December wedding flowers? Grown totally in the UK? For some, it’s a tough sell.
Winter. A time when the British countryside seems to go into hibernation; bulbs lie sleeping beneath the snow and memories of the summer’s fragrant blooms are long gone. What flowers do you think of, besides holly and ivy?
How about these?
December Wedding Flowers: Bold and Beautiful
Pollendine’s began as an eco-friendly, totally green wreath-making venture – so we know what winter has to offer, and we like to take it beyond the obvious into innovative, bold and beautiful designs.
With just a sprinkling of snow on the ground and bright blue skies, Kiri and Will’s wedding began!
Whilst summer, spring and autumn provide a plethora of beautiful flowers to work with, December wedding flowers come from a more limited selection. Limits mean challenge and innovation in design – and innovation is what we like!
A wine-coloured palette alongside cold blues, greys and whites set the tone for Kiri’s day. We decided to create a large-scale hanging for the light-filled wedding venue, created from beautifully preserved hydrangeas in all manner of wine-rich hues, and the winter lustre of ivy leaves and their explosion of little berry buds. The ceremony took place at Coltsford Mill in Kent.
There is still plenty of beauty, and in fact, plenty of options, when you’re thinking about December wedding flowers. It doesn’t mean your design choices or aesthetics have to be limited – you just need
exciting design, a spark of curiosity and the willingness to be a bit inventive.
We used preserved hydrangeas, paper whites, alstroemeria and sweet William (a nod to Kiri’s new husband Will!) as the main flowers, with cool colours, muted foliage and the dramatic bare spikes of wild bilberry. We also used eucalyptus, ivy, juniper and various pine and conifer foliage to create a modern and not stereotypical wintery look.
The wedding party moved to the historic yet homely Plough at Leigh for their wedding breakfast. This amazing room was warm and welcoming, dark and cosy. Modern wreaths created from juniper and heather served as centre pieces and swathes of dried hops decorated the beams of this old inn.
Winter plenty: from juniper to rosemary to eucalyptus, via fragrant paper white narcissi and alstroemeria
With a modern, winter fairytale look, Kiri and Will’s wedding was modern and stylish, with a distinctly wintery aesthetic – but definitely no Santa costumes in sight! The bouquets again utilised the burgundy, claret wine hues of the wall-hanging, but also used paper white narcissi, alstroemeria and sweet William sourced from flower farmers Flowers by Clowance, down in Cornwall, alongside beautiful eucalyptus and the shoots of wild bilberry, and the ivy twining the local Kent hedgerows.
Amazing London-based photographer Kristida shot their day, and we have uploaded a few of her amazing shots here to show a different take on winter weddings – and to prove that British blooms in winter don’t in any way mean compromise! Awarded photographer of the year 2017, take a browse through Kristida’s wonderful gallery to get to know her beautiful and distinct style.
Thanks to Kristida photography, a wonderful photographer, for capturing these amazing shots x
and those beautiful, delicate bulbs which have pushed their blind little heads through the frosty soil arrive, they are such a welcome addition of delicacy and fragility to the otherwise somewhat weathered foliage around us.
those Spring flowers are rare, with florals still few and far between, compared with the abundance of summer time, and although the weather can be muted, the soft peace of a Spring morning is all the more welcome after bitter, dark wintery days.