Blog: winter wedding
Charlie Charlie

A snowy bleak mid-winter wedding inspired shoot with shepherds hut and a seasonal hedgerow bouquet

Charlie

A snowy bleak mid-winter wedding inspired shoot with shepherds hut and a seasonal hedgerow bouquet // Photography Jennie Hill Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

A snowy bleak mid winter wedding inspired shoot

A few years ago on an incredible snowing January day, a little group of us braved the icy roads in Dorset to put together this beautiful wintry shoot. The shoot was featured on Love My Dress and as such for one reason or another I never got round to featuring it here, on my own blog. So here it is!

Exquisitely captured by Jennie Hill Photography, seasonal winter wedding flowers by The Flower Field, wedding pies by Tricky Treats, a Sabina Motasem wedding dress (plus a vintage one), and shot at Portesham Vineyard. All the extra bits were brought together by myself and Jennie Hill, and our bride and groom were a real couple, Jennie”s brother Nick and girlfriend Kerry.

A snowy bleak mid-winter wedding inspired shoot with shepherds hut and a seasonal hedgerow bouquet // Photography Jennie Hill Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

Logs and blankets for a snowy shepherds hut shoot // Photography Jennie Hill Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

Snowy winter wedding table inspiration // Photography Jennie Hill Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

Natural beauty // Photography Jennie Hill Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

Seasonal winter bouquet with ferns and anemones // Photography Jennie Hill Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

Snowy winter wedding inspiration // Photography Jennie Hill Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

The photoshoot team

Jennie Hill and I first met at the Eco Wedding Fair in Bristol, got chatting and soon realised we had shared ideas about creating a beautiful, natural and seasonal wedding shoot. We wanted to celebrate the bleak mid-winter English countryside in all its seasonal glory, whilst bringing together and showcasing the talents of a small team of British businesses.

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Samantha Samantha

Celebrating the launch of the ‘Grow Your Own Wedding Flowers’ book with a magical bloggers tea at Clifton Nurseries

Samantha

'Grow Your Own Wedding Flowers' book review by The Natural Wedding Company

Grow Your Own Wedding Flowers book launch

A few weeks ago the TNWC team were lucky enough to attend a wonderful afternoon tea to celebrate the launch of Grow Your Own Wedding Flowers by Georgie Newbery, a beautiful, insightful book that does exactly what it says on the tin; cleverly guiding you from start to finish in the whole planning process of growing and styling your own flowers for your big day.

Seasonal winter wedding flowers by Common Farm Flowers // The Natural Wedding Company

Georgie Newbery from Common Farm Flowers // The Natural Wedding Company

Seasonal winter wedding table flowers from Common Farm Flowers // The Natural Wedding Company

The launch took place at the incredible Quince Tree in Clifton Nurseries,  a hidden little gem in the middle of Little Venice, London. Upon entering under an arched canopy, settled among a row of tall white town houses, we were greeted by rows of fairy lit Christmas trees and found ourselves in a secret garden bursting full of flowers and foliage.

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Charlie Charlie

Why you should choose seasonal blooms for your winter wedding – in support of British Flowers Week 2015

Charlie

Why you should choose seasonal blooms for your winter wedding // The Natural Wedding Company

Choose seasonal blooms for your winter wedding

I know that on a warm sunny day like to day it seems a bit mad to be talking about winter wedding flowers, but it’s a topic that I feel quite passionate about. When it comes to weddings held during December, January and February, I think it’s easy to assume that there are no flowers growing in this country, and therefore if you want wedding flowers they’re going to be imported.

I’m here to show you that it’s just not true!

And if you’re planning a spring, summer or autumn wedding, we’ve also written posts about these, just click on those links or the ones at the bottom.

With this selection of seasonal winter bouquets, I hope I can encourage some winter brides to fully embrace a truly British grown wedding when it comes to the flowers. So say no to the red and white roses, and fill your bouquets and arrangements with hellebores, anemones, catkins, narcissi, and more!

As with all naturally grown flowers, there will be seasonal and locality variations, depending on when and where you are getting married. We would always recommend choosing a flower farmer or florist who specialises in British grown flowers, and ask for their advice.

Hellebores and silver foliage

Hellebores and silver foliage buttonhole // The Garden Gate Flower Company // Taylor & Porter Photographs
The Garden Gate Flower Company (photo by Taylor & Porter Photographs)

Rosemary, narcissi and lichen covered twigs

Winter bouquet of rosemary, narcissi and lichen covered twigs // The Flower Field // Jennie Hill Photography
The Flower Field (photo by Jennie Hill Photography)

Hellebores, foliage and narcissi

Winter wedding bouquet of hellebores, foliage and narcissi // The Real Cut Flower Garden
The Real Cut Flower Garden

Berries, paperwhites and anemones

Winter bouquet of berries, paperwhites and anemones // Common Farm Flowers
Common Farm Flowers

Hellebores, ferns and foliage

Green winter wedding bouquet of hellebores, ferns and foliage // Blue Poppy Florist
Blue Poppy Florist

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Samantha Samantha

Emily and George’s intimate winter wedding with literature inspired DIY decor and festive seasonal flowers

Samantha

Emily and George's intimate winter wedding with literature inspired DIY decor and festive seasonal flowers | Photography by entityphotographic.com

Intimate winter wedding with literature inspired decorations

Our last real wedding for 2014, beautifully put together by Samantha…

There is something so magical about this time of year isn’t there? I just love Christmas time and all the festivities that come with it, there is an air of excitement and everything seems to have a glow about it!

It was for just this reason that Emily and George the beautiful couple from today’s real wedding chose to have a winter wedding on the 28th December: “We love the winter, and we really wanted to play to its strengths for our wedding. With long, dark evenings and intimate, cosy family gatherings, there was a lot to work with.”

Emily and George's intimate winter wedding with literature inspired DIY decor and festive seasonal flowers | Photography by entityphotographic.com

We couldn’t agree more, their wedding is so romantic and elegant, with some wonderful inspiration for those couples planning a winter wedding without wanting a bit of tinsel in sight!

There’s a gorgeous bouquet featuring succulents and rosemary sprigs by Jay Archer Floral Designs from our directory, fabulous wedding shoes, and literature inspired DIY decor. Don’t take my word for it though, read on and enjoy a little light relief from all that last minute Christmas wrapping…

Black bridal shoes with white lace | Photography by entityphotographic.com

Winter wedding bouquet with anemones, rosemary and succulents | Flowers by www.jayarcherfloraldesign.com | Photography by entityphotographic.com

Vintage book and ivy winter wedding centrepieces | Photography by entityphotographic.com

Winter wedding rustic wedding cakes with tree trunk cake stand | Photography by entityphotographic.com

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Charlie Charlie

Create your own DIY paper leaf wreath perfect for Christmas decorations and winter weddings

Charlie

DIY paper wreath from Hollyhock Lane

We haven’t had much of a chance to get that Christmassy here at The Natural Wedding Company, but today we have a great DIY project to inspire you all to get into the festive spirit.  The lovely Julie from Hollyhock Lane has put together this ‘how to’ guide on creating a simple wreath made from paper leaves – ideal for hanging in your home or equally nice to be incorporated into a winter wedding.

Over to Julie to tell you how to get crafting…

So it’s that time of year to adorn our houses with pretty ornaments and festive decorations and if you have even the smallest urge to make something, now is as good a time as any to get crafty.

Of course, if you’re getting married, then you probably have even more reasons to get those hands busy, so here’s a tutorial for a wintry wreath which can work as a Christmas decoration, but it’s not so obviously Christmassy that it could also work as an elegant wedding decoration. Think over the front of a church door or, perhaps, adorning a table or the back of an important chair or pew.

Materials Needed

DIY paper wreath materials from Hollyhock Lane

  • Paintbrush
  • Scissors
  • Wreath base, mine was 30cm diameter (or you could make your own by winding together some hazel/willow twigs)
  • Decorative fake berries
  • Craft knife (not pictured)
  • Cardboard cereal pack (not pictured)
  • Super glue / hot glue gun / contact glue
  • Acrylic paint – white and brown (I used raw umber for my brown)

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Charlie Charlie

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

Charlie

Seasonal winter hellebore bridal bouquet

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.

Hellebore and winter garden wedding bouquet

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.

Winter Paperwhite wedding posy

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.

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Charlie Charlie

A wild and wintry Cornish photoshoot with reindeer and timeless vintage styling

Charlie

Reindeer wedding shoot

I am so thrilled to share this photoshoot with you, and what could be lovelier than a bridal shoot featuring a reindeer, some owls, the beautiful windswept Cornish landscape, and a lush woodland?  Oh, and a handful of TNWC recommended wedding suppliers.

Well, in my book, there aren’t many things lovelier, so I was delighted when Sarah Falugo (who also runs Green Photographic) got in touch to see if I would featured this stunning shoot.

Sarah Falugo Photography

Sarah Falugo Photography

Deep burgundy flower crown

There are just so many lovely photos from this shoot that I struggled to narrow it down – so rather than only share a handful I’ve decided to split the shoot into two parts to allow you to enjoy them all.

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Charlie Charlie

Support our British flower growers this year by proudly displaying a seasonal Christmas wreath on your front door

Charlie

Seasonal Christmas wreaths from The Garden Gate Flower Company

I am slowly beginning to admit that Christmas is on the way, what with my recent blog feature on those stunning festive dessert tables and now Christmas wreaths and workshops.

I absolutely love wreaths, I wish that we were more like the States and had wreaths for different seasons and celebrations throughout the year, and not just Christmas – anyone else up for starting this trend?  Perhaps The New Wives Club could get a group of us to make a wreath for each month of 2013 and we could share our pictures?  Am I getting carried away 🙂

The Blue Carrot wreath

A number of the lovely florists and flower farmers listed on the TNWC directory have started to release details of upcoming wreath workshops and how to order their Christmas wreaths online, so I thought to help you all out I’d do a feature to showcase a lot of them all in one place.

Plus, there are a couple of exclusive discounts for TNWC readers below, so don’t miss out on those!

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Charlie Charlie

Rustic festive dessert tables from And The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon for a cosy winter wedding

Charlie

Christmas wedding dessert table

It is increasingly popular at weddings to have a whole table of cakes or desserts rather than a single traditional tiered wedding cake; I had my own with cakes made by our wedding guests, and recently I shared this beautiful new wedding dessert table service from TNWC business And The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon.

Well, Anna and her team from And The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon are back with a festive version, ideal for a winter wedding or Christmas wedding – I was instantly in-love with this dreamy display of cakes, pies, and desserts.  All of them are handmade at their bakery in Manchester and they even come and style the table for you, so it looks this beautiful.

I’m going to be taking inspiration from this for my Christmas celebrations!

Heirloom style winter wedding dessert table

Anna told me a bit more about this festive cake service: “We wanted to take our standard dessert tables and add a festive twist – if you have a winter wedding we can offer a spread that is delicious and decadent in equal measure!  You can treat your friends and family to a range of treats, from delicious mince pies made with our own homemade mincemeat recipe, to the very decadent pear and whiskey tart, or pecan and bourbon brownies.”

Mini wedding pies

Winter wedding desserts

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Charlie Charlie

Eco-friendly birch bark cake toppers and confetti for a woodland wedding

Charlie

Birch bark bird wedding cake topper

One of my Favourite Finds recently is this Etsy shop who are creating these beautiful wedding items from biodegradable birch bark.  There is a wonderful selection of cake toppers (like these cheerful little birds above), cupcake toppers and mini flags, birch bark confetti in the shape of leaves or hearts, and even a cute little ring bearers pillow.

This is the birch bark confetti, which is full compostable making it a great eco-friendly option.  I think it would be particularly nice at an autumn or winter wedding…

Birch bark confetti

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