Category Archives: gorgeous weddings and events

A joyful day at Belair House

Elaine Williams Photography

Elaine Williams Photography

It is a lucky day when you are asked to do flowers for a couple who are absolutely lovely and full of joy and excitement about their upcoming nuptials.  Meeting with Denise and Fabian in advance of their wedding and then being a part of their day was a total honour!

Belair House radiator cover with random vases

They wanted simple, unfussy flowers in muted pinks, whites and corals so we used a gorgeous combination of pale pink garden roses, coral dahlias, freesias,  hydrangea, astilbe, veronica and daisy-like feverfew with little flashes of dark claret astrantia.  All arranged in what I call ‘random’ vases.  Although, of course, they’re not random at all!  A bit like ‘barely there makeup’, it’s all thought through carefully and takes more time than you’d think.

Elaine Williams Photography

Elaine Williams Photography

Elaine Williams Photography

Elaine Williams Photography

Elaine Williams Photography

Elaine Williams Photography

Elaine Williams Photography

Elaine Williams Photography

And we made good use of fragrant, abundant foliage to fill spaces without breaking any budgets!

Elaine Williams Photography

Elaine Williams Photography

Elaine Williams photography

Elaine Williams photography

Thank you to Elaine Williams for sharing her absolutely beautiful photos with me. They capture everything about the day subtly and perfectly!

Elaine Williams Photography

Elaine Williams Photography

Venue – Belair House
Photographer – Elaine Williams Photography
Dress – Blush and Ivory

 

 

 

 

A magical wedding fair

Candelabras with ivy antique pink carnations memory lane roses silver leaf tealights

A glorious evening at Belair House’s wedding fair.  Stemgirl went a little bit mad dressing the opulent dining room with an eclectic mix of flowers and foliage to give visitors several stylish ideas for their upcoming weddings.

Springtime table with Tete-a-Tete narcissi, violas, hyacinths

Forsythia, kitsch birds, bouquets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was fabulous to be exhibiting alongside Belair’s other trusted suppliers including spectacular cakes by Blossom and CrumbBeverley Wilson floral design and styling and Craft Music who can organise a fantastic range of musicians for weddings and events. Details of other suppliers and a link to a short film about all of us to follow when Stemgirl gets organised…..

Hanging antique pink carnations

I had fun sewing these antique pink carnations onto fishing wire so that they appear to float in mid-air!

 

Bursting with the joy of Spring

Annie's bouquet

So the birds were chirping, tulips were blooming and woodland bluebells were about to pop – Spring and love were in the air!  Annie and Ben’s wedding marked the beginning of this glorious season when we all throw open our windows, bask in the sunshine and start smiling again.  They wanted flowers that epitomise the zing of Spring and the uplifting sensations it brings  so it was a cacophony of different buds, blossom, fragrance, colour and where traditional wedding floristry rules were disregarded.

Dulwich College was the venue and their ceremony was in the Old Library – a delightful and romantic gem and the DC team as always were a pleasure to work with. Pink cherry blossom and yellow forsythia greeted guests and the background for Annie and Ben’s wedding vows was a mantelpiece bursting with a vibrant collection of glass vases and clusters of ranunculus, delphinium, chamomile, narcissi, snapdragon and astrantia. These were perfect for moving to the after party in the Cricket Pavilion along with masses of tea lights.

Random vases

Random vases Random vases

Annie’s favourite colour is orange and this was woven into her fabulous wedding hair.  Its boldness was tempered by a distinctly unique, feminine and unstructured soft pink bouquet of “Blush” lilac, snapdragon, astrantia and trailing heady jasmine. This was perfect for the tones of her intricate and delicate pale blue dress. An elegant wrist corsage for Catherine, posy for Leah and lilac wands for the little bridesmaids Willow and Naomi all embraced the theme of fragrance and stepped into Spring.

Annie's hair flowers

Annie's bouquet and hair

Annie's bouquetBridesmaid's posyFlower girls with lilac wands

 

The whimsical fun of the male buttonholes which were all different and colourful and enabled a bit of mixing and matching depending on the tie and suit combinations. Ben stipulated buttonholes which didn’t look like buttonholes. So that’s what he got and judging by the photo of Ben and his best man Bradley he was very chuffed.

Unwired buttonholeGroom and best manButtonhole Buttonhole

All great fun for the wedding party and for Stem too! Hurrah for Spring – for longer days, delicious blooms and beautiful trees.  And for flowers that were as creative and eclectic as you could wish for.  Thank you very much to Martin Sheen, whose photographs capture the colours and mood of the day perfectly!

Bridesmaid's posy

Lots of love and congratulations to Annie and Ben!

Style on the Thames

Anh and Tung's wedding at The Trafalgar Greenwich

It’s taken me a little while to write about Anh and Tung’s fabulous wedding at The Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich.  I blame this, in part, on having to choose just a few of the absolutely fantastic photographs taken by Ed Peers!  They capture something really striking about the vibe of the whole day – everything looked so stylish and effortless but this was underpinned by an enormous feeling of warmth and joy from all of the couple’s friends and families.

Akito rose bouquet at The Trafalgar Tavern Greenwich

Anh’s dress was exquisite, white and detailed with thousands of sparkles.  She was very clear from our first meeting that she wanted her flowers to be simply sophisticated and not in competition with the dress so we opted for a hand-tied domed bouquet of white roses.  A couple of months before the wedding, we did a trial run with ‘Avalanche’ roses but they were just too yellowy against her dress.  So, back to the drawing board and after lots of advice from lovely Terry at Zest Flowers, I ordered ‘Polar Star’ specifically for the bouquet……which didn’t come in to the market on the morning I went to buy everything!  So, trying not to panic, I bought some ‘Norma Jean’ roses…still too yellowy 24 hours before the wedding!  Thank goodness I’d bought extra Akito roses which had opened beautifully and were the perfect white to hold next to Anh’s glorious dress!  Disaster averted.  Blood pressure back to normal!

Akito rose bouquet at The Trafalgar Tavern GreenwichAkito rose at The Trafalgar Tavern

I’m not entirely sure what colour one would call Anh’s bridesmaids’ spectacular dresses but their posies of Akito roses and lisianthus looked perfect with them!

Akito rose bouquets

Foliage on the trafalgar tavern staris

The white and green theme was carried through at The Trafalgar. Both Anh and Tung wanted the staircase to be dressed with an abundance of foliage which made the entrance to the upstairs wedding venue really magical. The combination of wild ivy and soft ruscus looks really dramatic in the photos too.Ivy and ruscus foliage garland

Trafalgar Tavern staircase with foliage

Ivy and ruscus foliage garland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made good use of a sumptuous asymmetrical combination of white hydrangeas, ‘Avalanche’ roses, white lisianthus and trailing green amaranthus on the registrar’s table and then on the Top Table during the meal while the round tables for the guests had Stem’s cool glass urns as centrepieces crammed with hydrangeas, roses, lisianthus and foliage.

The Trafalgar Tavern registrars table

Top Table at The Trafalagar

Trafalgar Tavern wedding Greenwich

In other parts of The Trafalgar we had fun with single stems of flowers displayed in ‘random’ glass vases, the table plan adorned with foliage and blooms and what Anh described as ‘an upside-down vase with flowers inside’ which I now realise could be called a bell-jar!
The Trafalgar
Hydrangeas and roses at The trafalgar
the Trafalgar wedding flowers
Flowers and spanish moss at The Trafalgar tavern

I really love working at The Trafalgar Tavern and am really chuffed to be on the recommended suppliers list. The stunning views out over The Thames from the floor to ceiling windows are breath-taking and the rooms themselves transport you back in time with their grandeur! It’s also right at the heart of Greenwich which is such a magnificent part of South London and allows for some pretty special photo opportunities!
Married couple

Putting together the flowers for Anh and Tung was a massive pleasure for Stemgirl and Serge. Love and congratulations to you both!
Wedding at The Trafaglar Greenwich

Total love in Central London

ICA Carlton House Wedding London

Where do I start with Claire and Paul’s wedding? Perhaps I should start at this point – after the event. I feel absolutely, totally and completely honoured to have been a part of the process towards their marriage. From the first email I received, I think I really wanted to ‘do’ their flowers. I met them, talked to them and (I hope) got what made them tick.

ICA Carlton House Terrace Wedding

The flowers were REALLY important to them. At first, I was truly worried about this. Would I ever be able to deliver on the image they had in their heads? They described the wedding they were hoping for (and as an extension, the flowers) as being “relaxed and like us”, “chilled and not like a wedding” and fitting with a contemporary city setting. How would it feel for them (and, OH GOD, for me) if I didn’t do a good enough job?

ICA Carlton House Terrace WeddingICA Carlton House Terrace Wedding

 

 

 

 

 

ICA Carlton House Terrace Wedding

 

Claire and Paul had a strong idea of the look they wanted to create and had done a lot of research about flowers that would fit with their stunning colour scheme. We were going to use whites and ivories with elegant lilacy-greys and flashes of deeper clarets and very dark purples. ‘Memory Lane’ roses were high on the list of flowers Claire wanted to include as well as ‘Schwarzwalder’ calla lilies, ‘Claret’ astrantia and dark red ‘Rosie’ cymbidium orchids. Then we really went to town with show-stopping tall white ‘Highwood’ arums and gladioli with small and delicate ‘Versailles’ freesias, ‘Mariachi White’ eustoma, ‘Avalanche’ roses and ‘Snowflake’ spray roses.

ICA Carlton House Terrace Wedding

ICA Carlton House Terrace Wedding

ICA Carlton House Terrace Wedding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ICA Carlton House Terrace Wedding

We used loads of different vases for the tables and I had great fun finding them and bringinICA Carlton House Terrace Wedding Londong the look togetheICA Carlton House Terrace Wedding Londonr.  No matchy-matchy here!  Some of the vases already reside in Stem’s store but another source of major inspiration was the treasure trove at fabulous Rob van Helden’s prop hire emporium. Hundreds of different cut glass, crystal and silver-leafed vases (as well as the really tall vessels) were all to be found ICA Carlton House Terrace Wedding Londonhere and PICA Carlton House Terrace Wedding Londonatrice and Tom coped admirably with my many visits!  We also littered the tables with all sorts of pressed glass and silver-leafed tealight holders. so that there were twinkling candles everywhere when the guests walked in for the meal.

ICA Carlton House Terrace Wedding London

Gladioli vase ICA Carlton House Terrace wedding London

Arum lily tall vase ICA Carlton House Terrace wedding London

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why was it all so important to them? They had invited people who really, really mattered to them and every bit of their day was focused on telling those people how loved they were and how precious it was to Claire and Paul to have them there witnessing their marriage. Wow! Properly overwhelming, even writing this now, not long after we were all there at the ICA.

ICA Carlton House Terrace Wedding London

The ICA/Carlton House Terrace is a fabulously stylish and intimate place to be. I really enjoyed working with Emelia and her team who made my first job here great fun! I love how the feel of it changes throughout the day – from sophisticated urban Georgian wedding venue to cool and sexy hangout in the evening. The way that gorgeous pinky/purple/red lighting was used completely altered the look of the rooms. And also made the flowers work in a completely different way.  A wonderful venue for a wonderful London wedding.

ICA Carlton House Terrace Wedding London

 

Avalanche rose

ICA Carlton House Terrace Wedding London

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ICA Carlton House Terrace wedding

 

ICA Carlton House wedding london

Thank you very much to Mark Bothwell for the use of all his fabulous photographs.  I think he captured something very special about Paul and Claire and about their day.

ICA Carlton House Terrace Wedding

 Biggest love and congratulations from Stem to Claire and Paul xx

A sunny and joyful wedding for Melanie and Ruairidh

Dan Biggins Photography

When I first met Mel I was really struck by how joyful and relaxed she was in her approach to planning her wedding.  To describe the kind of day she was hoping for, she used words like ‘relaxed’ and ‘happy’ and talked about wanting a welcoming party feel.  She also wanted the rooms at Belair House to feel really summery and fresh with lots of whites and greens while “not looking too weddingish”.

 Dan Biggins Photography

I suggested many different white and pale green flowers so that there would be a real feeling of abundance.  We went with several varieties of hydrangeas, roses and spray roses, freesia, astrantia, alstromeria and eustoma with delicate, daisy-like feverfew and lacy ammi majus.  And then I went bonkers with all the lovely seasonal foliage on offer at GB Foliage at the market as well as fragrant mint and rosemary.

Dan Biggins Photography

Ammi

 

Hydrangeas

 

 

 

 

 

Mel’s bouquet was made up of David Austin “Patience” roses, freesias, hydrangea florets, astrantia, ammi and mint with the stems bound simply with garden twine.  The buttonholes, in honour of Ruairidh’s nationality (the men looked very dashing in their kilts), were made of white eryngium thistles.  And the little flower girls carried posies of ‘Akito’ roses and wore Alice-bands decorated with tiny spray roses and freesias.  All really pretty and delicate and sunny!

 Dan Biggins Photography

Dan Biggins PhotographyFlower girl at Belair House

 

Mel decided she wanted the flowers for the tables displayed in lots of different glass vessels rather than in anything too formal.  So each table had what I call “a random collection of vases and flowers” placed in the centre.  Of course, just like perfecting so called nude make-up, making things look random is actually quite hard work!

Random table centres

top table

The results were gorgeous and I think you can see from all the fabulous photographs by the lovely Dan Biggins, Mel and Ruairidh’s wedding was a really relaxed and happy day, just as they’d hoped for.

 

 

Belair House wedding

You can see many more of Dan’s photos and my flowers on the super-cool A Touch of Modern wedding blog.

A grand affair at Addington Palace

Grand Prix, Amnesia and Piano rose bouquet for Addington Palace

Photo by Kirsten Mavric

Enormous congratulations to Hannah and Alwyn who got married at St Mary’s Church in Hayes and then moved on the the fabulous Addington Palace for the post-nuptial celebrations.  Hannah made really bold choices with the colours she went for and Stemgirl reckons the sumptuous combination of lilacy-grey Amnesia and velvety red Grand Prix and Piano roses are completely fabulous!

Amnesia, Grand Prix and Piano rose bouquet

Photo by Kirsten Mavric

 

 

 

 

Gypsophila pew end Addington Palace

Photo by Kirsten Mavric

Grand prix bridesmaids' bouquets

Photo by Kirsten Mavric

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Addington Palace is one of those venues that really does take your breath away! When I first visited it, I think I uttered a selection of ooohs and aaaahs that made me sound a bit silly after a while.  But it is truly, spectacularly grand!  The tables were laid out under an enormous, ornate chandelier that looks like something out of Versailles so the table centres had to live up to their surroundings.  Stem nailed it with a mixture of tall and short martini glass vases overflowing with vintagey red and lilac roses with splashes of off-white lisianthus and silvery-grey eucalpytus.

Martini glass vase table centre

 

Abundant Top Table decoration featuring Amnesia and Grand Prix roses

Short martini glass vase with Grand Prix and Amnesia roses, white lisianthus, Granada alstromeria and eucalyptusTall and short martini glass vase table centres

 

Sumptous Top Table decoration

A massive thank you to Kirsten Mavric for the use of her fabulous photographs in this blog.

Photo by Kirsten Mavric

Photo by Kirsten Mavric

And thanks, too, to Serge for the ones he took.

Wedding Industry Awards 2015 – do you dig Stem?

So, if you love Stem and we made you gorgeous flowers for your wedding or celebration between 1 November 2013 and 24 October 2014 please say some nice things about us by clicking on this link…..

http://www.the-wedding-industry-awards.co.uk/2015/london-and-south-east/florist/stem-flowers-london

Thank you!

stem flowers is feeling quite breathless…

Breathless ITV Jack Davenport

‘BREATHLESS’

10 October on ITV at 9pm

Stem’s flowers appear throughout this new drama set in 1960s London.  Stemgirl had great fun researching and producing designs that are quite different to the style of things I normally do.  I really appreciated the help from the lovely men at the market (thank you Terry, Eric, David and Dennis!) who gave me their memories of the flowers that were on sale in the early 60s.  And old Pathe newsreels were brilliant too.  I used almost exclusively British flowers and foliage although it was interesting to find out how many varieties were already being imported from abroad.   I was really challenged by, but really enjoyed, the speed at which I had to turn things around.  When I provide flowers for a wedding, I think long and hard about everything.  But on this job I sometimes had only a few hours notice before I had to put together and deliver arrangements.  It was a very buzzy experience and I hope there’ll be more of it!  

Breathless ITV all the ladies

This first series runs for 6 episodes and I know, from the flowers I did, includes a wedding dress shop, a buffet party, a beauty pageant, an affair, a wedding and a funeral!  Quite how all that fits together I’m waiting to see.  The drama revolves around life in a hospital so I am expecting handsome doctors and stylish frocks and, perhaps, some insight into an interesting time in medical politics.  Take a look if you can and let me know what you think……

Breathless ITV cast