Roses are without a doubt a beautiful flower and spectacular for weddings either used on their own or mixed together with other blooms.

We recently wrote a blog about the Amnesia rose which is by far one of my favourites, but another that is also really popular this season is the Sweet Avalanche.

This rose was only introduced to the UK flower markets in 2000, but over the last 13 years has grown in popularity especially for weddings.  It is a particularly popular choice among the royals and celebs!!

As a general rule of thumb, the longer the stem, the larger the flower. However, with the sweet avalanche the growers can combine different stem lengths, giving the advantage of using the same rose in different bud sizes.

“This pale pink rose, has a hint of green around the outer petals, and as the flower head opens the green hue fades and turns back to almost candyfloss pink!”

They have a sturdy stem and are crowned with a large blowsy flower that always fully opens to majestic perfection. With a high petal count, long vase life and all year round availability it’s no wonder that the stunning Sweet Avalanche rose is the flower of choice”.

http://www.sweet-avalanche-roses.co.uk/

Having read this we decided that we had to give them a try!  When they arrived at Pinks Finchley the florists were keen to get creative and to see what all the fuss was about!!  We were definitely not disappointed and it was immediately evident that this is a fantastic rose!!

They are perfect for bridal work and particularly good for bouquets.  They come in all different stem lengths which means they can be used throughout all of your wedding flower arrangements.

This rose is stunning and fantastic for wedding flowers and as with the Amnesia they SHOUT OUT Vintage!  We love them.  Imagine your bridal bouquet a mix of amnesia and sweet avalanche roses …… dreamy ………. pure heaven ! Contact Us today! x

During our day to day work organising fabulous wedding flowers for fabulous bridal parties, we work and come into contact with many wedding suppliers that are, yes you guessed it, fabulous!!

Pinks have been in the wedding business for over 15 years and during this time we have come to realise the ones that really are worth a mention!  Equally, we appreciate the value of knowing the right ‘contacts’ and how this can work to bring you the most perfect day!

So by way of helping you find the best of the best, and to save you time and unnecessary effort, we have started to put together of list of suppliers that we have worked with (or have been highly recommended to us).

We feel confident in recommending these businesses, as we feel they will all provide you with quality, professionalism and value for money.

The categories that we have used are:

Bridal Make-Up

Bridal Wear

Wedding Photographer

Wedding Accessories

Wedding Cakes

Wedding Planner

And of course you have already found your perfect florist! x”

Please take advantage of our list of recommend suppliers.

When thinking of your wedding flowers, most of our client’s concentrate mainly on the type of arrangement they would like.  For example, the bride may know that she would like a posy bouquet in preference to a teardrop.

However it is also really important that you like the flowers that will be going into the bouquet and that you are fully aware of what is on offer!  Some of our brides ask for all roses because this is what they know, but as we work with them and introduce other flowers they start to fall in love all over again!

It may be that you already have a colour scheme in place or maybe you are looking for your flowers to lead with this decision?

One really important factor to take into account is that seasonal flowers will always be more cost effective and seasonal colours bang on trend!

If we were working with a bridal party that were getting married in May we would recommend colours which will express the joy of Spring and there is none better than lovely yellows!

The interesting thing about flowers and colours is that there will be so many different shades of that colour to be gained from a variety of blooms.  Whereby, a single colour can be used in many ways to create extremely different and contrasting end results.  Foliage can also then be used to enhance each of them in turn.

We love a feature in ‘Wedding’ magazine this month “Little Miss sunshine” which has bold vibrant yellows.   The flowers of choice are roses, tulips & craspedia.

The bridal posy bouquet is simple but effective, using a beautiful range of bold yellows and whites.

The table flowers are also bold and shout out Spring!

We really love the chair backs!  One thing to bear in mind though is that when you see lovely designs such as this, most of the flowers used here will not last 5 minutes out of water!  We can advise you which flowers will be suitable for such designs.

In contract to this bold affair is a 2^nd wedding featured in ‘Wedding’ magazines supplement titled “Daisy Daisy”.  Subtle yellows have been used with lush greens to create a very fresh feel.

The bridal bouquet again uses roses and craspedia and the daisy are used to soften the look.

The car looks fab with the front bumper design and an arrangement sitting proud in the back window.

Another great Spring 2013 colour is mint green, which we will feature in our next blog ……

When we meet with lucky couples that are looking to make a commitment to each other we always ask them where they are getting married (we obviously need to know to discuss decorating the venue!)

However we find it really interesting that there is such a varied choice of options available as to where people actually “tie the knot” and hold their ceremony.

So it led us into researching further the different options available and we found the following info in Wedding Magazine.

Church of England - you are no longer restricted to only tying the knot in your local parish church.

As it is now more flexible and you can choose any church outside of your parish that you, your parents or grandparents have a connection with (for example, if your parents married there or if you were christened there).

Useful contact:  Church of England 020 7898 1000), www.cofe.anglican.org

Roman Catholic Church either the bride or groom must have been baptised Catholic to wed in a Catholic church.  You will also need to visit your local superintendent registrar at your local town hall or council to give notice of your intention to marry and obtain your licence.

Useful contact:  Marriage Care – Catholic 020 7371 1341, www.marriagecare.org.uk

Jewish weddings fulfill a religious and civil purpose, but you’ll need two applications – one for your local register office and one for the religious authority under which the ceremony will take place.  Ceremonies can take place in a synagogue or licensed venue, but it is worth noting that Jewish weddings cannot take place on a Saturday.

Useful contacts:  Jewish Marriage Council (020 8203 6311)

To be able to legally marry in a register office, you and your fiancé must both give notice in person to the superintendent registrar at your local town hall or council office, who will issue you with a certificate of common notice.  Weddings can be booked no less than 17 days and no more than 12 months in advance.

Civil ceremonies can take place at any venue that has been approved for the purpose.  To become approved the venue needs to apply to the council.  The premises must be regularly open to members of the public, so private homes are unlikely to be approved.  Likewise, approval will not be given for open air venues, unless it’s a permanently built structure.

You will still need to give notice of your intention to marry to your local superintendent register and contact the local register office closest to your venue to book a register to conduct the ceremony at the approved premise.

Useful contacts:  General Register Office (0151 471 4814).

The legal bit

• You and your fiancé must both be at least 16 years old (in England and Wales, if either of you is under 18, you will need permission from your parents or guardian).
• You must both be eligible to marry (i.e.  not already married!)
• You can’t be related, although relatives-in-law can sometimes marry.  Contact the Citizen’s Advice Bureau for details.
• The marriage must take place in legally approved premises.
• The marriage must take place in front of an authorised person.
• The ceremony must take place between 8am and 6pm.
• Two witnesses must be present.
• If it is your second marriage, you will need to provide documentary evidence that your previous marriage has legally ended.  For example, if you are divorced, you will have to show your decree absolute certificate when you give notice of your marriage.

Many options available, but all require flowers!!  See our galleries for fantastic ideas.

Contact us today to book your FREE consultation with one of our designer florists!

Pinks are getting into the wedding spirit this weekend.  We are busy busy bees.

We are using the most beautiful rose (mainly for the bridal flowers).  It is called ‘Amnesia’.  Really good for achieving a Vintage look.

“The Amnesia Rose has become very popular over the last few years and is a firm favourite when creating Vintage style wedding flowers. It’s unique lavender, beige and green colours tone superbly with many other flowers, but quite often, because of their mystifying beauty, Amnesia Roses are used in simple clusters with just foliage to accompany them. Over the past few years Amnesia Roses have featured extensively in wedding magazines – because of this every bride-to-be will be aware of Amnesia Roses.

Amnesia Roses have a sturdy stem and are crowned with an antique lilac flower with accents of beige and greens. When the flower is fully open they are a joy to behold. The Amnesia Rose is known for it’s reliability with flower heads that always fully open. With a medium petal count, long vase life and all year round availability, it’s no wonder that these extraordinary roses are constantly in demand.

Amnesia Roses are not a variety that grow to tall stem lengths. As a rule Amnesia Roses are available in 50cm or 60cm heights. Many florists combine Amnesia Roses with soft pinks and whites for dramatic effect. Over the past few years Amnesia have been a very sought after wedding rose because of it’s unique colour scheme and fit perfectly into the current fashion of ‘vintage wedding flowers’”.  Courtesy of http://amnesia-roses.co.uk

When we think of wedding flowers we immediately think of flowers for the bridal party and the tables at the venue.

However, at Pinks we don’t like to be limited by such tradition and are able to offer you alternatives.  Something that works alongside tradition or maybe even against tradition and if you are feeling really wild maybe even against gravity!!

We work with bridal parties looking to decorate all manner of venue from opulent hotels to those looking to bring to life a community hall.  There are also those that wish to work towards a theme – for example last year we worked with a bridal party looking to transfer a marquee in their parent’s garden to a traditional English garden theme.  Whatever you are looking for we can make it work for you.

Flowers are a fantastic way of lifting all types of venue and also a way of expressing yourselves and putting your stamp on the day.

With the great British summer fast approaching marquee weddings are very popular.  They provide a fantastic blank canvas and can be transformed with flowers (and/or other decorations) into a magical venue.

First impressions will last so having the entrance decorated is always a good idea.  These topiary trees can be kept by the bridal party or given away as thank you gifts.

You really can do what you want with the inside of a marquee!

We love this idea of having a chandelier of flowers as a focal point.  It really would be a good talking point for your guests.

Aside from marquees, staircases are another great area for added decorating and this will have maximum impact.  This staircase is particularly grand but this does not always have to the the case.

We love this pretty summery look and can be used to pretty up any staircase or other area in need of a bit of TLC!

See our Photo Galleries for further ideas!!

We are able to work with you whatever your budget to make your flowers speak volumes and bring your dreams to life!

Call us today to book your FREE consultation with one of our designer florists on 020 8343 3666!

When people come into us for their wedding flowers the main emphasis will always be on the bridal bouquet.  And rightly so!

However, we know that on the big day when all of your guests walk into your reception venue you want them to be wooing and wowing and making loud exclamations as to how stunning your tables are looking.

At the end of the day that is where they will be sitting for the majority of their afternoon and evening.  We all hope that the speeches are going to have your guests hooping with delight or booing with emotional!  However, if that is not the case you want them to be sitting admiring your table centres!

We know how important it is to ensure that there are no mistakes with them and that each and every display is looking top notch.

It may be that you decide to have low centrepieces or tall arrangements in vase or a mixture of the two.  Or maybe some stunning candles incorporated within the design to give maximum impact when people walk in.  Whatever you decide you want them to speak volumes and impress your guests.

You may also choose to give the arrangements away at the end of the day which is a really nice added touch and can save you money on having thank you bouquets for the mothers and other guests that may have contributed to your day.

It may be colour that you want to go for or a theme to each table.  We can work with you to put into place all of your ideas.  Have a look through some magazines and come and discuss your ideas with us or alternatively come in with no ideas at all and browse through our endless galleries of past events.

Wedding magazine recently had a fabulous article about using precious metals to combine elements of bronze, silver and gold.  “We suggest silver charger plates with pear-shaped candles in shimmering metal shades, goblets trimmed in gold and pewter-hued glasses to achieve the ultimate luxe look”!!

This would definitely ensure that your tables are dressed to impress!!

Another of their ideas that we love is simply spraying lisianthus to make a shining statement when displayed on an empty mantelpiece.

This would also look fab incorporated within your bouquets and displays.

There are so many options for making sure you tables look absolutely fabulous.

Give us a call today on 020 8343 3666 to book your consultation.

News & Updates

So we have survived the mad period of Valentine’s Day, International Women’s Day & Mother’s Day!  We had 2 Valentine’s Day weddings and 1 over the Mother’s Day weekend which all went swimmingly.

We are now preparing ourselves for the wedding season!

Our florists are busy scouring the magazines for new trends and attending any upcoming workshops and seminars.

For all florists this is a great time of the year.  Don’t get me wrong we enjoy the key dates mentioned above, but it is weddings that allow our creativity and flair to really come into its own.

Did you read our recent blog titled ‘Show us your dress’.  We cannot stress enough the importance of getting the balance right between your flowers, your dress, your style and basically you!

We would love you to pop in to see us and bring in even your dress or a picture of your dress and we can help you decide on the right bouquet and bridal flowers.

We are already very busy with wedding booking so please make sure you book your date asap.  We have a number of weddings booked for Summer and Winter 2013 and Summer 2014.

The summer is a great time to get married in terms of flowers but so are the winter months.  We love the winter colours of silvers and blues or the Christmas reds & greens.  However, with summer fast approaching!! we have our heads into gear with the summer flowers bright and colourful!  Or you cannot beat the monochrome whites & greens.

Pop in, have a chat and we will spend time discussing your ideas with you.  Oh yes and don’t forget your dress!!

Call us today on 020 8343 3666!!

Our designer florists spend hours at Pinks browsing magazines to study wedding flower trends, fads, celebrity styles and in general all the do’s and don’ts of great wedding flowers.

One of the most common trends that comes out of this enjoyable exercise is that people (including the celeb’s) spend money and time getting that ‘oh so perfect dress’ and then source their wedding flowers to match – but no alas they do not match!!

A wedding flower bouquet needs to be the correct size, shape and colour to match both the bride and the dress.  A petite bride wearing a stunning vintage ‘Victoria Jane’ number needs an equally petite posy of delicate florals, a cascade of phalanopsis orchids or a slender teardrop for the wedding flowers.

Likewise a bride wearing a fuller bridal gown would look complete holding a lavish bold all roses posy or a well portioned all out shower bouquet.

The colour of your wedding flowers is also an extremely important element and needs to consider the colour of the dress, your skin tone and hair colour.

Getting the colour scheme right for your wedding flowers is very important as it can tie together all of the different elements of your wedding day.  We love the ideas in ‘Perfect Palettes’ see www.weddingmagazines.co.uk featuring a scheme of pale pink, striking silver and grey hues or gold, white and rose gold for all manner of bridal items.  Including dresses, corsages, lavish satin and lace lingerie, shoes, nail furnish – you name it they have it!

We also love their article ‘Over the Rainbow’ which features beautiful focal points for the top table using all the colours of the rainbow, through to using one flower colour to differentiate between tables.  Or really move away from tradition for your wedding flowers by mixing up your bridesmaids bouquets with a multitude of statement colours. 

We especially love their idea of coordinating your place settings to create the effect of a striking gradient of colour.

At Pinks we can work with you to design your wedding flowers taking into consideration you, your dress, your colour schemes and venue!  Not forgetting your ideas, aspirations and personal taste.  We love going for something a bit different too!

Give us a call today and book an appointment to discuss your wedding flowers…..!!

The meaning of Valentines (courtesy of Wikipedia)

Saint Valentine’s Day, commonly known as Valentine’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Valentine,is observed on February 14 each year. Today Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world.

St. Valentine’s Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. The most popular martyrology associated with Saint Valentine was that he was imprisoned for performing weddings.

Today, Saint Valentine’s Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion, as well as in the Lutheran Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrates Saint Valentine’s Day, albeit on July 6th and July 30th.

The day’s association with romantic love grew in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. By the 15th century, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as “valentines“).

So with all that interesting information about the history of Valentine’s Day or should I say Saint Valentine’s Day! is it in the modern age a good day to get hitched?!

Well let us approach this from obviously a florist’s view point.

The Do’s & Don’ts of saying ‘I Do’ on Valentine’s Day?

On the lead up to Valentine’s Day, we at Pinks are surrounded by beautiful red roses making even the very best of us feel romantic and inspiring us with great wedding ideas!  Pinks will be buzzing even more than normal and spirits will be high.

It is one of our very busiest times of the year and we will only be able to schedule a small number of weddings in, so to avoid disappointment you will be advised to book a Valentine’s Day wedding early.  It is not too early to contact us now for Valentine’s Day 2014!  Maybe pushing it for 2013 but we will see what we can do!!

On the downside of getting married on 14^th Feb is the cost!  At this time of year you will have noticed that flowers, especially roses and other red flowers are at a premium.  The prices are escalated not by us the florist, but by others in the supply chain, so your flowers are likely to cost more.

Although you can lighten this by steering clear of roses and red flowers and instead opting for other seasonal greats such as freesia, crocosmia or anemone.

All this said, if you are a true romantic, it really is the most romantic day to get married on and we are all for romance!  Give us a call and we would love to run though some fantastic Valentine’s Day wedding ideas!

And to all you potential “proposers”, if you want to pop the question on Valentine’s Day we can make an extra special bouquet for you to present to the lucky person!

See our galleries for fabulous Valentine’s Day wedding flower ideas.