With the wedding season about to get underway, leading floral designer Elizabeth Marsh talks through the dos and don’ts of floral décor – and why the best wedding flowers start with knowing who you are
Done well, floral décor is one of the most memorable aspects of any wedding day. This will be your first official expression of yourselves as a couple, which might be daunting for some, so the flowers need to express who you are. Remember that whatever you do, they’ll be someone who will find something they don’t like about your flowers – that is the way of weddings – so make sure that ‘someone’ isn’t you.
Most men I know claim not to have opinions about flowers until they find themselves faced with an array of possible designs. Suddenly their ideas start to emerge, and they surprise themselves by how much they actually care about how the day will look. Generally they prefer conceptual designs over pretty colours and textures – the exception to this rule being those from English Upper classes, who tend to prefer armfuls of gorgeous blooms arranged in an understated but opulent way.
I remember one particular groom, having discussed the idea of a dramatic vase with live black goldfish swimming around beneath a halo of breathy gyp and delphinium, getting very animated by the prospect and thumping his fist on the table as he double-checked: “So we are having the fish for our table then, right?”
It is important that both your views are represented and that the groom does not feel excluded from the decision-making process. If managed well, the process of choosing the flowers can be one of unification, reinforcing the bond between the couple, and can lead to genuinely unique decorations that express aspects of both your personalities. Whether you choose plump pink peonies arranged with roses, flowering dill and soft silvery foliage or the more structured impact of colourful arum lilies, wild branches or simply dancing delphiniums, it all starts with knowing who you are.
Last year we worked with a couple who were getting married at Syon Park, near London. They were a creative pair, working in the catering world, and had some ideas about how the overall effect should look but were looking for help and inspiration on how to bring their ideas to life. We decided to use a cascade of flowers ‘melting’ through gilded birch trees bedecked with shimmering crystals strung from fine satin ribbon. The result was elegant, understated and avant-garde.
Another wedding, in a crumbling ruin with marquee attached on the Isle of Wight, was set to the theme of ‘autumnal decadence’. The bride was a photographer and keen to be dramatic and creative so instead of the usual autumnal colours, we chose cream, gold, brown, orange, burgundy and black, with touches of lilac as the colour palette. We brought in artisanal peaches from France, golden plums, blackberries and myriad fruit, including black wine grapes to reflect the groom’s love of wine, and created a unique design for each table. The guests loved the quirkiness of the designs and enjoyed eating the centrepieces at the end of the meal!
This might seem overwhelming to the average bride and groom who might not feel quite so adventurous, so this is where the florist comes in. She or he should be able to guide you towards expressing who you are – and if that is not a highly creative, dramatic type then, great – you are who you are. Just the other day, a bride-to-be asked me, “So which is the least ostentatious design of the two? I don’t want to stand out.” For someone who would rather not be the centre of attention, dramatic flowers that people might question would only make her feel nervous. And on the biggest day of your life, nothing is more important than feeling comfortable and relaxed.
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