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Charlie

Vintage finds and seasonal spring flowers for an Easter window display from The Garden Gate Flower Company

Charlie

Happy Easter everyone! I was delighted when an email popped into my inbox earlier this week from Becca and Maz at The Garden Gate Flower Company – I’ve come down with a horrid cold this week so it was lovely when they appeared with a wonderful Easter-inspired guest post.

It’s full of beautiful inspiration for wedding styling if you love that combination of seasonal flowers and vintage finds. I’ll hand you over to The Garden Gate Flower Company to tell you about the beautiful Easter window display they created in one of their local vintage and antique shops in Cornwall. Over to Maz…

Easter is here, and we have gone all nostalgic at the Dower House in Lostwithiel. We have just been styling an Easter window in a shop that is filled with vintage lace, jelly moulds, buttons, ribbons and much more!

Becca rediscovered The Downy Duckling (or something like that, it’s a good job she’s got little kids to read it to!).

We made pretty miniature arrangements in vintage cups. Spring flowers like primroses and grape hyacinths are short stemmed so make a good addition to a tea cup.

Charlie

Edible spring flower lollipops with violas and primroses for sweet Easter wedding favours

Charlie

I’ve been meaning to share this idea with you for a while, but what could be more perfect than sharing them now – well, apparently it’s supposed to be the start of spring although the snow across the UK suggests otherwise.

These homemade lollipops each hold a pretty edible spring flower, such as these beautiful primroses, and would make lovely wedding favours for an Easter or spring wedding. These ones were made by our lovely TNWC businesses Forage For.

The tiny violas or violets are just the right size to be kept whole in a lollipop, whereas the larger pansies can have an individual petal carefully removed and used instead. You can find a recipe for the edible flower lollipops at Sprinkle Bakes – I particularly love that you don’t need to buy special lollipop moulds, but can in fact use powdered sugar to create your mould! If you’d rather not add another item to your already lengthy ‘to make’ wedding list, then I’d recommend checking out Eat My Flowers who make them with their homegrown edible flowers – you’ll find them in their shop.

Charlie

A round-up of spring events, workshops and open days from our TNWC businesses – from flower arranging to giant tipis

Charlie

I am currently working on some improvements to the website and blog, which I am really excited about and hope to get ‘live’ soon. I’m hoping one of the those improvements will be a dedicated events pages where you can find out, all in one place, the brilliant events, open days, fairs, and workshops that TNWC businesses are hosting around the country.

In the meantime, with so many coming up in the couple of months I thought I’d do a round-up so you can see if there’s any that take your fancy.

March 2013

Event in a Tent Open Weekend – Cheshire

Event in a Tent Open Weekend on Friday 22nd March 2013 from 3pm – 5pm, Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th March 2013 from 11am – 5pm at Delamere Forest.

“If you want your event to stand out from the crowd then our tipis are just the ticket! Our tipis are known by a couple of names, Giant hats, Katas and stratus or cirrus tents. Whatever the name, we know you will love them! So, if you think the tipis are perfect for your event, get comfy, and have a look around – we’re sure you will love them just as much as we do!”

For full details visit www.event-in-a-tent.co.uk.

Grow Your Own Cut Flowers – Kent

Run by Blooming Green on Saturday 23rd March 2013 from 10am – 3pm at Loddington Farm.

“Learn the tricks of growing a regular supply of organic, long-lasting cut flowers, from sowing to picking to conditioning your stems. Refreshments and delicious lunch using local produce, plus flower goodies to take away.”

Cost: £100. To book a place visit www.bloominggreenflowers.co.uk/events/grow-your-own-cut-flowers-3.

Charlie

Special discounted places for TNWC brides on ‘Grow Your Own Wedding Flowers’ course from Green & Gorgeous

Charlie

There really are some wonderful and exciting courses and workshops popping up at the moment, I must book onto a few more as those that I have done I have loved. TNWC business Green & Gorgeous always have a fabulous programme of courses throughout the year, but have just added to new ones especially for those getting married – and I have a special discount on them just for you!

This summer Green & Gorgeous will be running two special courses, one called ‘Grow You Own Wedding Flowers’ and the other ‘Arrange Your Own Wedding Flowers’. Rachel from Green & Gorgeous told me that it will be a great opportunity “to enjoy the unique and deeply satisfying experience of watching your wedding flowers grow from a few seeds to armfuls of fresh, garden grown blooms.”

Having previously attending a Green & Gorgeous flower course I can definitely recommend them – I went with my mum just before my own wedding and we learnt how to arrange with cut flowers. You can read about my experience here and see the beautiful arrangements we created.

Below is a little more detail on each of the courses, which are being run on multiple dates during April 2013, and then the special TNWC discount.

Charlie

Win the beautiful Zara veil from Minna and take a look at their beautiful new collection of ethical wedding dresses

Charlie

Please note: Minna is now Indiebride London.

*Please note – this competition is now closed 20/03/13

Already this year we have had some great competitions on The Natural Wedding Company, and today’s prize is up there with the most gorgeous.

Finish designed Minna Hepburn has recently launched her 2013 collection of exquisite wedding dresses to her beautiful brand Minna, and to celebrate that launch one lucky TNWC bride will win the Zara veil worth over £100 – read on for full details of how to enter.

The new collection which is called “Love Letter” was inspired by an old petticoat and a love letter found at an antique market, and adds more delicious and affordable wedding dresses in Minna’s ethereal style. All of the dresses are handmade in Minna’s London studio and range from floor sweeping gowns to mid-length dresses from between £360 and £800.

Charlie

A seasonal winter wedding bouquet of garden grown hellebores, succulents, ferns and magnolia buds

Charlie

Angela who runs Petal and Twig, on of our TNWC recommended florists, sent me these photos of a winter bouquet she recently designed. Made completely from garden flowers and foliage it is cleverly constructed on a handmade moss pad with a handle of dogwood.

The bouquet itself contains hellebores, succulents, variegated Euonymous, variegated Box, ferns, Skimmia (both pink and green berried varieties), Mahonia Japonica flower sprays, Spirea, Magnolia twigs and buds, and ivy. I think it’s a really unusual and beautiful example of a winter wedding bouquet that celebrates the season.

Angela also created this posy of Paperwhite Narcissi (one of my favourite winter flowers) from the Channel Islands surrounded by two types of ivy. The green ivy leaves each wrap an individual stem of narcissi to protect their delicate heads and ensure they all face ‘up’. The bouquet is finished with a piece of antique cotton lace, a brown satin ribbon, and vintage pearls.

I am so pleased to be able to share with you these lovely examples of seasonal wedding flowers. If you like these, take a look at this pretty spring bouquet of white tulips and hyacinths or these spring arrangements in vintage teacups.

Charlie

The story of why one couple chose fairtrade wedding rings to celebrate their marriage

Charlie

Sometimes it’s nice to take a step back from wedding planning, from all the lovely details and fun plans for this incredible celebration, and look at the deeper part of marriage. I think an important part of that is choosing where you buy your engagement and wedding rings from – of all the many items you purchase for your wedding, your rings will have one of the biggest environmental costs.

No one likes to be bombarded or overwhelmed with terrible statistics or facts about the environmental costs of something like a wedding ring, often it just makes you feel even more powerless to make a difference, but we can’t ignore that there are some pretty bad facts when it comes to conventional mining.

Charlie

A heavenly seasonal spring wedding bouquet of white tulips and hyacinths

Charlie

Today I have some gorgeous spring arrangements from TNWC recommended florist Campbell’s Flowers based in Sheffield. Owner Tracey sent me pictures of these exquisite arrangements she’s done, all of which would be available during the spring months (just ask your wedding florist or flower grower to check specifics).

I’m not usually a fan of all white bouquets, but these are pretty stunning and have completely won me over to the idea. The bouquet above is a simple but heavenly arrangement of white tulips and white hyacinths. If you’ve ever bought or been given a pot of hyacinths you’ll know the incredible fragrance they give off, so just imagine carrying a bouquet with them in – wow!

Charlie

Treat your mum this Mother’s Day with special offers on seasonal floral courses from The Garden Gate Flower Company

Charlie

It is an exciting time in the world of British cut flowers, so many small growers are coming together to promote seasonal, English blooms and I am delighted to be doing my bit through promoting them for weddings. If you haven’t considered sourcing British grown, in season flowers for your wedding, you must check out the Flowers section on the directory – I promise you won’t be disappointed.

One of our lovely recommended flower farmers – The Garden Gate Flower Company – are offering an exclusive 10% discount to TNWC readers on two of their upcoming floral courses. Having been on a couple of flower arranging courses, and those specifically offered by flower growers, I can highly recommend them as being a lot of fun and full of top tips.

The Garden Gate Flower Company are based in Cornwall on their family-run farm where they grow organically. The 10% discount applies to the following two courses:

A Mother’s Day Workshop – Saturday 9th March 10am – 12.30pm

Charlie

Exclusive 10% discount on eco-chic wedding and party tableware and decorations from Little Cherry

Charlie

Ooh I do love a good offer, and especially those that I can give exclusively to you, my lovely brides-to-be. Today I have a fantastic 10% discount on all orders placed with Little Cherry who have a huge range of biodegradable and compostable tableware, fabric bunting, eco balloons, wild flower seeded gift tags, and much, much more!

If you are planning a festival inspired wedding with a casual meal, or perhaps a beautiful picnic for your guests, then Little Cherry’s palm leaf or natural bamboo tableware would be ideal.

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