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

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!

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!

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

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!

In January, David Hares at www.contemporaryweddings.net photographed Claire and Simon’s wedding at The National Liberal Club.  Claire chose a beautiful selection of purple and dark red Roses, Anemones, Ranunculus and Lisianthus with glossy green berried Ivy to complement the rich, clubby decor in the Dining Room with mirrored silver vases to set off the venue’s candelabra.

The National Liberal Club shares the same building as One Whitehall Place and The Royal Horseguards Hotel just west of Northumberland Avenue.

A very central venue with fantastic views over the Thames, it doesn’t have the grand high ceilings of the Gladstone Library upstairs at OWP but is still a very commanding and dramatic place.

We installed some beautiful flowers for a wedding yesterday at St James’ Clerkenwell which was, luckily, fantastically cool as the Peonies we were using were very hot, in both colour and temperature! We then went on to The Larder restaurant in St John Street with some vibrant purple and hot pink seasonal flowers – Stock, Roses, Dahlia, Freesia mixed in with some scented herbs set in mirrored silver pots (photos to follow soon).

Today we had two events so our wedding teams went off in different directions – one to the city and St Helen’s on Bishopsgate (photos to follow) and the other to One Whitehall Place.

This wedding was joining a Greek bride with an Italian groom so we had Olive branches, Eucalyptus, pale pink Sposina roses (it apparently means ‘little bride’), Maroussia roses as they were named for Louisa’s grandmother and a bouquet including

Lily of the Valley from my garden because the Mother of the bride had some in her wedding bouquet – it was a real family affair!