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.

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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