Colourful wedding after the Covid Storm

“I think I have more patience now than I did in the past”

— T. Boone Pickens

A wedding! Yay!

I think after the last four months we all have a lot more patience than we did before. We’ve waited. We’ve waited to stay safe, we’ve waited to see family, to see friends, to go out for a drink, to go to the shops, for toilet roll to be back in stock, to return to work…… and for some, to get married.

This was supposed to be my fourth wedding of 2020 back in early April! And guess what? It’s still my fourth wedding after seven months of the year. My first post lockdown wedding. Doing a quick tot up I should have been at around twenty-two weddings in by now, so around 19 of my brides have had to postpone so far this year and there were no April, May or June brides. We missed the peony season, we missed the ranunculous season, we just missed weddings.

But they are back. Albeit a little bit smaller, a little bit different. But actually this particular wedding was no different from its original planned form. It was only ever going to be the two of them. An elopement wedding in some ways. Or just a small intimate wedding in others. Held at the award winning Millbrook Estate - who specialise in small weddings. They had to change date twice so as Jane the bride said “third time lucky” and patience has paid off. Both original dates were wet and windy (per the norm round here) but on the true day. Sunshine. Sunshine and smiles.

If you were looking you might have seen some small differences to the wedding; professional hair yes, but not bridal makeup (she looked fab) the registrars and witness / coordinator at a safe distance. But the dress was there, the flowers, the photographer, the cake and the glass of bubbly afterwards. Perfect. What more would you need to celebrate your day.

The wedding memories were captured by the fabulous Maria Broome. It was her first wedding post lockdown too but she had nothing but positivity to share;

“…Finally being able to join Steve and Jane for their much awaited special day was an absolute joy, and with the low numbers and masses of outdoor space there was nothing to be worried about, in fact I don’t think anyone would have noticed much difference, at the end of the day the two people who need to be close to each other are, and standing back and watching that is a natural part of my work….. my lenses have long enforced what we now call “social distancing”….. a hug or a hand shake at the end of the day is the only thing missing, but its a small price to pay!”

I could not have put it better myself!!

All good things come to those who wait….. and for Jane and Steve it was well worth the wait.

Elopement Wedding Flowers - the brave and the bold

“Many people spend more time in planning the wedding than they do in planning the marriage”

— Zig Ziglar

A marriage is between two people. Yourself and your love. Most people want to share this special event with family, friends, friends of family, family of friends – and anyone else who they may have bumped into on the bus.

But a brave few choose to escape the centre of attention and opt for an elopement wedding. The choice to elope may be for any number of reasons – diplomatic, financial, personal – but the result is a day that just focuses on the two that really matter.

I’m extremely fortunate to be a recommended supplier for a local award winning wedding venue here in North Devon that specialises in small, intimate and elopement weddings. With two stunning locations in which to get married in and tranquil settings to relax and spend a couple of days together in, it’s easy to see why people choose the elopement option.

The weddings may be small – but they are perfectly formed. All elements are there – the dress, the hair, the cake, the styling, the photographer – and the flowers.

When it come to the flowers, there is no matching of bridesmaid dresses, no centrepieces to plan around table settings and outlandish themes. More often than not it’s just a bridal bouquet and a buttonhole. This does not make it any less important, in fact the opposite. The wedding is so much more focused on the ‘two’  - so flower choices are so much more personal and central to the day.

I rarely get to meet the couple, planning is often at short notice. But with the power of email, Pinterest and occasionally the phone we can work together to create that perfect wedding bouquet for that very special day.

They say there is safety in numbers, so again I say it’s the brave few that will stand up there and declare their love to each other without the fanfare, frivolity or fuss. Just personal perfection.