Take a look at the September/October issue of Wedding Flowers Magazine and you’ll see some of our gorgeous flowers. Hooray!
As the photoshoot took place at the very beginning of the summer, I made full use of the fabulous English flowers and foliage – Sarah Bernhardt peonies and Sweet Williams from John Austins and sorbus from GB Foliage. The rambling rose was foraged in West Norwood!
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!
If you’re thinking pretty and vintage I think the delicious colours of this delicate rose are absolutely fantastic in a bouquet or table centre. I’ve used them here with ‘Akito’ roses, ‘Jana’ spray roses and wonderful, wonderful ‘Roma’ astrantia so the bright pink just pops here and there. However, ‘Mimi Eden’ looks really beautiful when used on its own. Recently, little posies for flower girls looked very cute.
On the down side, the petals are really delicate so I am very picky about the bunches I buy as there’s often already evidence of bruising at the market. And they are not cheap! But worth it, I reckon.
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 don’t think I have to say anything, really. How absolutely perfect are these nerines? They’re in season now and are completely magical! The bright pink ones above were used for all the bridesmaids (and buttonholes too) and the fantastic combination of white cymbidium orchids and nerines below was for Emma’s gorgeous bridal bouquet.
Hooray! Have a look at Stem’s gorgeous flowers featured in the October/November issue of Cosmopolitan Bride.
Stem provided the flowers for Jude and Dave’s fabulous wedding at The Swan at the Globe in London (p.46-48). More photos of their day will follow as soon as this very proud stemgirl gets back into the world of the organised blogger!
As I think I’ve said before, features in magazines or on other blogs and websites are the kind of publicity we just can’t buy. I know I’m not an expert at the whole publicity thing but I am increasingly underwhelmed by the effectiveness of paid-for advertising. That is, I don’t think it’s worth the cash. I suspect our clients are most interested in recommendations and information about Stem from people who know what they’re talking about (i.e. other brides and grooms) rather than glossy ads that tell you nothing real about us. That’s not a hint about recommending us, by the way. Really not….
In fact, it was bucketing down with rain for alot of Easter Saturday but Stem Flowers brought the gorgeous fragrance and uplifting colour of Spring inside with (English) sun-yellow narcissi, purpley-blue hyacinths, and old-lady’s-p0wder-puff-pink lisianthus.
Vases filled with Tete-a-Tete narcissi and yellow pansies not only made a simple but beautiful mantelpiece display but also provided plantable gifts for the guests to take home.
The White Room at Beauberry House was filled with prettiness and had the whimsical feel of Miss Marple’s local tea-room!
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!
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!
