The last 12 months all on one glorious weddingy page.....
Jessie Copper :: Tuesday 22nd January 2019 :: Latest Blog Posts
Well, it's been a stonker of a year. Not only because of the most fabulous heatwave which ensured that glowing sunshine was bestowed upon all my gorgeous couples (and thank goodness for a walk-in fridge...!), but because I met and worked for such a glorious array of clients with such varied tastes and ideas. For personal reasons, I undertook fewer weddings this year, and the nice thing about that was that it gave me time to regroup and reflect on each one before rushing on to the next one.
I must first mention Emma and Owen's wedding which was just over a year ago and rounded off 2017 neatly. Emma's Dad is the renowned photographer Kevin Wilson who I have worked with a number of times, mainly on photoshoots, and so it was a huge honour to be asked to undertake Emma's wedding flowers. Kevin roped in his former pupil David Wheeler to capture the day, but couldn't resist getting a bit creative when it came to the group shots:
The colours were muted and wintery, and Emma wore a dress that may be the most beautiful delicate frock I have ever seen. The setting was Athelhampton House, and they made great use of the location within the photography. Such a treat!
"Jessie's flowers were beyond beautiful. She had her work cut out as we had asked for a floral arch, huge Christmas wreath, festive top table decoration, 10 bridesmaid's bouquets, 15 buttonholes, chair flowers, hair-flowers, confetti, mistletoe ... Jessie patiently listened to my ideas and then suggested flowers/looks. They were completely perfect and I couldn't recommend Jessie more! Her stunning flowers made our wedding so beautiful". Emma - the Bride.
After the great snows of early 2018 had melted, and we had moved back into our newly developed home following a few months living with my in-laws, the 2018 season set off with a bang in April and May, with a host of weddings at Athelhampton, beginning with Sarah and Dan, who chose pretty pastels including peonies and dainty muscari. Their celebration was an eclectic mix of spring flowers and the greatest hits of Queen! They really made it their own.
"Jessie was amazing! We only really had a colour scheme, so gave her the decision on what we ended up with. We had so many comments on the day about how beautiful the flowers were". Sarah - the Bride.
Gail and Leighton were wed in May, and their wedding was an early-summer sensation, matched only by the superb photography by Philippa Gedge;
I have rarely seen two people look happier than those two, and they really made the day their own. Gail looked absolutely stunning (with make-up by my lovely friend Kirsten Sare) and the colour scheme that they chose was just my kind of thing.
It has been impossibly difficult to narrow down just one or two pictures to include here, so I may have to do a close-up blog about Gail and Leighton's wedding very soon..... Suffice to say, it was an utter joy to be part of their glorious day.
"We had so many comments about how fantastic the flowers were! They were totally breathtaking! ... Thank you again for everything." Gail - the Bride.
Anna was also a May bride (the best month of the year for a wedding, in my humble opinion!) and she chose my special offer package 'To Have and To Hold'. With a colour scheme and a rustic theme as our only guidance, my team and I got to work with our creative skills in full flow which is always so much fun! I love it when a bride puts all her faith and trust in her florist. Anna wasn't disappointed;
"Jessie was amazing from start to finish. Living in Kent but having a wedding in Dorset wasn't easy in respect of appointments and fitting everything in. Jessie really helped, and we did most things through email. I put complete trust in Jessie's skills and experience (her website speaks for itself!) and she did not disappoint. Everyone commented on how wonderful the flowers were, especially my flower crown and the flower-girl's flower-wands. I would recommend Jessie to anyone getting married." Anna - the Bride.
By July we were in full swing, with my team and I working flat out to exceed all our couple's expectations across Dorset. Down to Lulworth Cove then, where Louise and Q were getting flung in both Vietnamese and British style; a morning ceremony in keeping with the Groom's nationality, followed by a classic English wedding in the afternoon, all in a marquee spanning a swimming pool at Rudd's hotel with a bird's-eye view of the famous cove itself.
"We had a Vietnamese tea ceremony and a traditional white wedding, and the flowers created by Jess for both ceremonies were just breathtaking. As per our request, Jess incorporated Australian-themed flowers into our ceremony and reception, which received many compliments from our gueests. I was speechless when I first saw my bouquet, as it was even more beautiful than I could have imagined. The quality of our wedding flowers was above and beyond what we expected". Louise - the Bride.
Since this wedding we were invited back at New Year to create floral designs for the Rudd's daughter's wedding, and are looking forward to hopefully floraling many more weddings at this unique venue in the future.
On the same day, other members of the team were busy working hard over at Mapperton House near Beaminster, scene of many a film-shoot including Thomas Hardy's Far From The Madding Crowd, but on this occasion home to Sarah and Michael's wedding, captured splendidly by the ever-brilliant Linus Moran Photography.
Sarah chose a very classic style of bouquet (always a lovely change to make something more trad, which involves more complex floristry techniques than the ever-present hand-tied posy), but her colour scheme was anything but traditional! Bright orange with strong blues was an exciting palette to work with, and we were in full swing on this sweltering July day.
"Thank you once again for all your advice, time, energy, patience and total enthusiasm with the resulting spectacular flowers ... we received so many 'wow' comments!! ... we will not hesitate to recommend you." Janice - Mother of the Bride.
The highlight of August was the opportunity to adorn the wedding day of the family's daughter at one of our favourite venues; Gorwell Farm Barn. This isolated, private and unpretentious location is the perfect space to celebrate a special day without interruption from the outside world, and when owner Mary contacted us about her daughter Claire's wedding, we jumped at the chance. In order to up-the-ante, they had created a new outdoor ceremony space on a raised ridge under a canopy of trees, and Claire and Pete were going to be the first couple to get married up there.
With any outdoor ceremony it is important to have a plan B, particularly in late summer when a monsoon seems to hit us annually now, and my rule is simple; just let me know whether you are going to be indoors or outdoors before we start to set up and then you have to stick to your decision. This was particularly important since most of the outdoor floral displays could not easily be moved indoors once in place. In the morning, things looked promising and Claire made the decision to get married outdoors as planned. I moved inside to start work up a ladder decorating the barn, while my team member Derris set about putting the many ceremony decorations in place up on the ridge. An hour later the heavens opened, and - to her credit - she ploughed on, and the ceremony pagoda and approaching arches looked stunning... even if you could only just see them through the mist and torrential rain.
But someone must have been smiling down on Claire that day. Shortly before guests were due to arrive (and while - in the meantime - a plan B ceremony had been laid up inside the barn), the skies cleared, seats were wiped dry, and they were married beneath the trees just as they'd hoped. It was worth us getting completely drenched for!
"Jessie was very professional throughout. She had a fantastic attention to detail and was able to perfectly interpret my thoughts. Our flowers on the day were simply stunning - I've had so many comments about how beautiful they looked. She [well, actually Derris! - J] even spent hours in the rain on the morning of the wedding making our arches. Thank you Jessie!" Claire - the Bride.
Also in August, I enjoyed a jaunt up to Summer Lodge in the beautiful village of Evershot for Rebekah and Neil's intimate celebration witnessed only by their closest family and friends. Rebekah is a wonderful bubbly sort, and from the first second I met her at her first consultation, it felt like we were old friends.
She also honoured us with our Bridal Quote of the year. When instructing me that she wanted her bouquet to be huge, she stated: "I want it to be more 'Here comes the Bouquet' than 'Here comes the Bride'"! We love that so much!!
And so it was that this whopper of a posy was born, including those to-die-for 'Cafe au Lait' dahlias from the wonderful Black Shed Flower Farm - my regular haunt on a Thursday evening throughout the summer and autumn as I hand-select my dahlias. It's a hard job, but someone has to do it!
It is also nice to see a friendly face when out delivering wedding flowers, and more often that not, that comes in the form of Caroline and Elke from Amazing Face. They made Rebekah look and feel a million dollars, which they are fundamentally brilliant at.
"From the first email you know you've made the right choice. Flowers are very important and Jessie's knowledge is in flower barrow loads! When you meet to discuss your requirements in her lovely garden studio, every detail is covered from beginning to end of your wedding day. Advising on the flowers for the season, showing online what they look like, so you really know what you are getting. The finer details, the little touches. Almost magically, the flowers appear, with everything beautifully presented." Rebekah - the Bride.
In September we teamed up with a whole host of other fantastic suppliers to offer a free wedding to a lucky pair of winners, which turned out to be Hayley and Matt. It was all a bit of a whirlwind, but everything came together, and I loved Hayley's choice of colours, which allowed my creative skills (and those dahlia secateurs) to get busy... snip snip snip!
Strong vibrant reds with greys are an unusual but exciting choice of palette, and the challenge was to avoid the final look being at all Christmassy. I think we pulled it off successfully. They had a fabulous day, despite the strong sea breezes, and enjoyed a cosy reception back at Greenwood Grange after the ceremony.
September was - as always - one of our busiest months... I just wish the weather could be more reliable then. Robyn and Alex had a fabulous day despite the drizzle...
... while on the same day Sarah and Alex dodged the showers at new wedding venue Hope Farm, near Beaminster. Can you spot those gorgeous dahlias again? Obsession?
Sammy and Tracey tied the knot at Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens in September, and embraced all the colours that naturally come to mind as Summer turns to Autumn. With lovely bi-colour rudbeckia from the flower farm and meadow grasses that provide lovely movement when the bouquet is carried, this one was a total hit.
Denise Newlands-Taylor Photography
"Jessie was amazing. She listened to what I wanted and completely understood what I was going for. She was super friendly and made everything really easy for us. When she delivered the flowers on the day, they far outdid my expectation! I knew they would be beautiful, but what she created was outstanding. I would recommend her to everyone looking for their wedding florist!" Sammy - the Bride.
Denise Newlands-Taylor Photography
And in late September it was a final trip down to the Purbecks for Emma and Simon's wedding on a grassy headland with fantastic views over Arne and the opening stretches where Poole harbour becomes Wareham River; totally remote and unspoilt. Any excuse to visit the flower farm again, dahlias were accompanied by the purest nodding heads of white cosmos for a touch of rustic glam.
"Jessie was fantastic. We were relatively vague in our brief and none too sure of what we wanted. She was very professional and informative, and gave a good range of options without the hard upsell. Communication throughout was excellent, and delivery was on time and seamless. The flowers themselves were beautiful!" Emma - the Bride.
We played a part in so many marvellous weddings this year - far too many to include them all here. A big thank you has to go out to all our clients near and far for the trust, belief, friendship, inspiration and encouragement that they give to me and my team of brilliant helpers every year. It is always an honour to be asked, and we never forget how lucky we are to have such fun, exciting and challenging jobs.
2019 beckons. May she be splendid for all who sail in her - Jx