February Wedding at Saffire Freycinet

Milton Gan Photography

Last February, I was privileged to provide flowers for a special wedding at Saffire Freycinet.  Saffire is an amazing luxury resort on the Freycinet Peninsula on the East Coast of Tasmania. 

Saffire Freycinet

With spectacular views and amazing architecture, Saffire is a very special place.  

Saffire Freycinet

My lovely bride and groom had planned their day to a tee, and it really was a treat to be involved.   

The ceremony took place on the private beach at Saffire, looking across the water at the Hazards mountains.  Such a special spot!  

Setting up was a challenge due to the tides, but with everyone on deck to help, we made it in time.

Decorations for the ceremony included chair decorations, and flowers to decorate the arch.

I loved the chair decorations, using Brunia, Silver Tree, Banksias, and lots of foliage, with navy ribbon to match the bridesmaids dresses.

The boardwalk heading down to the beach was dotted with little signs, with floral decorations.

I loved the details for the ceremony.  

There were flowers for the drinks table at the ceremony.

Milton Gan Photography

The stunning photographs by Milton Gan show how everything looked, all set up.  So beautiful!

Milton Gan Photography

All the details!

Milton Gan Photography

And beautiful signage by Ashdown + Bee

For the bouquets, the colours were kept low key.  There were lots of silvery greens, with Silver Tree foliage, Risdon Peppermint foliage, Irish Juniper, and Banksia foliage. Each bouquet also had some Lambs Ears - such beautiful soft foliage which seemed to contrast so well with the spiky zig-zag Banksia leaves. 

The bride's bouquet featured Banksia Baxterii at the front (Birdsnest Banksia), Banksia Speciosa to the left of it,  a shimmering Silver Tree cone next to it, and Brunia Albiflora at the top of the picture.  A creamy white Protea Repens was also used.  

The bridesmaids bouquets were similar, but without the Banksia Speciosa and Protea Repens.  Leucadendron Pisa, a green leuco with silvery white cones was used throughout the arrangements for the wedding.  There were also touches of blue with Sea Holly.  Special creamy white Hydrangea Paniculata were used in each of the bouquets too.  And you can see other details like Nigella pods, white Hypericum berries, and poppy pods.  Lots of wonderful textures!

Simple boutonnieres for the men using the zig-zag Banksia leaves, Lambs Ears, Sea Holly and Hypericum.

Milton Gan Photography

What a dress!

Milton Gan Photography

Milton Gan Photography

Milton Gan Photography

So elegant!

Milton Gan Photography

There were boutonnieres for the dads too. 

Milton Gan Photography

I really loved these bouquets.

Milton Gan Photography

The reception was held inside the amazing central building at Saffire.  The view across the landscape is amazing.  

Table decorations for the centre of each table carried on the limited colour palette.  Brunia, Banksia, Leucadendrons, native foliage and Peppermint gum, with little splashes of blue from the Sea Holly.

Each centrepiece had lichen covered twigs to bring the landscape inside.

For the bridal table, a runner with more of the same ingredients. 

It looks a bit different in the flower shed, the day before!  

And then when it's in its place - ah!

Milton Gan Photography

Each place setting had a navy napkin.

And on each plate, the name of the guest with a little floral flourish!  

A Pisa Leucadendron with its silver cone, and a zig zag Banksia leaf - they really do grow like that.  We didn't sit and cut them all out!

Milton Gan Photography

Glimpses of the landsacpe through the glass as the sun began to set - so beautiful!

And finally the cake - a beautiful simple semi-naked cake by Cake Chaos with just a few floral touches.

It really was a treat to be involved in this beautiful wedding.  I enjoyed every minute of it!

Make sure you have a look at the amazing video by Light Noise Films, which shows more of the Tasmanian landscape and this special day.  Thanks to the lovely couple for choosing me to be involved. 

JK + Rachel // Saffire Freycinet Wedding // Tasmania from Light Noise Films on Vimeo.

Autumn-toned Native Wedding Flowers

A small, elopement style wedding in April called for just a bouquet, boutonniere and a floral crown for the bride.  The ceremony was to take place in a bush setting on Mt Wellington.  Very "low key and boho" with just a couple of close family members as witnesses to the event.  

Inspired by the seasonal colours,  and I couldn't resist the autumny tones of magnolia foliage which tied in beautifully with the creamy White Ice Protea and the Birdsnest Banksia I used as the main flowers.  

A mix of great textures was important for the unstructured style of the bouquet.  I used flowering tea tree,  banksia foliage, and budded wattle foliage as some of the textural elements.

The leucadendrons I used were the fine, purple-tinged Galpinii, tall slender Discolour, and the rich dark tones of the Burgundy Sunset, almost black in autumn.

Other flowers used were the smaller Banksia Brownii, and a white Protea Repens.  The leafy, wild look was brought together by using a limited colour palette, and making the autumn tones really stand out.   I used dried leucadendron cones to repeat the brown colour of the magnolia leaves.  Such a satisfying combination of colours and textures.
  

The grooms simple boutonniere used a magnolia leaf, a zigzaggy banksia leaf, burgundy sunset leucos, budded wattle and a leucadendron cone.

The floral crown was more leafy than floral.  I used lots of budded wattle foliage, with its bluegreen colour and fabulous wayward sprigs.  I added the yellowy green banksia Brownii foliage, which is a very fine zigzagged leaf.  Sprinkled through was the flowering tea tree, which being lemon-scented is always a delight to work with.

The asymmetry of the crown is really flattering.  I used the dark burgundy leucos and the dried cones to weight the crown to the left.   

It was a real treat to be involved in this wedding, and I wish the lovely couple every happiness.  

His and Hers Wedding Flowers in Autumn

Photo by Jon Jarvela

Sometimes, I am asked to provide the simplest of wedding flower orders - a bride's bouquet and a groom's boutonniere.  I find that these weddings are really memorable, because so much effort goes into making the one bouquet and buttonhole just right.  In Autumn 2016, I was asked to do a simple bouquet and boutonniere for a couple who were getting married in the Huon Valley.  

The bride provided some pictures of the styles and colours she loved.  The inspiration came when I saw what the groom had picked out to wear.  

I loved the sage green in the tie, and the golden yellow and apricot too.  I decided to go for a bouquet with plenty of creamy white and green, with touches of apricot and bronzy gold. 

For the bridal bouquet I used a Protea White Ice, two types of banksia - Banksia Baxterii, the Birdsnest Banksia, and Banksia Marginata, a local native.  Brunia Albiflora in full flower was used along with flowering Eucalyptus Cordata, usually used as a cut foliage.  The apricot came with the use of Fountain Pincushion and Leucadendron Safari Goldstrike whose new growth is tinged with a pinkish bronze.  

The foliage I used includes Grevillea, again with a bronze new growth tips, flowering lemon-scented Leptospermum and the shimmering Leucadedron Argenteum or Silver Tree.  You can also see, peeping out on the left of the above photo, some creamy Leucadendron Pisa cones with their outer bracts removed.  

Other foliage included Eucalyptus Cordata, and some Cootamundra wattle in bud. 

For the groom, I used a small Banksia Marginata in creamy yellow, Grevillea foliage with an orange bud, Cootamundra Wattle with its little buds, tea tree (Leptospermum) and Eucalyptus foliage. 

Photo by Jon Jarvela

Autumn weddings in Tasmania really are special!