VE Flowers design used in a photoshoot by Phil Barnes Photography

Last week Norwich-based photographer Phil Barnes did a post-wedding portrait shoot at Unwind Bar & Grill in Trowse. I designed a Spring tulip bouquet for the shoot, tied with vintage ribbon and a buttonhole that also featured vintage ribbon. I love the rich colours of the tulips: The pink and purple perfectly complement each other.

I really enjoyed the evening. The bride and groom looked stunning and Phil got some great shots. The photos that feature the flowers are shown below. Phil's website and blog links are:
http://www.philbarnesphotography.co.uk/
http://www.philbarnesphotography.blogspot.com/

Valentines day decorations

Feeling inspired by Valentines day, here are a few homemade decorations I made for our home.

Making a pussy willow heart was surprisingly tricky. I had to make a heart-shaped frame and tie the willow to it to retain the shape. I have also included a photo of a short stem of pussy willow that I took using a small Panasonic Lumix in my sitting room - much easier than a really big, heavy SLR and lens set-up.

I found these great heart-shaped stones on the beach at Cley over the winter. I painted them using white acrylic paint.

These hearts are made from dried rose buds and are lightly perfumed. I have placed one of them by the stairs and you can smell it every time you pass by it.

Jade rose bouquet

When looking at flower options for Laura & Jon's wedding I ordered 'Jade' roses which I have not used before. They were quite unusual. In the bud form they were very much a green colour but with brown sepals that I decided to cut off as they detracted from the flower. I brought some stems inside to open out more but they changed in appearance from a green rose to more of a yellow-green rose. I didn't use them for Laura's bouquet but inside used the leftover flowers to create the bouquet below. You can see the contrast between the bud form and open form on the right hand side of the photo.
 
In addition to the Jade roses, I used a few Avalanche & Akito roses, Molucella and 'kermit' green  crysanthemums.

The bouquet was photographed by Brian Egan Photography www.brianegan.co.uk.

Laura & Jon's wedding, Elms Barns, 22nd January

A really good friend asked if I could do her flowers for a winter wedding at Elms Barns http://www.elmsbarnweddings.co.uk/on the border of Norfolk & Suffolk. The venue take care of the barn decorations leaving me to concentrate on the bouquets and buttonholes.

Laura and Jon had chosen a white and green theme for the wedding flowers, and were keen to include twigs in the designs to reflect the time of the year. Laura wished for different tones and textures in the bouquets but to also keep them quite simple. It was a great opportunity to be creative and choose different yet complementary flowers to fit in with the scheme. Jess the bridesmaid was 7 months pregnant so her bouquet was bigger than a normal bridesmaid's.

Thanks to Brian Egan Photography for the photos www.brianegan.co.uk.

Laura's bouquet

Corsage of Crysanthemum, Molucella & Chincherinchee

The bridesmaid's bouqet (left) and Laura's bouquet (right)

Bouquet of Avalanche, Akito & Jade roses, Molucella, Chincherinchee, Contorted willow & Ruscus

Bouquet of Avalanche & Akito roses, Veronica, Eucalyptus, Rosemary & Contorted willow

The bouquets were finished with ribbon to match Laura's dress

Buttonhole of Avalanche rose, Chincherinchee & Ruscus

'Happisburgh' table arrangement

Using the same varieties of rose and freesia as the 'Happisburgh' bouquet (see previous blog entry), this arrangement could form the centre piece on the guests' tables for a wedding breakfast or be used to decorate the home.

The arrangement also comprises skimmia, rosemary and three extra large crysanthemums.

'Happisburgh' bouquet

When I was working with the red roses and white freesias, the colours reminded me of the prominent lighthouse in the small Norfolk village, Happisburgh.

Happisburgh lighthouse is the oldest working light in East Anglia, and is painted white with three red bands.You can see a picture of it at http://www.happisburgh.org/lighthouse.

Thanks to Brian Egan Photography for the photos www.brianegan.co.uk. The bouquet was photographed at St Margaret's Church in Cley-next-the-Sea, an impressive backdrop.

A floral thankyou for a lovely evening

I put this simple hand-tied bouquet together as a thankyou for Helen and Phil who hosted a lovely evening for Brian and myself a couple of months ago. The wine was flowing and Helen's homemade cooking was a real treat.



Phil later took some photos of the flowers. Phil is now a full-time photographer based in Norwich. Check out his great work at http://www.philbarnesphotography.co.uk

 

 

Helen & Phil's wedding, Bateman's Barn

Here are a selection of photos taken by John Harris Photography of wedding flowers I did for Helen and Phil who got married at Bateman's Barn in Suffolk. You can see more photos at John Harris's blog http://networkedblogs.com/8tsp9.


I really enjoyed doing the flowers. The colour scheme was white and green and the fantastic barn setting complemented my realxed, rustic & informal style. 

Bateman's Barn is a fantastic venue. The barn and grounds are really lovely www.batemansbarn.co.uk.

Homemade willow ring decorated with ivy and some great paper roses, used for the aisle

The three bridesmaids bouquets comprised white rose and rosemary sprigs

Helen wore a wired rose in her hair

Each guest had an individual place name and a favour

Bridesmaid's bouquet

Avalanche rose, freesia & veronica bouquet finished with rolled aspidistra leaves

Talia rose, veronica, heather and rosemary buttonhole

Bride's bouquet. The freesia gave off a really lovely fragrance

Welcome to my blog

Welcome to the VEFlowers blog.

My first entry is a simple hand-tied bouquet I made for my twin sister's birthday at the end of November when the country was gripped by snow. 

The bouquet comprises pink roses, white carnations,pink and cream lisianthus and sweet williams, and is finished with shocking pink organza ribbon.


Thanks to Brian Egan Photography for the great photos.

I love the contrast between the gnarly old root ball and the delicate pink flowers.