And I’m planning to showcase some more weddings from 2011 as soon as I get the photos through from those busy, busy togs! Here  is just a taster of what we have been up to . . .

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

It has been such a fantastic and busy year that I’ve only just realised that we missed the first anniversary of our new website. It went live last February just after Valentines’ Day and hasn’t looked back since then!

I’ve really enjoyed sharing our weddings with you all during 2010 and am looking forward to posting even more this year and also having the opportunity to write about some of the amazing partners we have had the honour to work with on weddings, parties and events all over the place. WATCH THIS SPACE! You can also follow us on Twitter @blueskyflowers

Whilst there is no doubt we are in difficult times with cuts and a general lack of money, I do still believe that people want to get married. They have saved and waited for the right time and are determined to show their undying love for each other by tying the knot in a very public way with friends and family around them

Romance is not dead it may just be necessary to be more creative with how you style and dress your wedding reception. So i thought i’d share a few ideas -

Rather than big table displays why not have potted orchids that can be given to guests who helped with the wedding in some way? I’m all for reusing registrar/altar flowers on the top table and if you are using one venue for both ceremony and reception, it is often very easy to move things around

Unless you have your heart set on a particular flower for your wedding, stick with seasonal flowers and you will get the best quality and better value. Listen to your florist’s advise on what is best for both the time of year and your budget

Sometimes a limited budget can go further by having one or two impressive displays rather than lots of smaller ones that stretch the budget too much and then look rather sparse. Again talk to your florist when you go around the venue and see what they suggest and if they have visuals to show of what they have done there before

Work out a plan in advance of how you see the rooms looking and be prepared to compromise on some areas to get the best look. Do you really need those little favours that may get forgotten at the end of the evening – why not have a pretty packet of flower seeds in your wedding colour tied to every lady’s napkin. Or for a Christmas wedding why not have a decorated bauble on each place that will mean you’re remembered each year

Using a wedding planner may seem like a reckless luxury and only for those with enormous budgets but in fact they could save anyone money. Without taking any cut or commission themselves, planners are often able to use their contacts and continued patronage of suppliers to negotiate better prices and obtain deals that a bride and groom buying for one wedding only cannot get.

I’ve worked with several very good planners who can take the hassle out of finding suppliers in the first place, chase up quotes when you don’t have time to, liaise in the run up to the wedding to make sure that everything is on track and be there on the day to ensure all runs smoothly whilst you have more important things to think about.

Finding a red carpet at 2 hours’ notice, sewing up a split seam, helping with chair covers when the supplier falls ill and lacing up the bride’s dress – are all in a day’s work for a wedding planner and sometimes are all on the same day! Here are two of the best I know – Debbie at Wedding Wonders and Helen at Helen Carter Weddings

Another great idea is a fabulous wedding calculator from Weddings in Surrey - check it out and don’t  spend too much!

The wedding open day at OWP last weekend had a very good turnout despite the rubbish weather and football on the tv! We spoke to a lot of brides and are getting together a variety of ideas for their weddings during 2010 and into next year too.

We dressed the venue with a mix of table displays in shades of pink – from old antique parchment coloured  Roses through to palest pink Astrantia. We had tall flute vases and slender lily vases both topped with generous balls of mixed flowers such as Stock, Amnesia Roses, Astrantia and Lisianthus. We also had some interesting low displays with white super parrot Tulips in black lampshades, dark burgundy Baccara roses and striking puffs of acid green Guelder Rose sitting on delicate glass cake stands.

Seriously though, one of our regular venues, the fabulous One Whitehall Place has more weddings booked up and couples on waiting lists for availability than last year. We’ve also seen an increase across the board for weddings on Fridays and Sundays

Our latest wedding on Saturday 13th February was actually in the stunning surroundings of the Gladstone Library at One Whitehall Place. The colour theme was Cadbury purple with ivory accents, lots of candles and scented jasmine to welcome the guests into the Whitehall Suite for the ceremony

This weekend, 19th-21st February, thousands of 2010-2011 brides will be heading to the National Wedding Show at Olympia http://www.nationalweddingshow.co.uk/buy-tickets to find ideas to make their wedding special

So as well as our floral workshops, details of which to follow soon, there will be short courses on jewellery making, 50s make up and lots of other fun stuff

2009

I’ve been looking back over the past year and realised just how busy we were with weddings, events and parties

We worked  on over 20 weddings alone in 2009, which was way up on the previous year and I can only assume that the couples had made their plans the previous year before the ‘downturn’ kicked in and figured ‘we might as well go for it and have a party to remember!’

In terms of style and colours, there was a great variety but the predominant look was ivory and orange! To be honest, I’ve never been a big fan of citrus colours; whether it was the prevailing gloomy atmosphere or perhaps I’m softening in in old age, but they actually turned out very well

2010

Looking forward to 2010, there is already a colour trend starting. Last weekend saw our first wedding of the season and it was a mix of beautiful purples, lilacs and plums with Anemones, Freesia, Roses and Veronica in silver vases and candelabra throughout. And I can tell you that so far, this colour scheme is going to be a strong favourite this year

There are so many wonderful flowers in this group – purple and plum Anemones, lilac Freesia and Roses, exotic Vanda Orchids in graphic purple and lilac tones plus the amazing large headed purple Hydrangea later in the season