Bringing the outside in - Our guide to choosing wedding flowers.
The Scottish Borders is a wonderful place to make your wedding vows, whether you are planning an intimate gathering or a large family get-together. From magnificent castles to glorious beaches, quaint village halls to windswept moors, there are memorable locations to create the event of your dreams, each with its own unique features.
How then do you go about choosing your floral decor? We understand that it can be a little bewildering when scrolling through the endless snapshots of bouquets and buttonholes, and you may feel a little intimidated approaching a florist if you don’t know your roses from your ranunculus. We are often asked to provide flowers according to a colour theme, from cool greens and whites to fiery pinks and oranges, and for the most part we are able and happy to oblige.
However, I want to suggest that you adopt a different approach to choosing your florals and possibly other decorative accessories too. This approach does away with a colour dominated theme, and instead focuses on the time of year that you are getting married. This way your florals will be strictly seasonal and will ooze vibrancy and freshness. They will have that ‘just picked from the garden’ style; a style that suggests that your florist has simply strolled down the garden with snips and a bucket, cut a handful of stems, and then created the most glorious and unique bouquet. In fact, that is exactly what we do here. Our flowers do not arrive here on the back of a lorry from Holland!
I digress. Back to the idea of wedding themes. Firstly, let’s take each month and give it a seasonal name, then we’ll put some flesh on the bones.
January is Mid Winter July is Mid Summer
February is Late Winter August is Late Summer
March is Early Spring September is Early Autumn
April is Mid Spring October is Mid Autumn
May is Late Spring November is Late Autumn
June is Early Summer December is Early Winter
Now we have a description of each month, let’s look at a few examples.
For a late Winter wedding, let us evoke the aura of the Scottish Borders on a crisp frosty morning. From the forest, we bring in the iconic and aromatic Scot’s pine, a nod to the wild moors of the local landscape. From the hedgerow, we bring in the knarled stems of hazel dripping with swaying catkins. And from the garden, we bring in buckets and buckets of pure white snowdrops, with a scent as sweet as honey. Team these up with soft white candles glowing in the winter darkness, cosy woollen textiles and rough sawn logs ready for the stove. A late Winter wedding, bringing the outside in.
In May, we celebrate our wild flowers. So for a Late Spring wedding, let’s make use of those underrated beauties that are never seen in the shops of the High Street florists. Think tall spires of foxgloves, the soft blues of forget-me-nots and bluebells and the charming pinks and yellows of campion and toadflax. Pop these into an eclectic mix of whicker baskets and wooden trugs or tie up with jute twine to make gorgeous rustic posies for your bridesmaids. A late Spring Wedding, bringing the outside in.
In November, the light is low with cool, misty mornings for a late Autumn celebration. Start with the muted colours of architectural seed heads and leaves in golds, chocolates and coffees. Add hints of colour from our harvest of dried flowers hanging in the Bothy. Complete the picture with bold splashes of colour from bright orange pumpkins and gourds. Team up with a seasonal menu of warming parsnip soup and trays of hot roasted vegetables, cooked straight from the garden. A late Autumn wedding, bringing the outside in.
And so on! Think daffodils for Early Spring, roses for mid Summer and blackberries for early Autumn. Don’t be tempted by the repetitive images on social media. The botanical world has so much more to offer than the ubiquitous roses and gypsophila combinations. Aim for floral styling that reflects the glorious gardens and wild landscapes of the Scottish Borders. This will give you a coherent theme that links your venue to the location. And by planning your wedding flowers in this way, you can be sure that, at whatever time of year you get married, your flowers will be seasonal, as nature intended. Your floral displays will establish a statement of the time of year of your wedding. And that time of year will always be special to you. In years to come, the sight and scent of a particular type of flower will evoke memories of your special day. Bring the outside in!
Happy wedding planning,
BordersEcoFlowers, The Moorhouse, Duns