"Birds Nest" Bouquets for a Cradle Mountain Wedding in February

"Birds Nest" Bouquets for a Cradle Mountain Wedding in February

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In February I provided flowers for a wedding held at Lemonthyme Wilderness Retreat in the Cradle Mountain - Lake St Claire National Park.  

Cradle Mountain

The Cradle Moutain area is World Heritage listed with stunning scenery and pristine wilderness that draws tourists from all around the globe.  What a beautiful place for a wedding!

Lemonthyme WIlderness Retreat

 The bride had chosen a rich strong purple for the bridesmaid's dresses and had the idea of adding some yellow as a contrasting colour to really make the colours pop.  

Its called a complimentary colour scheme, using colours which are opposite each other on the colour wheel.  It works to accentuate colours and make them stand out.  The bride also wanted natives to go with that beautiful backdrop of the Tasmanian wilderness that the venue offered.

 

Banksias were the focal flowers in this wedding with each bouquet having a Banksia Baxterii as the main flower.  Baxterii are a beautiful late summer banksia here in Tassie, and are often called Birds-nest Banksia because of their unique shape and the way the styles open from the bottom upwards.

I continued the Bird's Nest theme using posy holders made from natural fibrous material in a great chocolate brown.  I love the textural quality they created and the addition of the deep brown which enhances the colours in the flowers.  I also loved the bird's nest feel they added, with the flowers nestled into the "nest" and the foliage spilling over the edges.  

Other flowers used were the beautiful rich red Banksia Occidentalis, Leucadendron Safari Sunset, a deep burgundy in late summer, and Brunia Albiflora.  Little pops of purple to tie in the bridesmaids dresses were added with Hebe.  

Vibrant yellow was added with Kangaroo Paw, Bronze Fennel flowers, and Leucadendron Pisa.  Foliages used include the gorgeous native coral fern called Gleichenia Dicarpa, Myrtle Beech,  a beautiful burgundy tea tree foliage, and some Smoke Bush leaves.   

The bride requested all the boutonnieres be different designs, all with the same theme.  Music to my ears!  Its such fun to play with the colours and textures and find different ways of putting them all together.  Banksia Baxterii leaves, deeply zig zagged and fabulous, form the backing for each Boutonniere.  

In front, different mixtures of the foliages including the burgundy tea tree and myrtle, and then more of the other flowers featured in the bouquets.  

The grooms boutonniere had some of the coral fern added.  I really love working with the coral fern.  It can be very difficult to store and work with as it tangles very easily, but the lovely angles that it sits at make it a wonderful, whimsical addition to a bouquet or boutonniere.  

The colours and textures of this wedding were wonderfully satisfying to work with.  I hope the bride and groom enjoyed the results!

Late Summer Wedding at Avalon Coastal Retreat

Late Summer Wedding at Avalon Coastal Retreat

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In late February, I provided flowers for a wedding at Avalon Coastal Retreat at Swansea on Tasmania's east coast.  Its a stunning  location with views of some of Tassie's most picturesque coastline.  The bride loved flowering gum and wattle, and February delivered on both counts.  

I created a bouquet for the bride using three different shades of Corymbia Ficifolia, a popular flowering gum that blooms in late summer here in Tasmania.  A rich, hot pink, candy pink and baby pink formed the bulk of the bouquet.  Acacia Retinodes is a wattle native to the southern states of Australia that flowers periodically throughout the year.  Some long arching branches from a local tree provided the wattle blooms.  Acacia Retinodes keeps its form quite well when picked, unlike some species of wattle which last only a short time.  I also love the foliage of the Acacia Retinodes, which falls happily.

The pastel tones of the bouquet included a Protea Pink Cream, an orange Pincushion Cordifolium, and a touch of blue with a Nigella flower from the garden.  The olive-green berries are a pittosporum berry. I also used Leucadendron Pisa which at the end of summer has large silvery white cones surrounded by yellow and lime green bracts.  

Other bouquet ingredients include Brunia Albiflora, Leucadendron Silver Tree, Bronze Fennel flowers, Eucalyptus Cordata foliage, and Irish Juniper foliage.

For the groom's boutonniere, I used Corymbia Ficifolia in hot pink, with a large Corymbia leaf at the back.  A sprig of eucalyptus, some Acacia Retinodes, Leucadendron Pisa and a Nigella bud where the other flowers used.  

The bride wanted a floral crown to match her bouquet.  Local coastal tea-tree foliage dotted with Brunia balls made the circlet.  

Flowering gum, wattle, L. Pisa cones, eucalyptus and Nigella were added as a focal point.

The design of the other boutonnieres was a simpler version of the groom's, showcasing the just the wattle.  

I loved using the Acacia Retinodes.  

The bride ordered wholesale flowers for some DIY fun, to make up the bridesmaid's bouquets.  What she saved on costs, she used to order wrist corsages.

They were a lot of fun to make, using tea tree foliage, eucalyptus, different shades of flowering gum with a Leucadendron Pisa cone.  I also popped in some sprigs of wattle, and some of the olive green pittosporum berries.  

I think they were a great alternative to the traditional pin-on corsage.  This was a great wedding to be involved in.  I really loved the colours the I got to play with and was really happy with the results, particularly the brides bouquet.  

Sundrenched March Wedding at Port Arthur

Sundrenched March Wedding at Port Arthur

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Photography by Fred and Hannah

On a beautiful warm Tuesday in March, this lovely couple tied the knot at Port Arthur Historic Site on the Tasman Peninsula.  The world heritage listed site is a really special place for a wedding.  The ceremony was held in the ruins of the old church and then photographs were taken in the wonderful gardens that cover the site.

Photography by Fred and Hannah

Photography by Fred and Hannah really captures the day so fabulously!  That golden sun drenched glow perfectly highlights the playful yellow touches that the couple chose for their day. 

Photography by Fred and Hannah

I made the bride a simple bouquet with plenty of lush foliage and texture.

Main flowers used were Protea Pink Ice, and Brunia Albiflora in flower.  A Leucadendron Silver Tree cone peeps through in the centre of the bouquet, surrounded by a fine-flowered white hydrangea.  

The small touches of red are the variegated Leucadendron Jester.  Yellow touches were added with Leucadenron Inca Gold,  Leucadendron Pisa and a fine leafed hybrid Leucadendron.  Eucalyptus Risdonii,  a lovely lemon scented Leptospermum, and a blue green cyprus are the foliages used.  For some added texture I used some pittosporum berries which are a great creamy colour and for a finishing touch, some gum nuts from Corymbia Ficifolia.  

Photography by Fred and Hannah

The grooms boutonniere combined all of the foliages with the yellow Leucadendrons and a gum nut as the focal point.  I love it with that yellow tie!

Fresh and Australian!

Photography by Fred and Hannah

The lovely bride wanted a floral crown to match her bouquet.  

I used more of the Eucalyptus Risdonii, and wove in some of the flowering Tea Tree.  The fine leafed yellow Leucadendron added warm touches.  I also added some of the Leucadendron Pisa to the front of the crown.  

You can also see some deconstructed Brunia and some flowering gum woven into the crown.  

Photography by Fred and Hannah

The bride wore it well!  

Photography by Fred and Hannah

The amazing photography by Fred and Hannah captured the day so well.  The golden glow of the early autumn light was just magic.

Photography by Fred and Hannah

It was, as always, a pleasure to be involved!

Natives for a Beach Wedding in March

Natives for a Beach Wedding in March

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thanks to the lovely bride for sharing this image

Tasmania's beaches are some of the most beautiful in the world.  We are surrounded by sea so our coastline is vast.  There are so many beautiful beaches we are spoilt for choice and when we do visit, we often find that we have the beach to ourselves.  So it's no surprise that beach weddings are popular during the warmer months.

thanks to the lovely bride for sharing this image

  March is early autumn here in Tassie, and can be a brilliant time for weddings.

  This March was warmer than usual and there was plenty of variety to play with to create some native bouquets.  

thanks to the lovely bride for sharing this image

The lovely bride wanted green, orange and cream with gum nuts.  Her attendant was her mum, wearing a salmon coloured dress.  

For the bride I used a late flowering Pincushion variety called "Fountain",   Protea Pink Ice, and Protea Repens in a rich salmony pink.  

Beautiful Birdsnest Banksia or Banksia Baxterii in creamy yellow, and Brunia Albiflora which had started flowering were the other large flowers used.  You can also see some smaller creamy Banksia Marginata, a locally occurring Banksia.  

Flowering Eucalyptus Cordata, a gorgeous Tasmanian blue leafed gum which is usually used as a foliage plant, was budding and blossoming at just the right time to be used as a detail flower.  You can also see Grevillea foliage, Leucadendron Silver Tree foliage, Inca Gold Leucadendrons at their rich bronzy green stage, sprigs of lemon-scented Leptospermum or Tea Tree, and of course the gum nuts that the bride requested.  They are Corymbia Ficifolia nuts, beautiful urn shaped woody fruits that really make a statement in an Australian Native bouquet.

Mum's bouquet was slightly smaller, leaving out the salmon pink Protea Repens.  

thanks to the lovely bride for sharing this image

I love the orange tones against that blue suit!  Great colours for the beach-scape.

thanks to the lovely bride for sharing this image

Beautiful!  They look so happy, and thats what it's all about isn't it!  Such a treat to be involved!