It is that time of the week again!

Yep, Monday is when I sit and look through our wedding photos from the weekend and choose which ones to share with you guys.

This week is a little tougher than normal as we were involved in 4, yes 4, weddings on Saturday, and again, each one was so different from the next.

To start with, I am going to share an elegant, white Champagne themed celebration.

 

 

Nikk’s Bouquet was a teardrop shaped design, made using Avalanche & Viviane Roses, Lisianthus and Cymbidium Orchids.  Her Bridesmaid carried a handtied posy of the same flowers.

 

The reception was held in the Colonnade Suite in the Villa Marina, and the thing I love about this venue is that it is so elegant.  The room has cream walls, pale wooden floor and lots of windows to let the natural light in.  The neutral tones of the room would match any colour scheme, but it looks so clean and bright with an all ivory and gold scheme like Nikki’s.

The table plan was set out in a way I hadn’t seen before – Each table was named after a Champagne, with the names hung around the neck of each bottle.  The guests found which bottle they were on and then found their table… I wonder if each table got to drink the Champagne after?  I quite like Veuve Clicquot!

The table centres were handtied posies of Roses, Lisianthus and Freesia, in clear glass cube vases.  This meant that the guests were able to take home the flowers at the end of the night.

 

We also provided Bay trees on hire to decorate the entrance to the room, and each tree had white Avalanche roses wired into the foliage, with gold ribbon around the stem to tie it in with  the theme.

The top table also had an arrangement of Roses and Orchids on…

Another touch I liked about this wedding was the large portrait of the happy couple stood on an easle to the side of the room.  The photograph had a wide mount surrounding it, with the idea being that the guests signed the mount and left messages for Nikki & Stephen to take home with them after the wedding.

This was a wedding full of timeless elegance and I really enjoyed being part of it… Congratulations to Nikki and Stephen from all of us at The Flower Studio!

More photos from the other weddings we were involved with are to follow later this week!

Something Old & Something Blue

Old, new, borrowed and blue…. the bouquet I created for our other wedding last weekend was something a bit different from our usual bouquets.

I met Jacqui at the Glen Helen Wedding Fair and a Vintage Keepsake Bouquet that I had made for my stand caught her eye.

After chatting with her at the consultation, and seeing the beautiful vintage style dress she was going to be wearing, I designed an ivory and pale blue fabric bouquet for her using satin, organza, antique lace, ribbons, pearls, crystals and some buttons that belonged to her family.

We also provided fresh flowers for the reception at The Glen Helen, with cakestands of Vendella roses and pale blue Delphiniums (forgot to take a photo of these, doh!) and buttonholes and corsages with freesia, waxflower and bay leaves, bound together with satin ribbon.

Congratulations Jacqui & John, I hope you had a wonderful day…. do send some of your official photos my way won’t you??

The Sun Always Shines…..

… on my Brides!  I like to think so anyway!

The weather last week was A-Mazing, but the forecast for Saturday was utterly dreadful.  Everyone prayed for the sun to shine, and the rain to hold off and thankfully our prayers were answered!

My two weddings this weekend were totally different.  Totally.  One was a cream and blue vintage style, and the other was a chic cerise and lime green affair.

I was actually able to go to Charlotte & Greg’s wedding, which was styled in cerise pink and lime green.  I have known Charlotte for about a year and a half and have worked with her a couple of times on photoshoots where she has worked her make-up magic.  Her and Greg are such a sweet couple and it was lovely to share their big day with them, so here are a few pictures that I took… (click on the image for a larger version)

Nikki from Knots and Kisses Stationery designed and created the order of service books and placecards.

The Ceremony was held at Living Hope Community Church in Port St Mary, and the rain held off to allow lots of confetti to be thrown afterwards!  The party then moved on to the Mount Murray Hotel, and then Greg whisked his new wife off on a surprise honeymoon the next day…. I hope it was somewhere hot!

The floral arrangements from the Church were also used at the reception. The chair covers and napkins were provided by Candy at Finishing Touches and the ultra-cute Heart favours were made by Kirsten at Paperstitch - another couple of talented ladies that I have worked with numerous times and have no hesitation in recommending!

The official photographs were taken by Shan Fisher and she will have them on her Blog very soon, so keep an eye out for them, and once again,  huge congratulations to Charlotte and Greg x x

A new discovery…

Three words…. Freeze dried flowers.

I have never been a fan of dried flowers, but I have to admit when I saw these at my wholesalers, I was intrigued to say the least!  So I ordered a couple of packs of Roses, spray Roses, Rose petals and Stachys leaves, and after a quiet afternoon in the shop yesterday, this is what came of them….

As long as these flowers & leaves are kept dry, they could make a longlasting memento of your wedding day and fit in perfectly with a vintage themed wedding.

Now as far as I am concerned, nothing can replace fresh flowers, and the scent of an old English rose, but as an alternative, or for something a bit different, I would be happy to recommend these flowers to my Brides. Now there’s something I never thought I would hear myself say!

Happy Tuesday x

He who plants a garden, plants happiness…

.. a proverb from around the world somewhere, can’t remember which country, but the words always stick in my head.

I am happy when I am gardening, even when it rains, because I know that the raindrops are like my Friday night Gin & Tonic to plants that have been baking in the sun.. cool and refreshing!

My favourite style of garden is the natural prettiness of a cottage garden.  I grew up in a cottage with a garden that had apple trees, a pond and little secluded areas where the cats used to curl up in the sun.  Then I worked for the National Trust for Scotland in a garden that I still dream of returning to one day at Kellie Castle.

The walled garden at Kellie Castle had huge herbaceaous beds, mixed in with neat rows of vegetables, areas of lawn and pathways separated with trellises that were covered in Clematis and climbing roses.  This is a garden I truly fell head over heels in love with!

If I had a garden (I only have a little yard) it would be a mini version of Kellie, but saying that, you don’t need a massive walled garden to create a little piece of this herbaceous heaven.

Anyone coming down to Tynwald Mills, do pop into the Garden Centre and see our little ‘Mini-Garden’, created to show you what sort of plants work best in a cottage garden and a few tips of how to get the look.

Principles of a cottage garden:

• Plant in groups or drifts, rather than rows, for a more natural effect.
• Use paths, seats and hard landscaping to break up areas of planting, but let the plants overflow the edges to soften it.
• Allow flowers to self seed each year to create natural drifts of flowers.  Just weed out what you don’t want.  Myosotis (Forget-Me-Not) is one of my favourites.
• Use groundcover plants such as Pulmonaria, in between shrubs to help keep weeds down
• Recycle old pots, crates and other second hand items to break up the planting and add a splash of colour
• Mix climbers, such as Clematis, Roses and Sweet peas on the same trellis to create a long lasting display of colour and height
• Water features will attract wildlife such as birds, and frogs
• Why have a separate bed for your vegetables?  Some veggies will actually benefit from being grown within your flowers and other plants, so mix them up together!
• Grow flowers that are good for cuting (some of my favourites include Tanecetum, Gladioli, Delphiniums, Stocks and Sweet peas….) so that you can take a bit of the garden in to your cottage.. or semi-detached!

The thing I love most about any garden, is how it naturally evolves each year.  Herbaceous plants can be divided at the end of the year and replanted in new locations, or given to friends for their gardens, and the weather always plays a part in how well your favourite Rose bush or apple tree is going to perform.

So what are you waiting for?  The weather forecast for the next couple of days is sunny (on the Isle of Man anyway), so get your shorts and suncream on and get out in your garden!