in the heart of the city at St Helens church, Bishopsgate and then the wonderful new Haberdasher’s Hall in Smithfield with bright orange Maryo Roses and dark purple Lisianthus. The reception tables had fish bowls full of burnt orange Mango Calla Lilies with strips of Bear Grass
Monday morning we were off to the Auberge du Lac and its fantastic setting in the grounds of Brocket
Hall. With views over the lake and up to the main house, this former hunting lodge is a very romantic venue for a wedding reception with its lovely relaxed atmosphere and the staff couldn’t be more friendly and helpful
Annie wanted very pale peach and soft green flowers to complement the apple green of the bridesmaids’ dresses and her gorgeous dress
So we chose peachy Vendella Roses, pure white Lilies, exotic Singapore Orchids with some pale green Lisianthus and Guelder Rose teamed with fragrant silvery blue Eucalyptus
We were working alongside the lovely ladies at Heavenley Chair Covers who also designed and set up the fabulous tables following the bride’s chosen palette of apple green. They seem to have an almost endless supply of different coloured sashes and a bundle of ideas on table dex – give them a call if you want a truly unique look
Our July weddings have started – we have a record 8 scheduled for this month and the different teams working on them have been running around far and near!
The first I can share with you was held in the beautiful church of St John the
Baptist in Little Missenden.
With a Scottish groom involved, it was a challenge to co-ordinate the flowers with an unusual tartan, but Jessie and I had great fun choosing pale blue, purple, red and green flowers at the flower market.
Then last week, we came back into the centre of London for a sun filled wedding party at the Kensington Roof Gardens. Bowls of Freesia, Dahlia and Roses with bright coral Peonies combined to make a real summer party with the sun blazing down on the glorious gardens of this unique rooftop venue.
The bride looked beautiful and carried vibrant coral Peonies and fragrant Freesia. The bridesmaids were in very glamorous coral pink dresses and each had an ivory Singapore Orchid wrist corsage tied with pale gold ribbons. 
There seems to be a trend emerging for bright wedding flowers at the moment! Coral is a fave in terms of both dresses and flowers. So watch this space!
We’ve had gorgeous fragrant sandy toned Roses with Roisin at the beginning of January followed by delicate ivory and pale pink flowers with Becky at the fabulous Dartmouth House
with Becky’s friend Amy, who chose a gorgeous mix of pinks and ivories highlighted with accents of acid green achieved with our favourite, the glorious Guelder Rose
