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I had such a fabulous time creating the flower designs for Lydia and Matt's gorgeous wedding in Cambridge. I loved the colours, I loved the style, I loved the setting and they were such a great couple to work with - what could be better? The ceremony took place in the historic setting of Clare College Chapel, followed by a candlelit wedding breakfast in the dining hall at Magdalene College. And just to add a special touch, everyone (and the flowers!) travelled between the two colleges by punt!

Lydia chose a beautiful country garden mix of hydrangeas, daisies, gypsophila, lisianthus and roses with mint green foliage and echeverias to complement the bridesmaids' dresses. The designs were in a relaxed country style, with a vintage feel to suit the occasion and setting - abolutely stunning as I'm sure you'll agree!

...well, flowers of course!

Lots of my brides have decided to have little flower girls in the wedding party, but are often unsure on the most suitable floral designs for them to wear or carry. Well, I think the clue is in the name – they definitely need flowers in some form or another! However, the most suitable way to incorporate flowers into their outfits will depend very much on age and the ability to carry something nicely without using it as a weapon to attack the page boys!

If you are having adult or teenage bridesmaids and your flower girls are not too much younger (say in the 9 – 12 age bracket), you will probably find that they are happier carrying something very similar to the older bridesmaids. I usually make smaller (and cheaper) versions of the bridesmaid posies for girls who prefer to feel grown up. You can find lots of ideas for these in my previous blog about bridesmaid designs.

If you would like your flower girls to carry something different to the typical bridesmaid posies, I often suggest a little basket of flowers, which can be filled with the same flowers used in the posies. I usually make these as an open basket with a ribbon covered handle, although it is possible to buy little wicker baskets too if you prefer a more traditional look.

Although it’s not essential for your bridesmaids to carry flowers at your wedding, it is a lovely way of using flowers to pull your theme and colour scheme together. The colour of your bridesmaids’ dresses will often be a key part of your colour scheme anyway, and you can choose flowers to complement or contrast with them depending on the effect you want to achieve. I usually suggest using some of the same flowers as in the bridal bouquet too so that your flower designs all look good together.

If your bridesmaids are carrying flowers it gives them something to do with their hands which looks quite natural, particularly when you are all being photographed (just think of a football team photo and you’ll know what I mean!), and it will be so lovely to see lots of gorgeous flowers in your wedding photos. And if they take care to put them in water they should be able to enjoy them for several days after the wedding.

So here are a few ideas for some very special flowers for your bridesmaids:

With lots of summer wedding planning underway, my thoughts turned to Laura and James's gorgeous summer wedding from last year and I just couldn't resist sharing some photos of their special day with you. I just loved working on this wedding - the flowers Laura chose were so pretty and the designs had a really vintage/ country feel. Lots of pale pink and cream roses, feathery astilbe and dainty white gypsophila, with greyish-green foliage to set the flower colours off. Laura looked so beautiful in her ivory wedding gown and I just loved the lavender blue colour she chose for her bridesmaids dresses.

The venue was the fabulous Orton Hall Hotel in Peterborough and the room looked wonderful when it was all set up - crisp white table linen and chair covers with cream sashes and gorgeous candelabra centrepieces to create maximum impact!