Blog: wreath
Charlie Charlie

Wild Celtic wedding inspiration for a winter solstice celebration

Charlie

Wild bouquet - Celtic wedding inspiration // Emma Stoner Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

It’s been a little quiet on the blog, we’ll have more details to share on that soon. But today we are delighted to be sharing with you this very special Celtic wedding inspiration shoot from TNWC photographer Emma Stoner.

I love the wild and natural styling from Emma Stoner and The Prop Factory. It is earthy and organic, with the most beautiful natural colour palette that reflects the surroundings. For any couples who are looking for Celtic wedding inspiration, this is a truly beautiful styled shoot to give you lots of ideas. These Celtic wedding ideas are subtle, refined, and elegant.

Over to Emma Stoner to tell us more…

Celtic wedding dress - Celtic wedding inspiration // Emma Stoner Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

Winter wedding table - Celtic wedding inspiration // Emma Stoner Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

Wild Celtic wedding inspiration // Emma Stoner Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

Wild beach wedding hair - Celtic wedding inspiration // Emma Stoner Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

Wild bouquet with feathers - Celtic wedding inspiration // Emma Stoner Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

Cornish picnic wedding - Celtic wedding inspiration // Emma Stoner Photography // The Natural Wedding Company

Read more

Charlie Charlie

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

Charlie

Seasonal spring arrangement with helebores and ranunculus // The Real Cut Flower Garden // The Natural Wedding Company

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.

Bucket of British grown narcissi // Organic Blooms // The Natural Wedding Company

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.

April spring flowers // Forage For // The Natural Wedding Company

Read more

Charlie Charlie

Wreaths throughout the seasons: learn how to make these spring hedgerow inspired wedding table wreaths

Charlie

Spring hedgerow table wreaths // Flowers by Lock Cottage Flowers // The Natural Wedding Company

I am delighted to be back today with Alice from Lock Cottage Flowers with a how to guide for making a spring hedgerow table wreath. Not only are would these wreaths be a great little project to decorate your table for a party, but Alice has also shown how you can dress them up a little more to make them the perfect wedding centrepieces.

Spring hedgerow table wreath centrepiece with pots of lavender // Flowers by Lock Cottage Flowers // The Natural Wedding Company

I don’t know about you, but spring is one of my favourite times of the year, especially for flowers, and these wreaths remind me of the steep Devon hedgerows of my childhood in March/April just exploding with green and all those exquisite wildflowers.

This wreath how to is part of a wonderful series Alice has put together for us, called Wreaths Throughout The Seasons, which provides inspiration and guides for incorporating wreaths into your home or wedding throughout the year, not just at Christmas.

You can find all her posts by clicking on Wreaths Throughout The Seasons or find the individual features below:

How to make a living winter viola table wreath

How to make a seasonal Valentine’s wreath

How to create a hellebore moss winter wreath

Now, over to Alice…

How to make a spring hedgerow table wreath

Hello everyone, this spring instalment of wreaths through the seasons will cover tabletop wreaths that I recently created for a spring wedding. Similar to the winter wreath that I did, these spring wreaths are a combination of small bedding plants swaddled in moss and cut flowers in floral tubes.

Spring hedgerow table wreaths // Flowers by Lock Cottage Flowers // The Natural Wedding Company

Read more

Charlie Charlie

Wreaths throughout the seasons: learn how to make a living winter viola table wreath

Charlie

Learn how to make a winter viola and ivy table wreath // Lock Cottage Flowers // The Natural Wedding Company

Well what a week it’s been full of wreath idea – and nothing Christmassy in sight. Alice from Lock Cottage Flowers has shown us how to create a January moss wreath, seasonal Valentine’s wreaths, and today she’ll be showing us how to make a table wreath with potted violas and ivy. If you’d like to see all the posts in this feature series then you’ll find them here at Wreaths Throughout The Seasons.

I’ve really loved her use of living plants in her wreaths, and creating living centrepieces is something we’ve previously shared on the blog. I would love to see more weddings using them in creative ways, and as these ideas show they would work beautifully for a woodland inspired wedding or an eco-chic city wedding perhaps.

Over to Alice…

How to make a winter viola and ivy table wreath

Learn how to make a winter viola and ivy table wreath // Lock Cottage Flowers // The Natural Wedding Company

Read more

Charlie Charlie

Wreaths throughout the seasons: learn how to make a seasonal heart-shaped wreath for Valentine’s Day

Charlie

Wild twiggy heart wreath with berries for Valentine's Day // By Lock Cottage Flowers // The Natural Wedding Company

Today it’s all about creating seasonal Valentine’s wreaths – I particularly love Alice’s wild and twiggy heart with its bright red berries. These could be used to decorate your door this weekend or the smaller heart wreath would make a great DIY project for a wedding.

In case you missed it, on Monday we shared how to create a hellebore moss winter wreath as part of a new blog series called Wreaths Throughout The Seasons with our friend Alice from Lock Cottage Flowers. We’re hoping to inspire you to start putting up seasonal wreaths on your front door or in your home at times other than just Christmas.

Over to Alice…

How to make a seasonal Valentine’s wreath

This first Valentine’s wreath is made from British parvifolia (small leafed eucalyptus – smells divine) and dried lavender which isn’t too visible here, but is very fragrant. These smaller wreaths are terrific for hanging on a small space in the kitchen, or hanging on a doorknob. For weddings they make terrific chairbacks.

I used heavy duty garden wire – the kind used for wall training roses – a coat hanger could be taken apart and used as well. Don’t worry if the heart is slightly wonky – this is preferable.

Learn how to make a heart-shaped eucalyptus and lavender wreath // By Lock Cottage Flowers // The Natural Wedding Company

Read more

Charlie Charlie

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

Charlie

Learn how to create a January moss wreath with seasonal winter flowers // Flowers by Lock Cottage Flowers // The Natural Wedding Company

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:

  1. No floral foam
  2. Only British flowers and foliage used
  3. Wreaths must be seasonal
  4. 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 

Learn how to create a January moss wreath with seasonal winter flowers // Flowers by Lock Cottage Flowers // The Natural Wedding Company

Read more

Charlie Charlie

A pretty pink and green spring flower wreath from Fletcher and Foley

Charlie

Pink and green floral wreath

It snowed here last night – not very much, but still a sprinkling!  Despite that, this morning I wanted to share a little glimpse of spring with this pretty pink and green floral wreath from Fletcher and Foley.  When I spotted it I was instantly dreaming up all kinds of wedding uses for it.

It would make a gorgeous table decoration, just as it is, sitting on a table with a pale church candle at its centre.  Hung from a door it would be a beautiful way to welcome your guests to your wedding ceremony or reception venue.  And a slimmer version would make a glorious flower crown for a bride or bridesmaid don’t you think?

I got in touch with Joanne from Fletcher and Foley to find out what the different flowers and foliage are that she used to create this beauty.  Joanne told me, “the flowers in it are pink and white striped tulips, cerise ranunculus, ‘Amnesia’ roses, pink anemones, hyacinth pips, astrantia, waxflower buds with ming fern foliage and grape vine twine.”

If you love the current trend for flower crowns and floral hair wreaths, then do check out my flower crown Pinterest board where you’ll find a huge collection of my favourites.

Image: Fletcher and Foley

Read more

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!

Read more

Charlie Charlie

Make your own natural spring wreath by finding inspiration in the hedgerows

Charlie

spring hawthorn wreath

Regular readers will know that on Sunday it was the TNWC 5th birthday party, which was held at my house with 11 lovely guests – all readers of the website and blog.  I made a number of items for the party, which I hope to share with you, but to start with I wanted to share this natural hedgerow wreath I created.  All the photos are taken on my phone so nothing fancy!

My hedgerow wreath was created using hawthorn cuttings, mostly green ones, but I managed to find a few with the pretty white blossom already out.  Before I go any further I must say I wouldn’t recommend you to use hawthorn, even though it is so beautiful and so seasonal at the moment.  Why?  Because it droops incredibly quickly – more on that below.

Read more

Charlie Charlie

Seasonal wedding wreaths with apples, ivy and berries

Charlie

November seems to have well and truly arrived today, with everywhere damp and chilly, and trees bare with their leaves around their roots.  Something jolly is in order I think, to bring a little cheer to this weekend – and what better than a gorgeous autumn inspired wreath with apples, berries and pine cones, and ivy woven throughout.

This pretty seasonal wreath above is made by JW Blooms, one of the lovely florists listed on the directory.  If you are planning an autumnal wedding and want to reflect the season in the way you decorate, why not incorporate some natural wreaths – they would look stunning hanging on the heavy old doors to a church, or perhaps the entrance to a rustic barn.  Smaller versions could be tied to the back of the bride and grooms chairs with a loop of ribbon, or even placed on tables with flickering candles in the middle.

And if you’re not getting married you can still get one of these beautiful wreaths (the apple wreath is the ‘Somerset’ for your front door – they come in three other designs including ‘Festive’, ‘Nordic’, and ‘Traditional’.

Read more