Tasmanian Native Wedding in March

Tasmania is a place known for its pristine wilderness and many people come here to experience that. For this wedding, the bride was a tour guide for the new Three Capes Track wilderness walk that shows off some of the spectacular coastline of the Tasman Peninsula.  Being a tour guide she wanted plants that were native to the Tasmanian bush that she worked in.

In spring there are a multitude of wildflowers available in the local landscape, but in March not so many.  I was able to use some gorgeous native coral fern, and the beautiful Tasmanian Myrtle Beech foliage to create the structure of the bouquet.  I also used some lovely wattle that flowers throughout the year in our local area.  I love using wattle in bud, when its little flowers are still little green balls that sit at great angles along the stems.  

The other two local native ingredients were creamy pale yellow Banksia Marginata.  These grow all around the local area and will flower at different stages throughout the year, given the right conditions.  The real standout, colour-wise, was the Pink Mountain Berry which grows profusely in patches around the Tasman Peninsula.  

Pink Mountain Berry or Leptecophylla Juniperina is native to New Zealand, Tasmania and Victoria.  It is not often used as a cut flower because its very prickly!  But I was lured in by the amazing hot pink colour so I got out the rose de-thorner tool and handled it carefully.  

The remaining ingredients were some red Banksia Occidentalis, a Birdsnest Banksia or Banksia Baxterii, and two different coloured flowering gums.  The result was a bright, native bouquet designed to go with the brides dress which had red Nothofagus leaves embroidered over it.    

For the groom, some myrtle beech, coral fern, wattle, Pink Mountain Berry, flowering gum and a red Leucadendron.  

I enjoyed the challenge of coming up with something "local" and "native" for this special wedding.

  

Do yourself a favour and check out the Three Capes Track website for some truly amazing Tasmanian Peninsula Wilderness.  (I'm not biased at all!)

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.

Pretty Pink January Wedding at Stewarts Bay Lodge

For this January wedding at Stewarts Bay Lodge, the brief was soft pinks with plenty of foliage.

  We are lucky in Tasmania that our Protea Pink Ice flower pretty much all year round, so there's always something pink to work with, but to make something extra special for this special couple, I dialled up the the pink!

Clear pink hydrangeas perfect for the picking, were great in the bouquets.  I used the hydrangeas and Pink Ice proteas along with Scarlet Ribbons pincushions which have a softer colour when they first begin to flower.  

  

Other ingredients you can see are the shiny Silver Tree cones, dusky silver Brunia "berries", some soft green sea holly, and pinky-purple Hebe.  

Foliages used are variegated pittosporum, and Risdon Peppermint gum.  

For the groom, Safari sunset leucos in their deep Burgundy summer colour, hydrangea, sea holly, peppermint gum and Hebe.

For the dads, no hydrangea but some little Jubilee Crown leuco cones were added.  

Its a very satisfying thing to line up all the boutonnieres - they always look so happy!

The lovely bride provided some birdcages to fill with flowers.  These were to hang from hooks on the lawn overlooking the bay at Stewarts Bay Lodge.  As can be the case in Tassie, the weather had different ideas and the ceremony was held indoors.  

I decided these looked best with the flowers and foliage spilling out through the bars.

For the reception, we made a long bridal table garland to sit in front of the bride and groom.  It was full of pincushions, hydrangea, brunia, sea holly and foliages.  

For the guests tables, vases filled with more of the same.  Lots of foliage including some top the beautiful shiny Silver Tree foliage.  

The table numbers were added with little peg picks.  I think combining the table number and the flowers works well in terms of minimising clutter on the tables and creating an overall look.  

Stewarts Bay Lodge is a great venue filled with natural light.  

Photograph by Acoma Studio

It was such a pleasure to be involved in this special wedding.  If you want to see more, check out the video by Ash Video Tas - worth a look!

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!