A ‘Walled Garden’ Wedding at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hampshire

When Mellina and Tom approached me to create the luxury flower design for their Hampshire wedding at the Four Seasons Hotel, I just knew the occasion was going to be utterly enchanting. Set amid rolling hills, enticing gardens and over 500 acres of countryside, this Georgian manor house promises the perfect setting for a quintessentially English wedding. Keep scrolling to immerse yourself in the floral delights of Mellina & Tom’s walled garden wedding…

Hosted on Saturday 2nd July 2022, the weather delivered a day of endless sunshine with a delicate and welcome summer breeze. The bride-to-be was incredibly lovely and an absolute pleasure to work with. Mellina had a clear vision in mind, while allowing my floral creativity to shine through in each and every design. The brief was for feminine flowers that were full, voluminous and textured, embracing the romance of the location. And… we did just that!

Mellina looked a vision wearing a Lyn Ashworth Gown, purchased from the Wedding Atelier in Paddington. Her make-up artist, Melissa Clare, created a natural yet glamorous look. The bride’s trailing bridal bouquet was brimming with everything that Mellina adored, from elegant orchids to a touch of mint for a subtle and natural scent that carried throughout the day. Pillow-soft blush pink roses also made an appearance, effortlessly tying in with the pink gowns that the bridesmaids were wearing. The sweetest flower girls wore gypsophila flower crowns while carrying wicker baskets overflowing with petals.

As the bride and her team of ‘maids glided down the walled garden ready for the ceremony, the flowers we had designed looked beautiful against the backdrop of the Four Seasons Hotel. Dainty pink posies with long flowing trails of foliage that touched the floor were tied to the ceremony chairs using ivory satin ribbon, featuring tails that gracefully danced with the breeze. The couple had their hearts set on a flower arch, which we create using big blousy blooms wrapped with swatches of soft ivory fabric.

After the newlyweds had exchanged their vows under the blue skies, Mellina and Tom made their way into the Mandeville Suite for their reception. Round guest tables were styled to absolute perfection, alongside a thoughtful mixture of tall glass vases with large arrangements that matched the bridal flowers and luxurious white Phlox, as well as tables with lowered flower arrangements and the addition of our FCF vintage gold tea lights. It really was a sight to behold!

A huge thank you to Richard Skins Photography for capturing Mellina & Tom’s spectacular Hampshire wedding on camera – it is a joy to be able to share a glimpse of their celebration with you on the journal today. If you’d like to find out more about my availability and luxury flower services, I welcome you to get in touch. In the meantime, follow our floral adventures over on Instagram!

Photography – Richard Skins

Video – Relive It Productions

Dress – Lyn Ashworth- Wedding Atelier, Paddington

Make-up – Melissa Clare

Celebrant from Greece – Elizabeth Cass-Kanti

Dance Floor -Dancing Floors

Band – Boujee Music

Cake – Nicky Tesler Cakes            

Summer-Inspired Wedding Cakes with Flowers

As a Luxury Wedding Florist based in Hampshire, we have been fortunate enough to work with some of the most wonderful creatives within the wedding industry. Which is why we are so excited to share one of our favourite styled shoots with you today on the blog, beautifully captured by Angela Ward-Brown Photography.

Organised by Emma of Scrumptious Bakes, the shoot took place in the first week of June last summer at Bury Court Barn, a beautiful barn wedding venue hidden within the Hampshire countryside. Featuring old oak beams, an enchanting walled garden and a charming wooden gazebo (perfect for those outdoor ceremonies), this really was a dreamy setting for our summer-inspired editorial. The venue is also just a stone’s throw from our studio, so we’ve been fortunate enough to visit plenty of times in person and can wholeheartedly recommend it to our couples.

Not only was the shoot a chance to showcase the talents of our industry suppliers, for our founder at Fiona Curry Flowers it was the first time heading out and about after the first lockdown. We can safely say, it was an absolute joy to get back into the swing of things and it really does make us excited to immerse ourselves in your love stories once again.

Focusing on the flower design element of the editorial, we chose a beautiful palette with six different styles – all of which were equally stunning. The seasonal flowers included romantic David Austin Patience Roses, Peonies, White Bubbles spray Roses, Vendela Roses, Wedding Rose, Eucalyptus, Olive branches and Pittosporum.

Emma (the magic behind the shoot) is the gentlest soul and we adored every second of working with her. Her cakes are always breath-taking too, and it’s admirable to see the amount of hard work and attention to detail that she pours into every slice. She created a selection of wedding cakes for the shoot, including a macaron cake which featured a delicate ombré fade, finished with a cake topper and garland of David Austin Roses, Patience, Vendela and White Bubbles Spray Roses. The second macaron cake, between the layers of macarons, we carefully worked in dainty rose heads for an extra dash of elegance. Inspired by Harry & Meghan’s wedding, Emma also created a delicious buttercream Sicilian lemon cake, which was adorned with scattered white peonies. Delicious!

We still can’t get over Emma’s magnificent four-tier organic Madagascan vanilla cake, which was embellished with a cascade of David Austin ‘Patience’ Roses, as well as Peonies, White Bubbles Spray Roses and Vendela Roses. But it didn’t end there – Angela was also on hand to capture a naked wedding cake made with White Bubbles Spray Roses and Olive Branches for a botanical, minimalist vibe. With another naked cake we designed a beautiful sash of David Austin rambling Roses, white Bubbles spray Roses and Pittosporum.

We adored every single wedding cake creation, and it was a pleasure to be able to add those all-important floral finishing touches. As Luxury Wedding Florists, we decorate almost every wedding cake for our clients, and we love nothing more than seeing photographs of our couples doing the traditional cake cutting moment.

We were also over the moon to see an image of the cake featuring a signature FCF flower garland in Vogue! It was the perfect way to brighten up what had a been an incredibly tough year for all and we look forward to sharing more of our work with you this summer!

Introducing Fiona

It’s an absolute pleasure to announce the launch of the brand-new Fiona Curry Flowers website and we hope you love it as much as we do! It’s been a ‘behind-the-project’ scenes for many months now and we’re over the moon to be heading into 2021 with a brand that just feels like ‘us’. 

To celebrate the launch of www.fionacurry.com we thought we’d introduce you to Fi, the creative soul, artist and imagination behind the brand. Fi loves nothing more than being surrounded by beautiful flowers on a daily basis and works from her flower studio (the dreamiest space to discuss your wedding day). “Our studio is a wonderful mix of peace and tranquillity, but a creative hub at the same time,” Fi describes. “I am often told that it smells amazing!”

Fi began as a design florist in London before opening a shop in Italy. She now spends her time between Hampshire, London, Umbria and Rome. “I was fascinated with the beauty and ethereal detail of flowers – and the fact they are a natural creation. I just love the way that flowers and foliage can be used as an expression of art.”

Over the years as a wedding florist, Fi has created heart-stoppingly beautiful floral designs for hundreds of couples. She explains, “One of my most memorable times recently was creating the flowers for an exceptionally elegant wedding at Froyle Park, using an abundance of white blooms with touches of blush. The outdoor ceremony was stunning; we decorated the beginning of the aisle with two flower groups on pedestals. Scattered petals and candle-lit glass lanterns led the way to the dome, with two statement garlands framing the soon-to-be newlyweds. The reception was equally elegant, featuring large table centrepieces of white and blush flowers along with an array of candles. The flower groups and garlands were repurposed to decorate the bay window with a table for the bride and groom, surrounded by candles in glass lanterns. It was magical. The bride opted to place various Jo Malone candles around the Ballroom for an added natural fragrance and atmosphere, as well as hand-painted Ladurée macarons in the prettiest boxes for each guest to enjoy.”

Fi’s passion as an event florist effortlessly translates through her work. “I love arranging flowers. The bigger the arrangement the better – although I adore working with tiny wiring detail too. My whole body moves and is involved when I make large arrangements, it’s almost like singing and conducting…” 

The consultations and building a relationship with our couples is also hugely important to Fi. “I love being involved in their happy times!” She is fortunate enough to have trained at the Sloane Street florist ‘Pulbrook and Gould’ and as a result has developed skills that most florists never learn. Her extensive knowledge about flowers (and especially about buying) makes it a joy to deal with other specialists in the industry. 

As a luxury wedding florist, every day is different for Fi and our team – that’s why we love what we do! During wedding season, the start of the week usually involves client work, writing to-do-lists and plenty of market purchasing. Mid-week, the flowers arrive, and work starts in the studio! There is usually a team of florists on hand to condition, count and check the blooms, offering time for any additional adjustments. Work begins on the flower arrangements, as well as lists and packing for smaller details such as candles, urns and pedestals. Towards the end of the working week, we will begin working on the table centrepieces, ceremony flowers, garlands and bridal bouquet. Friday and Saturday are often wedding days, so we’ll spend time setting up flowers in the morning and creating the bouquets for the next wedding in the afternoon. 

To keep everyone going, we start the day with tea, coffee and the radio on to keep us humming while we work. Lunch is spent outside on the garden benches if the weather graces us with sunshine. We chat endlessly all day about families, flowers and weddings! 

If you’re wondering where Fi finds the inspiration for her work, she often looks to Instagram for interior, fashion and all things lovely. She also has every copy of Vogue and House & Garden. “When I’m in London or Rome I visit galleries and admire the flower shops, spending time with other florists if they are free. The hotels I stay in often have flowers arranged in all sorts of ways which I love to see, as well as shop interiors. The cities are full of flowers if you look closely! I am also inspired by the flowers in my garden – the shrubs are huge, and it was definitely originally owned by a lover of cut flowers. Scent and flowers are such an important part of flower design and stay with people for a lifetime. The way flowers and shrubs grow often sparks an idea for a shape or movement of an arrangement or colour combination I hadn’t thought of, particularly with foliage which is so important in the visual display of flower shapes and colour.”

5 QUICK TIPS FOR COUPLES WHO ARE CHOOSING THEIR WEDDING FLOWERS

  • Love your florist’s work!
  • When you meet, enjoy the time dreaming and planning. 
  • Your florist should be knowledgeable and passionate about what they do.
  • It’s your day and you will love your flowers if they are your heart’s desire and not someone else’s – so don’t try to please everyone!
  • Don’t worry about having everything planned out before you meet – enjoy having an expert there to guide you.

Keep your eyes peeled for real love stories and wedding inspiration on the blog, but in the meantime you can follow Fiona Curry Flowers on Instagram here

@fionacurryflowers

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