Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes when a florist gets married? What if the wedding is at her extraordinarily scenic family home in the country? What if that florist is your good friend Anna, former colleague, partner in workplace hijinks and all round top chick?
Well, my friend, you cram an inordinate number of flowers into your tiny van, conscript your husband as a floral assistant, and set off for Mt Brace…
Despite what you may assume, not all florists are micromanagers when it comes to their own wedding flowers. We understand seasonal availability and basically love everything anyway, so that’s a pretty solid basis for creating something beautiful.
Two factors greatly contributed to our success on this occasion.
Firstly, it was in late October, which can’t be far from the BEST time of year for flowers. Secondly, Anna’s family home is a veritable candy land for florists, with weeping gum and apple blossom everywhere, and we were invited to help ourselves.
A loose brief was given: the season’s finest, not over-arranged, awash with spring colour. This brief without a brief meant that we essentially had creative freedom.
I won’t lie, racing around the flower market, while it can be stressful, is a singular joy. That Friday morning we picked up some amazing rose varieties, in particular Secret Garden (giant and pinky mauve) and Mr Lincoln (wine coloured and incredibly fragrant), as well as bearded iris, delphinium, guelder rose, tree peonies and literally as much lilac as the grower would let me buy. Once the van was stuffed to capacity we were off!
Once we’d arrived and unloaded, marvelling at the rural splendour before us, we got started. Our labours were fuelled in no small part by Anna’s mum Tracy, who kept us very very very well fed and watered. It definitely wasn’t one of those jobs where you forget to eat!
On Saturday, the wedding day, we were joined by the other members of our Flower Squad, Holly and Christina. Their hard work was invaluable in getting the job done. Our last task brought us to the top of a hill that overlooked the canola fields. As we fastened coral peonies to the arbour that Anna’s groom Ben had built, the view was breathtaking.
It’s one thing to work on a beautiful country wedding. It’s quite another to do so in collaboration with your friends. And it’s another thing entirely to be a guest at that wedding and to see your little sister from another mister marry her special person.