Just 4 weeks on from our nephew’s wedding in May, our niece was set to get married on 22 June over the summer solstice weekend. Katie and Josh (niece and husband to be) had been gifted a lovely rural field setting in Teffont Evias, Wiltshire (just a bit further West than Stonehenge), by a close friend who owned the country estate in the village.
The last time I had seen the field in February 2019 it was home to a herd of Red Dexter cattle, and it was pouring with rain. ‘Bride and Groom to be’ had a very clear vision of what they wanted, which we talked through in detail on that cold rainy day. Fast forward 4 months, their wedding flowers had grown beautifully, but June itself started wet and cold. Just days before the wedding, with David Austin roses in perfect bloom, a heavy thunderstorm was forecast for us here in Kent. Roses were duly covered with huge tarpaulins to protect the buds and blooms, and thankfully this worked a treat. Come the day of picking, the roses were just right. (Note to self: next year, grow roses under cover!)
Having had the privilege – and we use this word wholeheartedly, because growing, choosing, cutting and styling the flowers for your own family to get married has a VERY special feel to it – of ‘doing the flowers’ for Katie’s brother Peter (our nephew) and his bride Tess just a month before, the feeling for this wedding just as lovely, just as exciting. Very different in style and setting – our June wedding flowers were to adorn a giant tipi in the cow field (cows moved elsewhere for the weekend!) and to make a splash around the field too.
Setting off at 4.30am with a van and car packed with flowers on the summer solstice with our 3 border collies all ready for a family wedding weekend felt quite magical. Especially as we got to drive past Stonehenge on the journey. Sunshine all the way for set up day and wedding day from dawn to dusk, what more could bride and groom (and us!) ask for! Oh, plenty of colourful flowers of course!
Once again, our ‘brief’ was for colourful, seasonal, meadow style flowers to fit their country wedding (I believe the right term is ‘dry hire wedding venue’ in that we start with a completely bare field, and provide everything from scratch to decorate the venue space – a lovely event to be a part of.) Let us take you on a visual journey of the set-
Preparing before departure. The venue was 150 miles from our flower farm here in Kent, so we had to prepare as much as possible in advance and make sure we took everything with us – no popping home for extra flowers or pins for buttonholes! Many years of running large events from our years in London Ad Agencies and latterly in running workshops and retreats means we are well versed in planning for such events. Space in a van is at a premium when you have heaps of greenery to take as well as buckets of flowers, so everything is packed carefully, like a floral jigsaw.
Arrival and set up on site, Friday 7.30am:
Creating a flower altar and ceremony area. In the middle of the field was an old yew tree stump which was to form the natural base for our flower altar. The central altar would have milk churns either side filled with bushy greenery and white flowers, to enclose the space.
Bridal party flowers:
Bride and Groom said they had their dream wedding. And we had a dream time growing, preparing and creating their flowers for the day, with much love.
Flower essences for June. With an abundance of flowers in bloom in June, we have chosen the flowers and essences which have been co created in the month of June. The major part of our work is in connecting people with the wisdom of flowers and nature for them to reconnect with their own essence and innate wisdom. Through our work teaching about the healing language of flowers, through producing our flower essences and growing our flowers, we help people make this connection. Here are just some of our seasonal essences for June (click on the pics for full details and to buy):
