We take a look at Bleujen's wedding flower designs for an autumn wedding at Launcells Barton, in north Cornwall

In the first of our real wedding blogs, we're sharing the beautiful wedding flowers Bleujen created for Harry and Alexa at Launcells Barton

After proposing at Widemouth Bay after nine years together, Harry and Alexa knew they wanted to keep their wedding local to Bude. “Launcells Barton ticked every box for us, a beautiful venue in a perfect location and next to a church,” explains Alexa.

With their dream venue confirmed, the couple secured local Bude florist Bleujen to do their wedding flowers. “We could see that Bleujen had done many weddings in the area, and in particular for Launcells Barton. We loved the variety of flowers Bleujen uses, and the stylish layouts of the weddings,” recollects Alexa.

Opting for a September wedding, head of wedding flowers at Bleujen, Erica was excited to execute the flower designs. “When we reach the autumn months as a wedding florist I can experiment with a wider colour palette as we introduce richer shades,” says Erica. “For Alexa and Harry’s Bude wedding, we used a great amount of textures, variety of flowers and lots of tones of colours, such as bold purple alliums, deep pink protea, and rust coloured Amaranthus.” 

The couple had a clear vision for their wedding theme. Opting for a relaxed boho style, where the flowers were crucial for setting the scene. “We wanted lots of burnt oranges, greens, creams, dusky pinks and peaches, which Erica totally understood from the get-go!” she continues: “Erica was able to advise me about which flowers would be in season and suggestions of what she thought would work well too.”

Achieving a theme in a church as well as a wedding venue, isn’t always straightforward but the result was truly stunning. “We were really blown away by the free-standing display in the church, as well as the assorted selection Erica put together on the tables. She has got such a good eye,” complimented Alexa.

Erica custom designed a free-standing design at the altar. “Having a design installed where the happy couple say their vows, is always the best place as not only will it be in the photos when taken of the bride and groom, it's in all the guests’ view, too.” To decorate the rest of the church, Erica opted for loose bunches of olive on the end of the pews with a simple satin ribbon.

The flowers that often mean the most on the day is the wedding bouquet. Alexa’s bouquet included gorgeous pink king-protea which contrasted with the delicate softer petals, and elegant, luscious leaves. Erica also included beautiful dahlias and cappuccino roses to create a show-stopping design. For the groom buttonholes were classic in design, with complimentary pastel colours which add the perfect detailing to the tailored suits. Many of the bridesmaids also had elegant hair flowers with creamy hues to complete the look.

Launcells Barton is a magical venue, and a space where Erica’s wedding flower designs can shine. Knowing the space inside and out, Erica is well aware how to enhance the space, from installing gorgeous hanging displays from the chunky oak beams in the reception room, to the delicate autumn-inspired table decorations, which the coupled named after special places.

With no stone unturned, Bleujen’s wedding flowers even made an appearance on the cake. Alexa and Harry chose local cake designer Hannah's Cornish Cakes, and prior to the wedding Bleujen worked collaboratively with the cake designer, to ensure even the cake continued the theme. 

Designing the flowers for this Bude wedding was a pleasure, and the Bleujen team were delighted with the results. The last question we asked Alexa and Harry was whether they’d recommend Bleujen as a wedding florist, and the feedback is humbling. “We couldn't recommend Bleujen enough as a wedding florist. Communication was excellent from the beginning and it was great to work with experts in the area who were able to both listen to my ideas and also guide me with making choices that kept the theme cohesive. The flowers were one of my favourite parts of the whole day as it felt like they brought the whole day together!”

Photography credit: Mark Shaw Photography

Harry and Alexa's Launcells Barton wedding flower gallery

Looking to book your wedding florist in Cornwall? Here we look at what wedding flowers you need for the big day.

You said ‘yes’, but before you say, ‘I do’, you’ll be excitedly pinning to your wedding Pinterest board, firing up your spreadsheets, selecting your bride tribe and most importantly, setting the date and choosing your special venue to celebrate the big day.

It’s also a time to consider your wedding flowers. Erica Clements, founder, florist, and head of wedding flowers at Bleujen, says, “once you have the date and venue booked then it’s time to book your wedding florist.” She continues, “Even if colours and quantities are still unknown, by simply saving the date ensures that your florist can do your wedding for you. At Bleujen we require a small booking fee, but everything else can be sorted along the way of this special journey!”

While the exact details can be discussed with your florist closer to the wedding, Erica recommends once the bride’s dress, bridesmaids dresses and suits have been chosen, for your budget it’s good to have an idea of the flowers you’ll need for your wedding. Here, we have put together an essential wedding flower guide.

Flower designs to consider for your wedding in Cornwall

Wedding Bouquets

The wedding bouquets set the tone for the theme, and are undoubtedly significant props for the big day. “A bride’s bouquet and groom’s buttonhole are the most important flowers of them all. They’re in all of the photos and on your person for most of the day,” explains Erica. “Once you have an image in mind of what your dream bouquet will look like, then your florist will ensure the rest of the designs will seamlessly fall into place.”

As it’s the most important, Erica recommends collecting images of wedding bouquets, whether that’s from Pinterest or Instagram or wedding magazines, so your florist has a springboard to work from. “These flowers are often a big chunk of couples’ budget, but if you’re looking to cut some corners, I’d never advise skimping in this area.”

But when it comes to getting the most out of your budget, a good relationship with your florist is key. “The best plan of action is for the bride and groom to choose the wedding flower designs, style and colour, but to leave the flower choice to the florist.” She continues: “I say this, because the florist will choose seasonal flowers, buying seasonal is the best value for money. Flower prices depend on lots of factors; season, availability, weather, stock and so on. By leaving it with the florist, they will pick the best stems and price of the week. In the summer we have the great advantage of English flowers.” With a stunning selection of English flowers coming with a much smaller footprint, they’re a favourite for Erica. “We pick a lot of our wedding summer flowers from a small farm close to us,” says Erica.

The Bridal Bouquet

When all heads turn to see the beautiful bride, thebridal bouquet is sure to set the tone for the rest of the day. Usually large in size, some brides may opt for seasonal blooms with leafy foliage, a trailing design with pops of colour, or a simpler elegant design with creamy whites. Bridal bouquets are often tied with a colour co-ordinated ribbon, or a simpler twine design can bind them together.

The Bridesmaid Bouquet

Complementing the colour of the bridesmaid dresses, the bridesmaid bouquet is usually a smaller version of the bridal bouquet. The flower choices and colour palette are often the same creating a united front and look incredible in the wedding photos.

The Flower Girl

The cutest flower design of them all, the flower girl bouquet needs to be practical and pretty, so that it’s easy for little ones to carry. At Bleujen we design these with tiny hands in mind, whether that’s incorporating a wreath or small basket, or just a smaller bouquet.

“We also do a lot of head circlets for flower girls at Bleujen, not only do they look adorable and great for wedding photos, the flower girls really want to wear it,” suggests Erica. “In the past we have also designed small wands, which are always well received by little princesses or even a small basket to carry, filled with petals to throw down the aisle.”

Hair Flowers

While hair flowers aren’t an essential design for a wedding, they can enhance the bridal party. “Hair flowers and cake flowers often go overlooked, but these are pieces that can really tie a wedding together and make it unique to the couple,” suggests Erica.

“A few of our brides like to have a head circlet to wear in the evening, as throughout the night you put your bridal bouquet down, so it's always nice to wear a circlet to party. When else would you get the chance to wear a flower crown?” laughs Erica.

Throw Bouquet

An age-old tradition where the bride wishes her single friends luck in love, it’s common for brides to have a secondary bouquet, in order to keep hold of the bridal bouquet. Alternatively, you can use one of the bridesmaid’s for this.

Buttonholes and Corsages

Delicate in design, these are smaller floral details that will complement your wedding bouquets. “While much more delicate in comparison to bouquets, I love scaling down these designs to create buttonholes and corsages, which are subtle but important touches particularly when accessorising a suit,” says Erica.

Buttonholes

Typically worn by the groom, best man, ushers, and father of the bride and groom, a buttonhole is a pin-on design which is worn on the left-hand side of the suit. It is often a single or small cluster of flowers and greenery, that matches the bridal bouquet in style and colour palette. Not only a lovely detail, it’s also a way to identify the wedding party!

Corsages

Mothers of the bride and groom often don a pin-on corsage or wrist corsage. For wrist designs, they are created using a ribbon which complements the colours. If the mother of the bride or groom are wearing an extra layer, a pin-on corsage can be the perfect detail to tie the wedding party together.

Décor flowers for your Cornwall wedding venue

Wedding Décor

It’s not just bouquets you need to consider for your wedding. By adding floral decor throughout your venue, it’ll transform the space. “I’ve been lucky enough to be styling great wedding flowers for almost 15 years, whether you want bright and bold or soft and serene, together we’ll find the perfect match,” says Erica.

If the ceremony is taking place in a separate venue to the reception, there’s often ways you can repurpose the flower designs. “Large displays can be repurposed as long as they can be transported well, for example a freestanding display situated at the altar can be used at an entranceway at the reception.” Erica continues, “In the past couples have had lovely glass vases filled with loose flowers either side of the aisle, which have then gone on to be reused as table decorations.”

Ceremony Arrangements

Ceremony arrangements are flowers that you can place around your venue or at the altar. These can include entrances, pew ends and aisle décor. For church weddings, at the altar and entranceway you can transform the space by adding large flower designs in chunky vases. “Wicker baskets filled with beautiful seasonal blooms, leafy foliage and dried flowers such as pampas grass make for great photos of the happy couple leaving the church,” explains Erica. “And being placed in a vessel means that they can be transported to the next venue if needed.”

Archways

Predominantly for outdoor spaces where the ceremony is taking place, although not limited to, one thing’s for sure floral wedding archways are a statement piece and have been a popular trend for the past few years. “Archways tend to be the costliest part of a wedding,” says Erica, “but they also provide a backdrop for photos, a talking point and can make a real statement and supply the wow factor needed.” A wedding archway is also one of Erica’s favourite flower designs, “You can be so creative with archways incorporating plenty of greenery, dried flowers and delicious seasonal blooms… and the result is just beautiful creating memories that’ll last forever.”

Table Decorations

You should have your tables dressed to reflect your wedding theme, after all in most cases your guests will be seated at the table for quite some time. “Where possible, at Bleujen we make suggestions on how to reuse your ceremony flowers as table centres,” says Erica. For the top table you may choose to have a more elaborate design to cover more of the table, as all your guests will be looking this way for the heartfelt speeches, including your photographer.

Some couples like to keep the table centres simple with classic floral glass vases, while others may opt for garlands spanning the length of the table, creating a show-stopping centrepiece.

Suspended Florals

Ceiling installations also transform an inside venue, and are becoming hugely popular. “Suspended florals work particularly well if your wedding venue is a converted barn with wooden beams as florists can use those to install hanging displays,” explains Erica. “Launcells Barton just outside of Bude in North Cornwall has fantastic spaces to display ceiling installations, such as luscious greenery with pops of colour and textured dried flowers like pampas grass. These displays can look magical!” Again, while suspended florals come at a price, the transformation they provide to a room is huge.

Cake Toppers

Everyone knows the cake is a staple fixture at a wedding and will be well documented in your photos. Take your cake to the next level by having it decorated with flowers. “We can liaise with the bride's chosen cake maker to create the vision or take lead from the bride,” says Erica. “Where possible we prefer to provide loose stems for the cake designer, allowing them to finish off their masterpiece and tying it in with the rest of the flowers from the wedding.”

Once the big day is over it doesn’t mean your flowers can no longer be appreciated. “I would definitely recommend sending guests home with flowers after your wedding to be enjoyed, or some couple choose to take them to a retirement home for the residents to enjoy,” suggests Erica. “Bouquets can be hung somewhere dry and warm, and while some flowers and foliage will dry better than others, it's definitely worth a go! Single heads can be pressed in books to preserve them and frame for remembering, which can make a great keepsake of this hugely significant day!”

Erica has been designing wedding flowers for over 15 years and is an award-winning florist with ICSF Higher Diploma of Floristry and NDSF Master Diploma of Professional Floristry. Bleujen flower designs are recognised across the southwest for the most exceptional seasonal flowers. If you want to find out more about Bleujen’s wedding flowers, click here or give Erica a call on 01288 354606.