Strictly Come in a Collar and Tie!!

Last week we entered the rarified world of gentlemens' clubs and grand London townhouses, for the civil partnership of Sarah and Lisa at the Athenaeum and Chandos House. An intimate rehearsal dinner was held in the Picture Room of the club overlooking Pall Mall and, in order to comply with the club's strict dress code, I had to wear a collar and tie and smart trousers, whilst Victoria had to wear a smart skirt.....very practical when you're a florist!!



To complement the picture room's dark green and burgundy colour scheme, we used flowers in rich autumn hues. Rings of velvety red "grand prix" roses, burgundy dahlias and garden hydrangea surrounded silver candelabra, creating an inviting setting for the evening.



For the ceremony itself, the exquisite Chandos House was the perfect setting. We transferred the flowers from the previous nights event and added an extravagant urn to give that extra Wow factor!

Pronovias

At the Designer Wedding show last week, we were delighted to be asked by internationally renowned bridal wear company Pronovias to supply the flowers for the trunk shows at their London showroom. What a treat to be surrounded by such beautiful wedding gowns...it made Victoria want to get married all over again!!

Taking inspiration from the company's gorgeous new portfolio, we topped sleek black vases with ice creamy coloured mounds of hydrangea - perfect for the sleek interior of the store. They looked good enough to eat!!

Dream Wedding

Once in a while you get a client who says those magic words, "I want flowers everywhere". So we did just that, two weeks ago for the recent wedding of Noor and Alan at the Enstone Manor estate in Oxfordshire. Using 1,300 white roses, casablanca lilies and a palette of gorgeous seasonal flowers and foliages, we filled every room in the house. From the smallest bathroom to the great hall, we created a floral feast for the senses for the three day event. Managed exclusively by Jalapeno Enstone is set in 200 acres of stunning countryside with every facility you could wish for during your stay. Unfortunately we didnt get to see much of this, as we were holed up in the equestrian barn for two days!! However, Jalapeno's director Charles Howard looked after us superbly with bacon croissants and full butler service! (or so it seemed!). Once again, the wedding planner for this event is our fave, Kelly Chandler of The Bespoke Wedding Company who pulled out all the stops as usual for this truly stunning event. This was the second time we have worked with Kelly at Enstone, having previously teamed up at the end of May for a peony packed extravaganza!!

For all those who think floristry is a glamorous profession, try getting up at 3.45am, collecting a van load of flowers from New Covent Garden Market, scoffing a fried egg sandwich, and driving up the M40 in thick fog to arrive in a freezing cold barn! And we hadn't even started work yet! To give you a rough idea, this was the order of play for Day 1: Prepare and arrange vases of flowers for every room in the house (including 11 bedrooms and bathrooms!) before the guests arrive at 2pm. Prepare flowers for the evening dinner party, and begin preparation for the wedding ceremony and reception the following day! Leave, absolutely exhausted and drive down a series of dark country lanes trying to find your hotel!
We loved every minute of it!! Day 2: Leave hotel too early for breakfast and start all over again. Lucky for us, we had the services of the lovely Lester from

No.10 Wedding Design whose skills we couldn't have managed without.

The transformation of the house for the wedding ceremony and reception was magical with yet more roses and lilies filling the great hall. The bride looked stunning in an Elie Saab gown from Pronovias and the whole event was captured by photographer Pippa Mackenzie Our one regret was not being able to stay and join the party!

Purple Passion

Every so often, a bride will be brave and ask for something other than white! On a perfect Indian Summer day in September, we drove down to Eastlands Estate in West Sussex for the wedding of Kate and Andrew in a van full of purple! We were thrilled to work with such a bold colour scheme which turned out to be one of our favourite and most enjoyable jobs this year. In glorious sunshine, the couple were married on the terrace which we decorated with classical urns filled with stunning purple delphinium and hydrangea. Five glamorous bridesmaids carried posies of deepest purple lisianthus, and for the flowergirl, we created a gorgeous pomander of purple hydrangea and cream spray roses with a crystal beaded handle for a touch of baby bling!! The Starlight Suite was transformed for the wedding breakfast with tall flute vases of purple delphinium and silkgrass for dramatic effect.

Ham and Noodles

This wedding literally landed on our doorstep one day when the bride knocked on our door asking us if we had a kettle! A strange request, particularly as she needed hot water to add to her pot noodle! To cut a long story short, the lady in question was working next door to our studio. As her noodles were in soak, we chatted about flowers and it turned out that she was getting married in two weeks time and had not decided on a florist. We quickly convinced her to use us!

The venue was Ham Polo Club near Richmond, Surrey, and to complement the wonderful living grapevine inside the permanent marquee, we used garden hydrangea and antique pink roses for a vintage feel. A further coincidence was that the lovely Lloyd Dobbie a friend of Euphoric, was the photographer, so the bride was in safe hands! If she hadn't decided on noodles for lunch, we would never have got the job!!