Modern Magenta Florals for a Classic English Garden Elopement

Flowers are one of the easiest and most impactful ways to add colour into your wedding celebrations and there’s no denying Viva Magenta is a statement choice. But before you discount the hot pink shade for being too bold, have you seen the way it pops against the natural greens of the English garden and rolling countryside beyond?

Pantone describe the colour as, ‘brave and fearless, a pulsating color whose exuberance promotes a joyous and optimistic celebration…‘. Well, if that’s not the PERFECT colour profile for a big and beautiful wedding in 2023, I don’t know what is!

If you love this color as much as I do, keep reading as I hand over to Sarah from The Way to Bloom and Freya from Whisper and Wild, talented local florists and creative leads who talk us through how you can embrace it for your special day.

sarah & Freya say…

Hamswell House is one of many beautiful manor houses that are enriched with history and classic architecture in the South West of England. While it is a marquee venue, the grounds and house’s facade make up for the lack of interior space. With its commanding views, this venue shows off the proper British countryside with rolling hills, lush gardens, and moments of history scattered throughout the surrounding area. However, the most special part of this venue, and why we decided it was perfect for our vision, was not just the gorgeous house and gardens but the unique Monk’s Window that is the highlight of the grounds.

Inspired by countryside manor houses, this styled elopement highlights some locally grown blooms, brands, and architecture to showcase the beauty of Britain. The concept for the shoot came from seeing the countryside views and Monk’s Window at Hamswell House, which makes for a perfect intimate ceremony spot that begs to become a flower arch – mixing the classic architecture with modern, vibrant blooms. We also wanted to highlight the beautiful surrounding English countryside, specifically the South West, where we not only live but have the privilege of working at many gorgeous venues in historic settings.

Viva Magenta is the Pantone Colour of the year for 2023 – which we became desired to translate into a vibrant, modern, yet still classic floral palette in September 2022. Many couples might not think about vibrant palettes for their weddings until they see them and we thought this would be an opportunity to get couples inspired by flowers and show off their range of beautiful magenta tones, blended with lighter, soft accent colours.

The bridal style for the shoot features brilliant British designers; Temperley London, Stephanie Allin, Charlotte Mills and Britten Weddings. For the ceremony, our bride has a classic look with the ball gown (Stephanie Allin) and makeup/hair, accessorized with statement flower earrings. The intimate reception and bridal portraits have our bride in the Bella dress (Temperley London) which is from the Parisian archives in the time of the Ballet Russes. Her accessories here give a sparkly/glam vibe with a hint of whimsy with butterfly earrings by Jennifer Behr. The makeup and hair bring out the bride’s natural beauty which really gets to shine in her celebration photos – dancing barefoot in the landscape.

For this shoot, we had this story concept of a bride eloping at her estate using what might be around the house to decorate the day. The tablescape in the orangery mixes heritage with a whimsical floral installation – featuring mismatched china, vintage candle holders in brass, porcelain flowers, cutlery, glassware, lanterns, and of course, an antique-style sofa that is adorned with an installation of ombre florals and an oriental rug.

This styled shoot was a passion project and collaboration between two florists; Sarah from The Way to Bloom and Freya from Whisper and Wild. For florals, we wanted to show off vibrant, abundant blooms – many different varieties of rose and spray roses, hydrangeas, and delphiniums. Then we brought in accent seasonal flowers from a local British grower – dahlias and cosmos were major stunners. When thinking about this photoshoot, we really wanted to smash the rumor that foam free has to be small and limited. Every arrangement, including the large Monk’s Window, is created completely foam-free and only with moss and reusable chicken wire mechanics.

• Only 10% of the flowers are locally grown from Yew Tree Farm Flowers, while all others are from other wholesalers. However, we want to continue to work with local British growers as it is more environmentally friendly while supporting local small businesses
• Two bouquets were made for the shoot as we wanted to showcase a variety and our styles to brides

Couples should not be afraid of colourful florals on their day because it adds to the overall joyful mood of their wedding! Focus your budget on one large floral installation piece to be a focal point of the day – here we have two examples through the sofa and the Monk’s Window/arch. Not only will it ‘wow’ your guests but it will make the day and pictures that bit more special. When else will you get to be surrounded by so many flowers in such a statement kind of way?!