Wednesday 16 December 2015

Meadowy Florals with Country Charm - Claire and Toby's Late Summer Wedding

Hi all,

Today's wedding took place in August this year at a venue that I only visited for the first time a couple of months ago.  I was surprised at how beautiful Whirlowbrook Hall was and that I hadn't been there before.  I am definitely going to set aside some time to take a walk around the grounds as they looked so beautiful on my drive through.

Anyway, enough about me, Claire and Ryan got married at Christchurch in Fulwood with the reception held at Whirlowbrook Hall.  Claire is a massive fan of wild, country and meadowy flowers and wanted a colour pallet of blues, creams and whites.  As you can see from the photography that this was kept very much in mind when designing the bouquet.  Included in the bouquet were blue delphinium, blue hydrangea, thistles, corn flowers, nigella, cream lisianthus, gypsophila, astilbe, astrantia, echinops, wax flower, eucalyptus, tanacetum and crespedia.

For the bridesmaids Claire and Ryan chose to have smaller versions of Claire's bridal bouquet with a greater concentration of cream flowers so the blue really stood out for Claire.  Their little flower girl Freya got to carry one of my favourite accessories, a wand!!!!  I just love them as an alternative to bouquets for little girls.

The men had sprig style buttonholes based around a blue thistle with cream flowers but using more blue in Toby's.  The ladies went for a sprig style too but with a selection of more softer and feminine flowers.

A massive thanks to Sarah Janes Photography for letting us use these gorgeous images, they are just beautiful.  Just follow the link to see more of her work.


Wednesday 9 December 2015

Nordic Styled Wedding Inspiration Shoot - Camp Katur

Hi all,

So today I am writing about a fantastic shoot that we had the absolute pleasure to be part of a couple of weeks ago.  Not only did we think it was great to work on but the pictures were snapped up by Rock My Wedding blog and was published on Friday (follow the link if you want to have a read).

Woohoo!

As always just in case you missed it here it is up on our blog....

The shoot was put together by Ellie Grace Photography who is a self confessed Scrooge so wanted to put together something seasonal and stylish as opposed to the usual post box red and gold tinsel. Whilst Ellie was talking to her friend and make-up artist Julia Jeckell the word Nordic just seemed to slip out so it just went from there.  Ellie managed to get some really creative people involved to contribute to the day including our very own Queen T who was more that happy to lend a creative hand.

Here is a little word from Ellie:

Out of 20 pins on a Pinterest board, everyone turned up on the day and using their incredibly creative minds managed to pull together this wonderfully accurate themed shoot.  The foliage on the top of the cake was almost identical to the illustrations on the invites, all the tones and colours and everything just went SO WELL!  I guess this is exactly what happens when you give 3 creative talented people a mood board and they just do it.

I suppose all that's is left to say is a massive thank you to Ellie for allowing us to be involved in such a great project and if you would like to look at more of her work please follow the link to her website.

And finally a big shout out to Amanda Perry for the cake, Grace for her creative illustrations, Camp Katur for use of the barn and finally The White Room for letting us use the stunning Claire Pettibone dress.  Now here are the pictures, grab a cuppa and enjoy people!



Wednesday 2 December 2015

Luxe Wedding Flower Inspiration - Beautiful, Blowsy, Blooms.

Hi all,

Today on the blog I am bringing you something a little different from the usual real weddings blogs I've been writing.  A month or so ago T (as the resident floral expert) wrote some fabulous content for Boho Wedding blog all about the 'Luxe' inspiration, what it is and how to use it in your own wedding.  It's a bit of a follow on from the Autumn Luxe Flower Inspiration blog that T wrote for the site back in September.



Anyway here is what T had to say:

I'd like to introduce you to a trend which is taking the wedding industry by storm, in one word ... luxe.

But what is the whole luxe thing I hear you cry and does it mean blowing my carefully planned budget?  No, no, fear not.  It's just that we're starting to move away from the vintage-inspired, make-do-and-mend, DIY philosophy towards a more luxurious, romantic look full of beautiful, blowsy blooms.  Romance is back and it can be tailored to suit all manner of weddings for the classic, stylish, understated - through to the outdoor ceremony full of gorgeous tables and structures covered in seasonal pretty.


For venue decorations hanging flowers are just one of our fave ways to create luxe impact at your venue.  Their versatility means you can choose from a few baubles filled with flowers to hanging antique bottles - perfect for the budget - concious bride.  If you're looking for a statement piece, a sense of drama and lots of impact, then a series of floral chandeliers might just be perfect in your marquee - think blooms in your colour palette teamed with pretty coordinating ribbons and you'll be seriously embracing the luxe.




As you'll know from reading our Autumn blog, I'm all in favour of stretching your floral designs to help earn their keep and work hard for you, so think about decorating a feature fireplace or pretty window ledges in your ceremony room with a sumptuous display which can be easily moved to fill your top table with super scent and romantic candle light.  I often get asked by brides for ideas on how to dress a ceremony room - understandably you want it look amazing when your guests walk in, but don't want to spend a fortune on decorations which might only be appreciated for a short while.  If you're happy to go for it, then why not decorate features like a staircase - just perfect for those photo opportunities!









We've always championed seasonal flowers, designed in a very natural style and are continuing to do so next year.  We're really starting to move away, however, from decorated jam jars and are looking at simple, stylish glass, copper vessels, rose gold urns, footed bowls, white china and much more.









As ever, the shape of your bridal bouquet is very much dependent upon the silhouette of your gown and shame on any flowery person who doesn't discuss this with you!  Whether you choose a sumptuous, cascading, waterfall design or a simple all round, posy-style design, think texture, more texture and yet more texture!




We love all kinds if accessories and our grooms are happy with either focal flower or a sprig style designs, but one thing to be sure of is that your buttonholes contain elements of the flowers you've chosen in your bouquet.  Luxe doesn't mean everything has to match exactly, it just means that your flowers should look like they come from the same 'family', so before you know it, everything will look effortlessly stylish!




So, as always I hope this feature has helped show the wealth of blowsy blooms, tempting textures and stunning scented flowers which embrace the luxe movement.  Massive thanks go to the uber talented and ridiculously lovely Sarah (or Brabbers as she's known by Team Campbell's!) of Sarah Brabbin Photography for her time and patience in taking all these wonderful shots at the atmospheric Whirlowbrook Hall.

So that's it from Queen T, I hope you have found it super inspirational.

Thanks for reading

Wednesday 25 November 2015

Summer Sun and Subtle Shades - A Blazing June Wedding

Hi all,

Today I thought I would bring you something a little different.  Instead of all the winteryness and Autumnal colour pallets I thought I would share with you this wedding from June this year.  A little sunshine now the weather has turned so cold. 

Rachel got married in Penistone Church before heading off to 315 at Lepton near Huddersfield. Rachel wanted to keep the colours and tones of her flowers quite muted with shades of champagne, pale peach, shell pink, powder blues and cream.  T and Mel kept the feel of the bouquet quite soft with plenty of texture creating this feminine and romantic look.  The flowers used were peonies, roses 'Amnesia', lisianthus 'hot lips', pink gypsophila and 'Jana' spray roses.

The bridesmaids had a similar design to the bride just a little bit smaller.  The buttonholes were a focal style featuring a spray rose and lisianthus buds.

The table decorations were very in keeping with the simple yet stylish theme.  They were a hand tied style in a plain glass vase, I just love them they are so simple but just look so stunning.

Massive shout out and thanks to Adele Hayward at Blue Lights Photography for sending us and letting us have use of these amazing shots.


Wednesday 18 November 2015

Rusty Rich Colours and Warm Autumnal Arrangements - Alison and Phil's October Wedding

Hi all,

Today on the blog we are featuring the lovely Alison and Phil.  They tied the knot a couple of weeks ago in Leeds.  Alison chose to have a best women which I think is such a lovely idea and must have been a real honour for Alison's friend.  I have only heard of this a couple of times but I do hope it's something we hear and see more of.

Alison is a really talented, highly creative Milliner and she  wanted a very Autumnal feel to the wedding which if course is T and Mel's speciality, as it's seasonal.  The designs had a woodland, just picked feel in very rich colours including reds, maroons, russet and burnt oranges.  T and Mel designed a very open, unstructured bouquet with plenty of texture.  The flowers used were leucadendron, continus, echinops, thistles, scabious seed pods, hypericum, russet hydrangea, burnt orange freesia, skimmia and reddy/grey succulents.

Along with these great images that were taken by a friend of Alison and Phil's, Alison sent us a lovely note which read like this:

"I first met Tracey when we worked together on a photo shoot a few years ago.  I was impressed with Tracey's work, her friendliness and her professionalism.

When we were planning our wedding I thought of Tracey and was thrilled when she agreed to arrange my wedding flowers.

We had a meeting to discuss ideas and Tracey completely understood what I wanted.  My wedding was going to have an Autumnal theme so I wanted lots of berries and leaves with a few flowers.  I have no idea about flowers and Tracey made some wonderful suggestions.

The one thing I did want was some thistles in my bouquet to represent my late father who was Scottish.  Tracey understood this and knew I just needed a subtle nod to my father.

When my flowers arrived on my wedding day I was completely blown away with how stunning they looked. The colours worked perfectly with my theme and everyone commented on how amazing the bouquets, buttonholes and corsages looked.  They were everything I wanted and more.  The thistles fitted perfectly and were a wonderful tribute to my dad.

I would like to say a huge thank you to Tracey and to Mel.  I couldn't have asked for more and would HIGHLY recommend Campbell's Flowers.  A wonderful, professional, friendly service with a real feeling of care and attention to details.  Many, many thanks to you all."

Thanks again Alison for such kind words it was an absolute pleasure.





Thanks for reading

Thursday 29 October 2015

Sunny Sydney to Wintery Wild Derbyshire - Our Very Own Sophie's Wedding Anniversary!

Hi all,

I spend so much time writing blogs about our brides so this time we decided to mix it up a bit and bring you the wedding of one of our very own Team Campbell's members.  Our PR guru Sophie got married to Matt in Australia on the 31st October 2012, not because they love Halloween but because it was their 9 year anniversary of getting together at Uni.

Sophie and Matt made the big decision to elope and get married in Australia, well they were going there for a holiday so why not?  They tied the knot with just two close friends present on a wonderfully warm day at an outdoor ceremony by Sydney Harbour and opposite The Opera House. Here is a DIY piccie of their day, a bit blury but you get the idea.


Monday 26 October 2015

Hollywood Glamour with a Modern Twist - Elizabeth and Rory's September Wedding

Hi all!

Today we are bringing you a wedding from September this year which was a great one for us because not only were the designs gorgeous but we got to work with one of our industry friends Sarah (The Brabbers to us) who took some fantastic shots.  It was such a pleasure looking through them all and Sarah didn't disappoint, with her trademark candid photographs in the form of Queen T and Izz arriving, T doing the 'hold it this way' talk and not to mention the cow photo bomb!

Elisabeth wanted a contemporary, modern, glamorous Hollywood feel to the day which reflected in her style of dress, hair and make up so it was super important that T and Mel fit the designs in with this brief and boy did they do just that.  T and Mel created a round hand tied that wasn't too compact with champagnes and creams oozing that Hollywood glamour.  The flowers were 'Vendella' roses, 'Creme Gracia' spray roses, amber roses, lisianthus and David Austin 'Patience' roses.

All the other designs from the button holes to the stunning top table decoration very much had the timeless contemporary style running through them.  Also check out the handbag corsage, I have been with T now for 2 years and this is the first time I have seen anything like this.  I absolutely love it and hopefully after this wedding we might be seeing a few more!

So, I know I've have mentioned her earlier but a massive thanks to Sarah Wedding Photographer for taking and letting us use these brilliant images.  Enjoy!


Wednesday 14 October 2015

Pretty Pastels at Colshaw Hall in the Cheshire Countryside - Laura and Callum's July Wedding

Hi all,

Today on the blog we have Laura and Callum who got married this July at St Mary's Church then moving on to the beautiful Colshaw Hall in Cheshire.  Floral decorations were a large part of the couple's day with designs going up in the church and the reception venue.

Laura adores flowers and particularly loves big blousy blooms and wanted lots of impact and texture to her bouquet.  With this in mind T designed a stunning cascading bouquet full of delphinium, blue hydrangea, peonies, larkspur and corn flowers.

The bridesmaids had smaller versions of the brides bouquet which looked super cute.  Callum and the guys had sprig style buttonholes with a 'just picked' look to them which fit in beautifully with the floral theme.

The masses of work, time and effort that T and Mel put into designing, making and installing the venue flowers was well worth it, as you will see from the pictures below.  Speaking of which, it's at this point we would like to say a huge thank you to Jonny Draper for letting us have access to and use of these amazing photographs and quite possibly the best picture of T that we will ever own.  So sit back and enjoy!

























Thanks for reading