Its no secret that I am flower obsessed, even before the weddings started I would always fill my home with whatever I could find, often foraged from walks, raided from my mum’s garden or even a couple of bunches from the super market.
Although it feels like this year disappeared in a flash! It was also my busiest and most successful with loads of fun thrown in for good measure.
… Continue readingI get a large proportion of enquiries that start with the comment, “we really love your work but we are not sure what we need or what we can have” Many couples also struggle with knowing what the process is for designing and styling their big day. Well, guess what? Thats ok! and thats my job to guide you through this process and in many cases take the reigns.
I want to just go through the process from start to finish and hopefully help you to understand what to expect from me and your exciting wedding day journey.
From the very first contact, whether that be a message on Instagram, a website enquiry or you have found me on Facebook I will suggest that we have a chat on the phone. Emails and messages are great but you can’t beat a good old chat and you get to know me too. I will extract every bit of information from you! By going through all aspects of the day from ceremony to partying I am able to determine exactly what you need and everything that I can supply for you.
At this point I have already started to put a concept together in my mind, I have usually stalked your venue’s website and Instagram and have a feel of what you are after. Some couples come to me with a very clear idea & vision and some need a bit more help to decide. For me, your venue, your personalities and the time of year that you are getting married are key to making those decisions.
I will ask you about your other suppliers, do you have a cake sorted? What style is it? Have you booked a florist? What flowers have you chosen? If not I can help to create your dream flowers. Are you getting married in a church or at the venue? What does your dress look like? Do you have any special requirements that you wish to add ? All of these factors help me to put a vision together.
After our initial consultation whether in person or on the phone I can usually put a quote together. Sometimes its necessary at that stage to meet you for a venue visit or it can wait until later on, either way its always lovely to meet you in person and walk the venue with you. Once I have written up your quote I will email it to you so you can discuss it and if you are happy you pay a deposit to secure the date. Absolutely nothing is set in stone at this point though, you might be booking me with 18 months to go so if you change your mind from pink flowers to blue I won’t hold you to it! I will ask you to send me lots of pictures and keep sending them to me as and when you see things you love. I love seeing your ideas.
At this stage I will put a Pinterest board together for you, often using lots of the ideas that you have already pinned but refining it and incorporating my ideas. I will keep adding to this at intervals leading up to the day and obviously you can too. The next step can often be quite a way off, if couples have booked me well in advance then you won’t hear from me in a while! Thats not because I don’t want to talk to you but I have to prioritise the weddings that I have coming up and give every wedding my full attention. You can still send me images and messages as and when, I will always respond and its good for me to look back on. I will contact you 6 months before the day to check that everything is still ok and tweak things if needed. One month before I will get in touch so that we can discuss the finer details, flower options and timings of the day. I always create a bespoke seating plan for you so I will need the seating plan details the week before in case of last minute changes.
Depending on your venue I can either start setting up the day before or on the morning of the wedding. I will have already put most details together in terms of stationery, flowers, signage and finishing touches so I will spend the time styling every area to perfection. If you are having any sort of hanging decorations I will start on those first. I then move to the ceremony area, then the welcome area, seating plan, drinks station etc. I ensure that all of the tables are styled within an inch of their lives and you will often find me endlessly tweaking, taking pictures and tweaking some more! During this time I don’t expect to see the couple, this is your time to be pampered and sip bubbles, the last thing you or your maids want to be doing is rushing around, putting things out and getting sweaty! leave that glamorous bit to me! I will often stay until I have seen you in all of your gorgeous glory and after the ceremony if anything needs moving I will be on hand to that. My most favourite part of the day and the most nerve-wracking is grabbing you both after the ceremony to go and see the room or the space together. I want you to be happy and ultimately relived that you picked me!!
At that point I will disappear, leave you to have the best day ever with all of your family and friends and then magically reappear the next morning to take it all away. I do love seeing you both the next day if possible to find out how it all went, we have been lucky enough to have been invited to many after party brunches and breakfasts and we get to hear all the stories!
I am here for you both so that the madness that quite often weddings can cause is lifted from your shoulders. I will design your whole day around you and nothing is too much trouble. Doesn’t that sound like a good plan?
Just why are they so popular? In the last few years Barn weddings have overtaken every other type of venue but what makes them so special and can you only have a certain type of vibe in a barn?
The concept is easy, there are millions of images, anything you can imagine or wish for is on Pinterest and so therefore putting your wedding scheme together is easy right?
Well another year bites the dust and Its really not until you properly look back that you realise exactly what you have achieved, I urged you all in an Instagram post a few weeks ago to write down your successes, yes we have to look at what didn’t work too but I promise you even the smallest victories will make you feel good. I hope you enjoy catching up with my year and again thank you so much for all of your support this year, it means the world.
I am not a huge fan of putting up the Christmas decs too early but as you know I like to make an entrance! So working with Dobbies Garden Centres was an excellent excuse to make the front door lovely and festive.
I wrote this piece last November for A Life Loved blog. Its all still true and I thought some of you might like to have a read about how The Vintage House That Could came about.
But What About Your Pension?
Some of the very first words uttered to me by several people including my parents when I broke the news that I would be leaving my career of 17 years to go it alone.
In a world where it feels like everyone is trying to reduce their belongings and live a minimal life I am here to tell you that I think more is definitely more!
This is one subject that I get asked a lot about when I meet my couples so I thought I would throw some ideas at you. The options are limitless, your budget is not always! I always encourage my couples to think carefully about their favours, not everyone has them but if you want to offer your guests a gift then it needs to be something that they will want and not discard on the table at the end of the night. Even better if it is something that can be taken home and serves as a lovely memory of your special day.
