Bringing Holly's vision to life...

I recently watched Ricky Gervais's latest stand up on Netflix, who I personally do enjoy and I like his comedic nature of poking fun at life. However, about 5 minutes into his stand up, he pokes fun at London's Flower Arranging School. "I couldn't believe it!" he says and goes onto to suggest it isn't a intellectual subject to study, along with the "Taylor Swift degree". What a comparison ey fellow florists? I can understand why from the outside, it might look like simply just 'arranging flowers', but it's SO. MUCH. MORE.

I've promised myself to write more this year and here seems the perfect opportunity to provide a bit more of a 'behind the scenes' element to the blooms I produce every year for my gorgeous couples. An element people like Ricky Gervais (aka anyone not in the floral industry) probably have no idea about.

Holly and Jonie

I had no idea the thought process that goes behind flowers, in particular for a wedding. Every tiny detail is thought about from flower placement, different textures and smells, ribbon/string material... the list is endless. I personally find the process of building the blooms fascinating. Comparing mood boards in the early days of the wedding prep to the final product and how we got there. It's not something I see a lot of florists sharing and I want to change that. We deserve to be recognised for the amount of thought, care, love and attention we give to our skill. It's a beautiful job we have chosen for ourselves and I feel lucky every day to be a florist.

So, it felt only right to write about my 2022 bride, Holly. She instantly came first to mind when picking my first bride to write about as she was my first "big" wedding.

Holly (and Johnie) had a very specific aesthetic they wanted for their day. Ferns and mixed herbs were a main focus point and a lot of other greenery to follow. Smells were very important to the couple. With Johnie been Italian, I interpreted the use of scent, in particular the herbs, as a nod to his heritage. Alongside hints of typically English scents such as Lavender, combining the both in the bridal bouquet was like the two different countries been united as one. The flowers symbolized the couple coming together as one.

Holly really wanted that "scooped up from a English woodland" vibe, which is very gorgeous but requires a lot of prep to ensure we can get a hold of everything for the big day. This means a wholesale trip with the couple firstly, to pre-order the more "harder to get" items that may not be in season during their wedding date.

This was Holly's main inspiration picture for her bridal bouquet. I circled particular blooms we wanted to incorporate; Chocolate Cosmos, Asparagus foliage, Luxury White Roses, Mixed Berries and of course the combination of the different eucalyptus seen.

Here are the blooms we agreed on from our wholesale trip. We also spotted potted ferns which were later used in the window display. We had a mix of different eucalyptus, herbs and greenery that really helped to bring together the array of smells and textures.

And then from the wholesale trip, I could create several mood boards including Holly's bridal dress, the bridesmaids and the window from the venue we'd be using for a floral display. This really created a sense of security for Holly and Johnie, as they could see that every element for been thought about and considered. I always want the flowers to be the least stressful thing for my couples.

The Final Product

And here you can see, the final product. It all came together so perfectly and it was an absolute dream to see it all fall into place. And no, it definitely wasn't (and never will be) just "arranging flowers".

Venue: The Owen House - Manchester

Photographer: Damien Brandon Photography

Ditsy x