This time last year I had the pleasure of providing wedding flowers for some good friends of mine. It’s always extra special when you personally know the bride and groom, and they had also asked me to be a bride’s maid. It was a gorgeous wedding at The Inn at Whitewell, in The Forest of Bowland. The ceremony was held at St Hubert’s Dunsop Bridge, a few miles from Whitewell. Before the ceremony guests were treated to a string quartet in the church and then afterwards at the reception. Rose buttonholes with ivy leaves were worn by the wedding party. The wedding reception took place in a marquee at the Inn at Whitewell. There are fabulous views from the inn across the river Hodder and parkland beyond.
The bride picked beautiful bottle green dresses for the bridesmaids. After much deliberation (and several mood boards) an autumnal palette was decided on for the flowers. The bridal bouquet was a large informal handtied bouquet. The flowers centred on cherry brandy roses, these stunning roses were featured in all the wedding designs. They have red outer petals and open into a warm orange. Other flowers featured were mango calla lilies, burnt orange freesia, pincushion proteas, orange gerberas and hypericum berries.
A smaller version of the bridal bouquet was carried by the bride’s maids, which looked stunning against the deep green dresses. The flower girl wore an ivory dress with a green sash and carried a gold wand with a single cherry brandy rose. Marquees are perfect blank canvas for any colour scheme, the rich colours of the reception flowers made it feel warm and inviting. The table designs were candle arrangements in baskets using roses, gerberas and freesia. I also used larch branches and red oak leaves to emphasis the autumnal feel.
The bride wanted the cake to be simple and elegant so we scattered some cherry brandy petals around it and on the cake table. It was an elegant three tier design simply iced and decorated with green ribbon and diamante buckles. In the evening the fairy lights covering the ceiling gave the wedding a warm glow which perfectly complemented the candlelight of the table arrangements.
A fabulous weekend was had by everyone who attended. The weather stayed fine all day and the sun even made an appearance for the photos. I wish the bride and groom every happiness in their life together!
