a wedding florist debrief on a summer gone by

As we head into September I am feeling like it is the first chance in a long while that I have had to breathe. Like really breathe, take a chance to stop and jump off that treadmill and have the rare moment to reflect. This summer of weddings just gone has been like no other and I thought it would be fun to let you in on the crazy, intense, whirlwind of what a beautiful flower filled months it has been.

I have successfully been running my wedding florist business for the past 15 years, and just when you think you have seen it all, something will always come along and surprise you. Adaptability is one of our strong points and we have certianly had to embrace that this summer for all manner of reasons!

The one thing that will always be out of our control:

The Weather, a typical British topic of conversation and one that you cannot escape on the daily, however this summer our weather chat has reached a new level of importance, and it’s impacts on how we run our weddings has been greatly felt for so many reasons. The climate crisis is terrifyingly real and this summer has shown us that with the increased chance in prolonged extreme heat, we have to come up with systems on how best to manage this. Typically, if couples get the chance to be married outside, they go for it, it is the dream to have a romantic country garden style quintessentially British wedding. What is more quintessentially British than the rain? For that reason alone, us wedding florists have long been planning a ‘Plan B’ option. For those unfortunate situations when the rain comes down, whether it is expected in the forecast or unexpected on the morning, we are very much used to being able to rework ceremony florals for that very moment. I always advise my couples to opt for ceremony florals that can be created inside…or outside. What we haven’t had to consider, up until this summer, is how the extreme heat will play a part in our couples ceremony choices. This summer was the heatwave that never ended, beginning in May and running right until the end of August, which is generally when the most of our weddings take place.

As a summer lover, and someone who does not like the cold… I was embracing these first few warm weeks of the summer, before the temperatures really heated up. What a joy for our couples to have guaranteed sunshine, flowering outdoors in shorts, no waterproofs or getting wet loading the van, there was no need to change plans last minute, life was sweet… and everyone was in a good mood! Rain does make things more difficult and so this warm weather made everyone in the wedding industry feel like we had gotten off to a great start to the season. Fast forward a few weeks and the temperature skyrocketed to. We live in a Victorian end of terrace house, which gets absolutely beaten by the wind and rain all year, for the first time in 5 years I feel our house had actually warmed up to it’s bones via that first heatwave. North Devon is a lot cooler than lots of the country as we are right on the coast, yet even here it was wild. What this meant for providing wedding flowers in a heatwave was a whole load of added stress, extra organisation and thought required. As someone who loves a plan, our wedding days our mapped out hour by hour, my team and I have a schedule to follow and that ensures a smooth run on the day. The heatwaves meant our plans had to be more flexible, adapt and everyone has to work that extra bit harder to make it all work.

Wedding flowers are always a last minute event, despite what people can say on set up days ‘Oh have you done all this today….’ ‘ err no, we are super women, but not quite that super’ Generally I get my flower delivery on a Wednesday/Thursday for a Saturday wedding, this allows flowers like roses to open to perfection in time, yet means the softer, more delicate blooms still have a great longevity and chance of lasting beyond the wedding day itself. The extreme heat, means certain flowers will struggle and begin to deteriorate quicker, which meant I had to switch up my delivery days to later. This then gives us less time to create the floral arrangements, and so means more work for everybody, later nights/earlier starts… just less prep time. There are only so many hours in a day after all! The heat caused many sleepless nights for a lot of florists this summer, the pressure of providing a real life living product, with so many moving variables for the most special day in someone's life is already up there, but add in a crazy heatwave and you have a lot more to consider. Usual tried and tested mechanics had to be altered, we were making everything at the absolute last minute, putting in place at the very last minute so florals weren’t in the sun, but that meant finding places in the shade to store the flowers initially, chaining schedules, constantly spraying everything and then spraying it again, topping everything up with water. All of these things take so much more time, and more effort, but they do work. We had a fabulous hydrangea wedding in a marquee in Oxford, with 1000s of roses and 100s of hydrangeas including tall tables, low tables, hanging installations, big archways, large urns and when clearing down the next day only two hydrangeas had shrivelled up a little bit. That just goes to show that as florists we will do absolutely everything we can to make sure your flowers are perfect, whether that is in a heatwave or torrential rain.

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When the rain finally arrived, it poured

Talking about torrential rain, of course there had to be a time when the heatwave would end, unfortunately it was on the week where one of my gorgeous couples were holding their wedding outside in their father’s garden. Instead of easing us in gently with just some cloudy weather and milder temperatures, the great British weather decided to give us yet another extreme to deal with and we were back with heavy rain. A marquee for the reception, we did not have a wet weather plan, and why would you after a summer like that! The rain was forecast so we all knew what we were dealing with, however our bride was holding out severe hope that the rain would stop in time for the ceremony. We had to create a large floral archway and meadow aisle, so when we arrived at the house we began to set to work inside the marquee where gorgeous Natalie Hyland Wedding had created an indoor set up. This was not ideal, but we felt it was the only option as the rain was hammering down on the marquee and we were unloading the van in our wellies and waterproofs. The set up looked stunning, however it was not the outdoor ceremony our bride had dreamed of.

With minutes to spare, ceremony was at 2pm at 1.45 the rain stopped and the decision was made the ceremony was to be outside no matter what. Are you even a wedding florist if you haven’t moved a full scale flower arch with ten minutes to go?! The bride’s brother had made a wooden stage outside for the ceremony, which was actually a godsend providing a flat surface for the arch to be transported onto. With quite the audience (ie the whole congregation!) and lots of lovely offers of help, Ellie and I moved the arch up onto the stage swiftly, alongside the meadow florals to dress the aisle. As we sat in the van and had our lunch, we breathed the biggest sigh of relief hearing the bride walk down the aisle to her beautiful music…. Job done! Everyone enjoyed reception drinks outside in the glorious sunshine in the beautiful gardens. Another extreme, and another example of just how last minute our job is, how quickly scenarios can change, and just how flexible, quick thinking… and strong (!!) You have to be to a wedding florist. Also a great example of when holding out hope actually pays off!

A shout out to the best suppliers

So many wonderful suppliers contribute to each day, from the planners, the marquee team, the caterers, photographers, hair and make up, entertainment, the venues, cake makers, stylists ( I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone!) it is completely a team effort! After being in the industry for so long I have my go to favourites, people who’s name I see on the supplier list and think ‘thank god, yes it is going to be a great day if you are here’ people you don’t see from month to month, but when you do you get a huge hug and an extremely quick and condensed catch up chat. Warm, passionate, talented, hardworking and bloody special people that will 100% go above and beyond to ensure that your wedding day is just perfect. It is also a constant joy to meet new suppliers that I have never worked with too, we all know we are in the same boat and there is a mutual respect/understanding of what goes on behind the scenes with everything involved in working on a wedding. There have been tears of joy, relief, pure exhaustion shed with suppliers, and even more late night texts, early morning calls than usual this summer due to the extreme weather. No plan has been straightforward and I could never be more grateful to the amazing planners I work with, who have worked so hard in executing these weddings. It is a special feeling knowing that you can count on the right people and that you are in it together, all for the common good of the couple having the best day possible. Olivia, Laura and Natalie, you are just the dream!

Flower suppliers have had to work even harder in this weather, they are used to being adaptable with extra flower orders being added on, however a lot more conversations have had to have been had to discuss flower availability and quality in this heat. British growers have had a real tough time, with the extreme heat shortening the crop of lots of flowers, and lack of rain contributing to poor harvests. A flower grower I know, had all her peonies blow in just one week. Usually a crop that would flower for a few weeks, ensuring you can spread your product out and sell to various people for various events/weddings. They all flowered at the same time, a flower you had banked on lasting and earning you a set amount of money has just gone over in one week. It is hard enough being a flower farmer to plan and work with the weather, but this summer has been next level so I am so grateful to my local growers who have communicated along the way and provided me with the most beautiful flowers available. I am a lucky florist to know such wonderful growers and my couples are even ore lucky to be able to have their flowers in their weddings!

Not just anyone works in the wedding industry

It takes a certain type of person to work in the wedding industry, for a period of the year you are living in survival mode, the adrenaline runs high, you do not sleep as much as you should, you are doing 22k step days, you are lifting, moving, unloading a lot and being on your feet all day. The mental capacity needed is a lot, alongside running your own family and household, which runs along in parallel, wedding season always has been and always will be intense. That said, would I sit at a desk 9-5,? No I would not! I absolutely love my job and thrive off those crazy event weekends, yet enjoy the quieter winter months where I can plan, oraganise and think of a way to recover/nourish myself back until we go again. There are constant demands, I run my life by an hour by hour schedule, ticking off jobs as I go, because it is the only way I know the work is possible. Delivery schedules are written, always investigating which route to take and what detours we need to make along the way (Gloucester Services coffee and almond croissant stop, I am talking about you!) Wedding suppliers will have a constant narrative running in their brain because they will be thinking about this weekend’s upcoming wedding, yet also preparing and thinking ahead, ordering flowers for the next wedding, whilst finalising the next month’s wedding requirements and sending invoices etc. No matter how much of a prepped and organised person you are, they will always be last minute changes, additions, tweaks to deal with and so being reactive, flexible, adaptable, resilient and flipping well tough is a necessity!

Weddings would not be possible without my team of super talented florists, everyone chips in and we all work hard and this summer I have asked a lot of them I know. There are no working in maximum temperature rules in a marquee on a heatwave, you just have to sweat it out (literally!) and get the job done. Whether that is up a ladder, where it is even hotter, or carrying heavy archway sections or urn arrangements to their new location, sweeping the floor, unloading the million full, heavy buckets, the constant spraying and at times spraying of the florists it was that hot! You are all super stars, the most fun and creative people I could choose to work with on my weddings. Not only do we get great feedback from clients about how perfect their flowers were, I always get comments about how lovely and professional my team are, which I will never underestimate.

My florist Hopes for Autumn/ Winter 2026?

I am so looking forward to the slightly calmer pace of autumn, with special weddings to flower at some of my favourite weddings, we are moving into the season of rusty reds, mocha browns, porcelain tones and if you’re bold enough adding in that pop of red with the autumn berries. Foliage, texture, and movement are always key principles I think about with my wedding flowers, but even more so in Autumn. The old mans beard, Hawthorne and blackberries are giving me that reassuring nod that the season’s are imminently changing and after this summer, I am going to fully embrace that! Winter will as always be a time to focus on the planning and organisation of next years weddings, I already have some beautiful weddings booked in for 2027, but couples tend to be booking a little on the later side these days so that leaves lots of possibilities for more exciting opportunities to come.

A huge thank you to Felicity Billen Photography for these fabulous shots from our recent wedding set up at Huntsham Court. You can view more of our beautiful real life weddings over on the portfolio page.