Well this is what they are known as! Finally I am able to share with you some beautiful photos by the fabulous Anna Hardy from a gorgeous wedding we did last September – I may run out of superlatives at this rate!!
I met the lovely Katie through another bride from a few years before and knew from Day One that this wedding was going to be a winner
Katie had very strong ideas about what she wanted but we did manage to include everything from the romantic personal flowers that would be teamed with her STUNNING Vera Wang, yes, Vera Wang dress to the meadowy, light and oh-so-pretty mix of bright summery flowers in the permanent marquee set up at Westwood Park in Essex
At our flower market visit just before the wedding date, Katie fell in love with just about every flower we looked and I almost had to tear her away from some!
But we finally decided on a palette of palest pink and ivory for the church flowers and bouquets using large overblown Hydrangea and pink blushed Snowberries for the bridesmaids with the addition of Sweet Avalanche Roses for Katie herself
The church was so pretty it hardly needed any flowers at all but we added just a touch of extra-pretty with a light Gyp garland and some white Hydrangea and Roses around the entrance arch and delicate Gyp pew ends tied with ribbons
We were blessed with an amazingly sunny hot day which really brought to life the bright mix of flowers on the tables in the marquee – Sunflowers (Katie’s favourite), Roseberry Roses, Blue Bee Delphinium, Astrantia, pale pink Freesia, Sedum, Alchemilla Mollis and a variety of fragrant herbs
Finally a mix of low and tall displays broke up the view across the tables, although the tall vases gave us a little challenge with the wind coming through the very necessary open side of the marquee!
We loved this wedding and are delighted to have come to know such a lovely couple and wish them un matrimonio felice x
Well, it has been a busy Spring so far but nothing compares to the miles we have covered around town this Jubilee Weekend!
Hampton Court House down in Kingston saw the wedding of the lovely Holly and Marvin – photos to follow soon, I hope. But many congrats to them in the meantime!
And then it was off to One Whitehall for the celebration of Rachel and Vinny’s big day – a day that was planned and booked over eighteen months ago, a little way before the events of the Jubilee Weekend were announced to the general public, so a little extra planning had to go into making their celebrations go smoothly – more to follow in a few weeks when we get the photographer’s shots through – but it was a little hair-raising to say the least and we made it by the skin of our teeth!
Finally, bright and early on Sunday morning, and I mean 4am early, we were off to central London to dress the glorious Ballroom at the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge before the roads and bridges closed up in honour of the Queen’s Jubilee Thames’ Pageant!
Dianna and Rowland currently live in Hong Kong and have been planning their long distance wedding for over a year – photos have been flying back and forth via email and Pinterest for many months!
We were a little concerned that the very particular vision Dianna had in her mind wouldn’t be realised on the day. But we needn’t have worried as you can see by Dianna’s kind words here
The flowers were absolutely AMAZING and truly perfect in every way. I can not thank you enough for making my vision come true and beyond!!!! So many people commented that the flowers were just stunning. I am quite a picky person I fully admit! So thank you for your patience with me along the way
Thank you so much for letting us borrow the vases, I really appreciate it. Were you happy with the final result? You should be very proud!!! I will absolutely recommend you in the future
Dianna & Rowland
Dianna’s vision was a beautiful soft cream, ivory and taupe very upmarket palette with a slight vintage feel to reflect the beautiful interior of the Mandarin Oriental’s Ballroom. So we picked this up with large headed Vendella, Sahara and Quicksand Roses teamed with creamy Hydrangea and delicate Lydia spray Roses
The silvery tones of Senecio or Silver Suede were a perfect foil for the flowers and the finishing touch was the trailing blooms of white Phalaenopsis Orchid
The flowers sat on top of very tall silver candlesticks or, in the case of the top table, 5-armed candelabra to give a perfect view across the room from all the guests to the happy couple
Out in the Entrance Hall we created a Wishing Tree for Dianna and Rowland’s guests to leave messages of good luck and love. This 10ft tall ivory painted willow tree was dressed with ivory Singapore Orchids and more Phalaenopsis Orchids and lovely little D & R letters that Dianna had made in Hong Kong
We lined the aisle with Rose petals, creamy Vendella, taupe Sahara and coffee coloured Combo, leading to the marble topped Registrar’s table which was flanked by a pair of tall plinths and floaty balls of Baby’s Breath Gypsophilia
After the wedding reception, everything was packed up securely and made its way to Dianna’s parent’s house for a party the following day
With so much happening in London over this very important weekend, we are sure the wedding guests, many of whom flew in specially from far afield, had a truly memorable time among family, friends … and royalty!
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. Â 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. Â 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! Â 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 . . .
But we finally decided on a palette of palest pink and ivory for the church flowers and bouquets using large overblown Hydrangea and pink blushed Snowberries for the bridesmaids with the addition of Sweet Avalanche Roses for Katie herself
The church was so pretty it hardly needed any flowers at all but we added just a touch of extra-pretty with a light Gyp garland and some white Hydrangea and Roses around the entrance arch and delicate Gyp pew ends tied with ribbons
