Photoshoots of 2014

As well as many weddings in 2014, we were lucky to be asked to be involved in a number of photoshoots.  These are always great fun to be involved in, as it gives us the chance to take on a brief but add a little bit of Frida and a little bit of Sophia!

Story of My Dress - March 2014
In March we were contacted by the lovely Cara-Lee Whyte, founder of Story of My Dress with an invitation to be involved in a photoshoot at Belt Craft Studios, a stunning photography and film location which was formerly a textile factory.

The brief:

"So basically there will be 2 looks that are quite relaxed, bohemian, think garden wedding using 60's/70's dresses, maybe more pastel tones.  Then 2 looks that are dressed up, glamorous, sparkly and elegant, using the claret and more punchy colours alongside the metallics."

"I am thinking, claret, pink and nude as the colour tones, and somehow blending vintage/alternative in a modern way.  I thought vintage element other than the dresses could be cascading bouquet, bringing back the large ones from the 1920's."

Wow we thought - how can we turn this one down......

The claret bouquet we designed thinking of garden, trailing, 1920's large!  We used lots of different foliages adding loads of texture in this one along with beautiful peonies which were stunning.
The second bouquet was more a soft subtle mix of pastels but again going against the grain of normal domed bouquets and creating a more interesting shape that can be either used holding down, to the side or straight infront of you.  We were able to use a big mix of flowers in this one, peonies, poppies, camomile, cala lilies, delphinium and muscari.

So two bouquets, two headpieces and two necklaces later.....here is a collection of photos from the finished photoshoot, captured beautifully by the very talented Alex Tenters Photography.

I've included this one because he looks hot!

Moroccan Nights - September 2014

The next photoshoot was with Curious Fair.  We were contacted in September to work on a different type of shoot, using more unusual materials.

"It's slightly different from any other shoot we've been involved in as the caterers are creating a proper Moroccan feast along with a Morrocan tea table. The idea is to create a cool, secret elopement shoot. We want the flowers to be inspired by Morocco but in a creative way. Our initial thoughts are succulents growing from objects, floral arrangements in glass teapots, cacti & succulents. We also love artichoke vases or something that's a bit unusual & creative.

The venue is an old factory in Brixton which look like a large wooden attic.  We want it to be quirky but in a natural bohemian way."

The Moroccan theme for the photoshoot was an opportunity for us to use some interesting materials and textures, lots of succulents, cacti, artichoke and unusual foliages.  To add a pop of colour we used some blousy blooms of garden roses and dahlias mixed with tropical textured heads of Celosia, Pincushion Protea and Venus Protea.

The two bouquets we produced were very different from one another.  One was a large tied bouquet, bright and colourful with mainly flowers and using artichoke and haworthia for interesting textures.  The other was all about texture, a wired teardrop design with different succulents and foliages with a dash of colour brought in with hot pink celosia, white snowberries and yellow craspedia.

The table decor was a subtle look to compliment the vibrancy of the food with succulents and cacti at different heights with a little dash of colour, adding an interesting look to the opulent table design.

Photographer: Jess Withey - Jess Withey Photography -

Designer/Stylist/Art Direction: Natalie & Guy - Curious Fair

Caterer: Jan - Mimosa

Model: Emily Smith

Make Up Artist: Ellie - The Beauty Aisle

Hair: Jo - Loves Hair

Dresses - Sophie - Ears & Whiskers

Soft Furnishings & Decor - Oka

Bespoke Furniture: Guy - Gas & Air

Coordinator/Art Direction/Promotion: Erica - Mr & Mrs Unique

Paris de Nuit - December 2014

Our last photoshoot of 2014 was in Paris!  We didn't get to go unfortunately as it was just after we'd taken on the shop, but it looked such an amazing trip and with such a lovely collection of suppliers.  The very talented Rebecca Douglas produced the brief called Paris de Nuit:

"A night time bridal shoot in Paris full of creative use of light capturing the romance and glow of the city in the winter with 1940s-esque, cinematic/Film Noir influences 

Nighttime in Paris, 1940s-esque, cinematic/Film Noir influences, romance, light, dark, silhouette, sparkle, glimmer, candle light, artistic, creative, elegant, nostalgia"

Frida and I have worked with Rebecca on numerous occasions and love her work.  We wanted to portray romance and softness in the flowers, producing an oversized trailing bouquet with a palette that ran through from deep purple to very pale pinks with a dash of metallic.  

Photography & Co-ordination : Rebecca Douglas Photography assisted by Lucy Rose 
Hair & Make Up: Victoria Farr Make Up and Hair Artist 
Dresses & Accessories: Karen Whybro – Rock The Frock Bridal Boutique 
Dress Designer: Julie Coxon – Julie Lou
Headpiece: Jodi McFayden – McFayden Millinery  
Suiting: Stuart – Chester Cordite 
Location: Ancien atelier d’artiste du XIXe 
Models: Kate Frances Lawton and Sam Yates

We hope you enjoyed looking through these photos - next time on the blog a post dedicated to the shop......

A look back at 2014 and a look forward to 2015

Welcome to 2015 everyone!  We've been a little quiet on here and I wanted to explain why.......so where better to air our clean laundry than on our lovely blog.  As some of you may or may not know, on 27th November 2014 we moved in and created a lovely little florist in Tenterden.  There will more news and inside photos on this shortly, but for now I wanted to take this opportunity to look back at 2014 weddings.

The year of 2014 brought us many weddings and all as fabulous to create as each other.  They ranged from pastels to blues to bright and colourful, bohemianly grand to informally small.  Each one created with our loving hands, many coffees and ridiculously early mornings and late nights.  Here are some of those wonderful moments of floral loveliness captured in all their glory.

Alison & Max - Emma Case Photography

Mark & Hollie - Tiny Little Me Photography

Rebecca & Gee - Dash Caffrey

Charlene & Michael - Divine Day Photography

Lucy & Matt

Katy & Nick - Rebecca Douglas Photography

Meryl & Andrew - Andrew Leo Photography

Amy & Nick - Kerry Ann Duffy Photography

Next blog post - take a nosy at our photoshoots of 2014 - some of our favourite work so far.

Vicky & Graeme's story - 19th July 2014 - Mount Ephraim, Faversham

May I introduce Graeme & Vicky to our blog......here's some lovely words about their wedding......

Graeme and I met through work, when we were social workers in Dover, and started dating end of 2000. Graeme proposed December 2005, when our son Alex was 6 months old, in the hallway! He was late home and I couldn't contact him, and when he finally arrived (he'd been stuck in awful traffic), I was so relieved he was ok that I started crying! He vanished into the coat cupboard and very unexpectedly, proposed! No bent knee or romantic location, but it was spontaneous and loving. I think he'd planned to do it differently, but seized the moment!

Best tip for planning a wedding? Pinterest is great for ideas! Magazines are great for real life stories and wedding dress porn! Wedding fairs are great for meeting local suppliers - that's how I met Frida & Sophia, at Bluewater earlier this year!

The theme/colour scheme all fell into place when we decided our venue, Mount Ephraim, a beautiful Edwardian house and gardens near our home. My wedding dress was quite 'Jane Austin', and as the venue had lots of pictures, ornaments and the decor of a past era, a modern style would have been wrong.

I wanted blush pink flowers with lavender, in low vases and jars tied with vintage lace, and also had a long, low floral display for the registrar/top table, and a big, tumbling display for the bottom of the staircase. They all looked amazing. 

The buttonholes of lavender looked great with the mens' pale forget-me-not ties, and Flynn's buttonhole had a music paper flower, also, specially for him!

The table decorations came from looking on Pinterest and Etsy, including the cream wooden heart pegs and cream cards that were pegged onto wine glasses as place names, and the vintage book heart confetti.

The table numbers and seating plan were from Mushymoo and were also blush pink, as were the invites.

Most memorable parts of our day...

For Graeme, it was the ceremony and the speeches.

For me, there were a few through the day.

Getting ready with my best friends, and their faces when they saw me in my dress was the first. Magic.

Walking down the sweeping staircase with my son Flynn, who gave me away, was nerve-wracking but improved when he lightened the mood by taking a selfie of us! Only a 16 year old could probably have pulled it off, and he sure did!

The ceremony was beautiful, and Flynn played Debussy's Arabesque, Glasgow love song from the film Love Actually, and The Swan by Saint Saens) while we signed the register. So proud, he's a very talented musician.

Alex (9) stood with Graeme throughout, and it was quite overwhelming at times.

The wedding speeches were just brilliant, every one! Flynn did a 'son of the bride' speech, and everyone was in good spirits! This was followed by Graeme, my 5 best friends 'the pink ladies', who did a tag speech, and Graeme's best man Mark. Mark's speech included a game of Mr and Mrs, complete with giant A B C cards on each table, brilliant! Many tears of love and laughter throughout the speeches!

Graeme and I were whisked off for some photos just before the evening guests arrived, and the sky was epic - it was amazing to be alone, just the 2 of us (plus our lovely photographer, Irma-Jane Caggiano) and take it all in!

Finally, the disco.... I totally love a disco, and the dance floor was packed all night, and included 2 dance offs, and a couple of very funny drunken incidents (not us, friends!). It was ridiculously hot and sweaty, and the best fun! 

Our first dance was this year's most popular wedding song, All of Me by John Legend.  We loved that he wrote it for his own wife and it's 'real', but it always makes me cry! We very nearly chose a different song for that reason....and yes, I cried on the dance floor! 

Our plans for the future? 

We've kind of done things in reverse! Moved in, children, long engagement, marriage after nearly 14 years together - I think we'll just relax and take it easy for a bit!

Thank you to Vicky and Graeme for allowing us to have some inside information and you were a lovely bride to work for - thank you too to Irma Jane Caggiano for the lovely photos.

Our lovely couples 'debrief'

Frida and I had had this idea floating around for a while.  A simple one at that, but one that has taken us nearly a year to get round to doing.  An interview,powwow or debrief with our couples after the big day - a post wedding lowdown, a chance to look back and reflect on the important build up, the day itself and the start of married life together and let's not forget a chance for us all to have a good nosy at the gorgeous photos.

So without further a do - I introduce our first couple - Hollie & Mark.  

Hollie & Mark got married on 17th May 2014 in Essex.  Hollie contacted us after we'd met at the Creatives Brides Vintage Village at the Bluewater Wedding Fair back in February.  Her theme was a wonderfully colourful one, which as soon as she described what she was after, we loved the idea and really hoped we'd be successful in becoming her wedding florist.

"Our wedding theme is bright colours/vintage/fifties/fairground all mixed together! For example bridesmaids are in 50s swing dresses in Red, Purple and teal, honorary bridesmaids are in blue, pink, coral and yellow! And ushers and dads cravats are all different colours too! Me and my fiance are the simplest in ivory, therefore I'm keen for our bouquet/buttonhole to be bright!"

So over to Mark & Hollie......

How did you meet and how long were you together before you got engaged?

H - We have known each other since school, when Mark left school we carried on going out in the same group of friends, then we realised we both liked each other and Mark asked me to be his girlfriend, and that was eleven years ago now!

Where did you propose and how was it done?

M - We were going to Bath for the weekend for our 10th anniversary, and I planned loads of places to propose while we there.  I asked Hollie's Dad the night before we were due to leave but when we got home I was too excited and nervous so I asked her straight away!

What's your best tip in planning a wedding?

H - Make sure you stop to take a breath and always keep the overall look in mind.  Most of all, enjoy it!

M - Don't worry too much about the budget and support your bride to be when she's up at midnight making things!

Do you have a most memorable part of the day?

M - Waiting in the church for Hollie to arrive and the service.

H - After the speeches we got a beautiful sunset!  The photographer rushed over to us and got us to go into one of the nearby picturesque fields and we got lots of lovely photos, is also meant we could have a chat just us and try and take it all in!  We had the best day, but it all goes so quick!

When you chose your style/colour for the day, what persuaded you?  Internet, personal taste, social media?

H - I've always been into the fifties vintage look so I knew I wanted a hint of that style.  But when I started looking at colours I just couldn't choose!  I work in a creative job and am always surrounded by colour and images, and I wear all colours so there was no clear choice.  That's when I had the idea to just go multicolour!  I picked all rich lovely colours, our ushers all had different colour cravats and my bridesmaids were all in different colours too!  I tasked Frida & Sophia with creating rich colourful flowers with a touch of vintage and I was so happy with the result!

For your first dance, what song was played and why?

M - Our first dance was Snow Patrol, Chasing Cars.  It's a song we both like and we've seen them live quite a few times.  We quickly learnt a bit of box step and some spins for the start of our dance, the week before the wedding!

H - When I hear Snow Patrol I always think of Mark!

What are your plans for your future together?

M - To have a family and carry on in our jobs, which we both enjoy.

H - I've just got a new job, but a family is in the plans for the future.  We'd like to travel more too, we went to Japan for our honeymoon and loved it!

We cannot recommend Frida and Sophia enough, we were so happy with our flowers, they were exactly what we wanted and absolutely beautiful!

Thank you to Emma Tunbridge of Tiny Little Me Photography for the lovely photos.

We shall be featuring a new couple each month, so stay tuned!

Our Day Trip to Home Gurr'own Caterers, Kent

On Wednesday 2nd July we had the pleasure of spending the day at Home Gurr'own Caterers in Cranbrook, Kent.

Home Gurr'own specialise in a unique collection of homemade dishes for family and friends to share - picnics, hog roasts and sharing platters.  Please see their website for example menus and information - what a lovely way to bring your guests together on the day and help give a sense of unity.

Nicci and her husband Julian, together with their two lovely children, Lorri and Daisy live on the six acre small holding together with the Gloucester Old Spot pigs, Southdown sheep, geese, chicken and bees.  Nicci and Julian use the produce grown or reared on the land for the catering but are also passionate about sourcing further ingredients locally.

After seeing Nicci at a wedding recently, that we were both working on, she suggested we came and visited them to have a look at what they do - particularly the flowers that Julian grows.  Our eyes lit up!  English grown flowers and a chance to eat some of Nicci's chocolate brownies - yes please!

It really was like a day trip out for us.  The sun was shining and the peaceful setting of Home Gurr'own worked wonders on calming us after a busy few days.  Next door to Home Gurr'own, Julian's mother and father live.  Here, they have poly tunnels where Julian's father grows amazing tomatoes - the type you get abroad, all shapes and sizes (rather than the 'perfect tomato' as measured by the EU) together with an abundance of sweet peas, which are cut and sold to local florists and markets.

The flowers grown here include edible varieties, used in their catering - Violas, Nasturtium and Marigolds.

Whilst there, we picked a selection of flowers from the gorgeous selection....believe us when we say as a florist - to pick the flowers that you can then work with is real honour.

One of nature's little friends.....

 So, with the flowers we had picked and the foliage we foraged, with a little help from lovely Lorri......

 ....we created a bouquet and a couple of buttonhole examples for you - all made with an extremely low carbon footprint.....and here they are...

Our two favourite shots - hope you like them.....

Bouquet of cornflower, cosmos, sweet peas, curly willow, oriental hornbeam and hazel.

A big thank you to Nicci and Julian at Home Gurr'own for allowing us to visit them.  We hope to back again in the near future for some more of the 'good life'.