Wow! Professional photos of my flowers are on the wonderful Love My Dress blog after a really fun photo-shoot at Beauberry House. Wedding organiser Andri Benson brought together a group of fabulous South London women who are all in the wedding trade and we rocked the whole day. Pretty vintage flowers, romantic dresses, amazing cakes. And now one very proud stemgirl.
And here are some of the photos I took. Just so you can see the difference between my efforts and what a professional can do!
Hooray for the magical, fragrant narcissi from the Isles of Scilly! Produced by family growers in the open air, there are a huge number of varieties, all with surprisingly different perfumes. They’re normally available from late winter to the end of spring. There were loads at the market this morning – despite the cold and drizzle outside, they made me feel that, finally, spring is on its way.
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…..