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Charlie

A boho picnic wedding shoot on a lake inspired by English picnics and wildflowers with a barefoot bride in a crochet wedding dress

Charlie

I’m quite sure if you’re a regular reader you will remember this magical fairytale woodland wedding shoot from Austria sent to us by the lovely Stephanie of Mademoiselle Fee – well we have another beautiful shoot to share from her today.

A boho picnic wedding with a barefoot bride

Set on a weather worn wooden dock over an Austrian lake, this English picnic and wildflower inspired shoot brings you just the right amount of down-to-earth boho wedding inspiration.

From a barefoot bride in a 1970s-esque crochet wedding dress to the understated (and therefore perfect in my books) tea party, what I love most about the shoots created by Mademoiselle Fee and her team is the genuine, heartfelt love and emotions that emanate from the pictures. Yes, the detailings are beautiful, but it’s the tenderness that is captured, woven in with the pretty details, that make her shoots truly special.

A homage to English picnics and wildflowers

The inspiration from the shoot came from both the lake itself and a flower crown, from one of our own dear friends, Amy Swann. Stephanie told me:

“I love this place at the lake, so do all our friends, and when I saw Amy Swann’s flower crown, I immediately had this picture in my mind of a relaxed couple lying on the deck. Some years ago, when I was engaged, I found The Natural Wedding Company and have been following your inspiring blog posts ever since. This shoot is a homage to English picnics and wildflowers, to bunting and homemade cakes. I love this outdoor way of enjoying life and nature.”

Charlie

What impact will the unusual weather have on your seasonal wedding flowers?

Charlie

If you are a bride-to-be visiting our blog, it is highly likely that you adore seasonal, British grown flowers, just like us. Every year the weather fluctuates, but I still feel slightly anxious by the variations in the seasons and the impact that will have on locally grown blooms.

Perhaps as a bride-to-be this is something you have concerns about, especially after this long and unseasonably warm winter, followed by the recent cold snap with hail and snow across various parts of the country. And yet as I write this, today we have eaten lunch in the garden and have hats and flip flops on it’s so warm!

“I always worry about the weather…well I’m obsessed by it, but sure enough, the flowers defy nature and arrive at just the right time” – Helen, Bouquets and Butterflies.

Dreaming of a church filled with cow parsley

Every year as we enter spring, my mother likes to reflect on the weather in relation to the cow parsley and whether it would have been out for our wedding date of 21st May (I chose May because I love the cow parsley lined lanes of my childhood home in the Cotswolds). Now let me explain, despite getting married 5 years ago, my mum still contemplates this detail every year – I can quite imagine it continuing for many years to come!

I dreamed of a cow parsley filled church in which to get married, and this is what we got (phew). However, in the run up to our wedding there were lots of nervous moments – was the cow parsley going to be out or was it going to be over? So ever since, even as early at March, my mum starts to comment on the weather and it’s impact on the cow parsley’s development in their part of the country. Luckily I don’t have to worry about the status of the cow parsley, but I know there are many of you who will have similar anxieties.

“I think that Mother Nature throws us curveballs now and again, and that it’s how we [florists] deal with what we have that sets us apart” – Sarah, Floribunda Rose.

Charlie

Lizzy and Graeme’s country fete inspired Cheshire wedding with vintage ice cream van and cottage garden flowers

Charlie

To describe this wedding at a country fete inspired wedding is really to do it a disservice, because it is so much more than just that. The bride, Lizzy, told me that her photographers “truly captured the happiness and love felt”, a wish that I imagine most of us have for our wedding day. Lizzy has put into words so many of those feelings we have in the lead up to our wedding day, so if you are a bride-to-be then I encourage you to stop a while and read as well as soak up all the pretty details.

For an overview of this beautiful wedding this slideshow put together by photographers Bohemian Weddings gives you a little of the magic these two shared on their wedding day, and includes lots of extras captures. A lovely alternative to a wedding film, and I get all teary watching it despite not knowing these two…

As a quick aside, you might also notice that we’ve changed up the format of our real weddings a bit, we have crafted a new questionnaire for our couples which we hope gives them more freedom to tell us the story of their wedding in their own words. For this reason I imagine that the appearance of these features will change from wedding to wedding, but I’m sure you’ll agree that it will truly allow the stories to shine through.

Lizzy + Graeme, July 2015

So many of the real weddings I share have extra special meaning to me, and today’s wedding is no exception. I was contacted by Lizzy after her wedding photographer cancelled just 8 weeks before her wedding, asking if I could help. After I emailed all of the wonderful wedding photographers in our directory, Lizzy received over a dozen replies, and from those she fell in love with one couple – Michael and Andrea of Bohemian Weddings. I understand the four of them really connected and I am just so delighted to be now sharing Lizzy and Graeme’s wedding with you. Over to Lizzy…

Charlie

Wreaths throughout the seasons: learn how to create a January moss wreath with seasonal winter flowers

Charlie

I am delighted to be kicking off a brand new feature series on the blog this week on seasonal wreaths – I’m calling it wreaths throughout the seasons. Back in my teens I spent a couple of years living in America and it seemed that every season or holiday celebration houses would be decorated with wreaths. I have often thought it sad that we don’t do this more in the UK, and I found out my friend Alice at Lock Cottage Flowers shares my thoughts on this.

So we’ve decided to do something about it – Alice is going to be creating some lovely wreaths of all kinds to take us through the different seasons and holiday celebrations, and I’m going to be showcasing them here to inspire you on the blog. I even want to set myself a personal challenge to decorate my front door at least in some way to fit in with Alice’s posts, so watch this space.

Alice has even set up a hashtag on Instagram #11monthsofwreaths where seasonal wreaths can be posted that fit with our project guidelines below. We’ll be posting all of the wreaths shown here to that hashtag and hopefully more wreath makers will tag theirs as well – please join in.

Valentine’s – I’m sure many of you are well aware that this coming weekend is Valentine’s Day, so this week Alice has created a series of seasonal spring wreaths that are fit for Valentine’s Day or to bring a little cheer to your home this damp spring.

So over to Alice for more details…

Wreaths are not just for Christmas

Wreath making is my favourite form of floristry and one of the oldest so I think it’s a shame to just do Christmas wreaths and the occasional memorial wreath. Fortunately, a lot of brides order flower crowns (a type of wreath) or I’d go bananas waiting until December to be allowed to make them.

My rules for this project are:

No floral foam
Only British flowers and foliage used
Wreaths must be seasonal
Christmas wreaths will be excluded from this project

The first instalment that I’ll be sharing this week covers late winter and early spring:

How to make a hellebore moss winter wreath

Charlie

Why you should choose seasonal wedding flowers – in support of British Flowers Week 2015

Charlie

Seasonal wedding flowers in support of British flowers

When I first started out with my business there was only really one or two people growing flowers for weddings in the UK. Now 8 years on and there are flower farmer florists all over the country, I imagine in every county, in varying degrees of growing their own to supporting British growers. That is just SO incredibly exciting, especially if you a bride-to-be.

As it’s British Flowers Week I wanted to do a mini showcase of how you can have British flowers for your wedding all year round, it’s just about embracing seasonality and celebrating the wonderful blooms being grown in this country. So coming up over the rest of the week will be a post dedicated to each season (links below) and a snapshot of the kinds of beautiful seasonal British flowers you could choose for your wedding.

As a long time supporter I wanted to dig through my archives and share some of the great posts we’ve previously featured that are full of seasonal flower inspiration and ideas.

And don’t forget to go and treat yourself to a bunch of British grown seasonal blooms this week in celebration of British Flowers Week – and download a copy of this seasonal chart of British flowers and foliages.

Seasonal blooms for weddings all year round

Be sure to check out all the posts in this series for lots of inspiration and ideas for your wedding:

Seasonal blooms for your spring wedding

Seasonal blooms for your summer wedding

Seasonal blooms for your autumn wedding

Seasonal blooms for your winter wedding

Charlie

In celebration of British Flowers Week: if there’s one thing you do this week, choose British blooms for your wedding

Charlie

This week it’s all about British Flowers Week, a “week-long celebration of the wealth and variety of the Best of British cut flowers and foliage.” At The Natural Wedding Company we have been passionate about supporting British flower farmers since we started out in 2007, and seven years later we feel no different.

If you’re a bride-to-be or family/friend helping with wedding plans and you haven’t yet booked your wedding florist, this week commit to choosing British grown flowers. It’s that simple. And there is so much choice and so many inspiring florists out there dreaming up the most incredible arrangements.

Today we are here to give you a round-up of how we can help you to find that perfect British flower farmer or florist. I’m often told that The Natural Wedding Company directory helps brides to match the perfect suppliers for their wedding day: “All enquiries I get from your website are just my perfect customers – they share the same taste for natural and wild things floral”.

Coming up later in the week we will have a celebratory feature on British grown sweet peas and how you can incorporate them into your summer wedding – think lots of beautiful ideas for bouquets and arrangements.

Choose British blooms for your wedding

We have over 60 flower farmers and florists listed on the directory – and in order to show you all in one place what you can expect we’ve put together collages to showcase all of those businesses…

Lauren

Beautiful handmade floaty dresses for little maids inspired by an English apple orchard from Damselfly Flower Girls

Lauren

We’ve got something pretty lovely to share with you all today. Whether you’re dreaming of a flock of petal-scattering mini maids (a la Kate Moss), have an extra special little lady in your life who will be waltzing down the aisle by your side, or you simply need cheering up, then you’ve come to the right place.

TNWC business Damselfly Flower Girls is run by creative mother/daughter team Faith and Naomi, who create gorgeous eco-chic flower girl dresses designed to complement your bridal gown.

As well as some beautiful pictures from their recent photoshoot, they’ve kindly sent us a super cute video – a sneak peak behind the scenes – that might just make your day, and bring to life how pretty these dresses are.

But first, over to Faith to tell you about how the gorgeous shoot location helped to inspire the design of the dresses…

An inspirational setting

The venue for the shoot was Walcott Hall in Shropshire, a truly special place that fits perfectly with the Damselfly aesthetic. The owners are talented curators of gorgeous things and have created an elegant but homely atmosphere that is grand but not over done.

We loved the faded chintz sofas, the ancient silk carpet hanging on the wall with its pattern worn by centuries of dancing feet, and the open fires that we lit to keep our models warm. We had the early 19th century ballroom to ourselves for the day and were in our element.

Charlie

Harriet and Paul’s homemade, eco-friendly wedding on a community farm with a dried flower headdress and barn dancing

Charlie

Eco-friendly wedding on a community farm

One of the best parts of my job is when an email pops into my inbox from a bride who has been inspired by ideas they’ve found here on my blog, and used some of the wonderful suppliers we feature in our directory.

Today’s bride, Harriet, sent me one such email shortly after I had my baby last autumn. She described her wedding to me and I fell in love with her commitment to creating her wedding with love, making many things by hand, and doing so all on a budget. It was so nice to hear she was inspired by my blog, and now I hope by sharing her wedding here you too can be inspired by her.

Over to Harriet…

Harriet and Paul got married on the last day of August at Riverbourne Community Farm in Salisbury, in a wedding full of handmade details and surrounded by their loved ones.

“We wanted a homemade, eco-friendly wedding. We didn’t have a huge budget as we were both students so I handmade most things and sourced lots of car boot sales, charity shops and recycled lots from friend’s weddings (such as bunting).

Charlie

Tamara and Ed’s elegant country wedding in Dorset on a friend’s farm with buckets of sunflowers and live music

Charlie

Elegant country wedding

It’s been all about farm receptions in recent real weddings, and today’s beautiful wedding is another stunning example of a simple but elegant way to hold a party in a barn. Tamara and Ed’s wedding was sent to me by their photographers Louise and Teo, who run Taylor & Porter Photographs, one of our recommended suppliers on the directory, who only use film cameras and do so capturing exquisite images.

Over to Tamara to share their wedding day with you…

Tamara and Ed got married on the last day of August, one what looks like an incredibly bright sunny day in the Dorset countryside. “We got married at Powerstock Church in Dorset. I wanted it here because my mother and father were married there.”

Charlie

Nik and Chris’ chilled out rustic coastal farm wedding with woodland ceremony, chickens and countryside flowers

Charlie

Rustic coastal farm wedding

In the past few years of running my business I have been lucky enough to meet and make some lovely friends, many of whom I know will be lifelong friends. I met Nik, today’s bride, two years ago, when she won a place on a cut flower course via the blog and we spent a day together learning how to grow and arrange homegrown flowers.

Since then I’ve followed Nik’s adventures as she has moved to Wales and set up her own business, and last summer when I was heavily pregnant I saw her again when we holidayed in Cardigan. It is an absolute pleasure to share Nik and Chris’ wedding with you all, it is utterly beautiful but completely down-to-earth and full of love and laughter – which seems to me a true reflection of this sweet and kind couple.

Nik and Chris got married last July on the farm where they live in Wales, with a beautiful outdoor ceremony, champagne on the beach, and a chilled out barn reception. If you are having any wobbles about staying true to yourselves when planning your wedding, or whether it’s possible to have a beautiful wedding on a budget, then this is the wedding for you.

By now, if you’re a regular blog reader you’ll have also probably recognised Nik as she was one of our TNWC Real Brides – you can read all about her wedding planning and handmade details here.

This wedding was captured by Pete Cranston, who is one of our recommended photographers on the directory. Do pop back to the blog tomorrow as I have Nik and Chris’ wedding video to share, which brings to life their wedding day

Over to Nik to…