In late February, I provided flowers for a wedding at Avalon Coastal Retreat at Swansea on Tasmania's east coast. Its a stunning location with views of some of Tassie's most picturesque coastline. The bride loved flowering gum and wattle, and February delivered on both counts.
I created a bouquet for the bride using three different shades of Corymbia Ficifolia, a popular flowering gum that blooms in late summer here in Tasmania. A rich, hot pink, candy pink and baby pink formed the bulk of the bouquet. Acacia Retinodes is a wattle native to the southern states of Australia that flowers periodically throughout the year. Some long arching branches from a local tree provided the wattle blooms. Acacia Retinodes keeps its form quite well when picked, unlike some species of wattle which last only a short time. I also love the foliage of the Acacia Retinodes, which falls happily.
The pastel tones of the bouquet included a Protea Pink Cream, an orange Pincushion Cordifolium, and a touch of blue with a Nigella flower from the garden. The olive-green berries are a pittosporum berry. I also used Leucadendron Pisa which at the end of summer has large silvery white cones surrounded by yellow and lime green bracts.
Other bouquet ingredients include Brunia Albiflora, Leucadendron Silver Tree, Bronze Fennel flowers, Eucalyptus Cordata foliage, and Irish Juniper foliage.
For the groom's boutonniere, I used Corymbia Ficifolia in hot pink, with a large Corymbia leaf at the back. A sprig of eucalyptus, some Acacia Retinodes, Leucadendron Pisa and a Nigella bud where the other flowers used.
The bride wanted a floral crown to match her bouquet. Local coastal tea-tree foliage dotted with Brunia balls made the circlet.
Flowering gum, wattle, L. Pisa cones, eucalyptus and Nigella were added as a focal point.
The design of the other boutonnieres was a simpler version of the groom's, showcasing the just the wattle.
I loved using the Acacia Retinodes.
The bride ordered wholesale flowers for some DIY fun, to make up the bridesmaid's bouquets. What she saved on costs, she used to order wrist corsages.
They were a lot of fun to make, using tea tree foliage, eucalyptus, different shades of flowering gum with a Leucadendron Pisa cone. I also popped in some sprigs of wattle, and some of the olive green pittosporum berries.
I think they were a great alternative to the traditional pin-on corsage. This was a great wedding to be involved in. I really loved the colours the I got to play with and was really happy with the results, particularly the brides bouquet.
