March Vineyard Wedding at Bangor

March is a great month for weddings in Tasmania.  I love autumn!  Last March I was so happy to be involved in this gorgeous wedding at Bangor Vineyard Shed.  It was a second marriage, and the brides dress wasn't traditional.  It was a gorgeous coloured dress with a large pattern all over it - the colour choice was going to need to be just right.  

As soon as I saw the dress, I knew it would work.  I used white Protea Donna, orange pincushions in Fountain and Cordifolium varieties, with late flowering soft pink flowering gum, red grevilleas and kangaroo paw in soft green.   

Lots of autumn leucadendrons in different greens and almost-yellows were worked in too.  

Important for the colours to work well was the addition of the blue sea holly.  The foliage used was Risdon Peppermint gum and variegated pittosporum.  You can also see a Brunia peeping out from behind the flowering gum and pincushion,   

I loved making this bouquet - such a gorgeous colour palette!

The lovely bride was a hairdresser and had in mind a particular floral crown with charms added to the ribbon.  I loved putting the crown together - kangaroo paw, flowering gum, wax flower, early Thryptomene.  All great Australian native ingredients!

You can also see some tiny variegated pittosporum leaves added too.  

For the groom, some flowering gum, wax flower, kangaroo paw, leucadendron and eryngium.  

The ceremony was held at the top of the vineyard, looking down towards the water through the rows of vines.  It was a stunning autumn day - I think autumn is the best time for wedding weather!  

I decorated the arch with pincushions, leucadedons, flowering gum, and plenty of risdon peppermint and kangaroo paw.  

I really loved working with these ingredients - the structure of the gum and the kangaroo paw was great to play with.

For the cake, I used dried vines, variegated pittosporum, peppermint gum, flowering gum and eryngium.  

Its always fun to decorate a cake in such a "free-form" way.  

The lovely bride wanted her bouquet to be waiting for her when she arrived via helicopter!! Great idea for making a grand entrance.  One of the great things about Bangor is the open spaces around the  venue where helicopters are able to land.  Check out Osborne Heli Tours if you're interested in arriving in style!

It was such a treat to be involved in this special occasion!

Vibrant Summery Natives for a Vineyard Wedding

Photography by Looks Like This

Summer weddings call for gorgeous outdoor settings, and what could be more gorgeous than a summery vineyard?!  This January wedding was held at Frogmore Creek Winery in the beautiful Coal River Valley near Hobart.  The Coal River Valley is home to many beautiful vineyards and definitely worth a visit if you're in Tasmania.

The bride loved proteas, and the combination of red, orange and pink with green.  Colour!  What fun to play with these vibrant warm colours that sing "summer"!

Photography by Looks Like This

It was a joy to use the fresh, seasonal blooms in her chosen colours to create the bouquet.  I used a small red King Protea for the focal flower and surrounded it with different varieties of orange and red pincushions.   I also used some banksias, the intense orange Ericifolia and the rich wine coloured Praemorsa.  

Photography by Looks Like This

Pink was added using Kangaroo Paw called Bush Pearl.  Some rich burgundy Leucadendron Safari Sunsets provided contrast.  For the green,  I used some gorgeous spent Hebe flowers - the texture and colour was fresh and lively.  I also used my favourite glossy green Tasmanian Myrtle Beech.  You can also see fresh poppy pods in matte blue-green.

For the groom, a poppy pod, some myrtle and some Hebe flowers in white, and to add colour, more Bush Pearl K.Paw and some stunning rich red flowering gum - Corymbia Ficifolia.  The darker binding really set off the colours.

The bride wanted a floral crown to match the colourful theme of the wedding so more green with the Myrtle and Hebe, and a sprinkling of wax flower.  Gum blossom just bursting with colour, and more Kangaroo Paw provided the rich colour accents.  

It was a wild, fresh, summery crown.

Photography by Looks Like This

And thanks to the amazing photography of Looks Like This I got to see it in action.  

Photography by Looks Like This

Beautiful!

Photography by Looks Like This

A great photo of the couple enjoying their day - it's such a treat to see photos of the flowers in action.   

Photography by Looks Like This 

There were 3 wedding cake toppers, a great idea using a collection of cakes, rather than tiered.

Photography by Looks Like This

For the venue decoration the bride used some wooden hexagonal display shelves for which I provided some wholesale flowers.  

Photography by Looks Like This

I love the rich colour teamed with the dark stained wood in the rustic style venue.  It really works.

Photography by Looks Like This

Large arrangements in ceramic pots sat on wine barrels to decorate the focal point of the ceremony.  

Smaller versions of the same pots bursting with an explosion of colour were used to decorate the reception tables.

I love creating these little pots of colour!

Two different varieties of pincushions teamed with pink Kangaroo Paw, Poppy Pods, Flowering Gum buds, Myrtle, Agonis Flexuosa in flower, Hebe, and Safari Sunset Leucadendron.  

Summery colour and texture.

Photography by Looks Like This

I think the photos speak for themselves!  A beautiful day.

Photography by Looks Like This

December Bush Wedding

A simple native bush theme was the brief for this December wedding.  

My first few blooms from Banksia Praemorsa bushes planted only a couple of years ago were the inspiration for the colour scheme.  What a beautiful wine-coloured flower!  I teamed a single Banksia bloom with some Protea Pink Ice as the focal flowers.

Creamy Leucadendron Discolour look great with their pink blushed tips.  I also used some late Berzelia, Pink Kangaroo Paw called Bush Pearl, and some leucadendron cones -  Jubilee Crown are the ruby red ones and Purple Haze are the silvery ones.  There's some wax flower peeping out in places too.   I also used some Hebe that were flowering profusely at the time.  I like the colour and structure they add. Some eucalyptus foliage provides a fresh background for a simple bush bouquet.

The groomsmen's boutonnieres were a simple combination of Berzelia, Wax Flower and Leucadendron Jubilee Crown, with eucalyptus and cyprus in the background.  

The groom's button hole adds a single creamy Leucadendron Discolour.

Table decorations for the reception held at Stewarts Bay Lodge, a fabulous local Tasman Peninsula wedding venue, used vintage preserving jars as the vases.

Leucospermum Scarlet Ribbons teamed with more Hebe, Leucadendron Jubilee Crown Cones, and fresh eucalyptus foliage fill the jars.  

Twisted willow branches create a sculptural effect against the white table cloths for a fresh, pretty bush themed wedding.   

"Rustic Vintage" Native Wedding

Natives are a great choice for a spring wedding because there are so many gorgeous colours and textures available to use.  I was excited to be able to provide flowers for a lovely bride for her November wedding.  Her idea was for a "rustic vintage" look.

A beautiful vintage lace dress with red lipstick and green shoes was the starting point for these bouquets - not too big, and in a simple hand-tied style.  

That gave me the perfect opportunity to use some lovely vintage lace that I've been keeping in my stash.  

All the bouquets and boutonnieres were bound with the lace.  Its so nice when you find the perfect use for that special something you've been keeping!

For the brides bouquet, I used a white waratah surrounded by some Satin Mink Proteas.  You can also see some Safari Sunset leucadendrons providing the darker tones.  Some pink kangaroo paw called Bush Pearl also adds to the pinky red tones.  The creamy leucadendrons are Lemon Spice, a female Discolour leucadendron that is green most of the year but in late spring changes to a this gorgeous cream with pink tips. 

 For the greens, there are eucalyptus buds, peppermint gum, and some thryptomene foliage.  The silver balls are a Leucadendron called Purple Haze.  The foliage has a purple tinge, but these cones produced after flowering are a pretty silvery addition to a bouquet.

Wax flower was also sprinkled throughout the design, seen here in the boutonnieres.  I was also able to use Berzelia.  It is a spring flowering plant that is often used at its green stage, but in late spring the little green balls "flower" and become a gorgeous fluffy white.  They are just perfect for weddings.  

So the "rustic vintage" look came together with a pink, green and cream colour scheme.