Simple Vases - Natural Wrap

Bored of using the same old vase? Looking for a way to add a little rustic touch to your wedding? Wrapping your existing vases with fabric or string, in natural materials like hessian (burlap), linens and cottons is a super quick way to give your tables a country feel.  

You can either cut out a template and glue onto to a cardboard gift box and pop a vase or plastic container inside the box, or glue your fabric directly onto an old straight sided vase.

Would you rather skip the glue? - you could just wrap and secure with string. Stand your vase on your fabric and allow enough fabric all the way around your vase to cover the sides, plus 2 or 3 inches excess. Gather up around the vase, and tie at the neck. 

If you find the string is slipping, you could pop an elastic band over the neck of the vase before you wrap it - this helps avoid slippyness. Also tying on a corner point or just above the neck helps.

Think hessian alone is a bit plain?  Add a band of lace, cotton, wool or ribbon to pretty things up a little. This simple combination works really well, and lightens the rustic fabric.

Another cheap and easy way to DIY your own vases is to wrap them in string. I love brown garden string or twine but you could use wool, yarn, jute, or lovely thick macrame cord.

Knot and leave a long string when you start winding. Once you've built up enough string aim to finish up near your long string and tie firmly in place. Trim the ends and tuck out of sight. Again, if the string is slipping try double sided tape or elastic bands to help things stay in place. 

These are a nice alternative to low wooden container boxes for wedding tables and would work really well for outdoor or woodland decorating schemes. If you're holding your reception in a barn or throwing a posh picnic lunch these natural wrapped vases would be fab. They're just perfect for country bumpkins.

Images: RitzyBee, Elizabeth Anne Designs, Michaels, Apartment Therapy, Style Me Pretty, Justin Marantz, Shelterness

DIY - Petal Confetti Cones

A bit of a different post for me, but I thought I'd share a little idea for all you DIY brides out there.

The notion came to me when we had some hydrangea in the shop that was dropping petals. I tried recutting and dunking but unfortunately this batch had got cold in the chiller before it arrived chez nous and wasn't having any of it. The scattered blue petals looked so sweet, and not being one for waste, I decided to make confetti.  

I am lucky enough to have a good stash of odds and ends of gift wrap and wallpaper remnants from shoots, so I picked some with pretty blue prints - a Sanderson Roman toile and a William Morris pattern. I experimented with a few different sized pieces of paper before settling on using 21 x 25cm, which was deep enough to hold plenty of confetti.

Then starting with a good angle on what would be the front of the cone, so that the back point was a nice height, I rolled the paper in on itself....

...like so. Pinched the end..

And folded it over neatly at the back of the cone, securing with some double sided tape. I attached some more tape to keep the joins at the back in place too. You could use a glue stick if you prefer. 

Then I made another.

And although it felt a bit cruel (as it often does when I cut a long stemmed flower short), I shredded the hydrangea of its petals and filled my cones.  

Make a stack in mixed papers, put them in a basket or zinc bucket with a note asking guests to help themselves. Easy peasy.  

Classic Wedding Flowers - Hydrangea

Hydrangea are a classic choice for wedding flowers. Traditionally these big blooms have been used to stunning effect in garlands, pedestal arrangements and archways, but only fairly recently have they become more popular for the actual bridal bouquet itself.

A mass of heads in one colour can create a domed hand tie with all the little petals lending a soft textured feel to the bouquet. It can be surprising how many you need to get a good shape, and the head size varies tremendously from batch to batch, so if you're ordering them in, allow yourself a few extra stems just in case they come in smaller than expected.

Use them on their own in one single colour or mix different shades. You can even use a single bloom for a very simple bouquet, perhaps for Bridesmaids. Give it a little collar of foliage like variegated Hosta leaves or Aspidistra and finish with satin ribbon.

When combined with other flowers Hydrangea can play a major or minor role. I love how the lime green Hydrangea are used in this bouquet. The greens make the Peonies look really fresh and bright, and the bouquet looks fab against the dark navy dress.

This bouquet is a beautiful mix of country garden flowers with a wild bushy feel. The garden roses, guelder rose, ranunculus and anemone in creams, greens and soft peachy pink shades are perfect for vintage themed weddings and a good match for lace dresses.  

Pretty ice pinks and white are a classic choice for Bridesmaids bouquets. Here stocks, roses, trachelium, lisianthus and waxflower are put together. The hydrangea adds body and shape to the bouquet.

If you want to break up a large expanse, you can also tuck flowers through the hydrangea itself - a technique I demonstrate at my vintage blooms and buttonholes workshop.

So how can you make them work through your theme for the rest of your floral decorations? You could use them tied or arranged in galvanised buckets to decorate your aisle. Or mark alternate rows with potted plants, hang or tie a few heads in jars or zinc buckets on chair backs for informal pew ends. 

I love putting Hydrangea with branches of blossom or twigs for a rustic feel. The large heads sit perfectly on the rim of tall vases, giving seated guests flowers just above eye level and providing visual balance to arrangements of tall twigs.  Blossoms look lovely, but I also love the starkness of thick branches, and the whispyness of contorted willow or hazel.

If you're after a more classic contemporary look try using them in urns, or glass bowls or cubes. They look lush in low containers. With touches of silver to add glamour and sparkle, hydrangea lend an air of sophistication and look very very expensive.

Part of the beauty with Hydrangea is that they come in so many different colours and shades and often on the same flower. There are whites, greens, white and greens, blues, violets, purples (and all shades of the same on one bloom), soft pinks, deep pinks, limes and pinks, warm pinky reds, russet reds, greeny reds...you get the picture!

Such variety means they work with brights and more muted vintage tones. I love the bright blue and cerise pinks in this table arrangement. So fresh and bold.

And by contrast, how soft and subtle are the dusky pinks, blues, violets and mauves used en masse in this silver bowl? They work so well because the rest of the scheme is very restrained, focused on silver accessories, a lavender tablecloth, mauve menu cards and discreet favour boxes tied with pale pink ribbons.

And if you really want to go town, how about these fab hydrangea plant pom poms? Like huge domed hanging baskets, these are gorgeously spectacular. Imagine them hanging from beams in a barn..

Or would a great swathe of hydrangea instead of a table runner take your fancy? Incredibly lavish and opulant, you'll have to agree? A real show-stoppper. I imagine there was quite a substantial budget for this top dollar event.

So there it is, this weeks run through of how to use classic hydrangea in your wedding. Hope I've given you some food for thought. Are Hydrangea on your wishlist for wedding flowers? What ideas have you got for using them? Call me nosy, but I'd love to know!

Oh and tomorrow I have a little DIY using Hydrangea...

Image credits - 1 -Style Me Pretty; 2 - Style Me Pretty; 3 - A Crimson Kiss, 4 - Wedding Chicks; 5- Heart Love Weddings; 6 - Martha Stewart; 7- Anik Designs; 8 - The Knotty Bride; 9 - Style Me Pretty; 10 - Style Me Pretty; 11- unknown; 12 - via Pinterest; 13 - Elizabeth Anne Designs; 14 - Martha Stewart; 15 - Garden of Flowers; 16 - Caplan Miller Events

Simple Vases - Fern-tastic

Thought I'd share a little leafy love for this weeks simple vases. Foliage table centres are perfect for those who aren't keen on flowers (weird I know but there are some out there). Also great if you're allergic to flowers of pollen or want to minimise the discomfort of friends and family who suffer from hayfever.

Green table arrangements can be both classic and modern when pared with crisp white linens, and fresh and informal with natural linens and rustic hessian or burlap.

This week though I wanted to look specifically at ferns. There are so many varieties of ferns available to suit different wedding styles and themes you can't fail to be inspired.

Here a just a few ways you could make them work for you:

Use different types of fern, individually, in a display of mixed glass vases and they become a botanical installation, like a real life version of lovely old botanical drawings. Above, the tints of blue and green glass are really subtly pretty.

These single stems above with their well defined leaves have a really graphic feel too, making them perfect for minimal modern styles.

On mantlepieces, drinks or sweet tables use varying vase heights or raise some up on a custom made ledge, a piece of wood styled with bits of moss or lovely old books.  

Generous amounts of soft bushy ferns create a more abundant display. I love the opulent feel of these gold vases. The contrast between the high gloss and matt textures of the vases lends more drama to this otherwise simple display. The gold runner grounds the display and adds warmth.

If you're considering a natural green palette for your wedding you might want to incorporate vintage brown pharmaceuticals bottles, and other details like wood slices and bell jars to make a feature of pretty foliage leaves and plants. 

This last example is more of a planted arrangement. Use low glass dishes and a mixture of foliage plants, or experiment with oasis foam and different foliage. If you are going to have a go at this, try it out in advance of the big day because not all foliage (or flowers for that matter) like oasis. And do make sure you condition your foliage really well before adding to the wet foam.

So what do you think? Would you forego flowers for foliage? Have you seen any gorgeous green weddings? As ever, would love to hear what you think..

Images from here, here, here, here, & here

Village Fete - Wedding Flowers Ctd

Back in May, I posted about this Village Fete themed wedding. I had taken a few snaps, but they really didn't do the day justice.  After a word in the shell like of decent chap and Brighton based Wedding Photographer Simon Fazackarly, now I too can say I do (I do have some decent photos that is!)

Bride Charlie had set me a challenge with the colours as the Bridesmaids dresses were a tricky coral pink, but pale pinks and cerises were also mixed through other details and decorations in the wedding. 

Avoiding blue toned pinks I sourced the most perfect sherbert pink rose called Miss Piggy to use in the Bride's bouquet, with Hydrangea, Sweet Avalanche, Bouvardia, Ranunculus and Astrantia. 

I used Sweet Avalanche, Hydrangea, Ranunculus and Astrantia in the Bridesmaids, and the Groom wore a Sweet Avalanche buttonhole which worked really well with his bespoke brown suit. 

Flowers were dotted around the venue in jam jars, and the tables were set with a trio of jars, with single colour country style flowers that looked like the could have been picked fresh from the garden. They weren't but a large helping of foliage and herbs from my uncle's garden didn't go amiss.

Friends and family all played their part on the day - The Groom's mother made reams of bunting to string up around the venue, The Bride's brother made a cake stand and seaside stocks, of the fat lady skinny man variety except that this was a bride and groom in a car, and friends and family brought along home made cake, and cup cakes. How great do these french fancies look?

I was lucky enough to be seated next to Simon during dinner (Simon had got on so well with the couple that they invited him to join them for the meal), and after nattering about weddings and blogs, I managed to collar him into taking a few shots of the bouquets.

At some point in the afternoon Simon snuck off with the Happy couple to this sweet little wooded area on the grounds of the village hall. Aren't these shots beautiful?  The couple look gorgeous, so happy, in love and relaxed. Working with a photographer who gets you and understands what you're looking for is really important.  I think you'll agree that Simon captured some special moments, that I'm sure James and Charlie will treasure for ever.