Loreena & Joe • Forde Abbey

Loreena and Joe married at the beautiful Forde Abbey and Gardens on a sunny late September day.

Their brief was clear, and just a dream to work with. They wanted to steer away from anything too formal or polished. They were after a wild and whimsical, just picked look, using an autumnal palette and a variety of shaped and textured flowers and foliages to compliment what was growing in the gardens on the day; right up my street!

We mixed cafe au last dahlias with zinnias, cosmos, hydrangeas, garden roses and crocosmia, along with dried grasses, spindling twigs and berries to emulate the flower borders outside. It was important to include the flowers and foliages as they began to change in colour and texture, as well as some that had dried already, and we sat these alongside the most freshest blooms to really get that Autumnal feel.

Loreena wore the most stunning blush tulle and antique gold lace dress with autumn coloured embroidery flowing off the wait into the skirt. Her loose and natural bouquet was complimented by trailing silk ribbons with the four bridesmaids carrying smaller versions of hers.  We wired little clusters of berries for Loreena’s hair. Joe and his groomsmen had boutonnieres of roses, berries and crocosmia.

A large urn filled full of both fresh and dried flowers greeted the guests as they arrived  in the vestibule room. The ceremony took place in the great hall with it’s huge ceilings, big windows and flagstone floors; the lighting on the day  was truly mesmerising.  The aisle ends were adorned  with glass vases of September flowers which we nestled into the voile fabric that trailed the length of the aisle. These were moved to the tables in the undercroft for the reception,  where they sat  alongside vases of silk and dried flowers.

A wild and abundant trailing arrangement decorated the registry table and sat below a huge urn of cascading flowers proving a perfect focal feature for the ceremony. This was moved to the top table for the reception.

Larger glass vases of flowers adorned the window sills in the undercroft, and along with the arrangements from the ceremony having their second appearance of the day, finished off a truly magical setting for their reception.