How to Have the Wedding of Your Dreams; New Covent Garden Flower Market, Part 2

Before reading this blog post, whilst not mandatory, you might want to read my previous post ‘Part 1’. Part 1 outlines everything from how to choose your civil wedding venue/s to finalising your colour schemes and where to source your wedding flowers.

In this post I will help you to take your wedding flower arranging to the next level. I discuss everything from how to develop and incorporate your colour scheme to deciding your final flowers. For example, yes you may have chosen a rose but which type of rose?

There are over 150 species of rose and thousands of hybrids. Fear not, you only need purchase three types of rose to accomplish a textured and scented flower arrangement.

Wedding Colours

As discussed in Part 1, I opted for white wedding flowers with green foliage. I then needed to consider my accent colour/s, those colours in addition to the natural floristry.

After having viewed both the Soho Room at The Old Marylebone Town Hall and the Private Room at Spring, I decided on gold as the accent colour.

 

 

Somerset House and the Old Town Hall are grand and opulent rooms in historic, iconic buildings. Gold was the obvious choice.

Now, as we all know, there are multiple shades of any colour, gold is no exception. Antique gold, yellow gold, rose gold and the list just goes on and on. I opted for a shade of antique gold. I say a shade as I soon came to realise that there are multiple shades of antique golds too.

Top tip, when choosing your accent colour/s don’t forget to think about your cake, vases, invitations, menus and place settings. Your list might be longer than mine but bottom line, think of every accessory. For example, it was for this very reason that I opted for white invitations embossed with gold.

The Cake

With regards to the wedding cake, I wanted something elegant and minimalistic. A pure white cake was the obvious choice. With the aid of Pinterest I decided on a three tier cake with a gold leaf middle tier to incorporate my colour theme.

 

In choosing the cake it was very important for me to use an independent, female cake maker. Queue Asma Hassan of Sugared Saffron. Asme is a black entrepreneur based in East London who regularly provides cakes to The Savoy, Claridges and The Ritz, to name a few. She is an inspirational business woman and most importantly, her cakes are amazing.

George and I booked a cake consultation with Asme and I trusted her from the second we met.

Top tip, I chose a cake with sugar craft flowers but the style of flower that I wanted didn’t exist. I wanted a hybrid of a rose and a peony. I talked through my vision with Asma and she was happy to create a bespoke sugar craft flower just for us.

The cake’s texture, smell and taste was equally as pleasing as its aesthetics. During the design session we were able to taste six of the 11 cake flavours that Asma has perfected.

We initially opted for carrot top tier. Lemon middle tier with a vanilla & raspberry bottom tier. Asma confirmed that all of her flavours could be frozen for over a year. This was important as we wanted to go with tradition and freeze the top tier of the cake for the christening of our first-born child.

After reflection, we then opted for the top and bottom tiers to be vanilla with a lemon middle tier.

You can order a copy of my cake for your wedding by clicking here. The picture on the website is of our actual cake. I am so proud that I designed something so magnificent! I say I but it was Asme’s assistance which elevated my idea to the next level.

 

The cake was everything I wanted and more.

Back to Colours

In keeping with the theme George chose a green tie to compliment his navy suite. In fact, all of his groomsmen wore the same tie and a navy suite. By providing the tie and allowing the groomsmen to wear any navy suit we saved a lot of money and wedding admin.

Our civil wedding was to be the first of two weddings (religious wedding will be in Greece) so we were keen not to go overboard, to keep the admin to a minimum.

The private room at Spring complimented every aspect of our wedding with its green plants (black olive trees) amid a backdrop of creams and whites.

 

 

As an aside, I found a room that was decorated in my style and wedding ready without the need for additional decorations. Doing so meant that I did not have to spend time choosing and coordinating decorations. The greenery acted as the decoration, it was perfect.

Customise, Customise, Customise

Putting the flowers aside, I needed to incorporate my jam jars and vases into the colour scheme.

Not only did I need gold vases, I required antique gold vases, I could not find them anywhere.

I tried Amazon, Ebay, Argos, you name it we tried it. After a few searches I decided to buy clear glasses as I could spray paint all or some of them gold.

After much searching, I opted for the obvious and purchased the vases from both Amazon and Ikea. This was both practical and economical. I then set about finding spray paint. Surprisingly easier than I thought.

Below are links to some of the clear vases/jars that I purchased:

• Set of 6 Clear Glass Bud 
• Viljestark Vase
• Tidvatten Vase
• Berakna Vase

In addition to Ikea and Amazon, I found some vases at a PoundStore.

Being an online queen, I decided to purchase the spray paint through amazon. A slight mistake as I needed to ensure that I purchased the right shade of gold. At this point I wondered if I had bitten off more than I could chew. My life moto then came to mind. ’Never Doubt Yourself, Never Deny Yourself and Never Put Yourself Down’. The only way was forward.

I needed the same shade of gold as the middle tier of the cake and the wedding stationary. Further, I had ordered a gold cake stand to match the middle tier too. The stand is called the Amalfi Décor Victoria Antique.

 

I visited a DIY store where there were a number of gold sprays and as if by magic, there stood a spray called antique, it was a match.

Top tip, I purchased a spray which could be sprayed straight onto the vases without any preparation other than the vase being clean. I purchased multiple spray cans as I was unsure as to the coverage and feared that I might run out before spraying all that I needed to.

Then came the question of whether I needed to spray all or some of my vases/jam jars. I purchased duplicate vases in different sizes and decided to spray half of the vases gold and leave the other half clear.

In spraying half of the vases I ensured that I either left one style of vase clear or sprayed all of one type of vase gold.

 

The combination of the gold and clear glasses made the colour scheme. The green stems could be seen through the clear vases which further added to the colour scheme.

Number of Vases

Taking a step back, I initially purchased 20 vases but after replicating my wedding day vase configuration on my dining room table I quickly realised that I needed more jars/vases. This is a key point, I visited the reception venue prior to designing my arrangements, this gave me the best understanding of the size of the table. Having done so, I knew that my dining table was about a 5th of the size of the real thing. This helped me in drafting my flower configuration plan.

In addition to visiting the venue, I also googled previous weddings and events held in the same room. In viewing other events at the location, I knew that I required more variety across my arrangement; different styles, widths and heights. I also had to consider, with people being sat along each side of the table, whether my flowers were short enough for our guests to see each other. Well, by each other I really meant me and George.

Taking all of the above into consideration, I purchased 10 additional short vases. I decided that 30 vases/jars would create the sea of flowers that I was aiming for.

Choosing the Flowers

As discussed in my  blog posts ‘A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet’ the types of roses used in perfumery and candles are, in the most part, Centifolia Roses and Damascena/Damask Roses.

 

 

These types of roses are not typically supplied by florists in the UK. Actually, the majority of the roses that can be purchased in the UK are not in fact scented. This posed a dilemma.

Through a combination of internet searches, the rose guide produced by Covent Garden Flower Market and conversations with florists, I discovered a number of scented white roses.

White O’Hara Roses

I can be fickle when it comes to flowers, the speed at which I fell in love with White O’Hara Roses exemplifies this. I mean, it was a matter of seconds. Key to my wedding arrangements, not only are these flowers accessible but they are also scented. The flower produces a wonderful sweet rose scent and has broad citrus overtones with hints of green apple.

White O’Hara’s is a large French rose. It has a touch of pink which gives the flower a blush appearance. This rose has a traditional rose shape and is filled with layers upon layers of petals.

White O’Haras can grow to between 11-14cm in diameter. Think of a cross between a classic tulip and a full-cupped rose, see the picture below to understand what is meant by the term ‘cupped’.

From an atmospheric perspective, this type of rose provides a sense of calm and tranquillity whilst adding an element of grace and elegance.

The size of the flower, when it reaches full bloom is key here as you need to time your flower purchases to ensure that all of the flowers are in full bloom on the day of the wedding. Remember to purchase your flowers at least two to three days in advance. The vendors at New Covent Garden Flower Market can help with timing.

Norma Jeane Roses

White O’Hara’s can be expensive so I decided to mix them with other scented roses to create more depth. I opted for  Norma Jeane Roses.

Top tip, do not be put off if you do not see White O’hara  or Norma Jeane Roses at the flower market as you simply need to ask one of the vendors to source them for you. This rule applies to all flowers, don’t be afraid to ask the question.

Avalanche Roses

I wanted thick and full arrangements, two types of rose would not achieve this. Research revealed that the rose that I have been purchasing for a number of years is the most common in the UK, the Avalanche Rose. Having previously discounted this rose for my wedding, as my plan developed, I realised that they would be a perfect accent rose.

Avalanche Roses are widely used by high-end florists, wedding planners and floral designers. In fact, it is considered to be the go-to element when it comes to fashioning exclusive rose arrangements, centrepieces and bouquets.

For my arrangements I obviously chose white Avalanche Roses. I say white but in reality, there is no such thing as a pure white rose. In this case, white Avalanche Roses have hints of green.

Hydrangeas

In addition to roses I chose to add texture to my arrangements by including Hydrangeas. I had always considered Hydrangeas to be for special occasions. That they were glamorous and elegant whilst having volume and depth.

On choosing to incorporate Hydrangeas the question then became whether to go for the Dutch or Columbian variety?

I have purchased Hydrangeas in the past from my local florist and Columbia Road Flower Market. More often than not, they only lasted a day or so before dying.

I was determined to incorporate Hydrangeas, I just needed to figure out how to keep them alive.

The options:

Or

 

After many conversations with a number of florists and weeks of buying every Hydrangea I could lay my hands on, I felt competent enough to include it in my arrangement. My conversations also helped me to decide on Columbian Hydrangeas, despite them being more temperamental than their European cousins. The defining factor, Columbian Hydrangeas are larger and more luxurious than their Dutch counterparts.

Finalising the Components of the Arrangements

To recap, at this point I had four different flowers and whilst they looked good together, I needed an arrangement with more depth and volume. I needed some help and advice.

My floristry diploma and conversations with florists prepared me for individual arrangements but I needed to elevate my knowledge. Queue Khin Chong and www.theflowerfactorylondon.com.

Khin saved my life. I underestimated what it took to build multiple arrangements as part of one large cohesive arrangement.

After a brief google session I found Khin but shock horror, he was just about to go on an extended holiday and planned to return after the date of my wedding. Having explained my dilemma Khin offered to give me private tuition at his workshop in Hatton Garden on the very same day. My luck was in, Khin took on this task as if it were his own. I was no longer alone. I detail my class with Khin in my soon to be published blog post ‘How to Master Flower Arranging in a Day; From Weddings to everyday Bouquets’.

In brief, Khin taught me how to arrange each and every vase/jam jar. Whilst teaching me to arrange the flowers he made sure to pass on some invaluable tips about how to condition my flowers, make them last as long as possible.

Khin The Flower God

Not only did Khin teach me how to arrange the flowers, he analysed my flower selection with reference to the private room at Spring, my wedding cake, colour scheme and invitations. After much thought he urged me to add some height to my arrangements by adding White Snapdragons. Genius!

Whilst not the cheapest flower, he explained that I only needed to use one per arrangement.

 

Another one of Khin’s suggestions, that I add width and depth with White Limonium. Limonium compliments any and all arrangements and is cost effective whilst adding dramatic effect.

 

Khin rightly suggested that I needed to add a further element to create the feel of an English country garden. I needed to tie in the surroundings and break-up the uniformity created by the roses. Khin’s suggestion, white Lisianthus and white Freesias.

I was not familiar with White Lisianthus, luckily Khin had some at his workshop. My first thought, they are both delicate and elegant.

Now to white Freesias. I was familiar with this flower and knew that it would add to the overall fragrance of the arrangements.

 

 

Freesias concluded the flowers, but now for the green element, the foliage.

Foilage

I have always loved eucalyptus. Not only do I love the deep green colour, I love love love the scent. I place nothing more than bunches of eucalyptus in a vase around my apartment to scent my rooms. Also, eucalyptus is relatively cheap. Top tip, the price of all flowers vary day to day based on the principals of supply and demand. As such, always calculate a price margin as the price on collection may differ to the price on the date of ordering.

 

At this point it may seem like my jars were becoming too full. Fear not, I had not completed the process. I needed to list the number of each flower to go in each vase/jam jar. Khin stepped in and taught me how to calculate the number of each stem required to fill every sized vase from a single flower jam jar to larger fishbowl vases.

My up and coming blog posts ‘How to Master Flower Arranging in a Day; From Weddings to everyday Bouquets’ and ‘Navigating The New Covent Garden Flower Market’ outline how to create your wedding arrangements as well as how to order and collect your flowers.

Let me know about your experiences at The New Covent Garden Flower Market or whichever flower market is local to you?  This post can be applied to every and any flower market!