John Paul Florist

So many of our Weddings are memorable due to the couples themselves the Wedding locations. Over the years I have had a lot of different requests for wedding flowers. The two that stick most in my mind for being the most memorable & most unique would be a Bride who made paper origami flowers which I mixed with fresh foliage to create her bouquets, buttonholes and table arrangements. This was so personal to her and her Groom and it gave them something completely different. I also had a bride that didn’t want flowers but instead had bouquets made up of fruit and vegetables – she even had corn on the cob for pew-ends. Both these weddings turned out beautifully and were unique, reflecting the individuality of the couples.

If I only had 5 adjectives to describe my style i'd say: Natural, Seasonal, Relaxed,

That we make people happy! I love seeing couples on the wedding moring so excited about their flowers. Most of our business comes from recommendations from our happy couples :)

Think seasonal – flowers are at their best when they are in season. They’ll be bigger, stronger and will cost less.

A recent couple had used framed photos of her family past wedding days as pew ends. As you entered the church the pictures were black and white images of great great grandparents and as you walked down the aisle you passed through all their relations weddings at the end of he aisle was there own parents wedding pictures. I thought this was something different and personal.

The process varies depending of if the couple are based locally or not. We do alot of weddings where the couple are living abroad and coming home to get married so alot is done via online mood-boards, email, phone calls to ensure the couple get the best experience prior to them arriving home. For couples who are more local we always recommend booking their date as soon as possible as we tend to book up around a year in advance and we hate disappointing people. We would then make a consultation about 6 months before your wedding, once you have your dresses and colours picked so you can discuss ideas and styles and makes it easier for us to help guide you and offer ideas on the best flowers and styles to be in-keeping with your wedding. We have 100s of images of our previous wedding bouquets that can be used to help you, we also have images of the different local ceremony and reception venues dressed for different weddings. If you are getting married somewhere we haven't worked in before we are always happy to visit it with you to see where your flowers will work best. Clsoer to your wedding we would have a final appointment with you to ensure all the dtails are correct and add on any last minute changes. We'll also confirm delivery addresses and timings with you so you know when to expect your flowers. On the day of the wedding we will deliver the brides flowers to her location and also the grooms flowers to his. We will then go on to decorate the ceremony & reception venue (depending on size & location this may have been done the previous day and if so we will do a final check on them)

We've put all different things in Bridal bouquets as I mentioned above we've had origami flowers & fruit & vegetables. We often get asked to add in pieces of jewelry that are of sentimental value to the Bride or a locate with the image of someone special who has passed away so that they can be with them on their big day. We will always go out of our way to accommodate any request made by our couples.

Symbolism and meaning differs from person to person so we always try and find out if there are any flowers with personal symbolism to the couple. Favorite flower? Flower groom buys as gift? flower from parent or grandparents garden?

For me the most romantic flower and my own personal favorite flower is the Rose. It synonymous with love and romance and comes in so many different beautiful varieties.

The best tip I can give if you’d like to use your bouquets after your wedding day or if you are looking to have them preserved is to put them back into water once you are at your reception venue. Have somebody on hand who can re-cut the bottom of the stems with a pair of scissors and sit each bouquet in a jar filled with water. You can then sit the jars on your top table or on your cake table where they’ll look beautiful and will be on display for all your guests. By doing this you’ll allow the flowers and foliage in the bouquets to get a drink of water which will ensure they keep their best for you so you can have them preserved or take them home to enjoy for a little longer.