Are you thinking of choosing deep purple and burgundy tones for your wedding flowers? Recently we were asked by Wedding Flowers Magazine to take our designs down to London to be shot for their November issue. We used deep purple / maroon / burgundy flowers mixed with a touch of gold to add some glamour.
DEEP PURPLE BRIDAL BOUQUET
For the bridal bouquet we used an natural mix of smoke bush and clematis foliage, deep toned dahlia perfect for an autumn wedding with scabious, scented Kiera rose, sloe berries and touches of trailing amaranthus. The mix of ribbons created a soft romantic finish.
DEEP PURPLE FLOWERS IN CRYSTAL BOWLS ON A GOLD PLATE FOR WEDDING CENTREPIECE
For the centrepiece we created an asymmetrical design in an antique crystal bowl filled with autumnal foliage and blooms, the gold plate added a touch of glamour and height to the design. The combination of autumnal foliage smoke bush, clematis with a mix of sedum and deep toned blooms were the perfect fit with the lush Kiera roses.
PLACE SETTINGS / ESCORT CARD IDEA
For the escort cards we used a mix of mini bottles with guests name and brought the outside in by incorporating snippets of foliage and flowers to set the tone for the day.
Kilworth House is a delight to decorate and Kathryn and Bailey were looking for natural flowers in bright warm colours, with coral peonies and gloriosa lilies. We first met at The National Wedding Show and were chosen to bring Kate’s vision to life.
The bridal bouquet was a cascading design with coral peonies and trailing gloriosa lilies, together with highlights of orange roses and green dill which Kathryn carried with joy the whole day.
KILWORTH HOUSE WEDDING FLOWERS – LUXE CEREMONY FLOWERS IN THE ORANGERY
A luxe look is perfect for the Orangery at Kilworth House, with its elegant glass frame, window ledges and beautiful tiled floor. The colours were carefully selected with Kathryn and her mum and they brought the Orangery to life.
KILWORTH HOUSE DRINKS RECEPTION – FLOWER GIRL FLOWER CROWN
I just love the image of the flower girl with her flower crown and whimsical posy collecting confetti below, completely oblivious to the grown ups around.
KILWORTH HOUSE WEDDING FLOWERS – TABLE CENTREPIECES, BRIGHT PINK, CORAL, ORANGE FLOWERS IN LUXE GOLD VASES FOR CENTREPIECES IN THE ORANGERY
Whilst guests enjoyed drinks and canapes on the terrace the team moved in to decorate the room with luxe gold vases as centrepieces. The flowers in bright pink, coral and orange complemented the soft gold cloths, stylish charger plates, gold cutlery and luxe glassware. Every last detail was carefully coordinated to ensure this Kilworth House couple had the most amazing of wedding days.
FLOWERS FOR THE CHEESE CAKE
Bailey, Kathryn and families have a love of good food and cheese so the choice of cake was a labour of love. Each cheese stack had been carefully selected as a favourite and we loved the opportunity to style the table with a rustic wooden tree slice and beautiful blooms from their day.
I was thrilled to receive thanks from Kathryn and Bailey and a lovely note from Kathryn’s mum, “We knew from day 1 that you were the florist for us and I would recommend you to anyone; worth every penny (or £)! Thanks again for the visual impact you created for a perfect day.”
Another of our DIY tutorials was featured on Rock My Wedding this week. If you are thinking of making your own wedding centrepieces or maybe your Christmas dining table centrepieces then have a look at these easy to follow instructions. This step by step guide shows how to make a floral centrepiece using a ring of oasis, we have added a mercury silver hurricane vase to the centre for a rustic glamour look with ribbed silver tea light holders to finish. You can change the flowers and central lantern to create a floral centrepiece of a different style using the same guidelines.
For example you could use a clear glass hurricane vase or ribbed glass lantern in the centre, or for a more rustic look perhaps a bark lantern.
STEP BY STEP GUIDE HOW TO MAKE FLORAL WEDDING CENTREPIECES – RUSTIC GLAMOUR
To keep this example simple and stylish we have used four ingredients, you can use more if you wish. We used eucalyptus (a lovely grey / green tone for winter), brunia (grey balls to add textures and soft tones), thistles (these add more texture and bring in a subtle blue tone) and finally fluffy white hydrangeas.
The above example is perfect for a rustic winter or rustic glamour wedding. Alternatively you could use different flowers for different seasons.
Spring example: for a pink and white scented spring wedding we suggest white ranunculus, soft pink freesias (adding a lovely scent), blush pink Sweet Avalanches Roses and greenery of your choice, seeded eucalyptus would look stunning. You could lighten with sprigs of gypsophila.
Summer example: for a peach and green toned summer wedding we suggest peach Juliet David Austin roses, cream David Austin roses, Wizard Of Oz Dahlias, tanacetum daisies and vibrant green amni and alchemilla mollis.
Autumn example: for a nude, grey and bronze toned autumn wedding we would suggest dusty miller, large cafe au lait dahlias, Quicksand roses, brunia, olive foliage and scabious seed pods.
As you may know here at Passion for Flowers we exhibited at The National Wedding Show in Birmingham last weekend, we absolutely loved the whole weekend meeting newly engaged couples and industry friends. We plan our stand months in advance it was amazing to see our visions come to life, we believe all the hard work and planning paid off as we were thrilled to be awarded The Outstanding Exhibitor Award.
We invited Nicola of Daffodil Waves Photography along to take some photos of our stand for those of you who couldn’t make it to the show.
PASSION FOR FLOWERS – A WEDDING FLORISTS STAND
We chose to create a rustic glamour setting for our stand this year, we often work at rustic style wedding venues (barns and farms) and love adding a touch of glamour to the tables mixed in with the natural rustic look.
LONG TABLE WITH A SEA OF FLOWERS AND GOLD CANDELABRA
The long table scape was our main feature this year, we set it for 6 to give an idea of how it could be used at a wedding. More venues are offering long tables for receptions now, or these florals could go along a top table.
Down the centre of the table we created a sea of flowers in bronze, gold and crystal glass vases with three gold candelabra to give height (all available to hire from Passion for Flowers).
The mix of flowers we used on the table were Quicksand roses, Secret Garden roses, Vendela roses, Bombastic spray roses, Café Au Lait dahlias, white ranunculus, white anemones, scabious seed heads, wax flower, brunia, dusty miller and eucalyptus.
The stationery was by Tom Gautier of Paper & Things, we loved the individual menus and name cards with the floral illustration, and the table plan cards too. The name cards were used in our bud vase name card holders, which are just like old fashioned salt cellars.
TALL GLASS VASES FOR CENTREPIECES
Along the back wall we displayed a tall centrepiece in a relaxed style, this could either be used as a centrepiece with a grouping of smaller bronze vases around the base or as a floral display at the wedding ceremony. The table plan is one of our newest and favourite table plans we hire out, we created a floral garland around the arch of the window shutters table plan with blush pink and nude florals in bronze vases running in front of it.
BRIDAL BOUQUETS
We had two bridal bouquets on display, both tied with glamorous gold ribbon to trail. The first was a blousy loose hand tied bouquet of Café Au Lait dahlias, white ranunculus, dusty miller and white astilbe. The other was a rose bouquet of Quicksand roses, Bombastic spray roses, wax flower and eucalyptus.
CHALKBOARD SIGNS
On the chair backs we used a couple of chalkboard chair signs from The Wedding of my Dreams, Mr & Mrs as well as Here Comes the Bride. On the other chairs we created floral chair garlands of eucalyptus, ivy, soft ruscus, scabious seed heads and wax flower for a relaxed rustic look.
FLOWER CROWNS
Each day at the show we wore flower crowns created with a similar mix of flowers we had used elsewhere in the displays.
Here at Passion for Flowers we strategically chose a stand next to the champagne bar, mainly so we could treat ourselves at the end of a busy day! We created table centres for the tables on the champagne bar using soft pastel pinks and creams. The flowers we used in theses centrepieces were Sweet Avalanche roses, Bombastic spray roses, astilbe, wax flower, astrantia and white hydrangeas.
WEDDING MAGAZINE STAND
We also loved creating the garlands for Wedding Magazine’s stand, and made the girls flower crowns to wear throughout the show. The garlands were in keeping with their bright pink logo so we used Kate David Austin roses, lisianthus, Wizard Of Oz dahlias, Harmony dahlias, Blue Curiosa roses, veronica, sedum, astrantia and poppy heads.
We love their comment…
The flowers on the stand were the best we have ever had, and we all LOVED the flower crowns you very kindly made.
If you came along to The National Wedding Show and after meeting us and browsing our website feel Passion for Flowers are the wedding florists for you we would love to hear from you. Get in touch with your wedding details on our contact us page.
We had a fantastic weekend at The National Wedding Show, Birmingham. Thanks to everyone who visited our stand. We were thrilled to win the award this year for outstanding exhibitor.
We have had lots of interest and bookings for 2015 and 2016. So, if you are thinking of booking us for your wedding flowers please get in touch as soon as possible as we are already filling up for key dates.
A few of our favourite instagram pics. As well as our stand we also created the flowers for Erik Meijer Photography, The Champagne Bar and Wedding Magazine as well as making flower crowns for the girls at Wedding Magazine and Erik’s partner Linda.
Huge thanks to everyone involved. The whole team who worked on the stand over the weekend, Midland Flowers for their constant support throughout the year, Tom Gautier for her stationery and to The National Wedding Show for putting on a wonderful show.
When I first met Sarah and Cam I knew we would all get along famously and that we could help them create a beautiful wedding at Ettington Park.The moment they showed me their travel inspired Save The Date’s on a luggage tag I loved them. They met and got engaged on a plane so the travel idea was just perfect. The brand colours for their wedding of coral, mint and peach with grey, were great to work with and we highlighted garden roses in soft peach tones,ranunculus and the grey tones of eucalyptus, brunia and lamb’s ears with rustic touches.
PEACH CREAM AND GREY BRIDAL BOUQUET
Sarah had chosen a gorgeous dreamy dress and knew the style of bouquet she wanted for her peach, cream and grey bridal bouquet. We chose a mix of David Austin garden roses in peach and cream with snippets of grey brunia and cream ranunculus finished with hessian and heart buttons.
PEACH & MINT GREEN BRIDESMAIDS BOUQUETS
The bridesmaids wore navy dresses which we teamed with bouquets in a mix of peach and mint green, again finished with hessian and twine. The bouquets were created with a mix of David Austin peach roses, Bloom chrysanthemums, wax flower and soft lambs ears for texture and the perfect mint green tone.
PEACH ROSE BUTTONHOLES ON A SLATE TILE
Cam gave out the peach rose buttonholes presented on a slate tile to the bridal party.
ETTINGTON PARK WEDDING CEREMONY – FRESH PETALS & SILVER LANTERNS
The ceremony room at Ettington Park was full of fresh rose petals to line the aisle and soft candelight from the silver lanterns to herald Sarah’s arrival for the ceremony. I love the date on the ceremony table with jars with succulents in just the perfect shade of mint green. The sun came out for some wonderful photos at Ettington Park.
ETTINGTON PARK – AN AFTERNOON TEA PARTY
To celebrate their marriage at an English country hotel Sarah and Cam chose an afternoon tea party after the ceremony. Gorgeous home baked cookies and sweet delights filled the table. A cute posy to the main cake was just the right finishing touch with the Mr and Mrs cake bunting. Extra details including the cake flags and Just Married Hessian Bunting were from our sister site, The Wedding of my Dreams.
ETTINGTON PARK WEDDING – PRETTY PAPER LANTERNS WITH PEACH & MINT GREEN FLOWERS
In the Long Gallery the party continued and Sarah and Cam were keen to add extra lighting and interest in the room, the pretty paper lanterns and lights looked wonderful and added a fairytale look to the space. The tables were filled with glass vases and apothecary bottles in mint green to create a light look and feel to the tables, flowers were chosen in peach and cream with dashes of mint green foliage.
ROSEMARY PLACE SETTINGS
A sprig of English rosemary completed the place settings for each guest. Did you spot the plane on the gorgeous menu, Cam and Sarah first met on a plane and Cam proposed on a plane so it was a key element to their day!
I first met Leanne at a wedding last summer and were more than thrilled when she asked if Passion for Flowers would be able to help her with styling and flowers for her spring wedding at South Farm. Leanne runs Blooming Lovely Films and we have admired her work and just love her style. We had great fun when we met David at the Wedding Industry Awards and were introduced to Ross Harvey who had been asked to photograph this epic wedding. Over the last months we met Leanne a number of times, shared pinterest boards and generally agreed on all things floral.
As it was our first wedding at South Farm we took the opportunity to meet up with Leanne and Dave early this year to see the how we could decorate and enhance the natural beauty of South Farm.
Leanne’s vision for the day was a relaxed day of happiness with family and loved ones. We know she did this and were so happy to be chosen as her florist. As she talked through ideas from the doors to the vespa to the Easter Egg hunt we knew how gorgeous their day would be and of course her divine Claire Pettibone dress.
Ross Harvey has done such a fantastic job at capturing this beautiful day.
Leanne and her bridesmaids enjoyed their morning of preparations and we were delighted to meet up with some of our industry friends Make up by Jodie and Helena Sinclair Bridal Hair when we arrived with the flowers.
South Farm is simply stunning and we worked with its natural beauty to create timeless yet rustic elegant flowers. A mix of roses, clematis, wax flower, pittosporum, hellebores, broom with nigella seed heads created just the right mix for the day.
RUSTIC ELEGANT BOUQUETS FOR LEANNE & HER BRIDESMIADS
At her final consultation Leanne and I agreed on a gorgeous look for her rustic elegant bouquets. The long trailing ribbons looked wonderful with the elegant dresses chosen for the bridesmaids.
RUSTIC ELEGANT BUTTONHOLES
David and his best man Jim set the style for the boy team and we loved their coloured jackets. Rustic elegant button holes with spray roses and a mix from the day, finished with twine fitted the bill perfectly.
South Farm is perfect for an outdoor ceremony and we were thrilled with the finished result and were just so lucky with the weather. When Leanne made her entrance through the doors everyone was so moved. Just to let you into a little secret the doors were something Leanne had hoped for from the beginning of her planning and David organised for them to be delivered and set up for us to decorate on the day. They made a perfect frame to the ceremony area with a delicate flower garland and crates of flowers.
OUTDOOR CEREMONY – SHEPHERDS CROOKS DOWN THE AISLE
Shepherds crooks with simple posies lined the aisle and were later used to decorate the outside tables.
RUSTIC ELEGANT FLOWER CROWN FOR THE BRIDE
We talked about a flower crown and felt it would work beautifully with Leanne’s wedding dress by Claire Pettibone and the relaxed style of her day. The flower crown was Leanne’s crowning glory and one of the many parts of her day she treasured. I just love the photos on the vespa – we added a surprise posy of flowers to the handlebars.
RUSTIC ELEGANT WEDDING CENTREPIECES IN THE BARN
The barn was full for the wedding breakfast and we used a mix of timeless silver vases and crystal vessels filled with flowers to continue the rustic elegant look. We added elegant candle sticks and a garland of flowers to the top table What a fabulous day they had and a wonderful start to their married life.
We will leave you with their beautiful wedding video below.
Much love, Karen and The Passion for Flowers team x
CORAL PEONY BRIDAL BOUQUET
KILWORTH HOUSE WEDDING FLOWERS – LUXE CEREMONY FLOWERS IN THE ORANGERY
PEACH & MINT GREEN BRIDESMAIDS BOUQUETS
PEACH ROSE BUTTONHOLES ON A SLATE TILE
ETTINGTON PARK WEDDING CEREMONY – FRESH PETALS & SILVER LANTERNS
ETTINGTON PARK – AN AFTERNOON TEA PARTY
ETTINGTON PARK WEDDING – PRETTY PAPER LANTERNS WITH PEACH & MINT GREEN FLOWERS
ROSEMARY PLACE SETTINGS
Credits – Florist: 
