Dried flowers for a March wedding fair
Last month I was thrilled to attend the open house and wedding fair at Pauntley Court wedding venue in Gloucestershire for a second year. I went along with three other flower growers from our local collective (Ledbury to Lydney Flowers) and together we decorated three unique tables and dressed a drinks bar with spring blossoms. This year we were lucky enough to have our own space under the venue’s stretch tent on one of the upper lawns.
The theme we went with was ‘afternoon tea’ which is offered as an additional service for anyone booking an event at Pauntley Court. This meant our tables were also dressed with beautiful teatime treats made by Bec of Home Farm Kitchen. We were allowed to sample the goodies and I can attest to their deliciousness!
The stunning main house and sunken garden at Pauntley Court in mid-March - image by David Liebst Photography.
I decorated my table with everlasting flowers in a theme of white and pink to coordinate with the tea set I borrowed from Jules at Pauntley Petals. Shimmery honesty seed heads swayed in the breeze above an array of little ink pots filled with white and pale pink helichrysum, deep pink peonies, white statice, pink zinnias and a collection of dried grasses. Low candles were dotted about the table and I tied a small bunch of soft, fluffy hare’s tail grass into the linen napkins. At one end of the table I placed an honesty-themed white and pale pink bridal bouquet and at the other end, an honesty and daisy flower crown perched atop a wooden milliner’s block.
A rustic table dressed with dried flowers and cakes for afternoon tea - image by David Liebst Photography.
I decided to decorate the rustic-style table with dried flowers and grasses in a variety of old ink jars - image by David Liebst Photography.
A hand-tied bouquet of dried pink and white flowers and honesty seed pods.
A dried honesty and daisy flower crown - image by David Liebst Photography.
I also created an everlasting flower arrangement as an example of a ceremony backdrop. Again, honesty-themed! Because we were coming out of winter and nearly at the start of spring, I wanted to keep the design light and airy which I think honesty accomplishes so well. I also used feathery miscanthus grass heads, bouncy northern oats grass heads, white ammi and helichrysum and pink and purple allium flowers. For the main part of the display, I re-used one of the branches from my installation at the Strawberry Hill House flower festival and for the other groupings, I used pin frogs inside small white bowls to hold the stems in place. The arrangement looks so different when it’s outside in a garden compared to inside where the light is limited. Once I got home I took a few photos of it inside so I can remember how it looked in different settings.
Dried flower decorations for a ceremony backdrop - image by David Liebst Photography.
The ceremony flowers at home, inside and in different light.
I used pin frogs inside small white bowls to hold some of the stems.
It was a lovely day spent in the gardens, chatting with couples about their plans for their upcoming weddings. I’m excited to be designing with dried flowers for a celebration at Pauntley Court this July and to be working with Jules at Pauntley Petals to bring fresh flowers to a wedding there in late May.
If you’re interested in dried flowers for your own wedding, I’d love to hear from you - you can get in touch with me through my weddings contact form.
Thanks so much for reading!
Some members of local flower growers group - from left to right: Rozanne of The Ledbury Flower Farmer, me (in the purple dried flower crown), Margie of MayHill Flowers and Jules of Pauntley Petals. Image by David Liebst Photography.
