2018??!!

Posted on January 23, 2018 by lilyblossomflorist

2018? It surely can’t be?! Where does this time go? We celebrated five years of being open in September and already we’re another four months gone!!

Yet again, we had a very busy wedding season (although season suggests a set period of time and these days it just never seems to end…not that we’re complaining)! Our last weddings were on the 16th December, one at our neighbourhood venue, Crow Hill, and one in Salford at the Worsley Court House and our first wedding of 2018 came on the 12th January….so season, schmeason…

Thanks to Elizabeth Baker Wedding Photography for the pictures of Amy and Marks wedding in January, below.

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So, as always this year, we’ve got Valentines coming up, thanks to Pete for doing this fabulous window display, I think this year needs to be me against Pete window battle, the battle of the windows…and whoever wins…gets Christmas off…HA! Vote for your favourite on Facebook!

Mother’s day is next, the opportunity to spoil that lady in your life who looks after you, whether it be Mum, Grandma, Aunty, Sister, your next door neighbours daughter, Fairy Godmother (yes, that’s a thing)! I believe these people should ALWAYS be lavished with flowers and gifts BUT sometimes we forget, Mother’s day is the day not to!

Keep a look out on the blog and our Instagram page for more fabulous Mother’s day ideas, flower arranging classes, monthly flower deliveries, gloriously scented candles, plants galore or sophisticated silk flower arrangements…for those people whose houses are just TOO HOT for fresh…doesn’t happen often in Marsden!

And then we’ll be back into weddings, this year we’ve got some real floral feasts for you to peruse over, hanging pomanders of flowers, garlands of greenery, spring fandango (I like that word, expect to see more of that), and a wedding abroad…Portugal, here we come!!

Until next time…which I PROMISE will be before Mother’s day…see diary entry…

Keep updated on our various social media thingies, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. We’ll also be showcasing some our wedding expertise at Holmfirth Vineyard wedding fair on the Sunday 4th March and of course at the Crow Hill Wedding fair on Sunday 18th March. xx

It’s nearly the end of the year.

Posted on November 1, 2016 by lilyblossomflorist

WE’RE BACK!!! I’ve had numerous difficulties trying to get on here and write a new blog post (we’ll blame wordpress and not my laziness, no honestly)!!

What a summer, I’m shattered, but also full of wedding love for all my couples and for the exciting ones coming along in 2017, booking up quickly might I add! 🙂

Every summer that comes around I have the best intentions of showing you a wedding from start to finish and then when I get into the thick of it those intentions disappear in a cloud of foliage, not a bad way to go but still not helpful for you at home!

I’ll start with a wedding we had just before we left for our American road trip (yes, we had a holiday)! A mental weekend of three weddings and lots of lists, LOTS of lists. Michelle emailed me this week when we’ve got back and sent some beautiful photos to go with a beautiful email. Michelle and Josh were married at The Huntsman, this is only the second time we’ve been to this venue despite it being so close, hopefully, we’ll be back again!

This weekend we had two weddings, one locally at Standedge Visitor Centre and one in the beautiful town of Saltaire, near Bradford, check out the history on this place, it’s really lovely!

Elsa wanted a BIG bouquet of wild and natural flowers, initially going for an autumnal colour scheme she changed her mind a tiny bit and eventually opted for deep pinks/burgundy and purple. I’ve been so lucky to have brides wanting large and wild bouquets this year, I love creating them, they’re always a big focal point on the day!

Obviously, I tried to match my outfit on the day with the bouquets – I’d make a fabulous bride…just without the big walking boots! 🙂

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And then finally we had Caroline and Craig’s wedding at Standedge Tunnel, Caroline was very relaxed about her flowers and just gave me the order of Autumnal, really loved this bouquet too (will there ever be one I don’t like)?! The photographer Shot by Amy took some really beautiful shots of the flowers so will be posting them on our facebook page as soon as they come through, keep a look out on Facebook for more updates. I think this will definitely be one for my wall of flowers in the shop!

Weddings are upon us…

Posted on May 13, 2016 by lilyblossomflorist

Look at me, just over a month later and I’m writing again, there must be something in the air! We’ve had a lovely month, a calm month, nothing manic month and now as the middle of the year approaches we’re gearing up to be inundated with Wedding fever.

The first half of this year has been steady (apart from the madness of Mother’s day, Valentines and Easter…ok, maybe not THAT steady) but with weddings every weekend for the next six months we’re getting ready to be busy bees and preparation is key!!

Mid April saw us at one of our favourite venues Crow Hill for Emma and Richards big day, Emma wanted yellow callas as the main theme and loved a design we had done a few years ago for one of Crow Hills wedding fairs, so, of course, we obliged!

InstagramCapture_8eba9d14-cad0-431b-aad2-73c2dea7150a InstagramCapture_b018f65f-5482-4a44-8be7-aaa926e9d8d0 I love the way the martini vases matched the favours on the table!!

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End of April saw us travelling to Todmorden and the fabulous venue of Todmorden Unitarian church, a stunning setting for this gorgeous relaxed wedding!

Emma and Joby loved the building and decided to have not only their ceremony but also their reception there. Friends and family provided the food, one or two dishes each; I LOVED this idea, call me sentimental but I felt it really summarised what the day is about, friends and family, supporting and celebrating your commitment to each other, it was almost like they were providing the beginning of the marriage, making that first meal, the wedding breakfast for them, beautiful!!

Emma wanted her bouquet to be simple, textured but with a bit of blowse to it (no, apparently that’s not a word but I think it should be). She loved the idea of succulents, and so did Joby for his buttonholes, Craspedia and Brunia were also firm favourites. I loved the bouquet, I had difficulty handing it over, how I’ll ever make decisions on my own day, I don’t know!! Keep your eyes peeled on our Facebook page for more images of the flowers, the day and Emma’s FABULOUS outfit!!

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This week sees the release of the new Alice in Wonderland film, VERY exciting not only because I’m a big fan but also because we’re doing a Alice themed wedding in July, it’s a biggie and it’s going to look AMAZING, even if I do say so myself, I’m going to have the wonderful Liz Baker taking photos of me setting up on the day so I’ll give you an lovely run down of how I prep on a big day. I can’t wait to show you the results!!!

A long long time ago…

Posted on April 8, 2016 by lilyblossomflorist

A long long time ago I wrote my last blog post, I can’t bear to look when it was, and now the guilt has finally got to me and I’m writing another! 🙂 Oh what to write I kept thinking, fretting, biting my nails, and then, as the wedding season began I thought, this is what I should be talking about, the weddings so far, and the weddings to come!

This year feels like we’re having real ‘themes’ to our weddings, which is exciting, even if the word ‘theme’ makes it sound like a fancy dress party!

So far we’ve had a gorgeous colour scheme, Marsala (like burgundy) and blush pink, I loved the contrast of these colours together, they made a perfect combination for a winter wedding (2nd January) including berries and Skimmia foliage with sweet avalanche Roses.

We’ve had classic white and greens, very elegant and simple and then a very girly pinks and creams which was fabulous to do, these huge arrangements always have a real impact in the marquee at Crow Hill.

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Next up, to coincide with Easter weekend we had a riot of colour thanks to the help of the fabulous DAFFODIL, you could not help but smile when you looked at these arrangements, and the scent was wonderful! I loved that Vicky and Matt had chosen the contrast of the goldfish bowls so the flowers could spray out in all their glory, alongside the elegant and simple cylinder vases with flowers inside.

And then finally we’ve had the peacock wedding. Imogen and Mark (possibly more Imogen) loved the colours of the Peacock feather but wanted to keep the flowers simple, whites and greens with touches of feathers throughout looked fabulous. Crow hill did a fabulous job of incorporating the colours into the napkins and chair sashes too!

Coming up over the next few months are some absolute gems I can’t wait to share with you, a chic yellow and black calla lily wedding and a new venue for us, the beautiful Todmorden Unitarian Church

I’ll showcase a few from last year in the next blog (I promise I’ll get to it quicker this time) and I’ll keep you posted about what’s to come!!

Floral Archway expo…

Posted on August 24, 2015 by lilyblossomflorist

I attempted to make the headline sound like a shocking newspaper article but it looks slightly failed up there but it sums up the post so we’ll stick with it! I wanted to try and show you a run through of doing some floral arrangements, I’ve started with this archway and hopefully as this goes along I’ll get better at taking pictures and you’ll actually be able to learn something from me 🙂

This archway was used for a ceremony we did at the fabulous and wonderfully scenic Waterton Park Hotel. We got there on Saturday morning with sunshine gloriously shining down on the lake and hotel.

I prepped the archway in the shop the day before the wedding so I didn’t need to do too much once we got to the venue.

This first picture shows the archway undressed and leaning precariously against the counter…

First comes foliage, if you make your arrangement look good with only foliage then the rest will come a lot easier. You need to create your shape with the foliage using its natural form, if a piece hangs a particular way, don’t get grumpy with it (maybe I should occasionally take my own advice), use it as it hangs, take advantage of its natural shape!

Next I tend to either put some of the main bigger flowers in, like Hydrangea, this enables me to make sure they’re properly inserted into oasis and getting a good drink or I would continue making my shape with other ‘filler’ flowers.

I tend to get a bit carried away when doing such large arrangements so the next few photos are basically the finished product as stopping and starting to take photographs completely went out of my mind!

And finally, in place, at the venue.

In the thick of it…

Posted on May 7, 2015 by lilyblossomflorist

Here we are with another blog post from the lovely village of Marsden. Mother’s day seems like a distant memory and we now seem to be zooming our way into the thick of the wedding season. So far I haven’t shone any light on the subject so am dedicating this post to all things wedding related. ‘ding dong the bells are going to chime’

We’ve had a real mixture so far this year, with the beautifulness of vintage pinks/lilacs and creams still in abundance there also seems to be a different trend creeping it’s way in through my door and wedding folder…COLOUR…in all shapes and sizes.

The busiest weekend of the year so far came at the Easter Holiday, three weddings over the weekend and what different styles for each one!

Jemma and Mark at the glorious Crow Hill wanted colour…’just lots and lots of colour…’ We discussed various centrepieces that would go with this modern look and decided on three different styles. The carnation balls were something that drew their eye when they first saw me at the wedding fair, the candelabras created some height in the marquee and goldfish bowls to finish off. LOVED every minute of this.

Next up we had Jane and Jonathan at the Mechanics Hall just down the road, a fabulous local building to decorate and dress as you please. Jane wanted pale pastel colours, a very delicate look, mood boards were sent over, bunting was lovingly crafted and the final result was gorgeous.

Finally, Emma and Tom at Durker Roods hotel. Emma came to me wanting something really natural and rustic which is unusual in the style so therefore quite exciting. We discussed using wheat for the centrepieces but eventually decided on simple jam jars with mixtures of gypsophila and limonium (that’s purple fluffy stuff to you)!

‘A whole new world…’

Posted on February 21, 2015 by lilyblossomflorist

The title, Aladdin, I thought it very fitting for the first blog of the year…

Welcome, welcome, welcome, where to begin…

So much has happened already, Valentine’s day, Spring Fair, Wedding Fair, even an actual wedding or two! In February? I hear you ask? Yup, in the good old month of February!

Wedding Fair at Crow Hill was wonderful as always, such a gorgeous place and some really good suppliers makes for a pretty fabulous and inspiring day.

Spring Fair is a chance for me to get to grips with new stock we could have in the shop (an excuse for a day out too) and to browse lots of lovely stalls at the ginormous NEC. We’ve found some fabulous pieces, all of which I’m very giddy about, for you to hire out for your wedding or party. Flower carts, wooden step ladders, who knew these things would come climbing and rolling back into fashion (see what I did there…), gorgeous birdcages and some very large lanterns. Pictures coming soon, keep a look out on our website and Facebook page, get in touch in the meantime if you have any questions!

Valentine’s day was fabulous, you old romantic lot you, the cryptic messages are one of my favourite parts and you didn’t disappoint! I myself was treated to some cheese and biscuits from our lovely local vegetable/delicatessen shop Radish, yum!! The shop was filled to the brim with love!

Wedding fever hit us at the beginning of the year, so many lovely brides getting in touch and wanting to start planning. We’ve got some absolute stunners coming up, pastel shades, bright and vibrant, classic and simple whites and greens and hopefully a few in between. We’ll keep you posted on each and every one and as a special summer treat I’ll guide you through step by step in the process of planning the flowers, from the beginning consultation to the delivery on the day. Here is a few sneaky pictures of the ones we’ve already had…

Yes, before you say anything, that bride did have fabulous tights on, looked just right with those winter walking boots!! 🙂

And next on the agenda…Mother’s Day…get the coffee and lucozade at the ready please 🙂

Busy bustling village…

Posted on October 18, 2014 by lilyblossomflorist

Here it is, our second instalment of our blog, you lucky lucky people!!

The last few weeks have been quiet in the shop but busy busy in the village and home life, Jazz festival, Hollywood filming across the street, Gorgeous Wedding Fair and Mums big birthday (21 again of course) all this in one week!! …phew!!

The Marsden Jazz festival was fabulous this year, the village was jam packed with people and the weather stayed good for us, which is a rare occasion in Marsden. On Saturday night we went out for a dance to Bugalu Foundation at the Mechanics Hall, to celebrate my mums birthday, it was a good night all round despite the fact that I had to get up early for the Wedding fair (I was very reserved in my alcohol consumption)!

Wedding fair prep began the week or so before. I get a brief from Rebecca at the gorgeous venue, Crow hill, situated five minutes from the shop. This fair’s brief included a Tall purple centrepiece, a simple chic white and gold arrangement, Autumunal lanterns and a Village Fete display.

For my own table, I wanted to go for an autumnal/late summer scheme, sometimes I try a different colour scheme for each arrangement but this time I very much brought the table together as a whole.

For inspiration I look through flower magazines, facebook and Pinterest (oh what an addiction that has become)! Pinterest is a fab way to create online mood boards whether it’s for your house, garden, DIY projects, weddings (the most relevant obviously but I just can’t help but gush over the whole thing) or just pictures of gorgeous celebrities, but my taste in men can be left until another blog!!

Next I set out the table to see how full it’s going to look. This time the cat got involved although…unfortunately…she didn’t make the final draft…

And so, my table consisted of the gorgeous vintage bottles I have which work with any colour scheme.

A candelabra design incorporating again the reds and vintage pinks, with berries and flowing foliage, giving it a elegant wintery feel.

My last arrangement and probably my favourite was the moss/woodland design, I’ve seen a lot of moss and succulents being used this year and I think it’s going to carry on (or at least I hope so), I love the idea of creating a mini garden and using the jam jars just incorporates another very popular design that is featured in many weddings this year, plus it gives me a way to use all the old pesto and pasta sauce jars I’ve accumulated…hoarder, me?… NEVER!

Until next time….

Our first bride…

Posted on April 24, 2014 by lilyblossomflorist

Helen was the first bride who booked with us at the shop when we opened, feels like we’ve been waiting for ever for the big day to come along but finally, last Saturday, it was here.

Helen had chosen reds,creams and gold as her colour scheme. She’d made her own brooch bouquet and so my task was to make the marquee look lovely with floral centrepieces and a bit of decoration for the door, with the help of the fabulous team at Crow Hill, we achieved it!!

We chose a combination of Red and Cream coloured Roses, lisianthus, hypericum berries and skimmia foliage with a touch of freesia to give a gorgeous scent. The heart was then transferred to the front of the top table.

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