If you are looking for marquee flowers for your at home marquee wedding in Devon, then this blog post is for you! In the world of weddings, there really is nothing like having the luxury of being able to get married at home, and marquee weddings are some of the most stylish and fun weddings to plan. Planning a wedding at home requires a certain finesse and an eye for detail—qualities that I, as your preferred wedding florist, bring to the table.
As a high-end wedding florist nestled in the Devon countryside, I'm here to fill you inspiration and guide you through the process of bringing your idyllic marquee wedding to life. If you're the kind of couple who envisions their special day as a merging of style and nature, then please read on as I explore everything from marquee logistics to flower installations, and everything else you need to know if you are planning your wedding at home.
Marquee Weddings: Where to Start
Picture this: a pristine white marquee nestled in the grounds of your childhood home, or perhaps you are holding your wedding in another family members home. Over the years we have been fortunate enough to work in some of the most beautiful family homes, people who have opened up their homes to embrace the wedding celebrations!
A Wealth of Professional Support
Planning a wedding at home, especially if you're navigating the logistics of a marquee for the first time, can be overwhelming. Where do you start? In my experience, the best starting point is to acknowledge that you need a team. This isn't just about hiring a florist; it's about securing a network of professionals—marquee experts, caterers, lighting designers—who will weave your dream into existence. Finding a great marquee company is crucial, and I have worked with many over the years who I can recommend such as Abbas who are South West based.
Crafting a Marquee Vision
Step one is securing a marquee that speaks to the soul of your celebration. It's crucial to choose a company that understands your needs, and more importantly, your style. Whether you prefer the airy elegance of a sailcloth or the grandeur of a clear roofed pavilion, your marquee is the cornerstone that influences the size, scenery, and structure of your floral designs. Once you have secured a marquee company and have a design in place and interior layout, then is the time to start securing your wedding florist.
Your Marquee's Wedding Flower Style
Marquee weddings are so special in that they allow a temporary, huge yet stylish structure to quickly appear in the grounds of your family home. It is incredible how quickly the marquees are built and just how luxurious they can look and feel. It is important to get your wedding flower style right from the beginning, for me marquees lend themselves to my natural, elegant and abundant style of floristry. I adore bringing the outside in and marquees are the perfect place to do so. They literally are a blank canvas and so big branches of foliage or swathing, natural garlands and tumbling blousy florals really are key to linking your marquee into its surroundings. For me, as a florist who specialises in high-end country garden blooms, a marquee is an opportunity to intertwine nature into the very fabric of your celebration.
Floral requirements you should think about:
Marquees are a great way to create bold, statement florals such as a grand floral archway to greet the guests as they enter the marquee. This creates a beautiful ambience and really sets the tone for your celebrations, it is like walking into a secret harden if you are surrounded by foliage branches and scented roses. Hanging statement installations are also a great way to dress your marquee, think about adding interest and texture to the huge space that is the ceiling. We work with companies on logistics to offer hanging planks, or huge chandelier florals, often intertwined with lighting too. Long, trailing garlands can criss cross over a section of the ceiling to really make the space feel more intimate and less vast. I always love to focus on decorating the bar with flowers too, hanging florals or huge ceramic vases with overflowing florals will really link these added spaces, feel part of the whole vibe of the day.
Tablescapes: The Heart of Your Celebration
Marquee table layout is one of the big decisions you will make! Will you opt for long, banquet style tables that encourage conversation and connection? Or will you choose round tables with elevated florals that provide a more timeless and sophisticated feel to your day. Your choice of tables- long or round, will creates the ambiance for your guests' experience so I'll walk you through the options, ensuring that every arrangement aligns with the space and theme of your wedding. You will also need to think about what food you will be serving during your wedding breakfast, will you be having sharing platters or will you be enjoying plated food? How many glasses will you be having on the table, and you will need to make room for wine and water! All of these questions will be discussed in our wedding consultation and I will offer the most beautiful, yet practical solutions for table flowers.
Navigating Floral Logistics with Finesse
At the heart of a successful marquee installation is seamless logistics. An experienced florist understands the intricacies of working with marquee companies, from installation timelines to the subtleties of clear down. We are your liaison, ensuring that the floral elements are not only breathtaking but also an integral part of the wedding's structure.
The Art of Setting Up
Our team has mastered the art of bringing the marquee to life. We collaborate with your marquee company to secure an installation window that maximizes freshness and visual impact. Weather permitting, we often choose to set up hanging installations the day before, if this is not possible we will arrive very early on the morning itself, to ensure all flowers are placed before the tables are laid out. Quite often we transport flowers from the church or ceremony location, back to the marquee so they can be enjoyed throughout the whole day.
Discretion and Delicacy: The Clear Down Challenge
A wedding flower's final act is one of the most underrated. As the celebration fades into memory, it's our team's responsibility to disassemble the displays with care and respect. We do so discreetly, reverently, ensuring that not a petal out of place remains as evidence of your magical day. We encourage guests to take away any suitable flowers that can be enjoyed, quite often the table vases can be given away as gifts. A lovely idea!
Beyond the Blooms: The Florist's Role
The role of a florist extends beyond designing and arranging. We are your partners in curating the emotions, articulating themes, and ensuring that every floral element enhances the narrative of your love story. It's this attention to detail that separates a wedding at home, with its intimate setting, from the more conventional venue.
Personalized Service, Professional Team
Our commitment to personal service extends to our professional conduct. We are in the business of making dreams come true, and we do so with a team that respects the sanctity of your home. Our motto is simple: we treat your wedding as our own, and in the process, build a bridge of trust that lasts throughout the whole planning process. We completely understand that we are being welcomed into your family home to provide a floral service and we relish that as a huge privlige.
The "Never on the Marquee Carpet" Policy
A little behind the scenes promise from me to you and a vital one in the world of marquee planning, if you know, you now! I can safely guarantee that there's one thing you'll never catch us doing: walking on your marquee carpet with our shoes on during set up! It's a small, but extremely important detail that speaks volumes about our care and consideration for your home and your wedding. It's the kind of philosophy that ensures we'll always go the extra mile—barefoot if necessary.
The Unforgettable Afterglow
Your at home wedding isn't just a day; it's a part of your family's history, a memory poised to be retold across generations. Your wedding day will leave you with lasting memories to cherish forever, and we as wedding florists are so very grateful to play the smallest part in that.
The afterglow of your marquee wedding isn't just about the linens or the dinner menu; it's about the feeling we were able to communicate through each flower and foliage branch we place. In the end, our success is measured by the huge variety of emotions we helped orchestrate, the laughter we festooned and the love we breathed into the marquee air. All surrounded by natural and elegant florals!
Embarking into the realm of marquee flowers is a daunting yet delightful adventure. It's a chance to really let loose on your for creativity and to create something you will really love for years to come. As you travel through this journey, remember that you we are with you along every step of the way, ready to answer any queries you may have, small or big... we have worked on countless number of marquee celebrations so there is not situation we haven't come across before!
If you're ready to take the first steps toward your planning your at home-marquee wedding, then I would love to hear more about what you have planned for your wedding so far! To see more of our beautiful marquee wedding flowers in Devon please browse the gallery page.
Photo Credits: Anneli Photo Irena K