Wild Flowers in Greece: Design Inspiration

I thought a follow up post from Sara's Wild Flowers in Greece would be of some interest.  So here are some ideas of how to use and design the local flowers that Sara described.

Cyclamen images from flowerdesignstannes.blogspot.com
& couturebridaldesigns.blogspot.com

Anemone images from flowerdesignstannes.blogspot.com
& gapphotos.com

Daisy images from thestylishbloom.com
& blog.afloral.com

Iris images from floralaffair.net &
w-weddingflowers.com

Bougainvillea images from konapuppy @ Flickr.com
& thedame.tumblr.com

Hibiscus images from flowerhawaii.com
& projectwedding.com

All of the above images are just a few ideas of what you can achieve with the local flowers in Greece, there are endless options.  There are also advantages to using local produce when planning your Greek wedding, the biggest being cost.

The Bougainvillea wrapped around the flaming torches is just amazing!

NY

Wild Flowers in Greece

A question that I get asked very, very often is if I can incorporate local grown flowers or wild flowers into the arrangements for their wedding! I thought it might be interesting to have a look at some of my favourite local flowers and discuss some ideas of how these can be utilised for your wedding day! Some of my favourite flowers found in the wild are the anemone, I have been known to screech to a halt when driving through the countryside and insist on picking as many as possible! 

Cyclamen 

Anemone

Bouganvilia

Daisy

Iris

Hibiscus

All images are borrowed from flickr.com

Cyclamen, hibiscus flowers, bougainvillea, I love the hues that these flowers come in, the purple, pink and white look beautiful together, even the dried flowers are pretty! Daisies can be found in the spring throughout Greek fields! Please remember that there are lots of wild flowers between January and the end of May, however during the summer and in to early autumn the flowers tend to dry up from the heat, so these are impossible to source. 

SP

A Stylish DIY Blog

I came across this blog today and am in love with it!  The mixture of personal posts with amazing DIY inspiration makes for such an interesting read.  Not only that, the array of vibrant photographs on the site are stunning!

There is also has a boutique shop, full of hand made produce to browse through on the site which is a new addition and certainly one worth a look.

All images from madefromscratch.co.nz

Check it out and see what you think madefromscratch.co.nz


NY

Post Easter Catch up and Royal Wedding Chat

So I have been a little elusive for the past week or so but it was unavoidable I am afraid.  Greek Easter in our house takes some organisation and a whole heap of cooking, it is also my favorite time of year!  It is a time when the three Greeks in our family take up their allotted roles and cook up a storm.  There is something to be said for these little traditions and the bonding that goes on over our kitchen table is irreplaceable.

Is it me or do my father and brother spend a lot
of time hanging around lamb?!!!

So onto the big wedding that was the highlight of this past week.  How nice was it to see the UK partaking in such a lovely occasion.  I think it was the respite that everyone needed, a little bit of joy and hope in what is a slightly depressing time.  I think my liver could have done without the 9.45 am drinking but a great day was had by all.

Now I could discuss the dress, which was beautiful, but I think that has been discussed enough by everyone else.  So I want to talk about the flowers in Westminster Abbey.  How stunning were they?!  Absolutely gorgeous.  What I found interesting  was the mention of the scents that were given off by the ferns, strawberry plants, Lily of the Valley and mixture of the filed maples and hornbeam trees.  Not only did they line the aisle of the abbey perfectly but apparently the aromas let off by all the plants were amazing.

Image from society.ezinemark.com

Image from CTV.ca

Stimulating the nose as well as eyes heightens peoples senses and sets an amazing atmosphere.  Obviously choosing where to have these intense smelling plants must be thought through carefully as choosing the wrong aroma for a dinning table can wreak havoc with the taste of the food.  In the church or cocktail area you can create a beautiful fresh atmosphere and transform the entire feeling of the space.

If you are wanting to create such a feel, talking to your local florist in Greece will give you a great sense of which plants would be appropriate for each area and what type aroma  you can achieve.

I loved it!

NY

Diary of a Greek Bride - My Moodboard to Date

So far, our planner has been great in coming up with suggestions and working with us to develop our vision of what we would like the wedding to be. Ok, she might have taken 3 weeks to reply to my latest email but I guess I just have to accept how laid back Greeks are in comparison to a couple of London city dwellers like us who are used to being in the fast lane in life!  Plus, most places are closed in the Winter months in the islands so it’s not always easy for her to get quotes immediately. Patience is most definitely a virtue here!

While we haven't got a colour scheme as such we have decided to have the olive tree as our wedding "emblem" to represent peace and love and thought it would tie in nicely with our wedding on the island with it being native to Greece. We're hoping to have olive coloured ties for the boys and my bouquet of Greek white roses will have olive leaf foliage in it. We’ll sail all our guests around the island the day before the wedding which we hope will be loads of fun and encourage pre-wedding mingling.  Our civil ceremony will take place outdoors in the ruins of an ancient castle next to the cutest most quintessentially Greek chapel you have ever seen (neither of us are Greek Orthodox so can’t marry in a Greek church). For favours, our guests will each receive a mini bottle of local olive oil made on the island to take away as a memento of our wedding. We’ll have a processional walk back to the reception venue accompanied by traditional bazouki/violin players and it’s these touches which people have oooh’d and aaaahhh’d at that keep us sane in the knowledge we have made the right decision to marry abroad.

Images from (clockwise from top left)
sugarpluminvitations.blogspot.com, stylemepretty.com,
rockmywedding.co.uk, Soros Beach Taverna, & myrecipes.com

My 2 lovely bridesmaids will wear these beautiful dresses from Two Birds http://www.twobirdsbridesmaid.co.uk/ - they're perfect for a Greek island wedding being light weight, versatile and allows each bridesmaid to choose a style suited to their shape.

I've attached my mood board (the dress isn't on there as I will not be giving that away until after the wedding!) to give you an idea of the style of our wedding which will have vintage elements with a rustic feel. I hope you feel inspired by it all!

Next on our list is the invitations .....more to follow!

CC

Beautiful Hand Painted Stationary

These stunning, hand painted invitations and general wedding stationary blow my mind.  They are absolutely breath taking.  As you can tell by the amount of images below, I am a huge fan of this wonderful stationer and if i had had my way would have put all her images on this blog but a little restraint was needed!

All images from www.momentaldesigns.com

How awesome is the stationary with the frog on it!  I love it but I was always quite keen on the Wind in the Willows books.  I have always been interested in painting and art and these for me are a truly gorgeous option for your wedding stationary.  What is also great about this company is that they will personalise this for you. So you could have beautiful paintings depicting where in Greece you are getting married or just using the wedding flowers you have chosen.  Endless options are always my favorite and I firmly believe that you would also enjoy the process of designing these invites, which can sometimes be quite an arduous task.  Please go to their website to be inspired by more of their gorgeous designs  www.momentaldesigns.com .

NY

Shipwreck Heaven

Wow!  I love this themed shoot for NonPariel Magazine it is gorgeous.  Now you had all better get comfortable as there are a lot of images to go with this.  I just could not decide which to have so I have posted most of them.  I find this shoot not only fresh but completely without any cheese factor attached to it.  Hard to pull off when your theme is shipwrecked.  I think you will all agree that it looks amazing and could be used in a number of venues.  I would love to see this adapted to a beach.  How striking it would be and the visual impact for you guests, on arrival, has the potential to be huge.

 

 

 

 

All the above photos are courtesy of lapartieevents.squarespace.com and where shot by www.elizabethmessina.com

Do you see what I mean?  Absolutely breath taking.  The attention to detail is perfect and can be easily replicated and changed to reflect your personality.  The other thing to take into consideration is that a lot of this can be done yourselves so it would not have to cost the earth.  Amazing!!!!!

Obviously I am  big fan!

NY

A Little Inspiration from Hollywood

I know, I know, sad but true.  I love chick flicks!  Whilst watching The Proposal I fell in love with the decor of the barn wedding scene.  It turns out that plain, varnished branches decorated solely with bare light bulbs, floats by boat!  I think they look gorgeous and just so we are clear, I think this look could look great in a variety of venues.

The aisle is just striking, pretty impressive for such a simple idea.  DIYing this look would be easy and not too time consuming either and I am wondering how cool this would look on a beach.  It could be a great way to define an area as well as an aisle.  Or just splitting the branches into bunches rather than as a wall could also look amazing dotted between your tables. Adding a lick of vanish on the branches can also add great surface for the light to reflect off. Subtle and yet striking.

The other part of the decor were these balls of light hanging from the ceiling.  Coupled with the rusticity of the branches they give a perfect contrasting dimension to the overall look.  They bring a softness to it all.  Just plain gorgeous!

NY

And we're back!!! Celebrating the Hop.

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!!!  So Christmas was eventful and honestly quite manic but very enjoyable! Now back to grind of work and the fun of blogging.  I had an interesting car journey back from Switzerland. One which has left my car stranded in the French town of Chaumont (damn gear box) but it allowed me to have a great conversation with a friend of mine who is getting married in 3 months time.  She is a landscape designer and her knowledge of plants and flowers is incredible.  What interested me was her idea of using hops as part of her wedding flowers and center pieces at their forthcoming wedding. 

Now I have never really seen hops and as I am sure you all do, only really associate them with beer, so I googled them as soon as I managed to get repatriated back to the UK.  How beautiful is the lushness of the leaves?  Stunning and thanks to the Greek beer industry there will definitely be a supplier who you can purchase some off (yay! Mythos!).

Not only are they vivid in their green colour but also have a density that will provide amazing body to your arrangements.  This friend of mine is simply laying a garland down each table with fairy lights woven in between the leaves and finishing off with flowers of her choice dotted, sporadically throughout.

Above are two images from 'Kirsty and Phil's Perfect Christmas' that was shown on Channel 4 just as some inspiration and to show how great hops can look. Not only are they luscious but I also love their uniqueness.

NY

Sweet Baby's Breath

Now I am putting the inspiration for this post down to the snow we have had lately.  A friend of mine is getting married here in London in a couple of months with a theme of the ice hotel/skiing.  So when cruising the Internet one evening I came across these images and they reminded me of snow and I have decided they need to be shared.  I know, snow, in Greece?  But it does happen!  Anyhow, have a look.  I think they are beautiful.

I have come to the conclusion that baby's breath is highly underrated and should be considered more often as a choice of flowers for weddings.  It is simple yet beautiful and so delicate.

Gorgeous!

NY

So So Succulent

Succulents are a great choice of flower for Greece.  They can withstand a lot of heat and the do not need too much water. I personally, love their structural form, especially coupled with bright coloured flowers to really give them a lift.

Here are some moodboards for you to peruse at your leisure.

Images from (top left clockwise) recycledbride.com,
floracadet.com,  floragrubb.com, jasminestarblog.com,
rootedinpaperandart.blogspot.com,
& alchemyfineevents.com

Images from (top left clockwise) heidiryder.net,
forgetmeknotweddingsblog.com,  jmsucculents.com,
floragrubb.com & pgjennielove.wordpress.com

There are so may different ways to arrange the succulents that all produce a completely different feel.  They really are such a versatile plant and definitely worth considering for your wedding arrangements.  I am loving that table plan.  It looks gorgeous!

NY

Civil Ceremony...Different Arch Ideas

Obviously a lot of you will be wanting a civil ceremony in Greece rather than a religious ceremony and let's face it, you will not be lacking in locations to do it.  Greece has an abundance of venues for you to chose from, which allow a variety of atmospheres.  Now I love an arch and I think they can be amazing.  They help in defining your ceremony area as well as providing a beautiful frame for your photos.

Images from paratinovia.com & chadmichaelpeters.com

Images from tinywaterblog.com & newyorkweddingrentals.com

There are a huge amount of different styles of arch for you to choose from and it really will depend on what atmosphere you are looking to create and also what venue you have chosen.  Here are just a few that I saw and loved.  

Images from heidiryder.net & Anna Kuperberg

You do not have to have a temporary structure for your arch, there could already be one, in situ, at your venue that with a little tweeking could be gorgeous.  So keep your eye out for a pergola or even a arch made naturally out of trees or plants or even stone.  Anything is possible with the right outlook and a bit of imagination.

NY

Nature at its Best

There is nothing really to say about this image apart from WOW!  How unbelievable is this Wisteria?  

Image from detailsdetails.com

Absolutely breathtaking.

NY

I wasn't lying...I Love These Table Plans

Images from jasminestarblog.com

Truly I wasn't!  I just love the depth of them.  They have great texture and are visually beautiful. For me it makes a great change to the one dimensional stationary versions although there are some of those that I love but this is just something different.  

As I have said before, this can be adapted to your taste in flowers and your theme.  It would look beautiful made up of indigenous plants to the different islands in Greece, the colour would be spectacular.

Tying the stationary in with the foliage would also be a striking detail and what a wonderful visual greeting for your guests.  A great way to set the tone of your wedding reception.

NY