Herbarium Inspired Wedding Ideas

I spy with my little eye… flowers. EVERYWHERE. From the sweets to the stationery (and even to the jewelry!), this charming shoot from Roberta Facchini Photography and Snowdrops Weddings and Events is pure romantic chaos. We love the harmonious randomness of the succulents that line the aisle and the thin botanics that decorate the tablescape. Give a bundle of stems to Palais and they’ll bring you pure art! And that cake display with 7 cakes and more sugar than we could ever hope for? We are floored. Now go enjoy this English garden as much as we did!

From the event designer, Snowdrops Weddings and Events: The inspiration for this shoot came to me after a visit to an art exposition on botanical drawings of plants, seeds and flowers. My background in plant biology came also into play, as I remember creating an herbarium, a sort of diary of flattened dried plants, for one of the exams at university. I wanted to take the underlying idea of an herbarium, mix it with few botanical touches, and most of all spin all these elements into a modern interpretation of the theme. I decide to play with textures, in the flowers, the cakes, the dress and most of all, I decided to let go of a colour palette, after all, flowers in a garden grow wildly and with no precise rule, and they always work together so perfectly. Roberta Facchini Photography did an amazing job of capturing the essence of this shoot, I love the ethereal style of her photography.

Flowers are everywhere in this shoot. They are all around the amazing venue which as the backdrop for this shoot, The Number 16 hotel, an amazing Victorian building, which reveals inside a designer boutique hotel and hidden gem garden. They are on the detail of the amazing wedding dress from Ellis Bridals. Tiny dried petals are inside delicate earrings for the bride and the groom’s cufflinks, created by Sea Meadow Designs. Leaves are the elements that we found as well in the hair accessories by The Wild Rose Accessories, which The Bridal Base combined first with a romantic up do fishtail braid for the bride, and with a loose curls second look for the afternoon.

The cake table looks like a painting, covered in flowers of all colours and shapes, and real flowers mix with cakes and sweets from Elizabeth Cake Emporium, tumbling out of gold terrariums. Flowers and leaves have a big role as well on the table, which was set in the Orangerie with natural ceramic dishes from Classic Crockery Hire. Palais flowers combined a modern central long arrangement with apothecary bottles, and the flowers details continue in the menu, place cards and plaster tiles with flowers impressions created by a local artist, Rachel Dein of Tactile studio. Palais flowers transformed the garden in a stunning backdrop for a wedding, creating a magical flower arch of cherry blossoms as a backdrop for our ceremony, statement bouquets for the bride and flower girl and a very modern and unique boutonniere for our groom. The flower and leaves theme continues in the modern and slick stationery created by Eagle Eyed Bride.

I wanted the bride to be radiant, and Erin Kristensen Makeup did an amazing job creating a luminous base and natural make up, enhancing the natural beauty of our model Amina. I always want to incorporate in my styling not only visual elements to inspire the viewers, but emotions as well, and our groom Luis and flower girl Olivia, the latter dressed by Little Bevan, portray all together with Amina a beautiful young family in love. The bride wears two looks, one for the ceremony, with cathedral veil from Federica Bruno Couture and a long elegant dress, and a second more relaxed look, dressed in a two pieces Ellis Bridals with a short, feminine and playful skirt. The looks are completed by stunning shoes by Emmy London, embellished by plant-like decorations and a stunning diamond marquise ring by Feu Diamonds.