Florence and Johan

Florence and I met for the first time in the early summer when she and her Mum made a trip to Eastbourne to start talking through her ideas. Florence and her Mum both had a keen interest  in flowers and floristry so I was certainly put on the spot with my knowledge and advice! Because of her floristry experience, Florence had a really clear idea of what she did and didn’t like, and it soon became clear I would be designing a beautiful set of arrangements full of seasonal, open blooms. 

The colour palette chosen was quite light, with a focus on apricots, creams and peach. Plenty of herbs and late-summer foliage accompanied the flowers, providing Florence with a truly luscious bouquet packed with interest, texture and scent. 

It was a pleasure to decorate the Loggia area of the ground around Bignor Park, Surrey. Florence and Johan wanted designs that could be moved to reception areas, so we chose low lying meadow arrangements to line the aisle and a beautiful arrangement of Roses and foliage in one of my antique silver Rose bowls. I also created an unusual design to be hung from the Loggia to mark the area for the exchanging of vows. This was moved after the ceremony to be hung on the wall behind Florence and Johan’s seats for the wedding breakfast.

The tables were strewn with flowing lengths of soft Ruscus – such a hardwearing foliage with a really elegant, organic shape, which all adds a sense of consideration and light decoration on the guests’ tables.

Bignor Park is a stunning country house in the Surrey hills. It’s easy to escape to from London and Louise, who is the venue’s wedding co-ordinator extraordinaire, is a wealth of knowledge and help. The house is still occupied by the family so weddings here are kept to a strict number. You really get the feeling that any couple fortunate enough to be married here gets undivided attention and care…it’s a really special place.

Photos by the super talented Frances Sales.