I have had the pleasure of meeting Kerry on several occasions since then and have worked with her on a wedding back in May (see HERE) the shop sells a section of flowers and bouquets but her style is definitely relaxed, unstructured and very English country garden. Kerry’s work is beautiful, her weddings are put together with true passion and love, and she comes highly recommend (by me!)

(photography credit Christian Ward Photography)

I asked Kerry to tell me a buit more about her and her shop
‘Our shop is in the beautiful historic small town of Melbourne, near Derby.
Blossom tree was formed 6 years ago, after 2 years of retraining I decided to bite the bullet & follow my heart from a corporate life to work with my love of flowers.
We are primarily a mother and daughter team (me being the daughter)
Mum was a florist years ago so was the perfect choice for an employee. ( probably where my flower obsession started from , my very own first little bouquet of flowers was delivered at the little age of 6 to my junior school , a proud moment!)’

‘I love anything pretty & nostalgic which is reflected in my style of arranging flowers. I like flowers to look like flowers, informal, like they have just been picked out of the garden and wherever possible we always try to follow the seasons.’

(photo credit Steve Gerrard Photography)

‘I haven’t got a favourite time of year for wedding flowers, as every season brings its own treasures and it is lovely when something appears at the market that hasn’t been available for a while.’

‘My favourite flower are white stocks, I adore them. Their scent is absolutely beautiful and a love their bubbly texture. They look so pure and fresh in a vase just on their own.’

 photo credit (Andy Cross Photographer)

Thank you to Kerry for the insight into her world of flowers, and thanks for all the lovely photographsof her work….it make sme want to get married all over again!

For more information go to:
www.theblossomtree.co.uk
http://theblossomtree.blogspot.com
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
Williams Yard Derby Road
Melbourne
Derby
DE73 8JR

To accheive this look for yourslef then read the post I put up last week on How to achieve that just picked look
I hope you find this selection useful, do let me know what you think and if you have found any others to add to this collection

Bottles:

available from  www.theweddingofmydreams.co.uk set of 4 at £20.00

available from www.notonthehighstreet.com  by Velvet Ribbon  at £8.00

available from www.ikea.com at £2.03 each

available from www.velvetwedding.co.uk at £3.50

available from www.notonthehighstreet.com Sage, inspired by Life  at £4.00

available from www.dibor.co.uk at £16.00 for a set fo 3

 Vases:

available from www.ikea.com at £2.09

available from www.notonthehighstreet.com by Camel and Yak at £45

available to hire from www.bevintage.co.uk

Jugs:

available from www.livelaughlove.co.uk at £6.95

available from www.notonthehighstreet.com by Seahorse  at £15.50

available from www.ikea.com £19.99

available from www.livelaughlove.co.uk at £12.95

available to hire at www.bevintage.co.uk

available from www.livelaughlove.co.uk from £8.95

 Tea Cups/Tea Pots

photo credit www.manasikashyap.com

 availableto hire from www.bevintage.co.uk

Odds and Ends:

available from www.theweddingofmydreams.co.uk at £6.50

available from www.notonthehighstreet.com by BODIE and FOU at £35.50

available at www.notonthehighstreet.com by s t r i k k handknits at £14.00

available from www.notonthehighstreet.com by leaf at £28.00

available from www.notonthehighstreet.com by Plantabox at £38.00

Do let me know what you think of this selection, I would be interested to know what your favourite idea is and what you are using for your wedding. I think mine is the Grass Vase, as it’s quirky but modern looking at the same time.

As a wedding planner I am getting more and more requests from my brides for a less structured look within their flower arrangements. So many brides are moving away from the big formal arrangements and table centres to the more rustic, wild flower/just been picked look! With more and more brides turning to the DIY, country garden and shabby chic option their wedding flowers are tacking on a much more relaxed feel.

image source www.maxwanger.com

I have quite a few wedding coming up this year where the brides are doing the table arrangements themselves, heading off to the wholesalers while furiously collecting old jam jars, wine bottles, jugs, even old tea pots to place their flowers in for a much more relaxed and quirky feel.

Sometimes Ieven  get drafted in as florist for the day………….I actually don’t mind as I quite enjoy it! Here are a couple of my attempts!

For this wedding they wanted a selection of bright and vibrant flowers, it's actually harder than you think making things look random!! Photo credit www.lisaabbottphotography.co.uk

For this wedding they wanted a mix and match feel, the bride had collected jars and bottles, it was my job to arrange each one so it looked 'just picked' and natural

It took a while to do but each arrangement is different!

the finished result!

This is all well and good, but I don’t want anyone to think it’s easy! the flowers are going to a massive part of your day and you don’t want your pictures ruined because you find out on the day that your not as creative as you first thought. Achieving that ‘just picked loook’ can sometime be best left to the professionals.

With that in mind I asked Karen Morgan from Passion for Flowers to give us a bit of advice.

SO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE THAT JUST PICKED LOOK FOR YOUR WEDDING

Make sure you only take on what you are capable of, leave items like the bouquets and any large scale arrangements to the experts and concentrate on table flowers in casual arrangements in rustic containers, an eclectic mix of jam jars, collect old jugs, urns or terracotta plant pots.

Combine the look with hessian, twine, old lace and ribbons, no need to match everything just create a carefree, handpicked look.

Ideas:

• Create a great look with a random mix of bottles with single flower stems. Great for long tables, set out on hessian runners, add slate tiles
• Collect jam jars, old sauce bottles and have a go, perfect for a barn wedding or an outdoor ceremony. Use the bottles as escort cards to help guests find their seat.
• For bridal party flowers ask you florists to create a random mix of button holes for all the guests, give these as a gift for each guest in keeping with your just picked style. Tie with different coloured ribbons and pins.
• Terracotta pots decorated with bulbs for a spring wedding celebration, top off with moss. Muscari (grape hyacinths) perfect blue for spring.

How to guide:

If you want to make any decorations yourself make sure you:

• Order flowers in advance and have a trial run working on quantities
• Source flowers from a reputable supplier
• Condition them well – you will need plenty of buckets, flower food and water
• Place somewhere cool until needed – remember blooms can easily wilt in the summer heat

What about:

Check out floral workshops for a chance to experiment before the big day, book in with your Mum or one of your bridesmaids for a fun day well before the wedding. Have fun in a relaxed environment making table centres which you can then confidently make again for your special day.

What to Avoid:

• Anything too complicated
• Get help from friends and family. You don’t want to spend your wedding morning knee deep in buckets and flowers!
• Don’t underestimate the time needed for buying, preparing, storing, and setting up as well as transporting to your venue.

Having Second Thoughts?:

Enlist the help of a well recommended florist, one who knows your venue and whose work you love.

Remember for florists wedding work is their business and they take the responsibility for delivering perfect bouquets, button holes and wedding flowers for a living. Even that ‘just picked’ look needs thought, care and attention to detail.

photo credit: www.astonandainsworth.co.uk

Which flowers to choose?:

• Spring flowers tulips, ranunculus, craspedia for texture
• Pussy willow for texture
• Gypsophilia
• Summer include herbs rosemary and sage for scent and texture, stocks and veronica.
• Hydrangeas and peonies for summer blooms
• Roses are great but need conditioning
• Eucalyptus for soft greenery

photo credit: emmacasephotography.blogspot.com

What to avoid:

Anything poisonous – sounds obvious but many of our flowers are toxic!

If you have any experiences of DIY flowers or any hints and tips then do share. Have you seen it doen well? or done badly? are you planning to do your flowers yourself and in the middle of prepparing for it. I would love to hear your stories.

A big thank you to Karen Morgan from Passion for Flowers, for more information on her shop go to:

www.passionforflowers.net
phone: 01676 529014
email: karen@passionforflowers.net
FACEBOOK
TWITTER

Also visit their sister site www.theweddingofmydreams.co.uk for some gorgeous table decorations, weddings ideas and all round lovliness.

Making the most out of your wedding flower budget

Choosing your wedding flowers should be one of the most enjoyable elements of your wedding planning as it provides the finishing touches for your big day bringing together themes, ideas, colours and seasonality, all of which make everything personal to you.
Every couple getting married will have a budget that they will be working towards, and however much you are spending on flowers, you will want to make sure that you are able to maximise the money you are allocating towards this area of your day.
Here are a few tips in helping you get beautiful flowers that work within your budget.

Think seasonally
Choosing flowers that are naturally in season, or are grown in the country that you are marrying is not only a cost effective option, but serves as a lasting memory of your day. Whether it be amaryllis and ilex berries in the festive season or peonies in early summer, seeing your flowers growing naturally year on year at the time that you got married will always bring a smile to you face.

Seasonal dahlias set in contemporary glassware: photo credit – Laura Coleman Flowers

Set priorities and remain realistic
Think about what is really, really important. Start with the bride and groom. You will have hundreds of pictures taken on the day, but the stunning photo that will go on the wall will be of you, the happy couple. Getting your flowers right should be a priority, and if there are areas you need to compromise on, try to avoid this being on your bouquets and buttonholes. If you want to have a hand wired tear drop orchid bouquet, go for it, however, if this pushes your budget, think about having complementary seasonal flowers that tie in with your colour scheme for your bridesmaids, table centrepieces and venue decoration.

Reposition things
If you are having a ceremony where a long and low table decoration is used, ask an usher or a good friend to ensure that this is moved to your reception venue where it can be placed on the top table. Alternatively, make good use of your bridal and bridesmaids bouquets by placing them in a vase in front of you on the top table, or if your table is already being decorated, place them on the cake table to give it some extra wow factor.

Long and low arrangement of stunning flowers that will be repositioned to the top table.

Make it personal

Birdcage provided by a bride. Photo credit: Laura Coleman Flowers

I was recently asked by a bride if I would mind incorporating candle holders, butterflies, tea light holders and a birdcage that she had already bought into the floral designs and venue decoration. I really enjoyed working with the items she gave me, and was more than happy to set up the flowers with her on the day.

At my own brothers wedding, my sister in law and I collected lots of vintage tea cups which we used to hold single rose heads at their reception. My mum and grandmother saved jam jars into which we placed small groups of roses, limonium and foliage and the hydrangea that I used in their floral arch was hand picked from my mums garden the day before the wedding.

Vintage tea cups galore! photo credit this one and 2 below: Wendy Richards

Your decorations as gifts
There are many people who will become part of your wedding planning and who will help you out on your day. They do this because they care, and because they want to help. A small personal gift is a kind way to thank them, and giving them something that has been part of your day is a thoughtful and cost effective way to do this. Your floral decoration can be designed so that they can be given to people. At a recent Christmas wedding, we used beautiful poinsettias to decorate the ceremony room. The bride gave these to friends after the wedding as a little gift to say ‘thank you’.

decoration that could be given to guests as gifts. Photo credit: Laura Coleman Flowers

Small details that mean a lot

A brooch bought for the bride. Photo credit:www.raw-photography.co.uk

Your day is just that, yours. Detail needn’t be incredibly expensive, but it can mean a great deal to you. Using a family brooch to finish off your bouquet, incorporating your mums favourite flower, or featuring foliage that sparks that memory of your first walk in the park together can be just as special and create a talking point in the same way as having the latest in floral trends.

About Laura Coleman Flowers

Laura Coleman Flowers is an independent floristry business based in Manchester.
The Company was founded by Laura, who has a lifelong love of colour and flowers, inspired by her Grandmother. Bringing together practical event briefs with this inspiration and delivering with passion is the foundation of Laura’s business. Laura applies her experience and creativity to deliver ‘wow factor’ floral displays at events and wedding bouquets with ‘a bit of the bride in them’.
Originally from the South, Laura moved North and fell in love with Manchester. From a background in events and marketing, Laura set up Laura Coleman Flowers after she won a contract to design and provide all of the medallist bouquets and VIP flowers for the FINA World Swimming Championships 2008.
This encouraged Laura to expand her business within the events market. She has successfully completed contracts for the World Squash, English National Badminton, European Badminton and the UCI World Track Championships, many of which were part of the Manchester World Sport campaign.

For more information got to:
www.lauracolemanflowers.co.uk
www.twitter.com/WeLoveFlowers.
T: 07941 888654.
laura@lauracolemanflowers.co.uk

Firenza Floral Design is a young and dynamic floral design business offering trend setting and beautiful floral designs across Yorkshire, Cheshire and Lancashire (and further afield if required!).
Fiona Pickles owns and runs the business, which was created in 2005. Fiona initially worked with a wedding florist and then trained in London. She came back to Yorkshire in 2005 and set the business up, with no customers and no shop no-one even knew Firenza Floral Design even existed. Fiona’s reputation gradually grew and her work now speaks for itself – Firenza Floral Design is now one of the most highly regarded wedding and event florists across the north of England. Fiona has a team that work with her on the large projects that the business now attracts.
Fiona won a Wedding Industry Award in 2008, beating off stiff competition from florists across Yorkshire, Cheshire and Lancashire. Fiona also demonstrated at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show in 2009

Flower Trends 2010/2011

A massive look for wedding flowers this season is to use a single flower en masse. This creates great dramatic impact; it looks very opulent and also allows very traditional and pretty flowers to be used in a modern setting. Even just a mass of foliage gives a lovely effect – imagine large stone urns filled purely with eucalyptus or candelabra dressed only with ivy.

One way of keeping with this trend, yet still incorporating a selection of flowers is to have different flowers in each table centre. We recently designed a wedding where the bride loved spring flowers and wanted to introduce scent as much as possible, yet wanted to keep the overall look contemporary. We used a different vase for each table and filled each vase with different flowers, including sweet peas, stocks, hydrangea, lilac and ranunculus to name a few.

Another look that has been popular for some time yet still seems to be gaining popularity is the vintage look. Soft and romantic flowers and herbs in muted pastel shades – even better if they are scented. This look is just so romantic it is perfect for weddings and I totally understand why brides continue to choose this look – I absolutely adore it (it allows us to use some of the most beautiful flowers too)!!

You can go the “whole hog” and use birdcages, jugs and cut glass vases to keep it nostalgic or you can make it more contemporary by using sleek glass vases, coloured stones, wire and hanging crystals. Either way the main focus is the beauty of the flowers themselves. Ideal flowers to use for the vintage look include tuberose, hydrangea, large headed roses, peonies (very short season sadly) and any herbs.

photo credit: www.barnabyaldrick.com

If you want to achieve a nostalgic and “aged” look, creams work better than whites and avoid using anything that is too brightly coloured. Alternatively to make it more contemporary you can still opt for cottage garden flowers but use them in bright and unusual colour combinations eg pink, yellow and blue and add wire and lights.

photo credit: www.andrewjohnphotography.co.uk

A huge thanks to Fiona for this article, if you would like any more information about her services please go to:
www.firenzafloraldesign.co.uk
enquiries@firenzafloraldesign.co.uk
01422 835540 / 07921 589234

(A Huge thank you to Fiona at Firenza Floral Design for letting me use this article and pictures)

Arranging an initial consultation

• Check they are available for your date before going any further.

• Meet with two or three florists and give them the same brief, outlining what is important to you and compare the estimates and feedback, to check they understand your requirements. Your florist will play a large part in making your wedding day special, so it is important to choose somebody you get on with and that understands you and your needs.

• Ask the florists you meet how far in advance you should book – many specialist wedding florists only accept one booking a day and can get booked up to two years in advance

• Winter and Autumn weddings can be very popular, so don’t assume because you are getting married outside the “wedding season” that your preferred florist will be available at short notice.

• Some florists charge for consultations – check in advance and find out whether you get this back if you book with them.

• Is there a limit on the amount of times you can meet with your florist?

• If you are unsure about specific flowers/designs, but you are worried that your preferred florist will get booked up discuss whether they would consider you reserving the date in advance (with a deposit) and then finalising details much nearer the time

• Most florists require a deposit to reserve the date, confirm what this is, when it is needed and when final payment is due

• Florist shops can be very busy around peak times (eg Mother’s Day, Christmas and Valentine’s Day) and some won’t take weddings around these times, whereas freelance designers are not necessarily affected in the same way. The wholesale price of flowers always increases at peak times, so do expect to pay more.

• How will your estimate be sent to you – e-mail, letter or phone?

• Are you a “long distance bride” (do you live out of the area of your venue/florist)? If so, is your florist able to work around this (ie could they meet you at the venue when you are visiting, can you communicate by e-mail?)

• Ensure you see examples of previous work – be sceptical if you are just shown magazine cuttings as they may not have done many weddings before. Most florists will have portfolios of other weddings as well as testimonials from previous couples.

Things to discuss
• Colour scheme and overall style and feel of the day. If possible try to create a mood board or scrap book with pictures of designs, styles, colours, swatches, even dislikes asit all helps your florist understand your vision. A good wedding florist will spend a considerable amount of time discussing this before going into any other details, as this dictates every design and display. If there are flowers you want to use, or that you dislike, let your florist know.

• Whilst most good florists advise on colour matches and schemes, don’t be too exacting about colour matches, flowers are natural products and the colours, shape and size can vary from one week to the next. If a slight colour variation will ruin your plans and send you into orbit, it would be better to discuss alternative ways of bringing specific colours into your designs.

• If you see your ideal bouquet in their portfolio, most florists will let you have a copy of the picture/design after you have booked with them, this prevents their design being given to another florist to copy.

• Style and colour of bride and bridesmaid dresses also set dictate styles and colours – will you be able to discuss this at the consultation (will the groom be present)?

photo credit www.pr-weddings.org

• If your florist is not familiar with your church/venue, would they be prepared to view it with you to advise on decoration

• If any displays are being moved and used later – consider who will need to do this

• Do you have a budget and does it relate to the actual designs you want – be careful not to set a random budget based on percentages of overall wedding costs, if you know you are looking for an elaborate floral display. Again, discuss this with your florist and if you need to keep within a certain budget, there is often a degree of flexibility by using different flowers, less flowers and re-using displays where possible – if you feel they are trying to get you to spend more than you want, walk away, however most will suggest ways to spend less.

photo credit www.1clickphotography.com

• Will your florist deliver and set up flowers to all venues – if so you will need to discuss delivery addresses/times (including access to church/venue for decorating in advance if required).

• Are there any delivery or collection charges?

• Will hired items need to be collected by the florist the following day or will they be delivered back to them?

• Some florists may ask where you found their details so make a note if you can, the details can all blend into one after a while!

Thanks to Fiona at Firenza Floral Design for allowing me to use this information.
© 2009 Firenza Floral Design | www.firenzafloraldesign.co.uk |
enquiries@firenzafloraldesign.co.uk Telephone: 01422 835540 / 07921 589234

Photos 1,2,3,4,6,8,9,10,12,13,17,19,20 taken from The Knot 5,7,11,14,15,16,18 taken from Wedding Magazine
Photo credits from left to right, top to bottom:
1) Cake by Joe Kansas City, photo Parigo Studios. 2) Cake by Alexandria Pastry Shop, photo Kate Triano Photography. 3) Cake The Cakery St. Louis, photo Alisha Clark Photography. 4) Cakes Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop Austin, photo Jake Holt Photography. 5 & 18) cake by Planet-Cake. 6) cake by Amy Atlas, photo Belathee Photography. 7) Cake by Purita Hyam. 8 ) Cake by Inticing Creations, photo Jen Good. 9) Cake by Inticing Creations, photo Adeline and Grace. 10) Cake by Perfect Endings, photo Suzy Clement. 11 & 16) Cake by Peggy Porschen cakes. 12) Cake by Defore’s Cake Design, photo Jamie Smith. 13) Cake by Rosie’s Creative Cakes, photo KM photography. 14 & 15) Cake by Fancy Nancy. 17) Cake by The Cupcake Shoppe Bakery, photo Phreckles Photography 19) Cake by Gary Homan & Co, photo Amy De Young. 20) Cake by Matty Cakes Austin, photo Serendipity-Photography.

All images taken from www.theknot.com
Full photo credites from left to right, top to bottom:
1) KMphotography 2) Rachel Priddy 3) Nina Sutherland 4) Shawna Noel Photography 5) Wendy Maclaurin Richardson Photography 6) Christine Edwards Photography 7) Claire Barrett Photography 8 TM Photography 9) Moment Photography 10) Thisbe Grace Photography 11) Wirken Photography 12) Mark Romine Photography 13) Glen Aboh Photography 14) Shannon Cunningham 15)Next Exit Photography 16) Victoria Souza 17)Alea Moore Photography 18) Blaine and Bethany 19)Garrett Nudd Photography 20)Goodlight Photpgraphy