The day we had all been waiting for finally arrived yesterday, the wedding of Prince Harry and Megan Markle. I apologise now for the gushiness of this post, but come on… what a wedding! From an industry point of view any high profile wedding is big news for those who work in weddings, influencing upcoming trends and what our couples will look for on their big day. Let alone the royal wedding of the century (sorry, Wills and Kate who?!) I have admired Megan as soon as she came into our public eye for her strong views on women and race equality and her work ethic saying she wants to be a ‘woman who works, not a lady who lunches’ Serious high fives to the girl, she is the strong, inspiration role model all our girls need right now. Aside from that she seriously knows how to pick a dress, that Stella McCartney halter neck is the dress of dreams, and her Givenchy wedding dress is the epitome of class and elegance with that boat neck line and the veil of all veils. They could not look more in love and I loved every moment!
As a wedding florist I couldn’t wait to see the florals! You will see here from my previous post on my predictions for Harry and Meghan’s wedding flowers that I was correct in the sense that the couple would opt for classic all ivory seasonal blooms with beautiful foliage to complement. I thought I would be disappointed that there was no colour, but when you see the breathtaking florals Philippa Craddock and her team created I have fallen in love again with all white wedding flowers.
Flowers adorn the front of the organ loft inside St George’s Chapel for the wedding ceremony of Britain’s Prince Harry and US actress Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle, in Windsor on May 19, 2018. (Photo by Danny Lawson / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read DANNY LAWSON/AFP/Getty Images)
Meghan’s bouquet was stylishly simple filled with May’s finest blooms such as sweet peas and lily of the valley, both smell beautiful! Accompanied by astrantia and white astilbe, these filler flowers became more of a focus flower in themselves and maybe will encourage a move to more delicate, dainty florals perhaps? Astilbe can be a little temperamental and can droop without water so I would imagine Megan’s bouquet would have been kept in water right until the last moment! People were surprised to see no peonies, as reportedly they are Meghan’s favourite flowers, but I think the bouquet was beautiful and with a dress, tiara, and veil like Meghan wore, the bouquet needed to be a simple accessory and it was.
Can we all just take a moment to talk about that arch! St Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle was filled with the largest amount of flowers I have seen! A huge, statement arch completely filled with British foliage branches and ivory blooms. From closely inspecting the papers today it looks as though the arch is filled with beautiful tall delphiniums, blowsy garden roses, and stocks. All favourites of mine to use and they look great used in clusters in a country garden style way that Philippa Craddock achieved. Meadow runners were used down the steps creating even more impact, it looked as though a natural hedgerow had just grown up out of the steps!
Meadow runner arrangements like this have been popular lately and I am looking forward to incorporating this trend in my upcoming weddings with many of my couples choosing this look already. Lots of my couples have gone for this look and opting for large statement pieces such as floral arches, maybe not as big as Harry and Meghan’s arch… but never say never! Having a large high impact installation is such a talking point and will be remembered for years to come, the perfect backdrop for photos and creating the ambience you want to carry though your wedding day.
Two simple urns of all foliage, it looked like, stood behind the couple during the ceremony. In a setting as grand and ornate as St George’s Chapel you cannot compete, so these simple urns were the perfect accompaniment to the ceremony. This makes the large scale, impressive nature of the arch even more important! Obviously we don’t get to peek inside the wedding breakfast decorations, however I can guarantee they will be equally as breathtaking! Oh to be a fly on the wall hey?! Harry and Meghan’s wedding will most certainly influence wedding flower trends. I have already had my first email asking about white astilbe so it shows the Meghan effect is working already!