Winter Wedding Flowers: The Seasonal Style Guide

Image by Stella Photography at Iscoyd Park 

Winter Wedding Flowers: The Seasonal Style Guide

Themes and Inspiration for Winter Wedding Flowers

For me, designing winter wedding flowers is about embracing the season. The summer months characterised by lush green foliage, big, bountiful gardens and abundant meadows are behind us, and the natural world starts to look more minimal. Floral design at this time of year takes on a different kind of beauty, as do the weddings they decorate.

Finding inspiration for and theming your winter wedding flowers can be done in a multitude of different ways. We can turn to the holidays, be influenced by what’s happening in nature, or take a cue from the chill in the air to create an artistic, unique design that feels wintry in the right way for you. 

Image by Shutter Go Click at Barmby Fields Barns 

One of my previous couples had a wedding that really celebrated Christmas, and we made use of classic reds and hunter greens and combined with the deliciously deep textures of a traditional pine forest. There was nothing cheesy or gaudy about it, just pure holiday joy and elegantly designed floral artistry. 

We can also reflect the changing of the seasons to inspire your winter wedding florals, focusing on the transition from autumn to winter or even the move back into spring, depending on the month of your wedding. This can influence the mood or ambience of your wedding, either choosing to hunker down into the cosy warmth of winter familiarity, or celebrate what grows anew on the other side. 

It is so important to me that we design in keeping with the season and the availability of flowers during this time, and I always advise my couples to celebrate what Mother Nature offers us. You won’t find me promising lusciously abundant arrangements bursting with blooms, because it’s unrealistic and not naturally attainable. 

Images by Shutter Go Click

Types of Flowers For Winter Weddings

When looking for winter wedding flower ideas and putting together your Proposal of Dreams, I emphasise the flowers and foliage that are naturally available at this time of year. I am a big fan of using tree foliage all year round, and in the winter this can be pine, beech or silver birch, even without their leaves. Birch twigs help to give gorgeous architectural shape to an arrangement or installation, as do willow branches. Evergreens such as pine and spruce feel beautifully wintry as they are often used for wreaths, and we may even sprinkle a few pine cones here and there. All of these make wonderful foliage bases for your winter wedding flowers.

The presence of all these lovely architectural foliage options means winter is a great time for floral installations - read my Couple’s Guide To Floral Installations here to find out more.

Looking at the actual blooms for your winter wedding flowers, it’s possible to get fabulously fluffy hydrangeas during the transition from autumn to winter, tulips as we creep into spring, and incredible ranunculus from Holland during January and February. I also use lots of plants and some dried elements, never to be tempted by anything that doesn’t grow naturally during the colder months.

Image by Stella Photography 

Colour Palettes for Winter Wedding Flowers

Choosing the colours for your winter wedding flowers can go two different ways; classic wintry ideas, or modern and unexpected concepts. I love both, and create beautiful bespoke designs that are worthy of your Pinterest board and your living room wall!

Image by Shutter Go Click 

Classic winter wedding flower colour ideas

Embracing traditional colour schemes for winter weddings is always a winning choice. Dark greens, warm reds, cool whites and monochrome vibes are always popular, as are rich jewel tones and deep neutrals. 

Modern winter wedding flower colours

We can also think outside the box a little and give winter a new edge, choosing vibrant shades to add some zest to a chilly day, working across a tonal range of one winter colour such as blue, or leaning into the approaching spring season by using pastels.

Whichever way you choose to go, using your venue to influence your choice is always important. This is why I include at least one site visit to your wedding venue when working on your winter wedding flowers, to ensure we are designing with its architecture and atmosphere rather than against it. Read more about designing your wedding flowers to suit your venue here.

Images by Stella photography and Shutter Go Click.

Other Things To Consider With Your Winter Wedding Flowers

As I begin to design your winter wedding flower proposal, not only am I thinking about the flowers, arrangements and installations themselves, I am also thinking about the flow of your wedding day and how your guests will move through and around what we create. 

Remember that the days are shorter in the winter, and even if your wedding venue is indoors it may get chilly. We can use your florals to make a space feel cosier, and also to guide your guests through the spaces to carefully manage their comfort and experience. If your venue has lots of beautiful outside space in the summer, it will likely look very different in the winter - we can compensate for that with show-stopping florals inside. 

Image by Stella Photography

Seasonal Style Guides

Check out my other seasonal style guides for spring*, summer* and autumn weddings below:

*coming soon!

The autumn style edit.

Contact Dittany Entwined.

Images by Stella Photography, Chris Milner Photography and Moon Gazey Hare

Using Pinterest For Your Wedding Flowers: Turning Inspiration Into Reality!

Image by Hannah Brooke Photography: Floral installation by Dittany Entwined including hand painted paintings. 

As couples getting married and wedding florists, we all talk about wanting Pinterest-worthy wedding flowers. Using Pinterest for your wedding flowers is an amazing starting point when deciding what style and vibe you want for your own wedding day, and it’s a source of endless inspiration. However, knowing how to use it properly is key to not getting overwhelmed by the unachievable, the AI-generated and the mismatch between Pinterest and reality. My couples and I always use Pinterest at the beginning of our floral journey together, but perhaps not in the way you’re expecting - I’m going to tell you exactly how to use this pretty platform to help build out the floral design of your dreams.

Image by Francesca Bravo Photography: All white Bridal Bouquet. 

Pinterest-Worthy: What Do We Mean?

What do we really mean when we say we want Pinterest-worthy wedding flowers? For me, it’s all about the feeling - the feeling of being so wow’ed by what you are seeing that you almost can’t imagine how it was done, whether that’s a jaw-droppingly beautiful bouquet or an awe-inspiring abundant arch. I see Pinterest wedding flowers as a cyclical journey, much like the life of a flower: the idea (the seed) starts here and begins to grow, nurtured into a proposal which evolves into a digital sketch and finally blooms into the physical design on the wedding day. Then come the photographs of the art, which go back into Pinterest to pollinate and inspire new couples. 

For this reason, Pinterest-worthy flowers are irreplicable. Your wedding flowers should always be original and authentic, never a copy of something you’ve seen online. I will never do the same wedding twice, simply because I will never see the same couple with the same venue and the same brief twice. Pinterest is for inspiration, not imitation. This all starts with coming to me with trust, bringing your ideas and allowing me to develop them into a wedding floral design that is uniquely yours. So, how do we use Pinterest together to collate your ideas?

Using Pinterest For Your Wedding Flowers: Little Inspirations

Using Pinterest for your wedding flowers is like picking wildflowers for an organic bouquet - we collect single stems of our most favourite or eye-catching varieties, and bring them together into something that is not yet refined or curated but has the potential to be. I usually ask my couples to bring me a Pinterest board so I can get a feel for their ideas, and at first glance they can appear to be full of mismatching ideas, thrown haphazardly together. However, on closer inspection I am able to pick out exactly what you’re trying to tell me. There may be an image that shows a beautiful colour palette, the shape of an aisle, the way texture has been used or one showing the size and scale of an arrangement. Your own unique design will be pulled together using fragments of these images, ultimately creating something that can be shared again on Pinterest to provide future inspiration.

Image by Hannah Brooke Photography: Tablescape floral installation 

Turning Pinterest Images Into a Proposal

When talking to my couples I know how to get the information I need to turn those Pinterest inspiration images into an aesthetic or feeling, a bigger picture. Using Pinterest for your wedding flowers is just the beginning, as I will then consider each detail within a whole flowing design. Your Proposal Of Dreams (read more about what’s included here) takes all your ideas and refines them into something authentic and original, giving you the confidence that you really can have something that has never been done in quite that way before, something that will really look incredible and feel perfect for you.

Amalgamating and refining your Pinterest ideas on your own is really difficult, simply because you don’t have the experience of knowing what’s possible or what can practically work within a space. Just as most people wouldn’t try to cut their own hair or wire their own house, you should work with a professional wedding florist for your big day flowers. 

Image by Mark Bamforth Film and Photography 

Wedding Florists vs Flower Shops vs Wedding Stylists

Choosing a designer that specialises in wedding flowers is going to incur a higher cost than opting for a flower shop or stylist who also offers flowers. If your budget allows, I highly recommend working with a dedicated wedding florist. You’ll find more time, effort and attention is put into the overall look and feel of your floral design, using those Pinterest images to develop something original, high quality and long lasting, as opposed to working from a colour palette or package offer.

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Natural just grown here staircase floral installation 

Using Pinterest For Your Wedding Flowers: The Downsides

It is so important to remember that Pinterest is one big highlight reel of people showing their best work, often the fullest, most abundant arrangements or impressively sized designs. This is difficult for you as a couple because there is no price tag next to it, and it can be very difficult to know what is possible or achievable for your own budget. I get asked a lot about what size things will end up being, because photos can distort things to look much larger than in reality. There is also a minefield of AI-generated inspiration out there that is impractical, unethical or would simply require a staggering floral budget. 

I help you translate Pinterest into reality, and I do this by creating a detailed proposal in the first instance, having at least one site visit and one final details meeting before ordering your flowers - this helps me ensure we go through every image together so I know exactly what you do and don’t like, and I know exactly how it’s going to look inside your venue.

Choosing a florist who is going to help you in using Pinterest for your wedding flowers and make your dream a reality is so important. A deep understanding of practical mechanics and flower choices is a big part of turning Pinterest into reality, and I pride myself on having a range of flower suppliers to choose from for your wedding day. I select my flower supplier based on availability, price and quality, and can’t and won’t ever do things ‘on the cheap’ because I simply can’t achieve the same look. All of these things are important in ensuring your design also stays alive, along with the way the flowers are conditioned before arrival on your big day - my couples will always have vibrant, fresh flowers to take home at the end of the night because I make sure of it. In 

There’s a lot of time, skill and understanding of flowers that goes into making sure your Pinterest board becomes a better-than-you-dreamed reality. To begin using Pinterest for your wedding flowers, here are some blogs that may help you:

See if ‘just grown here’ flowers are your style.

Explore how your wedding venue influences your wedding flowers.

Browse some of my previous couples’ floral designs.

Finally, get in touch if you’d like to start designing for 2025.

Image by Lauren Braithwaite Photography: An Intimate dining experience

A Couple’s Guide To Wedding Flower Installations

Image by Nicola Robson: Founder of Dittany Entwined Floral Design. Digital painting of a ceremony installation. 

A Couple’s Guide To Wedding Flower Installations

Wedding flower installations can be one of the most impactful decor elements in a room, transforming a space through consideration of its architecture. There are many different types of installation, each of which come in a huge variety of styles and levels of extravagance. This couple’s guide will help you to understand the kinds of installations we work on at Dittany Entwined, and allow you to envision which may work for your own wedding.

Image by Victoria Baker Weddings of a wedding ceremony installation at White Syke Fields 

Key Considerations For Wedding Flower Installations

Firstly, it’s important to qualify what an installation actually is and how it differs from an arrangement - the two are distinctly different, having unique effects on a space. For me, wedding flower installations are architectural floral designs that are created in place and remain there, and could only be created in that specific way by that specific person at that time. For example, aisle meadows that are then moved to fireplaces or the foot of your signage are arrangements, since they can be picked up and used in different spaces. Trailing ceiling florals or hanging foliage would count as an installation, because it is put in place and carefully curated to remain there throughout the day. 

When working on floral installations for your wedding, the architecture of the room is the most important factor. Your flowers should complement and enhance your wedding venue, not detract from it or be swamped by its grandeur. Evenness and symmetry are key,  as well as the purpose of the room and the flow of yourselves and your guests through and around it on your wedding day. 

Wedding floral installations are synonymous with bespoke design, made completely from scratch for each couple in each space. When combined with my signature ‘just grown here’ style, this makes for statement features that showcase your style and vibe and have a big impact. They don’t always have to be large in size, but they often are - and, in the name of transparency, they generally require scale and budget to make them visually stunning and worthwhile.

Take a look at my recent blog exploring what ‘just grown here’ means for your wedding florals.

5 Types of Wedding Floral Installations

Archways

Floral wedding archways are eternally popular, probably because they come in so many different shapes and sizes and can be adapted for your budget. They range from full, continuous archways that stretch from the floor, all the way over your heads and back again on the other side, to broken archways that are more akin to a pair of columns asymmetrically meeting in the middle. They can be designed to be walked through or to frame a doorway, flowing with and mirroring the shape of the space around it. 

Your decision about whether to have a fuller or broken archway comes down to a few things, not just budget. Sometimes a broken arch can look more organic where a full arch would be overpowering, so depending on your space you may choose one or the other. Take a look at this blog which shows different styles of archway and explains how small tweaks can affect the cost. 

Some wedding flower installations that appear to be arches would actually be classified as arbours, especially those that sit at the end of the aisle and are designed to frame you during your ceremony, not to be walked through. I’ll get onto these in more detail in the aisles & altars section!

Browse my galleries to see various styles of archways I have designed for my couples.

Image by Mark Bamforth Film and Photography 

Staircases

If your wedding venue has a focal staircase that you or your guests will be using, passing or posing with throughout the day, I highly recommend a wedding flower installation for it. It’s no secret that I absolutely love staircase florals - take a look at this Thicket Priory installation that was specifically designed to be walked through all weekend long.

Staircase floral installations need scale and budget in order to achieve that blended, all encompassing style for the structure. An urn on a plinth at the bottom of a staircase is an arrangement (a beautiful one!), but when the flowers creep and twist and melt into the stairs themselves, it becomes an installation. There is something really special about a blooming staircase, giving the feeling of walking into an enchanted wonderland or secret garden. It can feel truly experiential and will delight your guests.

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Natural just grown here staircase floral installation 

Ceiling Installations

Ceiling wedding flower installations require experience, expert knowledge and careful consideration to make them safe, beautiful and long lasting. Taking into account the purpose of the room and your flow through it is a big factor here, thinking about your key touchpoints and which moments are the most important in order to decide on placement. Ceiling florals need to be impactful and generally involve bigger budgets, in part due to the extra production and larger scale we inevitably work on. For smaller budgets, it’s possible to retain that hanging effect by placing raised arrangements on tables to look as though they are floating or hovering.

It’s important to see what’s available and possible at your wedding venue, as not all will let you hang things from their existing ceiling structures or even at all. We usually like to use beams or similar solid features that are already in place, but if these aren’t present then we need to install extra mechanics to make it work. Once your ceiling installation is in, it can’t be moved! 

Ceiling flower installations are more complex than their down-to-earth counterparts because we have to ensure they are safe and won’t fall down, carefully consider which types of flowers and foliage will look their best up there with limited water sources, and manage the weight and load - all while making it look visually stunning and effortless.

In your Proposal Of Dreams (more about that here) I’ll always outline what’s realistic and possible at your venue, giving you the most accurate representation of how things will turn out on the day.

Table Installations

Table florals come on such a spectrum of styles, aesthetic finishes and scales, and defining them as installations rather than arrangement lies in this distinction: if they can only be curated in the moment and never put back the same way twice, they are installations. If they can be picked up, moved about and rearranged, they are centrepieces or arrangements. Wedding flower installations on your tables don’t have to be large scale and structured to make a statement, they can also be delicate and organic and wild - my favourite way to work! 

We can create something playful, dancing along the table and seemingly growing from it. One of my couples asked me for a modern art vibe with their table florals, so we are using little arrangements in small dishes but on an abundant scale - all together and curated, this will be an architectural arrangement that will have a huge impact. 

Table floral installations have such potential, and the possibilities are exciting and endless.

Image by Safrina Smith Photography: An Intimate dining experience

Wedding floral installations have such power to ground you on your wedding day, keeping you in the moment and immersing you in an alchemic cloud of blooms. Read more about how the power of the senses influences my floral design, and get in touch to begin designing your own gorgeously sophisticated, luxuriously wild wedding flowers.

CONTACT 

The Art of ‘Just Grown Here’ - Natural Wedding Flowers Explained

Image by Emma Ryan Wedding Photographer: Church Ceremony floral installation. 

The use of flowers at weddings dates back to the ancient Romans, for whom they symbolised new beginnings and fertility - two things the natural world has down to a fine art. For me, wedding flowers are a way of experientially connecting you to nature and merging the organic with the sculptural. The Dittany Entwined style is best described as ‘just grown here’ natural wedding flowers, leaning towards wildness and abundance, and is heavily influenced by my background in art. 

Image by Emma Shaw Photography : Place setting for intimate dinner at Prestwold Hall 

Just Grown Here - What Does It Mean?

When I talk about ‘just grown here’ florals, I mean arrangements that give the impression that they are organically sprouting and climbing from where they are placed. These floral designs are the closest representation of how plants grow in nature, and feel curated without rigidity or prescribed form. Every stem is unique and every bloom slightly different, even within the same variety. I like to embrace this and create carefully thought-out natural wedding flowers that feel free and expressive, full of texture and depth. 

This looser, more abundant style lives on a spectrum and can be adapted for each couple’s own tastes. For example, if I am designing a wildflower meadow I can add long stems, bigger depth gradients and trailing elements for a more wild finish, or tighten up the arrangement and make it slightly more structured for a neater finish. Whichever way we go with it, my designs are always contemporary and curated, and reflective of the world around us. 

Every individual flower grows naturally to maximise its exposure to the sunlight, and so often we see wonky stems and hardly ever two the same. I echo this in the designs of my natural wedding flowers, spending a lot of time and giving a lot of consideration to an effortless-looking finished product. 

I love creating installations in a space that look as though the flowers bend, weave and twist around man-made structures, almost as though the wild is reclaiming the venue. A lovely example is a staircase, where I consider all angles and artistically wrap your florals around and through so that they become part of one seamless sculpture. Even if a design as against a wall, I’ll pay attention to the ‘unseen’ sides as this is what gives it that truly three-dimensional feel.

I NEED JUST GROWN HERE WEDDING FLOWERS

Natural Wedding Flowers - Sidestepping Traditional Floristry Practices

Just grown here natural wedding flowers go against the grain of traditional floristry practices, and for me lean more towards creativity and artistry which are highly intuitive rather than prescribed. Classical floristry techniques include using groupings of 3 with differing stem lengths and arranging them straight upwards, along with creating neat rounded arrangements with a certain degree of homogeneity. 

Personally, I like to disregard all these rules when designing your wedding flowers and instead be guided by how flora behave in their natural environment. I love the deeper connection it creates for you, and I believe that nobody truly wants a wedding day that feels stiff and stuffy any more. 

In traditional floristry it often feels as though a lot of emphasis is placed on each individual element rather than the bigger picture, whereas just grown here florals offer a living, flowing guide through your wedding day. Each installation and arrangement is a natural sculpture that meanders languorously into the next, with careful consideration given to showcasing specific types of flowers or highlighting certain colours.

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Abundant floral staircase installation 

Abundance in Natural Wedding Flowers

My style of natural wedding flowers with a just grown here look is based on abundance. I like using a lot of flowers because I believe if you’re going to do something, it’s worth doing intentionally and making a statement. Even where foliage is the focus it will be used generously, and this bountiful approach helps ensure that all-important wild finish can be achieved. 

Abundance doesn’t always necessarily mean a lavish amount of flowers everywhere, and in some cases we will use as few as three considered stems in small bowl arrangements. The important factor is how well thought out the design is, whether it’s three or three hundred blooms.

Image by Eyes to Pixels: Natural floral arch 

Achieving a just grown here look for natural wedding flowers is a true labour of love, and if you resonate with a modern, playfully sophisticated vibe then we’re going to get along famously. Take a look at these florals I created for a Thicket Priory wedding, where they were used as a way to guide guests through the venue and included a spectacular staircase installation. 

You can also explore my love of immersive floral alchemy to light up the senses, and when you’re ready to say yes to plentiful, curated floral design that looks oh-so natural, get in touch:

CONTACT

The Influence of Your Wedding Venue on Your Flowers: Architecture, Aesthetic & Artistry

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Modern Floral wedding ceremony in a beautiful Georgian Church 

Your wedding venue is often one of the first things you book when planning, and choosing a location for such a special day is a deeply personal and highly individual choice. When designing your wedding flowers, I work in a way that is sympathetic to your wedding venue and all the reasons you love and chose it - how the day will flow, what your specific intentions for particular installations are, and what about the venue you really want to highlight or enhance. Architecture, aesthetic and artistry blend to form a wedding floral design that is bespoke, considered and celebrates you and your wedding venue.

Architectural Influence on Floral Design

My approach to your wedding flowers is rooted in a love of architecture that was nurtured in my childhood, spending holidays with my parents exploring buildings and cathedrals. As an art student I completed a project about the many beautiful doors in Sorrento, Italy, and to this day I am still amazed and enamoured by characterful venues and lovingly kept buildings. I’m charmed by high ceilings, glass conservatories, secret nooks, crannies and passageways that encourage exploration, and tumbling ruins - especially when juxtaposed with tasteful updates to make for a contemporary yet authentic wedding venue. Designing wedding flowers to complement and celebrate the unique features of your venue is something that brings me so much joy.

Some particular favourite venues of mine are the ones that remain true to their origins and enhance and update their unique elements, especially when considerations have been made for weddings such as neutral toned decor and curated grounds. This makes them easy to work with and transform through floral design.

Great examples of venues that have been updated while retaining their original beauty include; Thicket Priory* with its lovely grounds, warm neutrals and classic fairytale feel; Middleton Lodge, which retains an English countryside feel but with beautiful spaces ready for transformation; and White Syke Fields, the quirky industrial-rural vibe of which is celebrated to perfection.  

Take a look at an immersive, living garden of blooms designed for a Thicket Priory wedding, helping to guide the flow of the day and tap into the senses.

Designing Wedding Florals with Your Venue in Mind

When I work on your bespoke Proposal of Dreams for your wedding flowers, I keep several things in mind to do with your venue. You can find out more about what’s included in my comprehensive, imaginative proposal guides here, to see just how much detail I go into to help you envision your beautiful blooms. 

Firstly, I always want to find out what you love most about your wedding venue and what made you choose it - a specific feature, room or feeling, for example. I want to know how you imagine your wedding day there, and get creative with ceremony configurations and dinner shapes and set ups. Knowing how you want to make the venue your own is the first step towards designing florals that flow and flourish.

We’ll then discuss the type of florals you love and want for your wedding day, and how they will work with your venue. My style leans towards blooms that blend with the environment and aesthetic and layout of your venue, and if you’re a lover of big floral installations I’ll always design so that they complement and enhance the space. For example, if you are having your ceremony outdoors then abundant arches or tall meadows can be beautiful and look as though they’re growing from the grass, but I’ll always consider what’s behind you as it’s a shame to ruin a spectacular view. Building your florals around the surroundings is important, maintaining symmetry and balancing scale and volume.

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Church wedding flower installation 

In some instances we may choose to intentionally create a feature that stands out from your venue or surroundings as a deliberate stylistic choice. I once designed an industrial floral crescent moon in the midst of a ruined abbey, unlike the soft, tumbling arches you might expect - it was impactful and striking, which was perfect for the look my couple was going for. 

With this we also think about size and scale. I won’t ever be the florist that does something on a minimal scale where it doesn’t fit, because when you’re building in a large space or a venue with high ceilings small arrangements get lost and lose their sparkle. My architectural brain comes into play, ensuring everything is in proportion and displays natural, wild abundance. This often involves managing impactful design with budget, and knowing whether to invest more in fewer, more impressive installations or more, less dense elements. I will always help you with a design that offers maximum impact and doesn’t look small or silly.

Designing around the flow of your day is important, and for this I will get to know which parts are particularly important to you. Some couples want more emphasis on a big entrance to their wedding breakfast but don’t want to make a fuss of the first dance, so knowing your standout points of your timeline helps me with your design. I’ll think creatively about how to use the space and your florals to highlight and celebrate the most important moments, which also means your flowers are seen and appreciated that much more throughout the day. If you have specific ideas about certain parts of the day, for example an entryway that everyone will use, we will think about whether you want a wild, abundant design that guests have to touch and brush through (like a little secret garden entrance moment) or a big, open framing arrangement. It’s about the bigger picture and the smaller details.

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Floral Tunnel Installation

My final considerations are about logistics and the practical limitations of the design in your venue. I have to consider things like what is already available to me for hanging installations, for example, and what is allowed within the space. Listed buildings have restrictions on what you can do, and working with the dimensions and flow of the space is key. I have all this in mind while developing your design, so I can give you the most realistic vision and price based on an accurate idea of the set up, team size and timeline. 

I am often asked whether we can reuse items, for example bringing floral meadows or archways from a ceremony into the dinner space. Of course it is sometimes possible, but not always - I will always explain what we can or can’t do and why, which generally has to do with the fact that I try not to use floral foam. This means things aren’t as easy to move, and so each time you do so you need to essentially redo the arrangement or installation - which comes at an extra cost. This is all part of the design process to work out what is possible and what can be creatively repurposed, and we’ll focus on your priorities and how we can make the most of your flowers.

It is also important to think about colour palettes and consider the time of year, and my Seasonal Style Guides are there to help you discover creative new ways to incorporate chic seasonality.

The best wedding flowers are designed to elevate your venue’s architecture and aesthetic, help the flow of your day and highlight your most important moments. I care deeply about creating a highly bespoke design for every couple, so every wedding’s florals are one of a kind and reflective of your personal style. For floral artistry that leaves no leaf unturned, get in touch - I can’t wait to get Entwined in your vision.

“Nature builds up her refined and invisible architecture, with a delicacy eluding our conception, yet with a symmetry and beauty which we are never weary of admiring!”

— John Herschel

Floral Installations for Businesses: Bespoke Brand Blooms

Image by Emma Raye Photography. A  bespoke hanging floral Installation for the bar at White Syke Fields wedding venue. 

As a business planning your next client event, product launch, in-house session or brand activation, you’ll be seeking unique style, on-brand design and a true transformation for your space, shop or studio. There’s no better way to make a memorable first impression for your clients than with bespoke, imaginative floral installations - from inviting entrance arches and enticing window displays, to picture-perfect photo backdrops and long-lasting feature walls. Find out more about my floral installations for businesses, and how the sky's the petal-filled limit. 

Image by Emma Shaw Photography : Place setting for intimate dinner at Prestwold Hall 

Why do we need floral installations for businesses?

Floral installations for businesses are an organic, crowd pleasing way to transform a space and enhance an experience. You might choose them because you want something different, playful and immersive for your event or just to make an area feel on-brand. I value experiential design as much as you do, and florals really add to this by activating a multitude of senses and drawing people into your world.

You can read all about the power of the senses in my blog on Floral Alchemy.

So much more than table arrangements for a corporate event, my floral installations are about elevating a room and inviting your clients, customers or guests into your wonderland. A great example of an experience-led brand is Jo Malone, which exudes quiet luxury at every turn - from the way the perfume is boxed to their in-store hand massages, and you’ll notice the decor and styling is seamlessly designed to match. Adding appropriate florals gives it a living dimension, and people always love to stop and smell the roses.

How does it work?

There is no one-size-fits-all, cookie cutter process when it comes to floral installations for businesses, and I work with every brand on an individual basis. You’ll never find my designs copied or imitated from Pinterest, and my floral ethos of remaining creative, playful and emanating a just-grown-here look remains throughout my wedding florals and brand blooms. My approach is people-centred, and I love to collaborate with brands who value the artistic process. 

Different brand clients have different approaches, with some having a very clear vision for what they’d like and others requiring more design development. Whichever way you want to work, we’ll begin with a chat so I can understand what the installation means for your brand, what it will be used for, how long it needs to stay looking its best, and what the space is like. This means I can bring my extensive knowledge of which flowers to use to create the ambience you’re looking for, and send a visual aid along with my quote for you to imagine how the proposed finished design will look. If necessary, I will perform a site visit so I can accurately show you what will work within your space.

Image by Charlotte Nelson Photography Dried Flower Arrangements perfect for giving a natural organic feel to a photographers studio. 

Whether you’re looking for something one-off like a shop front that will remain in place for a few weeks or months, a long-standing recurring arrangement such as a quarterly event, or a mobile floral design you can move around your studio, I will adapt my design to your needs. For floral installations for businesses that need to last a long time, dried or artificial florals are the perfect medium to work in. I have a brilliant artificial flower wholesaler that provides realistic, high quality faux stems with which I can create designs that look close to the real thing. 

The design, specific installations and florals used will depend on your requirements, and are tailored for your brand’s vibe, colour palette and tone.

Image by  Charlotte Nelson Photography : Yorkshire photography studio babys breath hanging installation

Real Floral Installations for Brands

I have worked with Charlotte Nelson, an editorial photographer who specialises in Vogue-worthy weddings and motherhood and newborn shoots. Her photography studio was in need of a floral installation to match her high end editing style, so we developed two beautiful concepts to enhance her small but perfectly formed space. 

The first design I worked on for Charlotte was a set of mobile floor meadows, in a neutral colour palette to match the muted, elegant tones of her brand. She chose the colours and a few specific focal flowers she loved, and we spent time talking about her photography style and the vibe she wanted for the studio. It was important that the finished product had an organic, living feel but needed to last for a long time and withstand being moved around, so I used pampas grass and other dried varieties to achieve it.

Charlotte eventually decided it was time to swap out the mobile meadows for a different kind of installation in her studio, and this time wanted something that looked as though it was growing from the ceiling. In a small space, raising floral installations up can enhance the area without taking up valuable floor real estate. This time I created a deep, textured cloud of gypsophila in one of the ceiling corners, considering the shaping and lighting and how it would look in photos. It could have just as easily been featured at a wedding as in Charlotte’s studio, which was perfect for her brand and the luxury feel of the space.  

I also recently worked on a floral installation alongside Aston Martin who were launching their new car model, and so the brief was creative florals to match their classy, tasteful offering. It’s amazing what different colour palettes, stem choices, groupings and shapes can do to transform a space, and knowing which to use for various brands is the key to a successful finished product. 

Brand and product launches, no matter how big or small, are available on a bespoke basis from Dittany Entwined. Whatever your event or need, we can design a floral installation that will wow your clients and enhance your brand. Just get in touch to find out more.

Image by Safrina Smith Photography: An Intimate dining experience

“Floral design is more than just arranging flowers; it’s about crafting an environment that tells a story, enhances your brand, and leaves a lasting impression. By intertwining creativity with nature, we help you showcase your work in a way that captivates and connects with your audience, making every experience unforgettable.”

— Nicola Robson - Founder of Dittany Entwined Floral Design

The Seasonal Style Guide: Flowers For Autumn Weddings

Image by Emma raye photography: Bright autumnal bridal bouquet using seasonal British flowers

Autumn is often such a beautiful time of year in the UK, so it’s no wonder it remains popular as a favourite season to get married. As the country’s summer brights melt into russet and the late warm weather returns, I am always fizzing with excitement to create more stylish, bespoke flowers for autumn weddings. This is my seasonal style guide, to help you get giddy about the possibilities for your autumn wedding blooms.

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Autumn Bridal Bouquet

Types of Flowers for Autumn Weddings

Working with seasonal stems is my favourite way to get the best out of flowers for autumn weddings, and this time of year is a particularly lovely one for the varieties available. My absolute favourite autumn flowers are Dahlias, with their pretty petals that always look as though they’ve been piped out of sugar icing. They come in so many incredible colours and shapes, and are grown right here in the UK. If I am your wedding florist in September or October you’ll very likely have some of these in your design!

Rudbeckia is also a beautiful bloom, and reminds me of an autumnal daisy. The most common colourway for this type of flower is a buttery yellow, perfect for a bright autumn floral design like Megan and Chris’s shown below. Megan’s bouquet was made entirely of British flowers and foliage, with accents of vibrant fuschia, robust magenta and shades of yellow as well as warm whites and classic autumnal orange. 

If you’re a lover of grasses like pampas and miscanthus, autumn is the perfect time of year for you - this is the season it grows in, so it will be fresh and fluffy and give a much nicer effect than the dried varieties available year round. Jess and Ricky’s autumn wedding florals (shown below) used soft, supple pampas grass and seasonal foliage, and you’ll definitely be able to spot a dazzling little Dahlia in there too.

Image by Hamish Irvine: Autumn Boho inspired Bridal Bouquet

Floral Colour Palettes For Autumn Weddings

It’s easy to conjure up ideas about pumpkin orange and rusty red when we think of flowers for autumn weddings, but I like to play with other variants on warm colours to bring seasonal style that is a sidestep from the expected. Making swaps from icy blues and cool whites to toastier tones through the flowers and foliage really transitions a floral design from summery to autumnal. 

Adding cosy, romantic shades such as pretty peach, mellow nudes, rich toffee and homely coffee brings your floral artwork in harmony with the season, but we can also adopt an autumnal take on classic pastels. Sarah and Dan’s autumn pastel florals were originally designed for their summer wedding, which had to be rearranged several times. We kept the colour palette but warmed the whole thing up for their autumn celebrations, by swapping out some flower choices and adding seasonal foliage. 

For me, the colour of the foliage makes all the difference with flowers for autumn weddings - we can transform just about any colour palette and make it seasonally chic with strategic swaps and additions.

Image by Emma Raye Photography : Autumnal Bouquet with a focus on pastel colours

Flowers For Autumn Weddings: Planning Tips

Now you’re in tune with how I design the perfect flowers for autumn weddings, I also have a few tips for you to consider during the planning process. Leaning into the season and using it to your advantage can really elevate your wedding day, ensuring every detail feels considered and intentional - just like in your floral design. 

One of the biggest factors to consider and utilise at an autumn wedding is the light. We are heading towards shorter days and the natural daylight behaves differently, so plan your day around it. If you are looking forward to some golden hour photographs, for example, work out what time this will need to be and arrange your ceremony and reception accordingly. 

Embrace the shorter days and think about how you will light your venue, particularly in the evening. Using lots of candlelight can really enhance the colours of the season and bring a cosy vibe as the evening goes on. Think also about the spaces you will be using and where your guests will be spending most of their time. The British weather is so variable and, while September and October do tend to be quite sunny, we are not blessed with long, balmy evenings. Prioritise lighting and statement features through your florals to work with what you have.

A great example of this was Emily and James’ wedding at Thicket Priory last year. It was September, and the hottest wedding of the year for me! However, this was never guaranteed and so we created a large, asymmetrical arch over the main doorway in and out of the venue - this made for a fantastic photo opportunity for guests, and meant it would be seen and used even if the weather was hit-and-miss on the day. 

For more of my work at Thicket Priory, take a look at this highly immersive floral design I created there.

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Wedding ceremony inspiration at Newburgh Priory

I love creating flowers for autumn weddings and finding new colour palettes, design elements and ways to embrace the season. My seasonal style guide is yours to take inspiration from, and if you’re planning your own autumn wedding and want to explore your floral artwork options you can contact me here:

CONTACT BUTTON: https://dittanyentwined.com/contact

Pop back in a couple of months’ time for the winter edit of the season style guide!

“Autumn is the season that teaches us that change can be beautiful!”

— Unknown

How Much Do Wedding Flowers Cost With Dittany Entwined?

Image by Lauri b film and photography: Floral Tablescape

Pricing can be a delicate topic within the wedding industry, with rumours about the so-called ‘wedding tax’ rife in 2024. If you are planning your wedding you’re probably wondering how much wedding flowers cost, and the answer really is as long as a flower stem - it varies hugely between florists. Every wedding I flower is designed and therefore quoted bespoke, so I’d love to plant the seeds of expectation in this Dittany Entwined pricing guide.

There is a particular myth about wedding suppliers in general that is unfortunately perpetuated by the media, some industry parties, and probably your well-meaning family members who married 20 years ago! We are told that wedding flowers cost more simply because they are for a wedding, and I want to start by addressing this fiction - and explain why it’s not the case.

Image by Mark Bamforth Photography : Wedding flower centerpiece

Going to a floristry shop and purchasing a bouquet and buttonholes is a very different concept to floral event design. Creating your bespoke floral artwork for your wedding is akin to balancing nature with sculpture, style with sentiment, and playful flair with seasonality, availability and your budget. We have to work within specific time frames and around other elements of production, such as staging, lighting, marquee structures and so on, and there is a significant amount of prep time involved before the wedding day itself. 

Ensuring that everything is possible, safe, and fulfils your beautiful brief is top priority, and involves skill that is honed over many years. Not to mention the sourcing of freelance florists to help me install your fabulous florals on the day, the equipment we need to bring, and any styling elements being provided such as candles and vases. All of this means that not only is it impossible to charge the same as a shop that simply provides (rather than instals) your flowers, it is also very hard to charge specific prices for specific items.

Image by Mark Bamforth Photography Floral arch and intimate wedding breakfast.

I completely understand that it’s difficult to know how much wedding flowers cost without being presented with a price list. I’m always happy to have very open discussions with my couples around their budget, and how we can interplay it with their specific wishes and desires for their wedding day florals. 

We can talk about rough pricing of minimum amounts for example items, however I don’t find price lists for bespoke items helpful as they can be misleading. This is especially true when it comes to installations (think florals hanging from ceilings, freestanding archways etc) and set up and clear down charges, because there are so many specific components involved. To help, my lookbook showcases different weddings with different budgets to help you visualise what varying price points can achieve. Get in touch and I’ll send you my lookbook to pore over.

Image by Francesca Bravo photography: Modern white bridal bouquet

There are always ways to adapt your florals to your budget. For example, if you are dreaming of a showstopping floral arch there are levels we can work towards - a full, bouncy installation vs a slightly smaller, lighter version with more foliage and less stems. You’ll find more examples below as a visual representation of how the seemingly same thing can be a different price.

The Floral Arch:

When designing a floral arch we can create on a spectrum of fullness, from a frothy asymmetric cloud of blooms to a complete, bountiful sculpture that hides all the underlying structure. The digital images below show the difference in the overall look, and to further tweak the cost we can alter the flower:foliage ratio.

The Ceremony Installation:

As you can see from the digital sketches below, floral artwork for your wedding ceremony can vary hugely. What you choose will be dictated by your budget but also your personal style. Some couples like decadent displays and secret gardens surrounding them, while others prefer a more understated flow of florals for the ‘I do’s. 

Hanging Installations:

Finally, many couples ask me about a hanging installation for their wedding. I’ve put together these digital sketches to show how these can vary in price too, not only in size but in abundance. Foliage-based hanging sculptures are beautiful and can feel very natural, and if we add frothy florals we can turn them into real focal centrepieces that draw the eye in a room.

Many florists do have a minimum spend, myself included. It may sound silly, but this actually benefits you! Not only does it start an open discussion about budget from the start, it also allows me to run my floristry business in a way that gets you the best possible results. I don’t want a ‘conveyor belt’ of weddings throughout the year that all look and feel the same. I want to be able to give my full energy and undivided attention to each wedding, while still balancing my family life with my two young children.

Image by Sam Sparks Photography: Floral Arch

My current minimum spend as of June 2024 is £4500 for local weddings, and £8000 for those further afield. I have been able to build the reputation I have become known for by upholding this minimum spend approach, and I simply cannot offer an exclusive service with experiential bespoke florals for less. My couples value the luxurious little details, immersive floral artwork, and the importance of a custom design that is totally tailored to them. 

You can read all about my ‘Proposal of Dreams’ for more insight into the consultation and design process, and see how I entwine sentiment with style in your wedding flowers. If you’d like to discover more about how much your wedding flowers might cost the Dittany Entwined way, contact me to start the exciting process of designing together.

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Floral installation on the beautiful staircase at Thicket Priory.

“Every great design begins with and even better story!”

— Lorinda Mamo

Scented Wedding Flowers: The Power of Immersive Floral Alchemy

Image by Laura Calderwood: Floral arch at Woodstock Weddings and Events

Dittany Entwined floral designs have become synonymous with immersive, alchemic creations that caress each of your senses. Going far beyond the realm of scented wedding flowers, your bespoke wonderland is an experience you are encouraged to get lost in. 

I know firsthand how overwhelming your wedding day can be, and I personally found it difficult to stay present and connected to the moment on mine. Becoming intentionally aware of each of your senses is one of the best ways to ground yourself, and your floral design is curated with this in mind. Making memories becomes much easier when we are present, not panicky - for this reason, your blooms will be like a balm to any nuptial nerves you may be feeling.

Learning about the power of the senses through my son, who is autistic, has really deepened my understanding of the magic that touch and sound can instil in people. Now I can bring this foundation to your luxury wedding flowers, nurturing their natural organic power to give you an unforgettable encounter.

Image by Eyes to Pixels: Ceremony Floral installation at Oakwood at Ryther

Going Beyond Scented Wedding Flowers for an Immersive Experience

My approach to any form of aesthetic design involves igniting all the senses to create an immersive experience. I love texture and giving things an irresistible, tactile quality, and through sculptural floral art we can unlock this for your wedding day too. Rather than you and your guests just looking at your wedding flowers, I create three dimensional designs that you can walk through and around, touching and smelling and living within the bounteous blooms.

Many of my couples love the idea of natural, just-grown-here designs that seem as though they have sprung up from the ground at the venue. With these it’s wonderful to create floral art that everyone can connect to, and I particularly love archways, staircase flower arrangements and pieces that guide guests through the wedding day. It’s like wandering through a meadow, forest or garden, and you can almost notice the sounds of your feet walking on the ground, birds twittering overhead, light splintering through the surroundings…taking you out of your everyday life and into the magic of the wedding day.

Take a look at a Thicket Priory wedding I worked on, using carefully considered flowering to guide guests throughout the day.

Engaging The Senses Through Floral Design

Scented wedding flowers are one of the most evocative inclusions to sweep you away through your senses, and the fragrance is often one of the first things people notice when they walk into the venue or church on your wedding day. We’ll discuss scent in depth during your consultation and at our final details meeting, as some couples really like or dislike particular smells. 

Not all blooms smell, but there are some that are really beautiful and distinctive in their aroma. Eucalyptus and lavender are considered calming scents, and I personally love the smell of garden roses like O’Hara and the autumnal chocolate cosmos that smells just like a sweet treat. Early summer scents such as sweet peas are popular, and different foliages and herbs like mint and rosemary can really bring a design to life. Scent is intrinsically linked to taste, and certain smells like the herbs and garden plants can conjure up familiar memories.

The most important thing is that the smell of your flowers is in keeping with your brief, a detail that adds to the immersion of the day and doesn’t jar. 

Image by Mark Bamforth: Intimate wedding reception filled with flowers

Flowers are naturally beautiful so tapping into the ‘sight’ sense isn’t a stretch, but the way each individual bloom grows and is arranged makes all the difference. Each stem grows in its own unique way, bending and blooming uniquely. Flowers of the same type differ slightly in their glorious finished state, and so working with a naturally diverse array adds a level of personalisation to every design that comes straight from Mother Nature herself.

The first thing my couples do when they see their flowers, whether that’s the bouquet, table arrangements or installations, is touch them. Feeling the petals, running their fingers through the foliage, revelling in the dynamic movement…it really brings you into the moment, and I encourage you and your guests to do this. Your flowers are designed to be touched, moved through and brushed past, not stiff sculptures to be admired from afar but rather living artwork designed for joy.

Even your auditory sense can be stimulated by your wedding flowers, since with movement comes sound. The gentle rustle of a breeze blowing through an archway, the happy buzz of a bumblebee visiting your blooms, or simply the soft swoosh of your own journey through the arrangements all become part of the experience.

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Thicket Priory stair case dressed with abundant luxury flowers

Your bespoke floral design is considered down to the last petal, specifically crafted in a way that is as personal as it gets. We’ll work together on wedding flowers that aren’t just there because they ‘should’ be, but because you’re connected to every element in its entirety. Stylish, storytelling florals that flood your senses with the beauty of the earth are the Dittany Entwined signature. Ready to be immersed? I can’t wait to hear from you and create your own playfully sophisticated custom wedding flowers - get in touch here.

“Love is the poetry of the senses.”

— Honore de Balzac

Thicket Priory Wedding Flowers: An Immersive Floral Experience

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Floral installation cascading down the staircase at Thicket Priory.

When I was asked to design a bespoke experience for my couple’s Thicket Priory wedding flowers last year, it was a brief that really spoke to my creative soul. The vision was to transform the venue, creating flowing floods of flowers to guide guests through the wedding weekend. Over four days, the grade II listed Victorian house became reminiscent of a living, breathing meadow of blooms, with a fresh colour palette and contemporary styling to complement and elevate its grand historical spaces.

In the name of creating a truly immersive journey through floral art, we left hardly a space untouched at Thicket Priory. My couple’s dream was that the flowers were at one with the venue, seemingly grown where they stood and taking their guests on a visual and physical journey through each day’s events, in much the same way a carefully curated garden lovingly pulls you from place to place. 

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Wedding flower centerpiece

Arriving on Friday, my team and I gave life to the first installations that would greet my couple and their guests on arrival. We ensured that Thicket Priory was filled with flowers everywhere you looked: on the mantlepieces, climbing from the floor and furniture in the lounge area, standing proudly in urns at the entrances, and dripping down the outdoor staircase. For each event we created new floral designs: the windowsills at breakfast, table arrangements for the Friday welcome meal, vases for outdoor tables and full floral meadows on the external doors.

On Saturday morning we returned in secret to decorate the grand staircase, a real focal point with flowers cascading all the way from the landing at the top. This was a special statement space as my couple chose to replace their ceremony with a ‘first look’ on the stairs, surrounded by beautiful blooms.

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Floral staircase Installation

We paid another visit on Sunday morning to give the flowers a refresh and ensure they were still looking at their best for the next couple of days, adding new stems and swapping out any that were damaged or not looking their finest. The ballroom also needed to be transformed for the events the following day, so we changed the table arrangements to create a whole new design with the same essence.

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Thicket Priory stair case dressed with abundant luxury flowers

Thicket Priory Wedding Flowers: Design Choices

Every design proposal is made bespoke for each couple, and the colours and types of flowers I use are led by you - your style, aesthetic preferences, favourite blooms, sentimental connections you can read more about adding meaningful touches to your wedding flowers here. In the case of these Thicket Priory wedding flowers, my bride wanted a classic, timeless look with a modern edge - the perfect embodiment of the venue itself. She was a lover of foliage but wanted to incorporate a full, abundant floral look with lots of movement and freedom. I combined these key factors with my vision for a flowing meadow to create the finished design.

The colour palette felt very fresh and light, lifting some of the darker tones and textures found throughout Thicket Priory. Rich green foliage framed tall white delphiniums and soft, romantic cow parsley, and we added depth and warmth with toffee roses and delicate tones of nectarine, terrcaotta and dusty pink. The addition of peonies and garden roses helped bring a country garden opulence to the whole design, with late May and June being the perfect time of year for fluffy peony lovers.

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Wedding breakfast inspiration

It was such a joy to create these Thicket Priory wedding flowers, and the creative freedom and trust offered to me by the couple was one of the key factors in our ability to craft a magically immersive end result. This was a perfect example of doing a wedding exactly the way you want it and eschewing the confines of tradition, and I am hugely grateful to my team of 12 freelancers for helping to give life to this wonderland!

After the wedding guests were all given bunches of the florals to take home, and the rest donated to the nuns at Thicket Priory and to St Lenard’s hospital in York, reducing any floral waste from the delightfully decadent weekend. 

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Floral installation on the beautiful staircase at Thicket Priory.

What next?

Take a look at my galleries from real weddings and editorials to get a feel for what’s possible. When you’re ready to start on your own personal floral design story, just head over to my contact page and send me a hello.

“We used Nichola for our wedding and it was truly spectacular. The flowers also lasted ages, they were still fresh for two weeks after the big day! Very impressive work, and we highly recommend her.”

— K & T May 2023 Thicket Priory

Sentimental Wedding Flowers: Designed with Love

Image by Emmylou Kelly: Wedding Floral Backdrop for a beautiful spring marquee wedding.

My couples know that wedding flowers are so much more than just bouquets and blooms - they are  living, artistic representations of your roots and can have deep sentimental significance. Creating florals with meaning is one of the things that brings me the most joy, so if you’re looking for ways to have your very own sentimental wedding flowers you’ve come to the right place. Get inspired and find out how we can honour lost loved ones, give a nod to different cultures and countries and invoke the hidden meanings behind different blooms on your wedding day.

Giving specific personal meaning to your flowers is something that is deeply ingrained in my business - and that includes the name itself. The dittany plant is known for its supposed healing properties, which speaks to my background in therapy and the way I find creativity itself so restorative. For all you Potter fans out there, you may know that essence of dittany is named as a healing potion in the books! The second half of the name ‘entwined’ links back to my childhood, and my nana’s magical garden with its cascading willow tree, secret passages and abundant rose bushes. Like something out of a fairytale, it and she encouraged and inspired my creative side, and honouring her with a little nod in my business name felt like the perfect thank you.

With loved ones in mind, we’ll start with our first way to create sentimental wedding flowers…

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Church wedding ceremony in North Yorkshire. Harmonising modern floral design with traditional architecture.

Sentimental Wedding Flowers: Honouring Loved Ones

My couples often come to me asking about different ways we can honour loved ones that are no longer with us, or specific requests from friends and family. There are so many ways your floral artwork can reflect the essence of your nearest and dearest, and I hope you’ll find touching inspiration from some of these stories about my past couples.

For one of my previous brides we used a flurry of sweet peas throughout her bouquet, the urns surrounding them as they said their vows, and on their dinner tables. There was a special connection with sweet peas and the bride’s late nana, as a specific variety of sweet pea had the same name as her. The scent and visual presence of the blooms in significant moments throughout the day helped the bride feel connected to her nana throughout. These kinds of immersive experiences are one of the most emotive ways to create sentimental wedding flowers.

On another occasion I helped my bride make her father, who had passed away and so was unable to give her away, a part of her journey down the aisle. Her bouquet of white roses included one stem that was loosely tied in with a silk ribbon, appearing as part of the creamy, silken whole. As she reached the altar she was able to remove the single rose and lay it down for her father as a way to honour him in that important moment. This, combined with adding her mum’s wedding rings to the bouquet, made for a very beautiful and teary bouquet handover on the morning of the wedding.

Sometimes my couples want to include flowers on specific requests from family members, such as one bride who asked me to add forget me nots grown by a relative to her bouquet. One mother of the bride wanted to include some of the blooms she had worn in her own floral crown on her wedding day in her daughter’s bouquet, but the bride asked that they weren’t too prominent. I individually wired some of the delicate flowers from the crown into the bouquet in a subtle way, and the pure joy on her face was wonderful to see.

Image by Pear & Bear Photography: Bridal Bouquet for a beautiful summer wedding including roses, orchids and pampas grass.

Sentimental Wedding Flowers: Cultures and Countries Combined

Another popular use for sentimental wedding flowers is to merge their different cultures or make reference to specific countries. 

In the past I have incorporated some of my couples’ own vases into their designs, used hanging Chinese lanterns or particular patterns, colours and textures to help tell their individual cultural stories. One of my couples had a celebrant ceremony followed by a Korean tea ceremony, and came to me wanting to create two different set ups that were distinct but felt cohesive. Flowers are truly one of the best ways to weave a wonderland of artistic structure that really represents your own journey, verdant in their versatility and with the extraordinary ability to transform a space.

Image by Victoria Baker Weddings: Korean tea ceremony floral design set up.

Sometimes couples want sentimental wedding flowers that simply represent their roots, for example white roses for Yorkshire and thistles for Scotland. Combining them into one beautiful design is where the real magic of your union comes alive. 

Of all the meaningful events through a lifetime, weddings and funerals are perhaps the most significant and require the same level of care, attention to detail and personal touch. I mention funerals only to give an example of another way it is possible to entwine your home turf with an important moment, as I did for a beautiful, sentimental brief in the Scottish Hebrides. The community there was involved with growing corn and hay, so the brief for the funeral flowers was based around recreating the look and feel of that landscape. I made a living wreath to be laid on her grave, using the sweetest spring bulbs and grasses, and several meadows of hay, heather, barley, oats and thistles - this way, the coffin was surrounded by the magnificent Scottish Highlands on her final journey back home.

Over a year later I’m still in touch with this lovely lady’s daughter, and the living wreath has recently bloomed again! They have now turned their family home into a beautiful event space on the island, using the meadows we created as decor. Their gratitude at being able to give such a touching send off and keep the treasured arrangements afterward is testament to the enduring sentimentality of flowers.

Whatever the occasion, enhancing some of the most special moments in people’s lives is one of the most magical things it’s possible to do with flowers.

Image by Emma Ryan Photographer: Floral installation on the beautiful staircase at Thicket Priory.

Sentimental Wedding Flowers: Representations

Sometimes my couples come to me wanting sentimental wedding flowers or deeper meaning, but are struggling to find a connection to something. In these cases we’ll spend time talking around different types of flowers and what they mean (I have a lovely little book about this!) until something resonates. Good examples for weddings are freesias, which represent unconditional love, and different colours of roses with different connotations. 

Unless this is important to my couple I won’t try to add meaning where there is none, since the creation of your wedding flowers is a deeply personal journey. It culminates in a day immersed in the different scents, sights and styling that we have chosen to inject you into every element.

Image Monkeymole Photography: Wedding couple surrounded by floral meadow of white flowers and lush foliage at Oakwood at Ryther.

Beyond The Wedding

For me, the sentimental value of flowers extends beyond the wedding day itself. The design lives on in your images and in the seasonal moments that return every year as a reminder, but also in what you choose to do with your florals afterwards. 

I always have a conversation with my couples at their ‘final details’ meeting to find out what they want to do with the flowers after the wedding - as standard I will either bunch up the flowers to be given away to guests, or let them choose to donate them to a charity, hospice, care home etc. that has meaning for them. Many of my brides also choose to preserve their bouquets, which is something I will be adding to my offering in the future.

Something that often surprises my couples is how long the flowers last after the wedding day, however. Proper conditioning of the blooms pre-wedding, along with the way I construct the installations and arrangements, means they survive well past the day itself. I have had couples tell me their flowers lasted 4 weeks beyond the wedding! Taking these extra steps to ensure the longevity of your carefully crafted, sentimental wedding flowers is a part of the process I hold very dear.

If you’ve seen something you like or want to explore other ways to add a sentimental touch to your wedding flowers, I can’t wait to hear from you. Together we’ll design a creative, cohesive design that delivers on vision, style and sentiment. Get in touch to get started. 

“Giving specific personal meaning to your flowers is something that is deeply ingrained in my business and that includes the name itself”

— Nicola Robson Owner and founder of Dittany Entwined

‘The Proposal of Dreams’ by Your Yorkshire Wedding Florist

When you choose me as your Yorkshire wedding florist, you’ll quickly discover that ‘bespoke’ blooms into a whole new meaning with Dittany Entwined. It all begins with our consultation and what has fondly been called The Proposal of Dreams, a highly detailed and immersive vision of how your wedding florals will look that allows you to truly connect with your design. Curating sculptural floral art for you is my pleasure, and these important first stages allow you to share in the excitement and joy of what will blossom into life on your wedding day.

Married Couple. Bride holding all white bouquet full of hydrangea, roses and spring flowers. Image by Love Francesca Photography

I take the personalisation of your bespoke wedding flowers very seriously and, after the initial contact stage and confirmation that I am available on your wedding date, we’ll start on the process of foraging for inspiration. There is a fee for our consultation (this serves as your deposit if you go ahead and book) because it really goes deeper than the surface, and far beyond just finding images on Pinterest to adapt. We’ll spend an hour and a half together and really explore who you are as a couple, the things you love and what’s important to you. Everything matters; your favourite moments together; your love for interior design and art; where you’re heading for your honeymoon, and anything else that shows me your style.

Digital drawing of a spring bridal bouquet. Drawn,designed and painted by lead floral designer Nicola Robson of Dittany Entwined floral design

One of the most important elements for me as your Yorkshire wedding florist is connection, and getting to the heart of who you really are. It’s how I ensure your bespoke floral design grows into something that just drips with your personality, and feels like it could only ever be yours.

After our call I’ll begin work on your Proposal of Dreams. The proposal is specifically designed to be as detailed and visual as possible, and allow you to imagine exactly how things will look on your wedding day. Attention to detail is key, and your proposal is as true to reality and transparent as possible. I will always obtain measurements from your wedding venue and ascertain what can be achieved in your spaces, meaning that the sketches, images and pricing breakdown are highly accurate. 

Images of dittany entwined proposals. Our wedding flower proposals our able to be viewed on desk tops, laptops, tablets and smart phones. They are also stored on your own personal portal on our website.

The great beauty of these true-to-life proposals is that you can immerse yourself in how your bespoke florals will look and feel on the day, and build excitement for the big reveal. Inclusions such as hand painted and digital visual designs, details about focal flower choices and consideration of the sensory experience really elevate this stage of the process. No two proposals are ever the same, simply because no two couples are. 

Just as you try on your wedding dress, taste your menu and see samples of your stationery ahead of the big day, so too should you be able to see your bespoke florals come to life before your wedding. This way, the only surprise on the big day will be just how playfully impactful, delicately fragrant and luxuriously curated your blooms are. 

If you’re feeling the excitement flourishing and want to confirm that I’m the right Yorkshire wedding florist for you, contact me through this form to plant the first seed. We’ll start with that all-important connection, and discover the power of flowers together.

“Create your own visual style… let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others.” – Orson Welles”