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

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Spring wedding events

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.

Event in a Tent giant tipis

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.

Seasonal summer flowers

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

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Seasonal spring bouquet from The Garden Gate Flower Company

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

Seasonal spring arrangement from The Garden Gate Flower Company

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Learning the art of flower farming – a guest post from our competition winner on the Catkin cut flower workshop

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Seasonal flower arranging

Last week I set off at a very early hour for the Lincolnshire countryside to a place called Doddington Hall where I would spend the day with a group of likeminded ladies learning about cut flowers from Rachel of Catkin Flowers.  On the way I picked up the lovely Dasha Caffrey, wedding photographer and one of the lovely businesses you can find on The Natural Wedding Company directory, who took all these stunning photos.

Rachel from Catkin Flowers

Catkin cut flower workshop

Seasonal flower arrangement

If you are a regular reader of the blog, you might remember that I ran a competition to win a place on this cut flower workshop, and I was thrilled to be joined by the lovely Nik who won the competition and writes a blog called Little House In Town.

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Book a place on the Blooming Green wedding flowers course in Kent

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Blooming Green wedding flowers course

For all of us who want to get ‘stuck in’ with our wedding days, we really are spoilt with fantastic opportunities to learn how to do a multitude of things, from making vintage inspired bridal headpieces to learning how to put together a bouquet.  And even if we decide in the end not to use the skills, they are wonderful fun.

Blooming Green, one of the florists from TNWC directory, is running a course especially for brides wanting to learn how to do some of their wedding flowers.  The course is taking place on Sunday 13th May 2012 at their farm in Kent.  You’ll get to learn how to make a hand-tied bouquet, buttonhole and a stunning, yet simple, table centre, using fresh flowers from their plot.

Seasonal wedding flowers

Run by cousins Jen and Bek, the Blooming Green wedding flowers course is perfect for brides-to-be who have chosen to arrange their own cut flowers for their wedding.  Also included is a delicious lunch using local produce, prepared by Chef Nicci Gurr, who trained with the Roux Brothers.

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Book your place on our cut flower growing and arranging workshop with Catkin Flowers

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Cut flower workshop

Back at the beginning of April I ran a competition in conjunction with Catkin Flowers to win a place on an upcoming (and exclusive to The Natural Wedding Company) cut flower growing and arranging course.  The very lucky Nik won the competition, but for those of you still keen to come there are an additional 8 places now available.

If you’d like to join myself, Nik, and Rachel from Catkin Flowers for a lovely day of learning how you can start your own cut flower garden and how to arrange with homegrown flowers, then read on…

Who’s the workshop for?

Have you ever dreamt of starting your own small cut flower garden?  A little patch where you can pick your own, homegrown flowers to put in bunches around your house?  Have you ever dreamt of learning how to arrange them in pretty bouquets, perhaps to give as gifts to family, or maybe for yours or a friends wedding?

Catkin Flowers cutting garden

If you answered yes to any of those then we’d love you join us on this workshop.  It’s also a great opportunity for readers of The Natural Wedding Company to get together for a fun day with like-minded people – whether you are married, engaged or just a lover of seasonal cut flowers.

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Win a place on our exclusive cut flower growing and arranging workshop with Catkin Flowers – it’s going to be lovely!

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Catkin Flowers cut flower garden workshop

I am so excited to be sharing this competition today – I’ve been working with the lovely Rachel from Catkin Flowers to put together a bespoke cut flower growing and arranging workshop just for my readers.  Whether you’re getting married, recently married or just would love to spend a day learning how to start your own cutting garden and putting together your own arrangements (that you get to take home!) then maybe you’d like to join us.

This fabulous workshop is exclusively for The Natural Wedding Company readers, you’ll learn how to create a hand-tied bouquet and buttonholes, as well as getting some top tips on growing cut flowers.  In a couple of weeks I’m going to have 8 tickets for sale at a special price, but today I have 1 place to be won!  I can’t wait, because I get to go too, so I really hope that I’ll see you there.

Catkin Flowers seasonal wedding bouquet

The workshop is taking place on Wednesday 4th July from 10am – 4pm at Cakin’s HQ at Doddington Hall in Lincolnshire.  It’s about 7 miles from Lincoln Station, so perfect if you’re travelling by train – I can probably pick some people up as I’ll be driving.

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Flower arranging workshop for green brides-to-be using seasonal spring blooms

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A couple of weeks ago my mom and I went on a lovely flower arranging workshop hosted by Jo and Rachel of Green & Gorgeous Flowers.

Not only was it great to meet Jo and Rachel, but we also learnt some fab tips on how to arrange garden grown flowers – perfect as in a week’s time we’ll be doing all the flowers for my wedding.

Green & Gorgeous Flowers is based on a dairy farm in a truly beautiful part of Oxfordshire.  They have a barn where the workshop was held, a smaller studio filled to the brim with vintage crockery, and about 2 and a half acres of flowers.

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A hen party with a green and gorgeous twist – a flower arranging workshop

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Green and Gorgeous recently ran a hen party workshop for a bride who has ordered buckets of flowers to arrange herself for her April wedding.  The bride and her bridesmaids spent a fun and relaxed day creating spring posies, flowers in a tea cup and a corsage.

Spring flowers included anemones, tulips, muscari and scented narcissi – aren’t they gorgeous in those vintage tea cups!  Check out Green and Gorgeous for their ‘Bouquets and Buckets’ service if you’re a bride on a budget.  I’m booked onto one of their flower arranging courses in April with my mom and can’t wait!

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