Advice from a professional florist
We got together with an amazing florist who we see quite often here at Kinkell Byre, Blue Poppy Flowers. People regularly ask us about flowers and wedding floral arrangements, but it’s actually a subject we don’t actually know too much about! So with this in mind today’s blog has been put together to help us all out, with some amazing advice and information from a professional wedding flower specialist.
Question time with Cath, from Blue Poppy Florist:
What should a couple consider when searching for their perfect florists? (Are all florists the same?)
It’s important that you find the right florist for you. Each florist has their own style. You can get a good idea from looking at their website or social media. This way you can find someone who is on the same wavelength as you.
Our style is natural, leafy, colourful and garden-inspired. This style works perfectly with barn venues like Kinkell. We update our Instagram regularly (@bluepoppyflorist)
For a lot of couples flowers are not something they know much about. How do
you know what you want/can have?
It’s fine if you don’t know your flowers. We wouldn’t expect you to know everything- that’s our job. It’s more important that we get an idea of your style. Photos are really helpful as we can see immediately the look you want to achieve e.g festival, woodland, leafy or romantic and then we can guide you through the options and flower choices.
Does time of year of a couple’s wedding dictate what flowers they can have?
Yes, to an extent. You can get flowers out of season but they can be hugely pricey and can be of low quality. It is better to look at the seasonal varieties and colours available.
What is the cost of wedding flowers?
The total cost will include the following: flowers, VAT, sundries (e.g ribbons, foam, pins), packaging, containers, insurance, staff wages, vehicles, mileage. We tend to decorate larger wedding venues for which we can be arranging upwards of 1500 stems, so florist’s time is a big factor. Most weddings take our base team (of 4 people) a minimum of 90 hours in total. That’s a lot of flowering!
We create completely bespoke designs so there is no set price. We do have a minimum spend of £1200 to cover our costs. For a quote you can get in touch via the contact form on the website www.bluepoppyflorist.com.
How can a couple save money on their flowers or make their budget go further?
We always do an itemised quote for all arrangements on your wish-list initially. If that comes to over your budget we look at options. I would suggest going for a few key high impact arrangements over lots of little arrangements everywhere. Also reusing ceremony
arrangements in the reception area is a good way to save money e.g aisle flowers and candles can be used to create a lovely top table display.
To save money you can DIY some things if you are confident and have plenty time. Sometimes couples will DIY little jars to dot around tables etc and we do the bouquets
and bigger arrangements such as arches, ceremony arrangements.
What is the process after booking?
After booking us for your wedding flowers, we are on hand to answer any questions over email. Usually I would suggest a meeting at the venue at some point before your wedding where we can discuss arrangements. If you don’t live in the country, we
arrange wedding flowers over email/phone.
Dates usually book up a year in advance so it’s likely you will see new ideas in the interim. It’s fine to a change a few arrangements along the way and we can re-quote for
these. We ask for the final order to be confirmed 1 month before the wedding although understand you may need extra emergency buttonholes for a family member or friend
you have forgotten about.
About Kinkell – What do you like about Kinkell, what works best and what are your favourite things to do at Kinkell?
Kinkell is a truly unique venue which is not comparable to any other. It’s amazing to see the space starting as a beautiful, blank canvas (with only Archie the highland coo as
décor) transformed to a twinkly wonderland. Our favourite part of the set-up is seeing family and friends come into the venue and hearing the gasps and seeing the joyful
reactions. There is no doubt Kinkell has the wow factor!
For us it is about enhancing the space, not hiding it. We love to dress the beautiful stone doorways with cascades of greenery and flowers. One of our favourite arrangements to
create are hanging flowers. These look really magical in the ceremony area or above the top table. We love to use colour and feel it really brings the space to life. If colour isn’t
your thing incorporate lots of greenery for impact.
We are lucky enough to be doing the flowers at Kinkell at least once a month so we know every nook and cranny- what works well and what makes impact. Flowers add life
and warmth to the space and we always try to bring the feel of the garden indoors. The finishing touch is the lighting. The i-light team spend hours creating the perfect lighting
which transforms the area into a fairy-tale venue.
What services do you offer?
We offer all flower arrangements ranging from wired hair flowers up to large scale installations and everything inbetween. We also hire props as part of our floral
arrangements e.g milk churns, woodland props, rustic crates, vases, candles etc. Our delivery, set up and removal service is always included. That way you can relax and
enjoy yourselves before and after the wedding.
What is Blue Poppy’s story?
We started selling garden flowers at farmers’ markets and Christmas stalls 6 years ago and steadily grew as a business over time. Although we started doing all florist work we
now specialise in weddings due to demand. To date we have provided flowers for over 200 weddings.
We are a little different to the usual florist as we also have a family flower farming business. From April-October, we grow thousands of flowers in a 2 acre garden which are added to our arrangements.
We really do love our job. Meeting our couples, listening to their plans and bringing their ideas to life is an incredible honour. Every week we enter the workshop bursting with enthusiasm and ready to create something beautiful and unique.
And finally, Cath’s personal advice on what type of flowers to have at your wedding:
Go with the season and you will always have beautiful, timeless wedding flowers! In Spring, use delicate scented bulbs and blossom; in summer, wild flowers, roses and sweet peas; in autumn rich coloured dahlias and textures look amazing and in winter, the warm glow of candles amongst garlands and pinecones provide simple elegance.
All images are of work that Blue Poppy Flowers did for a wedding in May 2018 here at Kinkell Brye. Images are by Robin at i-light.
