What’s new? YOU CAN NOW RENT YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS FROM AS LITTLE AS £2.50 In a bid to showcase more conscious living practices, one of the UK’s leading jewellery brands, Diamonds Factory, spoke exclusively to 37-year-old Rebecca Lane from Surrey, who is the founder of The Floral Hire. This is a rent-and-return wedding florist service operating UK-wide, and is one of the first in the country to offer a postal service for wedding bouquets and wedding decor. Diamonds Factory caught up with Rebecca to discuss the benefits of renting wedding bouquets, along with an exclusive insight into what wedding bouquet trends are on the rise this year. With more than 15 years’ experience working in the events industry, with personal experience working for the likes of Tom Ford, Barack Obama and Alexander McQueen, Rebecca shares with us when her light bulb moment to start The Floral Hire happened. She says, “Eight years ago, I started Love Lane Events, an event decor company. It was while I was running this business that I realised how expensive weddings were becoming and I witnessed, first hand, flowers being put in the bin after a single use at the end of a wedding day. Therefore, I spotted a gap in the market and I started The Floral Hire in January 2024.” Rebecca explains why renting your wedding bouquet contributes to less waste, whilst benefiting couples financially without sacrificing quality. She says, “Couples can order individual items to rent, which starts at as little as £2.50, right up to the Ultimate Package which caters for all your floral wedding needs at £500. With the average cost of fresh flowers being around £1,100, couples are able to save a great deal by renting their bouquets whilst still ensuring they are realistic, beautiful and professionally made.” She adds, “By opting for silk blooms, you’re making a beautiful choice that aligns with environmental consciousness. You cut out the energy and water consumed during the production and transportation of freshly cut blooms and, with 86% of all fresh flowers sold in the UK being transported from South America, Europe, Asia or Africa, you’re reducing emissions from transportation, too.” Moreover, silk flowers are not dependent on seasonal availability, reducing the need for energy-intensive greenhouses or long-distance transportation to meet demand. Did you know that 40%-60% of flowers leaving a farm do not make it to the end customer, which means about half of all the flowers grown are simply thrown away and do not make it to supermarket shelves or florist shops. Furthermore, silk flowers can be reused for other events, minimising waste and contributing to a more sustainable approach to floral arrangements.” There have been two noticeable wedding flower trends that Rebecca has spotted rising that we can expect to see dominate this year. She says, “There are two very opposing trends apparent in the enquiries we receive daily. One trend is an all-white theme, where people are wanting white roses and gypsophila, usually to complement a wedding which is a black and white theme, with men and groomsmen in tuxedos and women and bridesmaids in black. The second rising trend that will be popular this year is the complete opposite, where couples are inquiring about a multi-coloured bridal bouquet to suit a theme where their colour scheme is summer pastels mixed with vibrant pops of colour.” Finally, discussing her views on why rented wedding bouquets will become just as popular as rented dresses, Rebecca explains, “With social media playing a significant role in the wedding industry, wedding spending from couples has increased in line with social media popularity over the last decade. Even the couples throwing the smallest of weddings are now more conscious about how their wedding appears to not only their guests, but also to potentially hundreds of people on social media. Everything needs to be more visually appealing and couples are prioritising this. However, it means costs increase and, therefore, many will opt for rented options to help save on spending without compromising on quality or visual appeal.” Rebecca concludes, “Furthermore, with the growing trend of the whole nation being encouraged to be more green in all aspects of their lives, and with the rise in DIY Weddings, where couples are keeping wedding costs super low by undertaking some of the tasks usually outsourced to professional wedding suppliers, more people are looking for alternative ways to have what they need for their big day whilst being mindful of the planet and their bank accounts!” www.instagram.com/thefloralhire www.diamondsfactory.co.uk EXPERTS AT DIAMONDS FACTORY HAVE ALSO PREDICTED THE FIVE WEDDING TRENDS SET TO BE POPULAR THIS SUMMER. “Stepping away from the traditional black and white formal attire, many wedding parties will embrace colour this summer. We saw the mismatched bridesmaid dresses trend resurge in popularity in late 2023, and predict this trend will take off even further, especially now it’s getting warmer and with people experimenting with colour more.” “According to the Pinterest Wedding Report, searches for a ‘burnt orange and sage green wedding’ have increased by +450%, which suggests that these are just some of the beautiful colourways people will be experimenting with this season. If you do end up incorporating this trend in your summer wedding, we would recommend couples to create an attire card with a colour palette that they want guests to follow to ensure the colours worn still look and feel cohesive.” •Garden gatherings and forest I do’s “Eco, sustainable weddings are only getting more popular so it will be no surprise if we see more couples choosing to hold their ceremonies outdoors, surrounded by nature’s beauty. The Pinterest Trends Report highlights that ‘Whimsical garden weddings’ has seen a +450% increase in searches, so taking advantage of the understated beauty of nature and letting its aesthetics speak 1,000 words, is proving popular.” •Ground flower arches are IN “We have all seen the love and popularity flower arches have got on social media, with stunning displays being created for every type of occasion, especially weddings. With the ‘quiet luxury trend’ being one of the most popular spring trends in 2024, we see this moving into the summer months, and what is chicer than a ground flower arch?” “It can be made to look exceptionally natural, and compliment outdoor ceremonies beautifully, for those looking to take their wedding outside, this trend can go hand in hand.” •We will see more wedding day content creators “A trend that has been newly adopted in the past year, and as the digital world continues to grow, we predict to see more couples seeking content creators to capture their day in real-time. Traditionally, taking wedding photos from a digital camera can take anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks to process and be sent to couples, however within this new age where we want to access things as quickly as possible, it solves this problem. This is because the content creator will be assigned to follow the couple around for the day taking multiple, raw and organic images using a mobile device. In doing this, the couple will be able to receive these images within 24 hours of the ceremony to look back on, and even share socially.” •Refined bouquets with a pop of colour “From the likes of Sofia Riche to Bridget Bahl, these celebrities are just some of the people who adopted the refined bouquet trend, and we don’t see it disappearing anytime soon. With the theme of embracing colour this summer, the Pinterest Wedding Report indicates that ‘pink and orange wedding flowers’ will prove popular this year with a search increase of +200%, so even though we may see traditional bouquets continue to refine, they will still make a statement with pops of colour.” www.diamondsfactory.co.uk FLOWERS 57
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