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Back in February we blogged about the Flowers we supplied for one of the stands at The Designer Wedding Show; The Dairy at Waddesdon Manor. We were delighted then to be asked to create the arrangements for a party last week at Waddesdon, hosted by Lord Rothschild. The Dairy originally housed Waddesdon's prize winning cows but is now the perfect venue for a party or wedding. With a terrace magically positioned next to a beautiful lake, this really is the most perfect place to get married. For last weeks party, which included a drinks reception and formal dinner, blue was the order of the day. We filled the enormous classical urn in the conservatory with hydrangeas, delphiniums, molucella, palms and ivy trails and surounded the base with it's very own garland.
Window sills were dressed with cube vases filled with an assortment of blue flowers including, hydrangeas, anemones and Cornish blue bells.
For a finishing touch we added storm lanterns to give atmosphere as the sun went down on what was a glorious spring day.
It's a wet and windy day out there so we were glad of a short journey to the gorgeous Gore Hotel in Queens Gate, South Kensington for the wedding of Chris and Sara. Chris is one of the director's of lifestyle management company Sincura and, as one of their chosen suppliers we were delighted to be asked to provide flowers for this wedding reception in the Tapestry Room of the hotel. A crisp black and white theme was the order of the day and pure white Calla lilies and black birch twigs suited this city wedding perfectly.
With a lavish display on the fireplace which dominates the room, the scene was set for an intimate dinner.
Following on from our Fawsley Hall blog, whilst there we met the lovely Amanda Lucas, Weddings Supervisor from Sandals who has just sent us this wonderful signed copy of Fantasy Weddings by floral supremo Preston Bailey. Good things do come in the post, not just bills and this gorgeous book is packed with jaw dropping and inspirational ideas which are, as the title says fantasy. Although theatrical in the extreme, elements of Preston's work can be taken and adapted to suit every event. The sky's the limit! Thank you Amanda.
Almost a year to the day, we made a return visit to Fawsley Hall last week, as guest speakers for The Association of Bridal Consultants, who had arranged a wonderful day of networking and presentations at this historic country house in the beautiful Northamptonshire countryside. We recently blogged about the wedding of Isobelle and Steve which took place at Fawsley last year, so it was good to be back at a venue that is now firmly one of our favourites. As ever the whole event was superbly arranged by Amanda Sherlock from the ABC, who works tirelessly to promote professionalism within the wedding industry, so being asked by her to do a presentation was a real pleasure.
Welcomed by the Fawsley Hall team, we were given a history of the house, and it it is hard to believe that little more than 30 years ago the house was a ruin and in danger of being demolished. There was even a tree growing in the roofless Great Hall! We were then given a tour of the house and it's facilities, which includes a new spa opening in April. If you fancy a real treat you can even stay in the room that Queen Elizabeth occupied when she visited in 1575.
After lunch the afternoon was given over to presentations, firstly by Sandals who told us about their wonderful Luxury Included resort holidays and Wedding Moon packages (complete with butler service if you want it!) Then it was our turn to take our audience through "A Year of Flowers". This was our chance to share our knowledge of what flowers are best available in each season with a room full of wedding planners, who are a major part of our business.The afternoon was rounded off with tea, lots of cake and networking with industry professional including wedding planners, Lester Gethings from No.10 Wedding Design & Management, Siobhan Craven Robins and Zoe Lingard, together with make up artist Lina Cameron. Fantastic entertainment was provided by magician Jamie Raven, who made rings disappear and reappear in implausible places and £20 notes turn into £50's!!We must thank everyone at Fawsley for their hospitality and are very jealous of Amanda Sherlock who got to stay the night!
We always look forward to the DWS, and were delighted to be asked to supply flowers for Waddesdon Manor who were exhibiting at the show for the first time. Their stand was in a fantastic position opposite the catwalk, and a fabulous opportunity for us to showcase our work. To complement the wonderful images on the stand, we filled classical urns with magnolia branches and ice cream coloured lisianthus, completed with rings of tactile carpet moss. In this job, we get asked to do all sorts of things, and the moss proved so popular that we returned with a moss skirting board to give a finishing touch to the stand!
Always a popular show, it was great to see some old and new friends, and catch up with all the gossip from the wedding industry! We look forward to the next show in the Autumn.
We are always on the look out for new venues to work at, and this lovely house is practically on our doorstep! We discovered Warren House in Kingston upon Thames when a bride of ours (see Ham and Noodles blog) stayed here the night before her wedding. Set in 4 acres of beautiful landscaped gardens, this Victorian Mansion caters for weddings on an exclusive use basis with 45 bedrooms which is wonderful for a venue so close to Central London. On a lovely sunny afternoon, we were shown around the house by Katherine King, the events co-ordinator, who was extremely welcoming and showed us everything the house has to offer. Warren House will accommodate up to 20 weddings each year and we would certainly recommend you take a look.
On a perfect May morning, our destination was the beautiful Grosvenor Chapel in Mayfair for the wedding of Hannah and Luke. Hannah had chosen a soft vintage palette of palest pink and cream with touches of sage green for this smart town wedding. Following the ceremony, the entire wedding party strolled the short distance to Dartmouth House for the wedding reception which was held in the Long Drawing Room of this grand London mansion.
A lavish urn arrangement at the top of the magnificent staircase was filled with a mass of scented early summer blooms including lilies, roses, stocks and delicate soloman's seal. This set the tone for the table decorations of alternating high and low arrangements.
We returned at midnight to find the bride and groom, who were the last to leave, walking hand in hand into the distance. We think they had a good time!!
