Flowers

Have you had a lovely, relaxing weekend? I do hope so! I’ve been busy sowing seeds for my summer flower garden, and so this guest blog from designer wedding florist Larry Walshe comes at the perfect time! If you love flowers, then floral arrangements are a wonderful way to bring creativity and colour to your day. Wedding flowers can be sustainable IF they’re done the right way. Getting it right is all about choosing the right florist or flower grower. Look for local, pesticide free growers or florists who specialise in seasonal flowers and arrangements without floral foam.

2023 wedding flower trends, with Larry Walshe

For 2023, popular colour schemes will be: green and white, soft pastels, apricot and peach hues and soft, mixed romantic garden inspired tones.

Green and white is always an eternal favourite and this is set to continue into 2023. Everlasting and timeless, this glorious palette is far from predictable. There are so many ways you can use flowers and foliage to decorate a space, with more emphasis put on either one or the other to play within the boundaries of this scheme and offer a unique outcome. Whether you like a luxurious and compact arrangement or prefer a garden inspired setting, the possibilities are endless.

Pastels, apricot hues and peach tones will grow in popularity this year. They rose in demand during 2022 and will continue to develop further as we explore different ways of integrating the colours in this palette in a variety of applications. Warm and inviting, this scheme works throughout each season to offer a style savvy response.

Mixed colours are often popular, but usually by using softer tones that represent the garden. With an enhanced awareness and desire for sustainable flower arrangements, this look is set to grow and develop further. Florals which seek inspiration from the garden and have a wonderful sense of organic movement will continue to rise in popularity during 2023.

Sustainable floristry is becoming ever more requested by brides and grooms alike. It is only with an increase in demand that the sector can be forced to rise up and get creative; finding new ways to work with natural materials and new methods of construction to hydrate fresh florals. Increase in demand for sustainable flower arrangements has been growing for the last 5 years and becomes and ever more conscious consideration.

Bigger is always better! As a response to the global COVID 19 pandemic, families and couples have placed a greater emphasis on the ability to celebrate than ever before. Where once design would have been more modest, couples have realised that this is one opportunity to be with those with love for a given moment in time and as such, should be maximised and relished. As wedding designers, it is so wonderful for clients to understand and appreciate what we offer and we are seeing the desire to create unique and unforgettable memories straight into 2023.

Roberta Facchini Photography

It’s all about the destination!

2022 saw more couples than ever celebrate their freedom to travel once again and their desire to marry in the sunshine. With so many heavenly locations on our European doorstep, whether it be a palazzo in Lake Como, a chateau in France or a beach in Portugal, the trend of extending one magical day into a week-long experience with friends and family alike, seems set to continue throughout 2023.

It is such a privilege for a client to love the work you create so much that they ask you to board a plane, fly to their chosen country and do what you do best in unfamiliar territories. For us, it is the ultimate challenge and one that we utterly relish. We love working in new space, under new constraints and in environments which make it challenging to transform a venue from bleak to chic.

Destination weddings elevate the sense of occasion from a single moment in time to a multi-day experience that will be treasured forever. One party is now 3 or 4 and in this, the scale of the work that we create has risen tremendously. The desire to escape to warmer climates and say “I do!” with a smaller, more intimate group of friends and family over an extended period seems set to continue into 2023 as we plan celebrations across 3 continents for next season.

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Recommended reading: Sustainable wedding flowers for any budget – HELLO! magazine

Roberta Facchini Photography

Roberta Facchini Photography

Roberta Facchini Photography

Roberta Facchini Photography

And Your Story Photography

Flowers

Floral trend predictions for 2023 weddings, with celebrity florist Larry Walshe

By Claire Gould, 3 yearsFebruary 20, 2023 ago

The world of weddings is changing! We asked celebrity wedding florist Larry Walshe some of our biggest, burning questions – and we were thrilled to bits when he replied with such thoughtful insights on the future of weddings.

Before we dive in: yes, luxury weddings are bound to create more waste by volume. We’re not hiding from that. But no amount of Guardian coverage can stop luxurious weddings from happening; they’ll go on, and they’re already becoming more sustainable. It would be naive to ignore the existence of extravagant celebrations and assume everyone can have a thrifty little micro wedding. Finally, the wedding industry needs its shining stars to set an example: and here’s how that’s already happening.

Where do you see the future of wedding floristry heading, with sustainability in mind?

I believe that as we all look towards seeking and implementing more sustainable solutions across all facets of our lives, this will equally become more of a leading and prevalent factor in the designs and decisions that we make for parties, weddings and celebrations.

Notoriously, the weddings industry is incredibly wasteful due to the temporary nature of what we create. Transforming a space from nothing into a veritable fantasy for a single day does inevitably come with consequences and I do believe that whilst the scale of what we create will always stay the same, the way we approach design will evolve.

We regularly guide our clients towards more sustainable forms of design, those with more movement, depth and texture in order to create work which is formed without the use of floral foam. We endeavour to educate our clients on sustainable wedding flower options and by driving these choices and making selections available to them, we are seeing more and more couples selecting a more environmentally conscious scheme.

Floristry has the power to totally transform a space into a magical wonderland so I don’t see that changing as visually led social media continues to grow at a rapid pace. I do however feel we will all start to adopt more planet-friendly solutions to ensure we can continue doing what we love for many years to come.

Is it possible to have luxe-looking florals and still have a sustainable wedding?

Yes, however certain schemes and styles lend themselves well towards this style of design. Those styles of look which are wild, garden inspired and free-flowing are ideally suited to adopting sustainable techniques.

We must however me mindful that many of these looks need to be made in situ and cannot be pre-prepared. If sustainability is important to you, one should take this into consideration when selecting your wedding venue to ensure that this will be possible for all your wedding vendors. The longer you have to prepare, the more creative you can be!

Could you share 5 top tips on how to sustainably style your wedding with flowers?

1. Create designs without the use of floral foam.
2. Use flowers which are sourced locally. Design by colour rather than by specific flower type to allow your florist to find the best of what is available for you locally.
3. Gift your flowers to guests at the end of the wedding so that they can be enjoyed fully.
4. Give your florist the time they need to create sustainably led designs. These do take longer to bring to life so ensure that your chosen venue(s) are able to accommodate this.
5. Work with a florist who embraces sustainable practices and has an environmental policy which they are committed to working within.

As a little footnote, I’d like to add to this article that while wedding flowers are seen as creating waste, they’re also a huge opportunity. We need flowers. Our bees, wasps and other pollinators need flowers. Every patch of land where flowers are growing (organically, pesticide free of course!) is a blessing for nature. So while cutting blooms and shipping them off to a wedding may seem wasteful, think of the plants which wouldn’t otherwise be grown, and their benefit to nature. There’s a whole world of wonderful things we could say about British flower farmers and growers and the good they’re doing. Please, do support them if you can!

Advice

The future of wedding florals, with celebrity florist & founder of Bloom, Larry Walshe

By Claire Gould, 3 yearsSeptember 16, 2022 ago

With wedding season in full swing, experts at Flying Flowers have revealed the wedding flower trends that are set to be everywhere in 2022. The recent nuptials of the likes of Kourtney Kardashian and Nicola Peltz-Beckham have inspired a whole new interest in adding extra floral touches to a wedding.

Minimalist bouquets

Simple yet majorly effective, minimalist bouquets are a trend that has swept the 2022 wedding season and will continue to soar. The hashtag #minimalistbride has racked up an incredible 7 million views on TikTok and both Nicola and Kourtney opted for stripped-back floral bouquets made up of just a few stems.

We LOVE this trend. We’ve seen it done beautifully with eucalyptus branches as well as florals, and we love the idea of dried grasses for a sustainable minimalist wedding bouquet.

Neutral floral centrepieces

Neutral floral centrepieces are taking centre stage this wedding season. Following a neutral palette with a pop of colour, these arrangements make a beautiful talking point during the celebrations. Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker’s prenuptial lunch centrepieces featured an arrangement of white flowers and yellow lemons to keep in with the Italian theme. The neutral blooms in Jenny & Nick’s Gray’s Inn London wedding – which we’re sharing in a few weeks’ time! – are stunning and elegant in equal measure.

Floral experts at Flying Flowers comment, ‘We’re going to see an increase in the number of floral centrepieces featured at weddings in the coming months, especially in outdoor ceremonies and celebrations where aspects of nature are blending in with the theme.

“We suggest adding eucalyptus to your floral display as they are great for keeping the focal point of your arrangement on the flowers whilst still adding those earthy tones.”

Flower crowns

Again keeping with the neutral and minimalist theme that is taking over wedding season, Flower crowns have also had a resurgence. Google searches for bridal flower crowns have surged by a whopping 9900% following Brooklyn Beckham’s sister, Harper wearing one as a flower girl at the wedding.

Large floral displays

Floral displays are getting bigger and better this wedding season. They are fast becoming the perfect accessory for adding large touches to luxury wedding decor without becoming distracting. Nicola Peltz-Beckham’s large display of white orchids softened the room and created a calming focal point around her dress. We fell head over heels for Sarah & Ross’s vibrant, floral-filled wedding featured on our blog last week – their flowers were INCREDIBLE!

Sustainable wedding flowers

Sustainable wedding styling is more important than any trend, so we asked Flying Flowers for some information about their approach to sustainability before publishing this piece. While we would always recommend sourcing wedding flowers from a UK based, ideally local grower or florist, or even growing your own flowers, we appreciate this isn’t possible for every couple. We were pleasantly surprised by Flying Flowers’ response to our questions!

– Flying Flowers is a brand owned and operated by Interflora British Unit. Interflora British Unit are committed to decreasing the environmental impact of our operations and we are moving towards a zero-waste business model for more environmentally friendly flowers. Our Flying Flowers brand is supported by a Flower Partner with whom we have worked for many years. We work in partnership to develop, design and select floral bouquets that meet our standards for sourcing, quality and design.

Originally based in the Channel Islands, Flying Flowers began in 1981 as a flower delivery service sending freshly grown carnations throughout Jersey and Guernsey as well as throughout the UK. We now source a wide variety of flower stems from local growers in Lincolnshire and Norfolk, and further afield from Europe and Kenya.

– We take huge pride and control in how our production partners grow their crops, taking care of the wider environment in which we operate. Our flowers are grown using environmentally intelligent farming techniques maximising the use of non-chemical controls, and integrated pest management which ensures we protect our people, the environment and the natural biodiversity of farming operations globally.

– Our flower partners are members of FSI 2025, an initiative that brings together members of the international floriculture sector to build on progress made in transparency, responsible production and trade, positive impact and improvement in the floriculture supply chain.

• The majority of flowers sourced for Flying Flowers bouquets are sourced from the UK, Europe and Kenya
• 30% of Flying Flowers’ total flower volume is grown on our flower partner’s own farms in Kenya, and is certified Carbon neutral through One Carbon World
• 70% of Flying Flowers’ total flower volume is sourced from other growers through our flower partner’s procurement model and are all registered and controlled programme growers
• 100% of Flying Flowers’ total flower volume is controlled through our flower partner’s due diligence program and ethical policy
• All growers, where required and deemed necessary through risk-based assessment, are ethically audited externally to ETI base code and SMETA assessments
• Our flower partner’s certified growers are all either Kenya Flower Council, Global Gap, MPS GAP, Florverde which are all benchmarked and now more commonly being associated with FSI2025
• Our flower partner is a member of the Ethical trade initiative (ETI)

Please find below some of our flower partner’s activities in the UK and overseas:

• Developed a “More crop per drop” program – reducing litres of water to produce a stem of flower
• Integrated Pest Management approaches reduce the use of chemical pesticides
• Committed to offset carbon on all own airfreight by 2022
• Committed to be carbon neutral on own operations by 2025
• Committed to ensure zero-deforestation in operations and supply chain
• All cardboard, plastic and paper is fully recovered, with zero PVC use, and all crop plastics recycled
• All flower and plant sleeves recyclable or paper
• Active programs in education in Kenya and Ethiopia to support communities
• Through health and wellbeing programs, support local communities in accessing these services in Kenya and Ethiopia

Flowers

Celebrity wedding-inspired floral trends we’re going to see everywhere in 2022

By Claire Gould, 3 years ago