January Wedding at Quamby Estate

January Wedding at Quamby Estate

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Photography by Doxa Visual

Australia Day long weekend was the date for a beautiful wedding at Quamby Estate.  Natives and proteas were the theme. With the bride being Australian and the groom being from South Africa, it was meant to be!

Quamby Estate

Quamby estate is a beautiful historical homestead near Launceston in the north of Tasmania.  

Quamby Estate

The beautiful rooms create an memorable atmosphere in which to prepare for the ceremony.  

The photographer's photos capture the moody interior light so beautifully.

Photography by Doxa Visual

The gorgeous pictures are by dynamic photography duo Doxa Visual.  They've captured the day sensationally - the bride and groom must be thrilled!

Photography by Doxa Visual

The ceremony was held on the grass under the shade of a huge old tree, with vases of natives sitting on logs at the end of each row of chairs.

Photography by Doxa Visual

The happy couple planned perfectly for the day, and it shows.

Photography by Doxa Visual

The bride wanted a mix of colours combining the South African flowers and Australian flowers.  Many South African flowers are called "natives" here in Australia.  Leucadendrons, Pincushions and Proteas are all South Aftican natives.  Banksias, Waratahs, Grevilleas and Bottlebrushes are all Australian native flowers, but both groups belong to the larger collection of Proteaceae plants.

The South African flowers used were Protea Pink Ice, Protea Repens,  Leucospermum Fountain - an orange Pincushion, and Brunia Albiflora.  The leucadendrons used were L. Argentium, the Silver Tree, Safari Sunset and Jubilee Crown.  

The Australian flowers used were Banksia Speciosa, Banksia Praemorsa, Banksia Marginata and of course, Wattle, our national floral emblem.  The Banksia Speciosa has wonderful long zig-zag leaves that I love to use in bouquets.  

Other ingredients were Leucadendron Jubilee Crown cones,  Echinops or Globe Thistles, and each bouquet had a Silver Tree cone as well as the beautiful silken foliage.  Foliages used were Risdon Peppermint, and Agonis Flexuosa in flower.  

Photography by Doxa Visual

The brides amazing dress is by Gwendolynne from Melbourne.  Check out the website if you want to feast your eyes on some stunning vintage style dresses and lots of real-wedding photos.

Photography by Doxa Visual

The bridesmaid's bouquets were smaller, without the larger Banksia flowers.  

For the groom, a Globe Thistle, Wattle, Agonis flowers and a L. Jubilee Crown cone.  I also used some of those gorgeous zig zag Banksia Speciosa leaves.  

Photography by Doxa Visual

I love that pocket kerchief!  

The grooms attendants had the same ingredients for their boutonnieres, without the Globe Thistle.  

Photography by Doxa Visual

For the reception,  there were fishbowl vases bursting with proteas and natives.  

Photography by Doxa Visual

Photography by Doxa Visual

Little scattered accent vases held sprigs of wattle and other feature flowers.

Photography by Doxa Visual

I think that smile says it all - it looks like a wonderful day full of the best memories.  And, as always, it was such a privilege to be involved in the celebration.

Photography by Doxa Visual

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.  

Hints of Spring

Hints of Spring

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August in my part of the world is characterised by the colours yellow and blue.  It seems that wherever I look those two colours catch my eye.  The sea, the mountains, and often the sky are a rich blue,  and provide a lovely backdrop for the cheerful yellow that is glowing everywhere.  Wattle season is definitely in full swing and the large black and silver wattle trees are becoming golden with their masses of little flowers, all like miniature sunbursts.  I love wattle!  

At Swallows Nest, the signs of spring are everywhere, with many of the Leucadendrons in flower.  Safari Sunset, usually rich red for most of the year, are yellow and pink at the moment with a delicate rose-like fragrance that makes picking them a joy.  

Safari Gold Strike are beginning to flower and are a beautiful fresh yellow at the moment.  I have started to pick them in earnest now and I'm so happy with their long sturdy stems and beautiful big blowsy flower heads.  Yellow is such a great colour to lift the spirits at the end of winter.  

Inca Gold are another stand-out for this time of year - yellow pointed blooms stretching toward the sky.  

Yellow is such a happy colour!

These flowers are the Tall Red Leucadendron.  It is a very vigorously growing plant that we pruned with a chainsaw (they really were unruly!) in our first year at Swallows Nest.  They have grown back to be bigger than they were at first.  They will need to be heavily pruned this year, and this gives them great stems for next year.  I love their lime green pompoms!  

I love the combination of colours available at this time of the year - and the textures too.  It's all just a hint that spring is not far away.