East Coast Wedding in January

November Beach Wedding at Stewarts Bay

Photography by Jon Jarvela

November catches the end of spring and there are so many beautiful flowers available.  For this beach wedding at Stewarts Bay on the Tasman Peninsula, the theme was the bride's favourite, red and white.  

Photography by Jon Jarvela

The red and white were teamed up with grey for the suits and bridesmaids dresses.  A classic colour combination.  

The bride's bouquet had the last of the NSW Waratahs and Tasmanian Waratahs,  both in rich red.  There was also a Banksia Coccinea, a Scarlet Ribbons Pincushion and a Protea Compacta which is a soft pink with a red centre.  

For white, there were white Peonies and creamy leucadendron Lemon Spice with its pink blush tips.  The Berzelia Lanuginosa was flowering and the little green balls are all covered in tiny white flowers making them look fluffy and gorgeous.  They looked great in the bouquets.  

There were gum nuts too from the Corymbia Ficifolia.  For foliage, there was Agonis Flexuosa and Risdon Peppermint eucalyptus.  

For the bride, I made a floral hair slide with a Tasmanian Waratah as the main focus, surrounded by fluffy Berzelia, creamy Leucadendron Discolour, ruby Jubilee Crown cones, and bits and pieces of foliage.  

These can work really well with a range of hair styles and add colour that perfectly matches your bouquets.   They're a lot of fun to create too! 

The ceremony was held on Stewarts Bay beach which is a small sheltered beach in Port Arthur.  When you're standing on the beach, you can see nothing but pristine bush and can imagine that it has looked this way for thousands of years.  Its a special spot, and only a stones-throw from Stewarts Bay Lodge where the reception was held.  

The arch was decorated with red, white and pink and really made a statement in the sunshine.

A gorgeous red King Protea was the standout flower, surrounded by the Waratahs, Berzelia,  Scarlet Ribbon pincushions and masses of foliage and leucadendrons.  

For the groom and his men, gum nuts, Waratahs and leucadedrons.  

Photography by Jon Jarvela

The restaurant at Stewarts Bay Lodge was where the reception was held, just a short walk up through the bush from the beach.  

Little collections of jars and vases with plenty of red and white sat on top of log rounds to decorate the tables.  

NSW Waratahs, Tasmanian Waratahs, Banksia Coccinea and Protea Compacta with leucadedrons, Berzelia, gum and Silver Tree.  Little ruby coloured Jubilee Crown cones were added too.

And for the cake, more Waratahs, Berzelia, Leucadendrons and foliage.  

Photography by Jon Jarvela

The gorgeous photos by Jon Jarvela were shared by the lovely bride - Thankyou!  I love being able to see how things turn out on the day!.

It was such a pleasure to be involved in this special wedding, almost a year ago!  Congratulations to the bride and groom who will soon be celebrating their first anniversary.

November Wedding at Willie Smiths Apple Shed

November is one of my favourite months for native flowers.  Just look at the colours in these bridesmaid's bouquets from a wedding in November 2017!  All the colours!  

The wedding and reception were held at Willie Smiths Apple Shed at Ranelagh in the Huon Valley area south west of Hobart.  Its a great venue, created by repurposing some huge old wooden apple packing sheds which gives it a unique atmosphere.  

The Waratah would have to be the first flower to mention for this wedding - such a beautiful native with a stunning colour and texture that makes a bouquet really special.  I used the larger New South Wales Waratah (Telopea Speciosissima) as well as the Tasmanian Waratah (Telopea Truncata) which is smaller but more intensely coloured.  

Each of the bouquets also had the beautiful velvety red and pink combo of the Protea Compacta variety that we grow here at Swallows Nest Farm.  

I also used some Protea Satin Mink, a light pink protea with black fringing.  

Other gorgeous spring flowering natives included the hot pink Boronia which smells amazing.  Soft fluffy purple flowers from a native Melaleuca were also added.  I love adding Berzelia to my bouquets too.  Berzelia is a gorgeous "flower" that resembles lots of little pea-like berries in clusters.  The berries grow over the cooler months and by November, they're at their largest and have started to lighten in colour.  Eventually they "flower", becoming covered in tiny white flowers which give them a fluffy appearance. They're so gorgeous!

Other ingredients were the Dryandra Formosa (recently reclassified as a Banksia) which has a gorgeous shiny old gold colour and beautiful finely zig-zagged foliage.  Leucadendrons used are Safari Sunset and the gorgeous spring colour of Lemon Spice which is creamy coloured with a pink tinge.  I also used some lovely blue sea holly or Eryngium. 

The foliage used throughout this wedding was Tasmanian Myrtle Beech.  I love the glossy green leaves and the structure of it.  

For the groom, I used a gorgeous golden Dryandra Formosa teamed up with a Leucadendron Lemon Spice, some hot pink Boronia, sea holly and myrtle foliage.  

I love making boutonnieres.  Such sweet little mini bouquets!

For decorating the venue, we used lots of little jars and bottles filled with bright colour.  More myrtle foliage teamed with waratahs, Tasmanian waratahs, proteas of different varieties, dryandra, boronia, and leucadendrons.  

The venue really suits the long-table set up.  

I love the pinks and reds against the dark tables - it really makes them glow.  

Natasha from Lily May Cake Designs always does an impeccable wedding cake! I love getting to work with such talented people. 

Acoma Photography

November provides some amazing natives which are a delight to use for weddings.  I really enjoyed putting these special flowers together.  

Colourful Botanical Gardens Wedding in late Spring

Spring in the Tasmanian Botanical Gardens!  That was the ceremony venue for this November wedding.  The Botanical Gardens are not just a collection of beautifully designed garden spaces but also a living collection of plants, so in order to protect the collection there are some restrictions placed on the types of plant matter that can be brought in.  With a wedding, this extends to the bouquets and boutonnieres.  Currently, there is a restriction on bringing any plants from the Myrtaceae family into the Gardens, due to the Myrtaceae Rust disease being found in parts of Tasmania.  This family of plants includes all the Eucalyptus, Myrtle and many other native Australian plants including those used for cut foliage.  

I really enjoyed the challenge though, as a grower of "natives" to make sure that I steered clear of the Myrtaceae family.  The bridesmaids were wearing navy so I went for colour!  

Spring flowering protea called Pink Cream which has warm pink bracts and a creamy central mass, were the main flower I used.  I teamed it with an early flowering Pincushion in a pinky orange.  The bride's bouquet also had a creamy white Protea.  

There were lots of little spring natives to use for extra colour.  I love the purple coneflowers or Isopogons.  And in the background, you can see the hot pink Boronia which has a wonderful fragrance.  

Both of these natives were used in the boutonnieres.  I added a creamy leucadendron Lemon Spice, some little yellow Leucadendron Fireworks, and the foliage used was pittosporum and cyprus. 

I love making boutonnieres!

Carrying on with the same colours, I made table decorations for the reception, which was held at Rydges Hobart.  More of the Pink Cream Proteas teamed with pincushions, and lots of other spring colour.  There are so many leucadendrons that are looking spectacular in spring.  One the I love to use is Pisa, which has bright yellow bracts surrounding a pearlescent silver cone.  As spring turns into summer the cones swell and the yellow fades to lime green.  

Foliage was the main issue with the Myrtaceae restrictions, so I used cyprus, and a couple of varieties of pittosporum.

More colour was added with purple Isopogons, creamy white Berzelia, and Leucadendron Lemon Spice which is cream with pink tips.  The last of the hot pink Boronia was added, as well as some green leucos - Maui Sunset and Goldstrike.  The blue is Sea Holly.  

A bridal table garland full of colour and texture was made to sit along the front of the table.

And to top off the celebration, flowers for the cake, made by Carter's Cakes.  

I really enjoyed the challenge with this Botanical Gardens wedding and had such fun playing with beautiful spring colours.  I hope the lovely couple enjoyed every minute of their day!