Old Hay Barn - Wedding Fair - 23 March

Currently prepping for this weekend’s wedding fair at the Old Hay Barn in Birtle.

Join us for a glass of fizz, goody bag and tons of wedding inspo!

To book your ticket follow the link. Tickets

Half Way

Half way through the year. Hard to believe, and so many beautiful weddings already. Thought I would post a little snapshot of some of the joy and happiness shared. Special thanks for Jo Bradbury, SMH Photography and Luke Hassell.


2023 here we come!

Big plans…rule the world…best year yet…new year, new you! STOP, I want to get off this nonsense roller coaster already. How about it’s deep winter, I’m hibernating? Personally I want candlelight, calories and calm. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy a little gentle planning. Thinking of warmer days whilst embracing the cosy culture with a good book. Enjoy the quiet time and Happy New Year to you all.

Hellebore



Something Blue

I’m often asked “how can I bring in a little colour to my wedding” and the answer is quite easily. It doesn’t have to be a full on colour saturation and metaparody.

Take a classic white and neutral flower bouquet and add a small element of colour, or keep it white and add artisan plant dyed silk ribbons. Add coloured shoes to peak beneath your dress, and give your photographer the stationery suite and jewellery to capture the memories of the day through a flatlay. Check out the team credits below for more wedding inspiration.

Team credits: photography - @emmapilkingtonphotography dresses - @katebeaumont

hair and make-up - @sarahmortenmakeupartist flowers - @fletcherfoley

shoes - @harrietwildeshoes veils - @daisysheldonembroidery

model - @lucycookx @industrymodels stationery - @lauraelizabethpatrick

jewellery - @idinjewellery

Art of Nature

When Maria at Detail Styling Design contacted me to see if I was interested in collaborating on a shoot set in a renovated barn with exposed stone walls, I was absolutly thrilled.

It’s wonderful working with other creatives and sharing ideas. I wanted to create a neutral and heavily textured visual which meant weeks of foraging on the meadows to collect naturally dried grasses. The shoot also happened to coincide with the start of the Lily of the Valley and lilac season.

An incredibly talented group of creatives came together to create something beautiful, scroll down to see the full list below.

Venue: The Old Hay Barn - Concept, planning and styling: @detail_styling_design
Photography: @jobradburyphotography Florals and Hairpiece: @fletcherfoley Dress Designer @leannemarshallofficial
Jumpsuit Designer @rockthefrockbridal Boutique @rockthefrockcheshire Hair and MUA: @nalaandknot Model: @elfrancesca_
Stationery @soireestationeryuk Signage @signedwithloveweddings Cake @marieantoinettecakes_uk Jewellery: @thevamoose
Silk napkins and runners @willowandribbon Shoes: @charlottemillsshoes Dinner Plates @every__story Glassware and cutlery @whitehouse_crockery Prop Hire @detail_styling_design Furniture @chairmanhireuk Tablecloth @88eventscompany

Elopement Vibes

The last days of lockdown 3. The tulips are popping, spring is in the air, the vibe is ‘hell yeah’ we all just want a bit of fun. Creative juices are running high, and the dream team came together (see all the awesome suppliers at the bottom of this).

Elopement style weddings with just 15 guests are back on the cards, it may be bijou, but they’re certainly not lacking in style and celebration, and these dresses are perfect for the wild at heart.

Fresh Linen

When you think of ‘bohemian’ you might think of an easy going festival wedding, but it can also be beautifully combined with a modern and minimalistic wedding styling. For this editorial, we created a fresh, minimalistic look with a wintery color palette.

Blue, white and the warmth of different shades of apricot form a beautiful combination in the flowers, stationery and a beautifully set table. Dream team details below.

Photography: Emma Pilkington \ Dresses: Jean Jackson CoutureLovers Society & Moonchild Bride \ Jewellry: Alice Gwyneth \ Hair & Makeup: Sarah Morten \ Model: Noor at J’adore Models | Flowers: Fletcher & Foley \ Styling: Want That Invite \ Stationery: Beautifully Lost Studio \ Shoes: Bella Belle Shoes \ Styling Boards: The Styling Kit Co

Neutrals at Ponden Mill

Elder (Sambucus Nigre Black Lace) providing the perfect backdrop against the Haworth stone mill, steeped in history with it’s glorious riverside setting. I’ve said this before, but using neutrals/naturally dried flowers can sometimes give the overall effect of ‘beige’ despite all incredible the textures and forms. For the backdrop, against the creamy stone wall, the Elder would provide a bold and striking contrast. Keeping it seasonal with the dahlias, helychrysum and phlox Crème Brulee.

Porcelain

Whilst putting this post together I was listening to the Fortunately podcast when someone said ‘when women come together great things happen’ . Today’s post is a case in point. A great shoot organised with the very talented photographer Emma Pilkington.

I love nothing more than interpreting a brief, in this case an incredibly soft palette of blues/greys/greens, which were picked out perfectly from the fading hydrangea, mixed with neutrals of thlapsi, miscanthus and grasses with that curling bracken (spotted on my travels). Seven incredibly hard working independents, making magic. Go check them out.

Dresses Shikobabride Make Up Artist Sarah Morton Accessories Liberty in Love

Stationery Laura Elizabeth Patrick Model Izzie Bennett

Far From The Madding Crowd

This Hardy-esque styled shoot set in a Georgian chapel and surrounding countryside was a dream to work on. Early summer is such a joy when it comes to botanical styling. Verbascum and cowslips sit comfortably with scented garden roses and foxgloves. And the must have meadow styled aisle. A crown of coridander mirrors the hedgerows bursting with the froth of cow parsley. You simply can’t help but be inspired by nature.

Stephanie at Wilderness Bride certainly found her botanical inspiration, with her design of the Olive dress a softly tiered design that’s both simple, elegant and beautifully romantic. Lauren and Jen worked their hair and make-up magic creating a soft relaxed style and glow. And I am forever in love with the photography style of Jo Bradbury, perfectly capturing that romantic editorial light and airy look . Visual feast.

Twighlight Bark Ball

This week we had the absolute pleasure of creating a floral installation to promote The Twilight Bark Ball. The ball is being held 28 June 2019 at The Courthouse in Knutsford, the ultimate dog lovers event raising much needed funds for Manchester and Cheshire Dogs Home. One of the auction prizes is this incredible Emma Beaumont Bespoke Dress. Doesn’t your heart just melt looking at those pooches, Eric, Betty, Duke and Arthur? Incredible photography by Jo Bradbury and stunning vintage designer jewellery by Jennifer Gibson.

Press

One handy page where you can follow links to some incredible blogs that we’ve been featured on.

Golden Butterflies

Love My Dress 

Fresh Linen

Dusty Blue



Bronte Boho

Festival Brides

A Trace of Time

Love My Dress

Rustic Wedding

Rock My Wedding

Autumnal Light

Coco Weddings

SOFT TONE TEXTURE

Grey Likes Weddings

Spring Brights

English Wedding Blog

French Blue

Once Wed US Blog

Dark Florals

English Wedding Blog

Wild & Free

Melia Melia

Intimate Parsonage gathering

Ayesha Photography

Rural Farm & Barn

Emilie May

Relaxed vibe Tipi

Fabulous Together

Pastel Pretty

Love my Dress

You're the best thing

So it's kind of Autumn already! And we're all wondering 'how did that happen'. 2018 has been very much lived at breakneck speed. Breakneck and sweaty.  But today I feel there's a pause, a momentary rainy afternoon when I have a chance to upload a few photos from the incredible wedding at Dorfold Hall at the weekend.  

This was the opportunity for me to use a foam free technique I'd seen on the Instagram page #nofloralfoam. A bucket cut down to size with slits added so the foliage can drape, and filled with chicken wire.  Pure genius.  I implore all florists to use it for tall designs.  

And I've been working on editorial shoots with some fabulous creatives. So more of that soon.  In the meantime, enjoy the beauty!

Summer Lovin

I can't believe where this year has gone! 

It's been a crazy rollercoaster, road trips, staying away from home, fighting the heat.  The heat! It's going to be one to remember 2018.

So here's my little summery snapshot.  

Sidetracked

So much going on. I got sidetracked. It was supposed to be a piece about wedding trends. But there's so much going on. And now I'm working myself up because of environmental issues. I'm thinking back to the days when I worried about CFC's, and the amount of packaging in supermarkets, and I'm still worrying about the amount of packaging on everything.

Social media is giving a voice to our concerns, and I'm loving a new Instagram account called @nofloralfoam which is highlighting the use of foam in the floristry industry.  Traditional floral foam is a plastic product containing known cancer causing compounds including phenol and formaldehyde. It is not biodegradable.  So I'm encouraging other florists to think about how and more importantly why they use floral foam.  I also find it strange that colleges continue to teach students to use it.  We need to educate the florists of the future that it simply isn't an option. It's not just colleges, it is used extensively at RHS flower shows, and flower arranging clubs the country over and they see no problem with that.   

When I had my shop a few years back, I chose to wrap my flowers in paper, cellophane was biodegradable and bags were paper, soy based inks and cotton handles.  The packaging looked good, design didn't suffer. This year I'm working on some big weddings, with larger scale installations.  Chicken wire is my friend, moss and jars. Containers that hold water.  I'm going to take some snaps to show you how I'm achieving the designs.   

Don't get me wrong, I'm no saint. I have used foam in the past. Past being the operative word. But from where I stand at this moment in time, with the Chinese ban on UK plastic waste imports posing big challenges for the UK as a whole. I don't want to be part of the problem through lack of thought and education.

On the non-floristry front I'm campaigning like crazy and trying to get people to change the way they operate.  Single use plastic water bottles in schools and running events is on the agenda, glass over plastic milk bottles another. I'm talking with the people that supply my everyday living items to see if we can change how we do things.  If they don't know customers are concerned how can things move on? 

Top tips are you don't need cling film, use a plate over a bowl in the fridge instead, or a damp tea towel if you're baking bread.  Even sanitary products come under scrutiny as towels can contain up to 90% plastic.  Use these guys Natracare.   I bet when you came on here today to read this you were expecting pretty flower pictures.  Never one to disappoint (see below)  It's a bit of a rant isn't it?!  Well if you can't rant on your own journal where can you!

P.S No foam was used in the urn!  Image Jo Bradbury.