The Wedding of The Year 2011

It's been a bumper year of weddings in 2011.  For many people, picking their wedding of the year comes down to the battle of the Kates.  The line has been drawn: which side are you on?  Moss or Middleton?

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It was a clash of two classic wedding styles: one full of pomp and ceremony and tradition, the other all about partying and celebrating the biggest day of your life.  Spring vs Summer.  Refined elegances vs unashamed frivolity.  Public vs private.  An invitation to either was the hottest tickets in town.

 

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The marriage of Prince William (future Prince of Wales and King) was an inevitable certainty.  It was just a question of when.  Royal correspondents have been hotly tipping the event ever since 2007.  (Their hearts were broken when the royal couple decided to split instead, but spirits soon revived after the romance was rekindled a few months later.)  But true to his word, Prince William promised he would get married when he was 28 and that's eactly what he did.  Catherine Middleton, created the Duchess of Cambridge, was one of the most talked about women of the year.  Love her or loathe her, the image of her on her wedding day is now iconic and highly sought after.

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She's been an icon of fashion ever since she sprang on the scene in the early 90s.  So when Kate Moss's engagement to Jamie Hince became public knowledge, everyone expected her wedding to be no different.  She didn't disappoint.

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Decadence was most definite the by-word as Kate's Great Gatsby-themed big day came to realisation.  All the coolest party kids - Paul and Stella McCartney,  Sadie Frost, Kelly Osbourne - were in town for the event, and true to her fashion roots, the event was covered by US Vogue.  Even Anna Wintour herself dained to put in an appearance.

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Plenty of other gorgeous and glam celebrity weddings took place over the year.   Lily Allen married Sam Cooper in a cute, country, Cotswolds wedding in June, while Sir Paul McCartney hoped to make it third time lucky with his American heiress bride Nancy Shevall in October with a chic city event.

 

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But what you must remember, beyond the dress and the champagne and the froth and the gloss, a wedding is still about two people who love each other very much and are swearing to spend the rest of their lives together.  It's as simple as that.

Remember: marriage is a tricky business and the wedding is just the start.

A happy 2012 to all my readers! x x x

Real Wedding - Purple To Midnight

Back in August, I was delighted to take part in the wedding of Leonie and Sam Butt.  I had known Leonie since we did our A levels together.  She was always lovely and working with her on her wedding flowers was a sheer delight.  I have never met a bride so open to suggestion, yet confident of what she liked and what she disliked.  Here are some pics from the day:

 

The bride's bouquet was loaded with Avalanche and Akito roses, lisisanthus, Orion thistles, pittosporum, blue veronica, purple freesia and hard ruscus to finish.

 

The bridesmaids' bouquet consisted of white statis and purple lisianthus, finished with lavender ribbon and pearl pins.

 

After a mini disaster with the hydrangea wands, wilting leaves were exchanged for organza ribbon.

 

And I think (hope!) you'll agree that they turned out rather pretty.

 

Originally the plan was for the bridesmaids to carry purple statis dotted with white Akito roses, but at the bride's suggestion, the colour scheme was reversed.  And what a good thing it was too, or else the purple would have receded into the bridesmaids' gowns and the flowers would have been lost.

 

And finally...  The Bride, who would have looked dazzling even if she'd been carrying a bunch of dandelions.  

Many congratulations Mr and Mrs Butt! x x x