Try your hand at making your own wreath. All the materials are provided along with guidance and refreshments. There will be lots of gorgeous seasonal foliages, berries, seed heads and festive materials to use. We will be in the lovely new Carriage Barn at Wadhurst Castle on Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th December starting at 10am and finishing 12.30pm. Booking is required and all for £50 per person. Email info@theflowerhouse.biz to book your place

If you are a group and these dates do not suit, please get in touch to arrange an alternative.

The wedding industry like all other areas of life is becoming more aware of the environment and call it eco friendly, sustainable, green or whatever term you choose, it cannot be ignored. Flowers are no exception as more and more couples are asking where flowers are coming from and the most environmental options possible i.e. seasonal, no pesticides, no plastic, foam free, low carbon foot print. This is where British grown flowers and foliages can tick many of the boxes.

It was good to to hear at the end of this year’s British Flowers Week, now in its 7th year, that British grown flowers now make up 14% of the total UK market. There is still a long way to go given that back in the 1970’s all flowers available in the UK came from British flower farmers. However this is changing and whilst when I first opened a shop in 2005 I struggled to find British and more particularly locally grown flowers, today it has become much easier. There are flower growers popping up all over the country, many of whom are members of Flowers From The Farm, a not-for-profit, co-operative of British cut flower growers with over 500 active members from Cornwall to Inverness.

I am luck to have Orchard Farm Flowers near to me. Zoe grows numerous British flowers starting in April with anemones, ranunculus, wallflowers to name a few going right through to September and October with dahlia’s taking centre stage. Currently the peonies are just coming to an end with the sweet peas in full swing, the stem length is incredible along with the scent.

Zoe like most growers offers flowers to florists and the public who can buy by the bucket getting a mix of what’s available that week or put in a specific order. There will be no plastic packaging, the buckets re-used and no air or road miles! See the antirrhinums below just coming into flower on Orchard Farm

For brides it is always beneficial to visit the grower preferably the year before the wedding to see what will be in flower at the time of the wedding. This can usually be done individually by appointment or by attending scheduled open days or as Zoe does, bridal open evenings which this year are on the 10th July and 11th September. I will be on hand too for any floristry questions and some sample bouquets, table arrangements and buttonholes. It’s not too late to book!

Below are some of the flowers a recent bride had to decorate the venue along with the end result. 

And we did the bridal flowers.

This brings me on to the point that due to the rise in interest of brides wishing to do all or part of their own wedding flowers we now offer DIY Wedding Workshops to give guidance on all aspects of DIY weddings.

So go on give it a try – buy British, buy local!

Jug full of garden grown blooms.

So we are now onto July, another hot one and Laura & Craig had the World Cup to contend with too but they had a lovely wedding at The Plough at Leigh

They had place name flower bottles and used the bridesmaids bouquets as centre pieces too in pretty whites, pinks & greens

Holly & Chris got married at The George in Rye and choose summer pastels in pale blue, pink, & cream. So many lovely photo’s to choose from, to see more go to the photographer’s blog – Joe Kingston

Holly’s summer pastel bouquet

Holly & Chris walk about in Rye

Holly’s lovely vintage style dress and on trend blush bridesmaids dresses

Julia & Ed had a lovely day at Saltcote Place having got married in Playden Church. The  bouquets included calla lilies and the mum’s made the day very personal by growing sweet peas for the tables. Thanks to David Long for the photo’s

The girls in the garden

Emma & Matt had rather a blustery day in August with the ceremony in Battle Church and the reception at  Blackstock Estate The lovely images are by Debbie Sanderson

Emma and girls with vibrant blue hydrangea’s

Amy & Jamie had a coastal inspired theme for their wedding at The Gallivant

Pretty summer vase with peonies for Parya’s wedding at Wadhurst Castle

Katie and Francis married in Rye as Francis’s family have strong connections with the area. Here is a lovely shot of them by Stephen Bunn  having a quiet moment.

And this is one of the pew end jars in St. Mary’s Church which then adorned the mantles at their reception.

They had banquette style tables with foliage garlands in the Ballroom at The George in Rye

Ildiko and Matt got married on a beautiful day at the end of September in Strand House

The flowers looked lovely against Ildiko’s vintage inspired dress and we are so lucky to have a number of local beaches for great photo’s which were taken by  Ap-Art Photography

October soon came round and proved to be another busy month. Sallie & John got married in the Catholic Church in Rye with their reception at The George in Rye The lovely Jacqui McSweeney took some great shots even though the weather wasn’t brilliant!

Pale blue hydrangea’s & delphinium with ivory roses, lisianthus, wax flower & green bell to compliment the powder blue bridesmaids dresses.

Lindsey & James also got married at The George in Rye

Such a lovely moment captured by Jacob and Pauline and look at those stoles, great for an October wedding.

Kiyoko and Craig went very bright with sunflowers taking central stage, Kiyoko even crocheted the buttonholes! Here they are at Swallows Oast taken by Charlotte Razzell

All the girls

And the happy couple again.

I said October was busy, Francois and Alex also chose The George in Rye for their wedding reception with the ceremony in Rye Town Hall, local venues as Alex’s family come from Wittersham. Thanks to Matt Harquail for the photo’s, the odd quirky little shot crept in!

Getting to the Church, (ok Town Hall) on time!

Abby and Chris also went for burgundy and blush for their wedding at The Bell in Ticehurst  I really liked Abby’s embellished blush dress. All photo’s courtesy of Flashback Photography Sussex

Something made Abby giggle.

And the all important walking down the table!

And now for the November weddings. Sophie and Tom were the picture of style and elegance. Debbie Sanderson captured them beautifully as they strolled round Rye.

And how stunning does Sophie look here

And we mustn’t forget her gals!

The table didn’t look bad either! I am a fan of the banquette table which is looking very atmospheric with all those candles. Thanks to  Hire Love, The Timeless Stylist & Wild Rubus for the gold candlesticks and vases.

Our next wedding was a bit further a field,  Morden Hall a National Trust property in South London. Emily and Dom were recommended to us by their photographer Nikki van der Molen  who had worked on a wedding we did last year and here are her lovely images.

All those girls & all those flowers!

A quiet moment

Lisa & Gareth got married even further away in the Cotswolds but they took their flowers with them. Again the lovely rich shades of Autumn, not forgetting the pheasant feathers! Thanks to Katie Rogers for the photo’s.

And with the bridesmaids, it is obviously the year of the stole!

And to the end of the year, December is becoming a very popular month, who couldn’t resist a winter wedding, the light, festive if you wish or just seasonal. Helen and Chris had a touch of both for their wedding at The Gallivant all recorded by Clare Randell

A little blowy and a little rainy but hey it makes for good photo’s

And that festive one

Laura and Anthony had a 1920’s styled wedding and didn’t Laura look great in that beautiful dress and love the children! Thanks to Fay Andre Weddings for the photo’s

Tessa and Jack despite it being December had some great photo’s taken on Camber beach by Pear and Bear Photography

Tess’a lovely winter whites bouquet with anemones, ranunculus, my favourite Majolica spray rose, thistle & wax flower

See what I mean about stoles!

Claire and Joe rounded off the year with their wedding on the 29th December at Strand House – cheers!

And now I am looking forward to this year’s weddings.

Not before time I am doing a brief resume of last years weddings. It was a very busy year and of course an extremely hot one! However we kicked off the year immediately with weddings on the 3rd & 4th January.

Firstly Apolline and Brian’s very relaxed wedding, despite the black tie. The ceremony was in Rye Town Hall with the reception at The George in Rye

Apolline & Brian East Sussex Wedding Photography

Apolline’s lovely wild bouquet

Hannah and Chris chose The Gallivant as their venue and despite the time of year got some great shots on the beach and just look at that dress! Photo by Rebecca Campbell Photography

Hannah & Chris on Camber Sands

February gave me the opportunity to do something a bit different as Nicol wanted to have her native South African national flower, the King Protea.  Jacqui Mcsweeney captured her and Guy beautifully at The George in Rye

Nicol & Guy

Nicol & girls with fantastic king protea bouquets

Looking at the next photo it could have been summer but actually still chilly February. Samantha & Byron in Rye taken by Anneli Marinovich

Samantha & Byron

Late March was quite busy with weddings at Blackstock Country Estate, The Royal Wells Hotel and The George in Rye

We then went full on spring in April firstly with a riot of colour for Alex & Natalie’s wedding at Hadlow Manor taken by Matt Harquail

I loved Jo’s 1950’s dress and this great ‘walk about’ photo by Debbie Sanderson

We included Juliet’s name sake rose in her wedding flowers, here she and Steve are taken by Hollie Carlin at Rye Town Hall

And here are the Juliet roses close up incorporated in the Bride & Groom chair floral decorations

Another coastal wedding at The Gallivant Sarah & Steve went for spring pastels with tulips, muscari, thistle, fever few & foliage which all looked lovely against the royal blue bridesmaids dresses. Photo by Richard Paice

Amelia also went for a 1950’s style dress when she & Neal tied the knot at Hellingly Church. Thanks to Clare Fitzsgerald for the photo

We then went into May and what a contrast in weather; Alex and Warren had a very wet day but love this photo

And here they are in the dry!

3 days later Joanna & Ben had the hottest of days, photo by Livvy Hukins

Kat & James had a lovely relaxed wedding in a tipi with jam jar flowers at Fairoak Farm 

And then it was June, what a scorcher! Rosalind & Adam kicked off on the 3rd June. Here are all the girls in the garden of the house where they got ready in the pretty village of Afriston.

Lovely summery milk churn for Lizzie and Dan at Wadhurst Castle

Harriet and Graham also got married there. Thanks to Christine Wehrmeier for the image

Natasha & Dominic had the most amazing gospel choir at their ceremony in Rye Town Hall, the images courtesy of Lisa Devlin

Natasha’s bouquet was a vibrant mix of coral peonies, Miss Piggy roses, cerise & apricot stocks with lime green alchemilla mollis

And that was the 1st six months of 2108 folks!

As per usual the current year’s weddings over took reviewing the previous one so here is a quick run through of some of the remaining 2017. Whites, blush and foliage were predominant with some splashes of colour in Sophie and Marc’s summer brights, Tina and Tom’s sunflowers, Chloe and Mark’s late summer mix and then there was burgundy for Autumn before returning to winter whites for December.

We were in a number of venues – The George in Rye, The Gallivant at Camber, Strand House in Winchelsea, Swallows Oast in Ticehurst, Wadhurst Castle, Blackstock Barn, Hendall Manor, Otham Court near Polgate, High Billinghurst Farm, Surrey, Royal Wells Hotel, Tunbridge Wells, Battle Abbey School, The Schools at Summerhill, Tonbridge, along with a garden wedding in Mayfield.

Rebecca on her way to a garden ceremony

Sophie & her farther down the aisle

• Katie at Wadhurst Castle

Brilliant shot of Jo and her veil!

Jo and Morgan outside the chapel
Chloe and Mark in a sea of confetti

Collection of bright flower jars for Chloe & Mark’s tables

Tina & Tom’s sunflower wedding at Blackstock Barn

Sam’s autumnal bouquet

Another autumnal wedding, mantle display at The Royal Wells Hotel

Abi & her father

Abi & Adam in Rye

Beautiful winter wonderland shot of Lauren outside The George in rye

Pure elegance, Lauren & Jamie in Rye

Jessica with her maids

Jessica & Mark in the beetle!

Ana & Mike at The George in rye

Ana & all her girls!

Ana & Mike’s beautiful cake by Liz at Sylvia’s Kitchen

And that wedding was on New Year’s Eve so very much the end of the year.

Thanks to the following photographers for their lovely images:

 http://stephenjohnsonphotography.com/

http://nikkivandermolen.com

http://www.fitzgeraldphotographic.co.uk/

http://www.livvy-hukins.co.uk/

https://jmcsweeneyphotography.co.uk/

https://barneywalters.com/

June is always a popular wedding month which is understandable as the weather is warmer, the days longer and gardens in full bloom as can be seen here for Eleanor and Joe’s wedding at Sprivers Mansion in the heart of the Kent country side

The Rose Garden

Marquee nestled amongst the trees

Blush dresses with complimentary roses & peony bouquets

We did it!

Catherine and Chris went for a mix of ‘English Country Garden’ colours with pinks, blues and ivory including roses, spray roses, muscari, peonies, hydrangea, stocks, larkspur and astrantia. Married in Playden Church with a welcoming arch and the reception at The George in Rye with lovely photographs by Amy O’Boyle from Wookie Photography

The Girls

And how cute are these flower girls

The table urns bursting with colour and fragrance

And to round off this wedding – the cake

A total change of colour for Nadine and Dru’s mid month wedding at One Warwick Park in Tunbridge Wells. The flowers included lemon peonies, craspedia, freesia, lisianthus, spray roses, succulents, feverfew and green bell and all shots were taken by Nadine’s brother photographer  Matt Harquail

The bride

The couple

The girls

Flower tea cups on candelabra’s, ideal for the afternoon tea wedding breakfast

Perdy and Nick had a mix of bright flowers for their wedding at Molland Manor House . They got married under the folly decorated with yellow peonies, pink hydrangea’s and roses with the reception in a marquee.

The bridesmaid’s wore different shades of pink so all had slightly different bouquets to compliment.

And you can’t beat a lovely black and white shot

Sarah & Damon 27th May 2107

I just had to share this story as it goes to show you should have the wedding you want rather than what is expected. I first met Sarah and Damon at a wedding fair in April 2016 and we had a meeting at their chosen venue Bodiam Castle in the May. There were plans for Sarah to arrive by boat and Damon to parachute in! Flowers were to adorn the bridge over the moat and of course the usual bridesmaids, buttonholes and table flowers. A quote was sent and approved and as is often the case a lull in communication followed as further details are not required until nearer the wedding.

I do like to keep in touch with couples so in January 2017, the year of the wedding I emailed Sarah to see how their plans were coming along and this is what I received back – ‘We have slight change to arrangements as we got married in Gretna Green’  Well I wasn’t expecting that! Sarah explained they felt the wedding planned had become too far removed from what they really wanted so just decided to go and get hitched. You can see from the photo below that was on the 7th October 2016.

They were still going to have a blessing and reception for friends and family on the original date but more local (St. Leonards on Sea) and low key. The colours and flowers were the same, summer pastels in tones of peachy pink, pale blue and cream with a touch of deeper blue for the maid of honour.

Looks like they had a great time and should be a lesson to all, it’s your day so have the wedding you want and not what other people impose.

Bouquet of hydrangea, stocks, roses, veronica, nigella and delphinium for the bridesmaid.

A proud Damon waiting for Sarah

The girls, dog and camper!

Birdcage table flowers

The cake by Fairy Dust Baker

And we mustn’t forget the special guest!

Lovely shot of Sarah & Damon to end the story.

Thanks to Maria of Ebourne Images for all the lovely photo’s.

Here is a closer look at some of last years weddings. We had weddings every month except February and they were quite varied colour wise. We saw quite a traditional mix of pink and ivory roses with gypsophila for Sophie and Joe’s wedding at Blackstock Estate taken by Clare Fitzgerald

Mrs & Mrs

The bouquet

We then went full on Spring for Emma and Lisa’a nautical themed wedding at The Gallivant. There were tulips, ranunculus and paper whites with veronica, lisianthus and craspedia. They also had a funfair organised by wedding planner Jenny Sinclair of Bellabooandbeau

On their way!

Done!

Celebrating!

Photographs by Marieansonphotography

We then had some very colourful weddings, Louise and James again at The Gallivant with a real vibrant mix of delphinium, achellia, astilbe, alstromeria, thistle, freesia, craspedia, roses, feverfew, green bell and the list goes on!

Bouquets ready to go

And for the boys

Great shot of Louise & James on Camber Sands

Louise & her gals!

Thanks to Debbie Sanderson for those lovely photo’s. We also had the privilege of doing a photoshoot in April with Debbie. A different vibrant mix with guelda rose, Wild Look roses, ranunculus, craspedia and eucalyptus foliages.

Geulda rose was also used in Lynda and Chris’s ‘spring green’ wedding at The Royal Wells Hotel

The bouquet in more detail

The buttonholes

And the cake

Another wedding at The Royal Wells Hotel in May went for blush and ivory with the bride choosing a wrist corsage.

Dahlia’s

Like many others I find it interesting to look at what is predicted to be big in the coming year. Of course we have to start with flowers! Dahlia’s are set to be the new peony and you can see why, they are big and blousy and come in many colours but there are also smaller, dainty varieties.  Cafe au Lait is a real wedding favourite.

Green was Pantone Colour for 2017 but I still believe it will continue to be popular this year with foliages taking centre stage too.

Eucalyptus garlands help to bring the outside in as do the recent trend in ‘glass’ or clear roof marquees. The leads on nicely to the style of flowers, the term ‘woodsy’ is turning up to replace meadowy or rustic. It just means a very natural style with lots of different foliages and textures.

And whilst the over sized bouquet will continue to be on many brides wish list, some may opt for a more simple design to go with the increasing number of smaller weddings, with guests all on one long table making it much more informal. Such gatherings are in pubs, industrial spaces or village halls and some couples are going for more of a family weekend affair.

Metallics will be seen adorning tables but more likely rose gold and copper with geometric shapes like these lanterns and copper flower ‘tins’. Cakes are also reflecting this trend along with marbling.

For bridal wear, separates appear to be popular which will be really useful as you can mix & match! This seems to be the case too for wedding themes as a wedding may be informal and laid back but the groom will be sporting a bow or black tie as was the case with a recent wedding of ours.  The lovely Apolline and Brian coming down from Rye Town Hall captured by Matthew Page

And we cannot forget the influence of this years Pantone colour – ultraviolet!  Hows this for a splash of colour courtesy of stylemepretty.com

So what will you choose?

It’s that time again at the start of a new year when there is a bit of a lull and therefore time to look back over the last year. It was certainly a busy one right up to the end. Blush was certainly popular along with greens and whites.

But it was also refreshing to have the a handful of colourful weddings interspersed. Chloe and Mark’s is a great example, they wanted a festival feel with a riot of colour. Nikki captured the day brilliantly as you can see and more on her website – nikkivandermolen.com/

This is a real vibrant mix for Emma’s bouquet.

Burgundy/wine/masarla, call it what you will popped up quite a lot in autumnal weddings often with blush; anemones, ranunculus and skimmia particularly providing the essential colour:

White anemone’s have to be the flower for our winter weddings and succulents made an appearance on quite a few occasions for buttonholes and in bouquets as can be seen in Nadine’s bouquet photographed by Matt Harquail.

And we cannot forget hanging arrangements, loved doing this ‘plank’ for Jo and Morgan’s wedding back in September as seen here in a marquee by weddingmarqueecompany.co.uk

So that’s a snap shot of our year. I will be returning to individual weddings in more detail in future posts.