Winter whites

I confess I allowed myself to feel a little smug that the terracotta pots full of paperwhites were at their peak for the wedding today as planned. As the bride's favourite flower, they did a grand job as pew ends up the aisle. She also wanted a very simple very light rustic arch. Which was just as well since it is rather held up with skyhooks and branches lodged into more pots of paperwhites.

I look forward to official photographs. The bridal couple requested feathers in the buttonholes which caused me a little head scratching as I am not normally sure that feathers (definitely dead) go with flowers (hopefully not dead). But I finally decided on white hyacinth pips with buds of macracarpa and spriggettes of rosemary with a feather, bound with a tiny band of linen tape. They did look good on the lapels I saw them on, which I am relieved about as I think each one probably took more than 10 minutes, minimum, and there were 18. It was an early morning start!

The day before, I was in Gloucestershire delivering flowers for a small wedding at Barnsley House by Cirencester. This still remains one of my favourite venues, so well organised, such charming and efficient staff, as well as a beautiful place. Several years ago they were having trouble with their house flowers owing to illness and staff changeovers (historically the gardeners do the flowers) and they brought me in to do some training. Which was a complete joy.  Now they certainly need no help, their house flowers this time were lovely, I did a double take as the arrangements were so definitely my style, using what they have around them. But possibly their dried strings were tidier than mine. Well done Barnsley, spot on - again.