Search Results

I'm finally sitting down to write about the glorious wedding of Jemma and Jacob at Elmore Court in April this year. Elmore Court, if you aren't acquainted, is an elegantly quirky stately home nestled in the Gloucestershire countryside. If you are looking for a Gloucestershire wedding venue with big personality, unbeatable photo backdrops and an exclusive, premium feel then Elmore Court is definitely one to consider. They are also serious about sustainability which was an important consideration for Jemma and Jacob, read on to find out more. I can't go any further without crediting the awesome Antonia Grace who photographed this wedding, the photos are complete perfection and very selfishly I love the floral photographs as well the little moments of emotion captured throughout the day. Romantic floral design inspired by Italy Jemma and Jacob were such a lovely, relaxed couple which always makes the consultation process a joy and I remember coming away from the initial call feeling inspired and excited. Like most couples they weren't really set on specific flowers or arrangements, more an overall vibe, with a few factors that we discussed in our initial consultation. They were keen to pull inspiration from Italy which holds a special place in their hearts as this was where they first met. They also loved natural, wild style flowers and wanted to be as sustainable as possible. To me sustainable flowers are those that are in season, using British grown and also carefully choosing blooms from abroad that had been grown using planet friendly methods From this brief we decided on a colour palette inspired by Italy in summer using soft sunset colours, with bright pops to reflect the freshness of spring. I used springtime blooms including blousy ranunculus, tulips, buttercream and tangerine narcissus, the cutest blue muscari, show-stealing icelandic poppies, scented stocks and spirea blossom, with added garden style spray roses and delphiniums. Natural floral design to complement the wedding venue As I mentioned in my last blog post one of the big considerations when deciding on wedding arrangements is the venue. Elmore Court is incredibly beautiful already but there are some main areas to flower up that I will always suggest as your wedding florist. Adding flowers to the ceremony room really elevates the space and adds your individual style to the room. Jemma and Jacob chose natural, garden gathered style meadows to line their aisle. I then arranged an asymmetrical bowl arrangement on the marble table with just a few bud vases to lift the signing table. Floral meadows are one of the most popular wedding designs They really frame a space and add floral personality, you can use a variety of different flowers and styles depending on the couple's vibe and they are also super versatile. I made these arrangements into moss or chicken wire and water in keeping with the sustainable brief. We then moved the meadows to bookend the long tables in the Gillyflower for the wedding breakfast and also to frame the top table. No mean feat considering how windy it was on the day of the wedding, in true British wedding style there were huge gusts of wind, short torrential downpours and brilliant sunshine all at one event. Bud vases, bud vases, bud vases Alongside the floral meadow, another really versatile floral arrangement is the bud vase. I love bud vases so much I dedicated this instagram post to how to use them effectively. Like meadows they are really easy to re-use and can be used in lots of different areas. For Jemma and Jacob we first used a cluster of bud vases on the registrars table for their ceremony, they were then quickly whisked away to the wedding breakfast tables once the ceremony was over. I included the cost of the bud vases within the wedding proposal so the happy couple were able to gift the bud vases away to guests the next day. I can't tell you how happy it makes me seeing guests walk away with some floral magic, knowing the flowers are going to live on for another few days across the country! The Bridal Bouquet... ...and other stories Jemma's bridal bouquet has to be one of my favourites (ok I know I say this every time but I'm fickle and fall in love with every single one!) Bursting with spring flowers and smelling fabulous I was really inspired by the couples love of wild style flowers, using the spirea blossom, clematis and butterfly ranunculus to add natural movement and garden style roses and ranunculus to bring the dreamy romance. The beautiful ribbon from Little Acorn Silks really tied everything together (pun intended) and looked amazing in the wind in the outside photos! Jemma shed some happy tears when I delivered the bridal bouquet which always makes me so emotional. Arriving at the bridal suite with the personal flowers is one of the greatest highs of being a wedding florist and one of the best (and scariest) parts of the job! Relaxed, fun-filled celebration with a party atmosphere "We had total trust in Poppy from the beginning, she worked so hard to pull together our colour palette and used a wide variety of flowers to make the beautiful arrangements. When Poppy arrived on our wedding day and showed us the flowers, I shed a few tears as they were all so gorgeous." Thanks so much Jemma and Jacob for having me as part of your wedding. The day was full of so much love and laughter, I really enjoyed creating flowers to set the scene for this celebration! I hope you enjoyed reading all about this gorgeous wedding, if you're planning a wedding at Elmore Court why not find out more about my design service here Poppy x

Emma and Chris were married at the end of March at the historic, landmark wedding venue of Blackfriars Priory, located a stones throw from the industrial Gloucester docks. I love the contrast of venue and surrounding area and it definitely set the scene for a wedding full of personality and individual details. Thank you to Emma and Chris for choosing me to flower your wedding and to Howell Jones for the gorgeous photography. Blackfriars Priory It's always so important to fully consider the wedding venue when designing wedding flowers. Emma and Chris were married in the impressive North Range, a huge and light filled space with lots of gothic character. In such a big space it is a good idea to focus on one or two key areas. The ceremony was held at one end of the space, with the wedding breakfast taking place at the other. Both ends of the range have original fire places and these seemed perfectly placed for a floral focus. We decided on floral meadows that could easily be moved from one end to the other, these were created using sustainable methods, vessels with water and chicken wire so all the flowers stayed nicely hydrated and the bride was able to take lots of flowers away the next day. Ceremony Flowers The flowers for the fireplace meadows and bridal bouquet were inspired by natural, bright spring colours. Emma and Chris were really relaxed about the colour palette and flower choices, they just wanted seasonally inspired, colourful flowers that reflected the joy and romance of their day. I chose quintessential spring flowers like white double tulips, pink, peach and white ruffled ranunculus, huge ethereal icelandic poppies in tangerine, pink and blush and deliciously scented broom blossom, teamed with blousy spray roses in pink and peach. To pick up the blue from the dining tables (more on this later!) I also worked in some blue delphiniums which really gave the meadows that natural garden style. Table Decor for the Wedding Breakfast Emma and her mum crocheted beautiful table decorations in shades of powder blue. To really make a feature of the blue we stuck to mainly white flowers in bud vases, with just a tiny amount of colour sprinkled throughout. The contemporary glass on one side of the North Range lets beautiful light in which really made the mis-matched bud vases glimmer and shine. Hey Pesto Catering were cooking up a storm whilst we were swapping the flowers from one end of the North Range to the other, I'm always a bit disappointed I can't stay to sample the food! Emma's bridal flowers The bridal bouquet is without doubt the most important creation of a wedding florist, I wanted Emma's bouquet to pick up on the elements of spring I had incorporated into the installation flowers, pinks and peaches were the main colours with a lovely long trail of mid-blue ribbon to tie in with the table decor and chair decoration. I love to use scented flowers, particularly in bridal work, the scented broom blossom and garden spray roses made this bouquet smell delicious! Emma's bridesmaids wore navy blue and rather than bridesmaid bouquets I created 4 slightly different wrist corsages using flowers to complement the bridal bouquet and buttonholes. It was an absolute pleasure to be part of Emma and Chris's day, the lasting impression I went home with was that theirs was a day full of authentic joy and masses of love, just perfect! Thanks for reading! Poppy x

As a cotswold wedding florist it was an absolute joy to take part in this styled shoot at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester. https://www.rau.ac.uk/for-business/venue-hire/weddings The wedding venue As soon as we visited The Royal Agricultural University, we knew that we wanted to showcase the stunning Victorian gothic architecture of the University, originally built in 1845. For me as the floral designer this meant making the most of the arches and glasswork in the quad. Fair warning, if there is an arch at your wedding venue I will want to flower it! It makes the perfect wedding photo and really sets the mood for your day. This asymmetrical deconstructed arch was created using sustainable floristry techniques; vessels, poles, water and chicken wire. The wedding flowers I really love this warm late summer palette using burnt orange, peach and pale pink with lots of different foliages to achieve that sought after untamed garden style. The stars were the peach and pink dahlias grown locally by Gemma at Fairfield Green Flowers and the burnt orange luxury chrysanthemums supplied by Flower Vision in Bristol. My other favourite photographs were taken on the tree lined promenade, a romantic and natural backdrop for your wedding photos. The talented suppliers I worked with: Photography: https://kategavaletz-smithphotography.mypixieset.com/ Make-up artist: https://www.cecilellewelynbowenmua.co.uk/ Hair Stylist: https://www.instagram.com/aishacubbage/ Bridal Boutique: https://www.posyandpearl.co.uk/ Locally Grown Flowers: https://www.instagram.com/fairfieldgreenflowers/?hl=en Floral Wholesaler: https://www.instagram.com/flowervisionbristol/?hl=en Gorgeous models: Camilla and Erin https://www.instagram.com/camillaaliciabates/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/erin_elisabeth_music/?hl=en If you are looking for a cotswold wedding venue steeped in history with gorgeous spaces inside and out I would highly recommend the Royal Agricultural University, they are licensed for civil and religious ceremonies. Thanks for reading! Poppy x

Your individual flower budget is an important but often tricky thing to determine. Why setting a budget is important My enquiry form asks you what your overall wedding budget is and also your approximate floral budget. You will find that the majority of other florists you approach will do similar. So why do we do this? The answer is, that is informs the designs we discuss with you; bud vases vs decorated candelabras for your tables; an undressed aisle vs abundant meadows to frame the walk to your beloved. It also influences the sorts of flowers we include in your proposals, there is a huge variety in price between flowers that serve a similar purpose in a design and even types of the same flower, roses can vary from £1 to £10! You could just give your wishlist to your wedding florist and see what the quote comes to, letting that be your guide, but at one end of the scale you risk missing out on luxury flowers or a design concept you haven’t thought of. On the other you may elongate the process of quoting if your florist comes up with ideas that are out of budget and no-one needs wed-min that can be avoided! Communication is absolutely key to a creative and exciting partnership between you and all of your suppliers, one most importantly built on trust and openness. How to set the budget for your wedding flowers All that said, how do you actually go about setting a budget I hear you cry! Common advice is to allocate 10% of your overall wedding budget to flowers. This is an ok place to start but, we are all different, one sized floral budget does not fit all! Have a think about how important flowers are to achieving the feel of your dream day, I would argue that the flowers at your wedding are one of the biggest contributors to the atmosphere, so if you want sweeping, whimsical romance or fun-filled, colourful quirkiness, consider going big on your flowers. Think about how much you actually like flowers, you don’t have to know a lot about them to feel the joy they bring, if they speak to you on a special level, make sure your budget reflects that. If any of these statements ring true I would recommend considering 15-30% of your overall budget as a starting point and then discussing your vision with your florist. What do different budgets look like The cost of wedding flowers really does differ from couple to couple and is influenced by the season, the type of flowers that are used and even as simply as the number of bridesmaids you may be having! If your budget is £1000 you may choose personal flowers for you and the bridal/groom party (bouquets and buttonholes) and light decoration on your wedding breakfast tables. If your budget is £2500 consider personal flowers and a statement piece such as a broken arch (my fave!) With your remaining budget decide with your florist if you would like to focus on aisle decoration that can perhaps be re-purposed for the wedding breakfast, or if you would like to create a stunning tablescape instead. Photo by Antonia-Grace Photography If your budget is £5000+ we are talking , abundant aisle decor and then maybe two or more statement pieces. An arch to frame the entrance of your venue and a hanging installation over the top table perhaps? Hopefully that has given some insight into why we ask for a flower budget and where to start with setting one. If you have any questions about budgeting please ask in the comments or send me an email at poppy@wildpoppyblooms.com Thanks so much for reading! Poppy x