Saturday, January 27, 2018

September Wedding at Barilla Bay


September weddings are a treat!  There are so many gorgeous flowers to play with.  For this wedding, held at Barilla Bay Oysters blue and orange was the colour theme.  The bridesmaid's were in navy and the bride in ivory.  


 The main flowers used were creamy white Protea Repens, and orange Banksia Ericifolia.  


Berzelia is a spring texture plant also sometimes called Button Bush.  It has lots of little green balls at this time of year and is a wonderful addition to a native bouquet.  


There were plenty of leucadendrons to use in their late summer, early spring colouring. Safari Sunset was in its "sunset" phase where it turns to yellow, orange and pinky red.  Another leuco that I was excited to use is Tall Red, which for most of the year is a burgundy foliage leuco.  In August and September is colours up into yellows and bright reds, with yellow central cones.  Its such a pretty, fine Leucadendron with a gorgeous range of colour.  Maui Sunset was another leuco I used,  which can turn completely white/cream at the end of winter, and often with pink tips.  Lastly, I used plenty of beautiful fresh Leucadendron Silver Tree with its blue green shimmery foliage.


The bride's bouquet also has a Protea White Ice, and a beauiful Banksia Brownii, which I initially started growing for foliage, but have since fallen in love with the delicate colouring of its flowers.  


The Banksia Brownii is a soft orange with pinkish styles and a lovely soft shape.  


Other ingredients I used were Thryptomene and Peppermint foliage and to add a touch of blue, Sea Holly.


The men wore boutonnieres made with Thryptomene, leucadendron and Sea Holly. 


For an arch decoration I used more orange Banksia Ericifolia, proteas in whites and pins, lots of different leucadendrons, Thryptomene and SIlver Tree, which shimmers in a blue-green.


Its always a joy to create a piece using fresh seasonal ingredients.  

Red Zebra Photography
It was a delight to be involved in this couples special day.   

Red Zebra Photography
I love this dramatic shot by Red Zebra Photography, showing just how spoilt we are for natural beauty in Tasmania.   

Saturday, January 20, 2018

February Wedding at Stewarts Bay Lodge


This February wedding was held at Stewarts Bay Lodge on the Tasman Peninsula.  It's a great venue where the bridal party and guests can all stay on site.  It means there's no rush, and it creates a very relaxed atmosphere.  Of course, there's also the chance to explore and enjoy the wonderful natural environment of the Tasman Peninsula.  (I'm not biased, I promise!)



For the bride, the colours ranged from creamy white, through peachy and blush tones to pink.  The main flowers used were Protea White Ice,  Protea Pink Ice,  a pink Protea Repens, Leucospermum Fountain, and Leucospermum Scarlet Ribbons.  I also used Brunia Albiflora, and some gorgeous creamy white Corymbia Ficifolia - Flowering Gum.  



The details include poppy pods, tea tree and Silver Tree Leucadendron.  


Foliages used were Risdon Peppermint, and Irish Juniper.


I also added some light coloured Misty.  



For the men, more of the pretty flowering gum, with peppermint foliage, Irish Juniper and Misty.  The groom had an added poppy pod.


Flowering gum is one of my favourite February natives.

Linda Pasfield Photography
The day was beautifully captured by Linda Pasfield Photography.


Inside for the bride and grooms table,  there was a garland of flowering gum and foliage, with Brunia and Leucospermums added.

Flowering gum!  I love it!


Each table had a trio of vases sitting on a log round, with more flowers matching the theme. 


I really enjoyed the cake decoration for this wedding.  The amazing (and I hear it tasted fabulous too) cake was made by Natasha from Lily May Cake Design.  I felt priviledged to be able to decorate it!


Lots of dried native vines were woven together with flowering gum, wax flower, misty, and foliage to create a magical looking cake. 


I really enjoyed being involved in this wedding - its always lovely to create something for a couples special occasion.  


I hope it created lots of happy memories for them!

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Spring Cocktail Wedding at MONA


November - spring flowers!  Such a great time for a wedding.  For this couples cocktail style wedding at MONA the bride asked for colour.  Music to my ears!  And there is so much colour to play with in November.  


The bride's bouquet was a combination of waratahs, banksias, proteas and pincusions.  


NSW Waratahs (Telopea Speciosissima) are readily available in Tasmania in November.  They are such a goregous showy flower in a range of rich reds.  I also used red Banksia Coccinea.  The first Pincushions (Leucospermum) of the season were just starting.  They are called Mardi Gras and have yellow styles with red ribbons, and silvery furry little tops.  I also used some Berzelia, a gorgeous spring texture plant with creamy white/green balls.


I also used a Pink Protea with black fringing called Satin Mink, which flowers in spring and autumn.  Blue Sea Holly took us to the cooler end of the colour spectrum.  Purple Isopogon or Cone Flower are a gorgeous spring flowering Australian native that I also added.  


The foliage used is a Tasmanian native rainforest plant - Myrtle Beech.  


For the groom, there were spring Leucadendrons - a female Discolour Leuco, creamy white with pinkish tips, and the yellow cones of Golden Fireworks.  




A purple Isopogon, blue Sea Holly, and a golden, shiny Dryandra/Banksia Formosa which as well as its distinctive flower has gorgeous zig zag leaves that sprout out at fun angles.


Its a joy to play with fresh spring flowers in such happy colours!  For the simple table decorations the bride decided on wooden box arrangements with candles to light for extra atmosphere.


For the boxes, the main flowers used were Banksia Coccinea, Protea Satin Mink, Mardi Gras Pincushions, and Tasmanian Waratahs (Telopea Truncata).


  Leucadendrons used were female Discolour, Safari Sunset and Golden Fireworks.  


Other flowers were blue Sea Holly,  Dryandra/Banksia Formosa, and Isopogon Formosus, with Myrtle Beech foliage.


There are some who think that "native flowers" mean "brown" .... but I think you'd agree this is far from colourless and drab.


Lastly, we did a great big bunch, using the same flowers as the bouquet to use for a vase at the reception room.  
It was such a fun wedding to work on, and a treat to be involved!

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Garden Wedding in December


The last wedding for 2016, bringing in the New Year!  I had the pleasure of providing flowers for a local wedding held in a beautiful garden.  The vibe was rustic but pretty with the bridesmaids in navy lace.  To work with the blue, the bride chose pinks, whites and some peachy tones, and wanted a cascading bouquet.  Agonis Flexuosa is a gorgous native foliage that is in flower mid-summer so it was perfect to use. 


The main flowers were a peachy pincushion called Fountain, White Ice Protea and Pice Ice Protea.  Pink Ice Protea are very difficult to find in mid summer but here in Tasmania, conditions mean that we can harvest them in varying numbers almost all year round.  


Other flowers include flowering gum, gum buds, rosy leucadendron cones called Jubilee Crown, green leucadendrons with a pink tinge called Lemon Spice, and pearly white leucadendron cones from Leucadendron Pisa.  


The bridesmaids bouquet was smaller, but with similar flowers. 


I love the idea of these little wreath-style boutonnieres that the bride came up with .  Such a great idea which really suited the theme of the wedding. 


Little wreaths of budded gum were decorated with peppermint foliage, flowering gum and leucadendron cones.


Such a great idea!



For the flower girl, there was a larger wreath.


It was decorated with Agonis foliage, peppermint gum foliage, a Pincushion and some leucadendron cones.


Extra flowers and foliage to match the bouquets were used to decorate the cake and the venue.  


Such a pretty way to end the year!  And, as always, it was a pleasure to be involved in the bride and groom's big day.