natural rustic flowers with a sumptuous glamorous edge

Welcome gorgeous bride!

I hope you find this new series useful. I wanted to share with you some of my favourite wedding suppliers on the South Coast of England. A small writeup from each with abit of information about them and their business, and of course something useful for you!

I met up with the lovely Clair last week to capture some photographs of her working from her studio and the final result. I have known Clair for a couple of years now and absolutely adore her work. You may have seen some of her creations in the gallery – she is brilliant and has a really great eye for this!

Wrapped up warm, with a cup of tea each, we chatted wedding planning, dog walks, business and of course flowers. I look at Clair’s work and consider she is creating masterpieces.

Carefully curated, not rushed.
Simple and effortless, but well thought out.

Seeing it from start to finish, carefully adding pops of colour, certain flowers, building it up, and spinning it around, making sure from every angle it was perfect. It was great to watch her work and see the thought process behind it all.

Whilst I encourage brides to get creative with their wedding, there are just some things you should leave to the professionals. And this is why….

Tell us about yourself and your company

I have been a florist in Dorset for over 15 years giving me stacks of experience working in the industry. I just adore running my own business, creating stunning floral arrangements for people’s weddings gives me so much pleasure. I don’t like to take on any more than around 30 weddings a year, I like to keep things exclusive instead of churning out wedding after wedding.

I cover a wide area of the South Coast including…. Bournemouth & Poole, Christchurch and the New Forest, Hampshire and Somerset.

Where do you look for inspiration?

I have quite a rural style; my true passions are natural rustic flowers with a sumptuous glamorous edge. I love to use nature as my inspiration and then pimp it up. Foliage such as ferns and ivies feature heavily in my work giving it a real woodland feel. I also like to use lots of dried natural elements such as lavender, corn and wheat. Dried lotus pods look really cool and seeds heads.

What’s the one piece of advice you’d like to give to a couple choosing their flowers?

Pick a style and stick to it.

Go seasonal?

From a florist point of view, the quality & longevity of the flower is far greater than a flower which is out of season, giving you better results. There are plenty of flowers you can get all year round, plus a huge amount with very long seasons so there is more than enough to choose from. In all honesty, you can’t beat going with the seasons.

Sumptuous spring bouquets bursting to the seams, summer bouquets full of country garden grandeur, autumn bouquets reflecting the warmth & end of summer & winter bouquets using lots of natural woody materials with a hint of snow.

What’s your favourite flower?

My favourite flowers are winter hellebore with their gorgeous tones and hues.

Then there’s the spring Fritillaria meleagris with its droopy snakes skin heads, plus the early summer elegant digitalis that grow wild on the road sides in Cornwall.

And you just can’t beat a good old Hydrangea, I have stacks of these in my garden and it’s a flower that just keeps giving lasting all the way from spring to Autumn changing colour at the end of the season into the most beautiful natural shades.

Any trends this year?

This year’s trends are rustic chic, heavy on the wild & foraged foliage’s with loose organic bouquets in muted apricot tones and coral pinks. Glam table centres are this years must using long trestle tables dressed in fine linen with candelabras, mini vases of flowers and candles, candles, candles!! Big ones, short ones, chunky ones and hanging. Who said romance is dead.

What makes you and your business unique?

I’m all about keeping things organic, I like to let the natural shape of the flowers and foliage create the look which in itself is unique, no two flowers are ever the same. I’m a huge fan of foliage too; wild herbs, grasses and succulents can change an ordinary bunch of flowers into something exciting and luxurious. I’m always after foliage that’s a little bit different with various textures and colour.

You can find Clair’s website here and connect with her on social media here.

I am sure you will see more of Clair’s work on here in the coming months whilst we are working on a few exciting things! I also have the pleasure and honour of photographing her wedding day this year!

Much love, Charlotte x

Photography by Charlotte Bryer-Ash
Floristry by Clair Lythgoe
Candelabra provided by Linen and Lace