Stem Flowers will be getting all flowery next week at South London’s first Gay Wedding Fair. Come and say hello to stemgirl at Beauberry House (in Dulwich) on Monday 8th March from 12-8pm.
south london gay wedding fair 2010
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roses are really red…
February has been a busy and romantic month for Stem Flowers. Hooray for brides who choose the most gorgeous, most sexy red flowers for their weddings during this month! Although the cost of red flowers (in particular) are really a bit silly around the 14th, my brides just went for it and chose rich colours, lots of candles and plenty of seasonal foliage.
We used fabulous ‘Royal Velvet’ and ‘Red Lion’ amaryllis and stunning ‘Majestic Red’ calla lilies. And then, of course, there were the jewel-like ‘Grand Prix’ and ‘Black Baccara’ roses….. Completely spectacular!
properly in print
So stemgirl finds herself quoted in the latest edition of Wedding Flowers Magazine which I’m really pleased about. Especially as it’s in a feature about ‘green’ weddings. Check out pages 50-51 of the February/March issue. One of my quotes is in pink at the centre of the page!
Featuring in a respected publication like this (or other wedding and events magazines) is absolutely fantastic for a business like Stem Flowers. It generates lots of interest from people who happen to read about us and think we sound cool. And then make contact with us. And then ask us to work for them. It is sometimes far more effective than placing adverts which I often find inordinately expensive when one takes into account that they will often generate no interest at all.
How gutting it is, then, to have a lovely quote or two from me in a lovely magazine which lovely people read and NO MENTION of the name of my business or any contact details….AAAARGGHHH!
autumnal abundance
How better to ease oneself into Autumn, but with enormous bunches of English hydrangeas? Each gorgeous bundle combines all the colours of the season – russety reds, jewelly pinks, antique greens and even touches of blue that echo the sky on those crisp, clear sunny days that make this time of year quite fabulous. The market is full of them, they’re great value for money and they not only last well in the vase but dry beautifully too. I like to mix them up and used them here with black-red ‘Black Baccara’ roses and zingy-red ‘Tornado’ alstromeria. To complement the wonderful hydrangeas, I’m also making good use of the magical colours, textures and berries of locally grown foliage which work naturally and fantasically in larger displays. How stemgirl loves this time of year!
a riot of colour
“Apart from the vows, the flowers are the most important part of my day” said my bride when I first met her. No pressure, then! This wedding was a real challenge for me because I knew how vital it was to get things right. Not because Emily had outrageous demands but because getting the colours and textures spot-on were fundamental to making a massive, creative impact. Oh, and the flowers needed to be individual, distinctive and un-weddingy….
I have to say that I absolutely adore the combination of flowers and foliage we decided upon. Magenta dendrobium orchids, intensly blue ‘Volkerfrieden’ delphiniums, deep cerise ‘Milano’ and garnet red ‘Grand Prix’ roses literally popped out of lush green flowering mint and zinging green bupleurum. And the little details of red and pink satin ribbons on the bouquets, or the red pail for the flower girl, just added to the slightly quirky impact of the flowers. Completely gorgeous!
Beauberry House is a very beautiful venue and a fabulous backdrop for gorgeous flowers so the absolute abundance we had really did the job of bringing colour and excitement to every room. A wonderfully riotous and (not so) random selection of vessels and flowers adorned every availabe windowsill, table, mantelpiece and loo with everything coming together in an enormous expolsion of foliage and blooms in a contemporary Entrance Hall pedestal. The two olive trees at the main doors didn’t get away with staying as they were – red and pink ribbons were candy-striped down the trunks and complementary kalanchoe plants were crammed around the bottom of each. A rather exhausting day for stem flowers, I have to say, but there’s nothing so good as knowing that a venue looks fantastic and that the bride and groom love what you’ve done!
loving lush greens
OK, so I swore I wouldn’t bore anyone with unimportant information about what I’m reading or listening to or what I’m going to have for supper. However, my first bowl of this year’s delicious and vivid broad beans reminded me of something I think is simply so uplifting that I want more and more of it! From glossy dark fatsia and berried ivy to emerald trachaelium and fresh green sedum or ‘Green Goddess’ arum lilies. From silvery eucalyptus, through the limes and acids of molucella, shamrock chrysanthemums and bupleurum to vintage ‘Green Shadow’ hydrangeas, abundant use of this colour really is good for the soul.
I’m doing a wedding in September and the bride is going all the way with each table featuring lily vases overflowing with nothing but cinerea eucalyptus. How cool is that? Oh, and I’m listening to Rio (Duran Duran) and reading The Importance of Music to Girls (Lavinia Greenlaw). Just in case you were actually interested….
beauberry house – a winning venue?
A quick update on the Wedding TV Best Wedding Venue awards – Beauberry House is through to the final having been voted South London’s best wedding venue. Nothing to do with my flowers, of course!
it’s amazing what one can do
So, nineteen hours before a very grand wedding at Dulwich College, and on my way to the shed to get some vases, stemgirl trod on a hoe! A three-pronged cultivator to be precise. Through the flip-flop and into the foot. Not good. And all I could think was ‘HELP – I’VE GOT A WEDDING TO DO’! But King’s College Hospital A&E were fantastic and got the message, applied bandages, supplied crutches, gave tetanus. The next day, I was hobbling but back on my feet. Fabulous blue, pink and purple hydrangeas and delphiniums came together to steal the show, especially teamed with antiquey and romantic ‘Pacific Blue’ roses. I don’t think I moaned or looked for sympathy too much but you might have to ask Serge his opinion about that!
fun at the flower market
I spent a busy and really exciting morning at New Covent Garden Market last week for a Summer Wedding Flower extravaganza. There was a smorgasbord of floral designers, demonstrations, music, discussion, networking and excellent bacon sandwiches!
Most exciting of all was the wonderful news that I can now buy fabulously romantic David Austin roses (based near Wolverhampton) and a wonderful array of roses and hedgerow flowers and foliage from Country Roses (near Colchester). Hooray for British flowers! They might be a bit more expensive
per stem but they are so completely gorgeous that I hope my clients will see that they are worth it. I was also really pleased to see that my fantastic wholesalers, GB Foliage, continue to have a really magnificent array of seasonal English foliage for me to choose from. Their stand is like a lush forest of green at the moment.
There were some other fantastic displays to gawp at. Most
striking were the hanging balls of flowers by Moyses Stevens. I think that there should be more space in the world for floral spheres. Rebel Rebel were as cool as ever with (rather handsome) DJs and strawberries hanging delicately from wires and Zita Elze focussed on extremely detailed, intricate garlands for chairs and tables. Strong deep jewel colours continue to be a strong theme (thank goodness) as do block colours and lots of foliage. Bring on those leaves!
Visiting the market is a really vibrant experience, which is why I love taking brides and grooms (in particular) there when they’re choosing their flowers . These seasonal events are a delightful way to spend a morning – and you don’t have to be trade to go. Keep an eye on www.newcoventgardenmarket for the next one…..
could have looked like a football strip….
…..but the ‘Challenge Blue’ hydrangeas, Maroussia roses and variegated hosta leaves made me think of the sky. And the sun did indeed shine down on this wedding from its brilliant blue firmament with white clouds floating about. Lovely.
