REBECCA PAULRAJ Becca Blooms, https://beccablooms.com Seasonal Blooms… The traditional colours for winter florals usually centre around deep reds, burgundies, white, sage and deep greens. There’s no written rule about mixing artificial with natural flowers and foliage. Work within your budget, be bold and mix and match. As a florist, I routinely mix fresh with artificial to achieve a desired effect and you can achieve amazing arrangements using your favourite flowers that may be out of season too. Visit the Covent Garden Flower Market if you get a chance during the winter period to see the wealth of flowers and foliage available to choose from. It’ll mean an early morning for you, but it’s well worth the trip just for the experience alone. You can also source your candles, ribbons, lanterns, Christmas wreaths, table display bases, artificial flowers and berries here. Venue styling… Most venues decorate with Christmas-themed florals and baubles and other decorations in the lead up to December. Incorporating or syncing with these displays is an important part of ensuring a continuous theme as well as keeping costs down. Use the humble Christmas wreath to create your table displays, incorporating candles, baubles, pinecones, berries and evergreen foliage to carry through the winter wonderland theme. Be bold in your use of greenery. A thick and bushy pine, fir and eucalyptus swag with a smattering of red berries and some white winter roses is all you need to bring a long trailing table garland to life. Use candles or strings of tiny battery-operated lights to lift the display. Carry through your table displays into the chandeliers or hanging lights if you want to fill the space above your banqueting area. Use greens predominantly and use your florals sparingly. To add to the desired effect, hang baubles on pretty luxury ribbons from the displays. Top tips… The bouquets, corsages and the boutenniers are probably the most important florals, as they’ll feature predominantly in your photos. Be willing to spend a large proportion of your flower budget on them and make sure you choose your florist wisely. Look at their websites, ask to see images of other wedding work they’ve done and make sure you choose the right person to work with. Gift your table centrepieces to beloved family members and friends so that they can take them home and enjoy as a reminder of your special day. Leaving them behind will only mean that the florist/venue staff will have to dispose of them and you may get charged for the privilege. EMILY BAYLIS June in March, www.juneinmarch.com Seasonal Blooms… For a modern and stylish update on the traditional Red Poinsettia, try Amaryllis. It’s darker and a bit less obvious and, like Poinsettia, often comes potted. Then there’s Ranunculus, which is also a darker red with vibrant ruffled petals and thick stems – great for a bit of texture. Hellebores are also beautiful and they smell divine. Icelandic Poppies look pretty delicate and summery, but are actually a true winter wonder and very stylish. I love them. They do tend to be more of a January flower though, which is something to bear in mind. Foliage… Not many plants flower over the winter. Traditional, winter season floristry includes lots of green foliage for a reason. Set the mood; there are options like Eucalyptus and even berried Eucalyptus for a lighter more contemporary look. Pine’s also great, it smells gorgeous and will create a lovely warm, cosy feel. For more traditional result you can go for Ruscus, or ivy. Venue styling… Go luxe for less and create something vintage inspired for the table settings. I’ve added dried flowers into glass domes many times. It’s very ‘Victoriana’, looks vintage-chic and is easy to do. Build a small ball of moss – you can buy it from some florists or garden centres, then put some dried flowers in it. It looks so expensive, very much in keeping with the cosy winter season and will impress as a statement table centrepiece. If you want to save a bit of money, don’t buy new things to style up a table setting. I always use pieces from home or sometimes things I salvage or find out and about. You’ll often see me picking up a large stick in the park that I can use for hanging winter floral decorations. You can also use old wine bottles, jugs and large jars for table settings. Florals should be fun, especially at this time of the year. Top tips… Dried flowers are a great money saving option and they’ll last and could even be put into storage for next year. It’s also a more sustainable way of enjoying flowers and they look very chic. You could go for the more traditional cinnamon and orange slice decoration or you could opt for something less obvious like dried thistle and artichoke, roses, Protea and Amaranth. 47 FLOWERS
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