Brooklyn's Finest

Sometimes I don't get the opportunity to meet a bride before the big weekend, this was the case this weekend as our couple were based in New York. Before I met them I googled them to find out a bit more information; I like to do my homework. Big mistake. The bride is a photographers agent for a company described by Italian Vogue as 'one of the most prestigious agencies of the world' Then there's the groom, he's a TV/film editor credited on IMDB. To say I felt intimidated would be the understatement of the year. Alas it was much ado about nothing, turns out they're just lovely people, all be it uber cool lovely people. So somehow, despite many weeks of stressing, waking up in a cold sweat and the like I managed to pull it off...phew!

Brides bouquet of peonies, dahlias, sweet pea and roses

 

 

Pew end of peony, sweet pea, hydrangea, gyp, scabiosa, alchemilla mollis

 

Arrangements for bedrooms

Buttonholes and corsages

Gyp circlet for flower girl's hair

Coffee table arrangement

Circular tree base and hanging flowers

Hedgerow styled tree base for the ceremony

Jam jars outside the barn instead of the rustic cones

Barn entrance with blackboard written by Mary, curtain and chandeliers

Confetti system hanging over dancefloor

The barn ready for dinner

Placecards in wine cork holders

Table centres in vintage silverware

Pink Love

Four weeks in and I had the pleasure of working with Kate and Greg on their French wedding in the sun. I first met Kate back in November on one of Chateau Rigaud's wedding planning weekends; we have a couple of these every winter which gives couples the opportunity to come down, stay for a few nights and plan every element of their wedding. From the food, the wine, the activities and of course flowers and styling, all in a relaxed cosy atmosphere - think red wine, log fires, spa treatments and a film in the cinema! From the start Kate was a lady who knew what she wanted: pink ranunculus - and lots of them.  Being May we were in luck and managed to order them from our trusty supplier in Holland. 

One of the things I love about my job (hey what's not to love?!) is the variety of different people I have the opportunity to work with. This week I met a fantastically lovely and hugely talented photographer called Amy Murrell, check out her portfolio at especially amy beautiful don't you think? Anyway hopefully I'll be able to share her much better pictures with you soon but in the meantime here are a few of my snaps from the weekend.

The Plan

Kate's bouquet

The menu for the wedding meal

Tables were named after French cheeses

Table set up

25 buttonholes and corsages

Ranunculus buttonhole

 

Ranunculus wedding bouquet

Ranunculus bridesmaids boquets

Pew end and order of service

Tour de macarons

Cake of cheese

'Wedding' bunting over the gate

Paper poms in the tree

Paper poms

Barn set up; band soundcheck

The happy couple; Kate and Greg

Branching out

Hello 2012! What a year it is shaping up to be; 17 beautiful brides here at Chateau Rigaud, 1 lovely bride a couple of hours down the road and 1 back in Bonnie Scotland at the end of the year to top it all off. And it's not just flowers; new year = new job, drum roll please for my new role as 'Wedding Stylist!' This will encompass all elements of the look of everyones Big Day here at the Chateau and I'm really looking forward to it being a bit of a design geek (Mr E calls it 'control freak') I just like things to look perfect and if that means moving that chandelier 2 inches lower then so be it. Anyway I digress, to kick off my new role I have been sourcing and making some new items to build up an Aladdin's cave of props. Today was a trip to Rauzan to the Antique/flea/junk market where I picked up 2 vintage suitcases which will be perfect to fill with pashminas for guests to help themselves to on cooler evenings. I've also been spending many an evening cutting and sewing bunting for the barn and over the front gate. I've chosen hessian or burlap as the first material to use which I think will contrast really well in texture with the new lighting feature over the dance floor which is being created from balloons, wallpaper paste and lace doilies inspired by The Dos Family up there in Sweden.

Vintage suitcases from the flea market at Rauzan

Sewing in the sunshine

DIY lampshade in progress

Local Boy in the Photograph

Beautiful pictures from the Brett Harkness photography course featuring my flowers foraged from the gardens here at Rigaud!

Ready, aim, shoot!

So this morning I get up nice and early fully prepared to set off in search of a decent selection of flowers knowing that this would probably result in a 80km round trip to Bordeaux and may even involve attempting to make a purchase at the flower market; no easy task, believe me. Feeling a little apprehensive, last week’s scouting mission around what the more local flower shops had to offer was let’s just say ‘not exactly inspiring’, I took a walk around the gardens here at Rigaud seeking some solace. Alas when I actually looked outside my own front door there was a fantastic selection. From amazing deep red roses and dahlias to dried thistles and grasses in the meadow, it was all here right under my own nose, pretty jammy eh? I have to add that the flowers are for a photo shoot taking place here at the chateau tomorrow so there wasn’t the budget or the volume requirement to do a direct order from Holland. With the only restrictions on the brief being that colours should reflect autumn and the bouquet should take into account the dress style, I’m relatively free to be as creative as I wish (bonus!) Check back soon to see how I get on
 

Picked fresh from the garden

I think these thistle heads have a fantastic architectural quality that will tie in nicely with the detail on the dress

Beautiful traditional red rose from the pergola in the back garden

The couture dress

First cut

After a 1000 mile trip direct from Holland the flowers for the first wedding of the season rolled into Rigaud this morning. Just the logistics of it all baffles me- flowers ordered on a Monday can be counted, packed and shipped and arrive here 48hrs later. That's just one delivery in one country, these guys supply 4000 businesses in 12 countries!

With the temperature here hitting 30C it was neccessary to get the precious cargo unpacked, conditioned and into water as quickly as possible. As a result our wedding loo's are currently looking (and smelling!) fantastic.

The Rigaud flower shop!

Dahlia & Peony

Freesia

Sunflower

Peonies