Searching for a Scottish florist for your big day? We hear how three newly married couples went to town with their bridal bouquet and wedding arrangements
Laurelle Johnstone and Ross Stenhouse married at The Den at Culross on 30th July 2022 with flowers by The Flower Studio
Ross and Laurelle’s barn venue set the tone for their decor choices: “I wanted to keep things quite rustic and initially thought about only having dried flowers,” the bride remembers. “I was thinking of neutral colours with some browns, tans and rusty orange. I love pampas grass so I knew I wanted it too.”
A friend recommended the Flower Studio, which is based in Sauchie, just a few miles from their venue. The couple loved what they saw on Instagram. “Everything was beautifully presented and I loved how Sarah (Dornan, the company’s owner) had done a bit of everything, was local to the area and had a post on her business page about herself,” Laurelle tells us. “It was like I knew who she was even before I met her, which I really liked.
“Sarah and I had some meetings to discuss ideas and look at pictures I’d saved from Pinterest and photos of flowers she’d done for other weddings,” continues Laurelle. “I eventually settled on a mix of dried and fresh flowers, and once I showed Sarah the colour of my bridesmaids’ dresses she suggested including toffee roses – a perfect match. I loved them, so I added some fresh roses into my bouquet too. I kept the original vision for pampas and dried flowers throughout the venue and for the centrepieces.”
Lindsay Duncan and Andrew Keighren married at Old Dr Bells Baths on 23rd July 2022, with flowers by Eternity Blooms
“To my mind, artificial flowers are more sustainable, since I’ll keep them for a long time,” says bride Lindsay of her decision not to go for fresh blooms. “I met Pamela of Eternity Blooms at the Edinburgh Wedding Exhibition last September. She made a wonderful first impression and I just hoped she’d be able to do the flowers for my wedding.
“I’m pretty clueless when it comes to flowers,” admits Lindsay, “but I knew I wanted pink in them! I only met with Pamela once, but that was enough to decide on my final flowers. We discussed different sizes, styles and what could be included, and I was very happy with our meeting.”
Her bouquet featured a combination of artificial roses, peonies and a small amount of gypsophila (baby’s breath), along with eucalyptus and other leaves. “I wouldn’t say my bouquet was huge, but it might have been bigger than most,” the bride continues. “The effect was pretty and restrained, with the colour palette working beautifully with the hanging lanterns in the ceremony space.”
Five days before the wedding in Leith, Lindsay’s bouquet, the gents’ buttonholes and corsages for both mums were ready to be picked up. “It was all very easy, and transporting them wasn’t a problem either,” she says. “In fact, Pamela made the whole process straightforward from start to finish.”
Kelly Henderson and Karl Paget married at Church of the Holy Rude and Inglewood House Hotel & Spa on 9th May 2022, with flowers by Trudi Todd Flowers
From the get-go, Kelly knew she wanted her flowers to make a statement: “I told Trudi that I wanted drama and lots of flowers,” she remembers. “I wanted white peonies for my bouquet, while for the bridesmaids I wanted a mix of pink peonies, white roses, eucalyptus and white hydrangeas.” The flowers were also used to great effect in the church and reception venue: in the former, standing candelabras were decorated with a ring of white peonies and hydrangeas, while in the latter, the top table was covered in flowers, with mirrored vases to hold the bouquets adding even more interest.
Kelly had her heart set on peonies, but getting them was trickier than expected. “Trudi told me she really wasn’t happy with some of the blooms that had been delivered by one of her suppliers a few weeks before our wedding,” recalls the bride. “She was worried they wouldn’t be properly opened when my day came around.”
Happily, there was a solution: “Trudi ordered mine from another supplier in Holland who assured her they were open and top quality. I was speechless when I saw them –
beautiful big white peonies that were opening at the perfect moment. I gasped when I saw them!” Trudi was a star all the way through the planning process, she adds: “She was very reliable and put my mind at ease. I couldn’t have asked for more.”