Tag: Floral

Heuchera Magic

August 29, 2019

fcp_zita-elze-flower-academy_july19-77_wm-684x1024

When you get a call from renowned florist Zita Elze for a commission, you know it will be for something pretty special. Zita has a unique floral embroidery style that is delicate and ethereal and unique to her. Undoubtedly one of the most talented floral artists in the world, Zita’s original vision and creative concepts know no bounds. For this reason, she attracts so many students from all over the world who consider themselves lucky to learn from this floral maestra.

We’ve worked with Zita in the past and this time she wanted a simple cake adorned with Heuchera leaves as well as matching cupcakes.

Bred for heat and humidity tolerance, Heuchera or Autumn Leaves is a particularly interesting variety of Coral Bells, and its foliage of lobed, rounded leaves changes colour throughout the seasons. In spring, the mid-sized leaves emerge red, change to taupe in summer, then deepen to ruby red in fall.

The CAKE

We created a four tier white luxury wedding cake with a green watercolour effect flecked with gold leaf. Creating the sugar leaves was pretty special as the sheer diversity of the leaf colours gives room for many possibilities.

Once the green leaves were cut and veined, we used shades of red, burgundy, plum, foliage green and even orange to paint and dust the sugar foliage.

We arranged the sugar leaves on the cake in a cascade and softened the look with some hand made tendrils. The result was a luxury wedding cake stunning in it’s simplicity!

With thanks to Fiona Caroline Photography for the images.

Van Gogh’s Lucid Dreams

August 26, 2019

THE CONCEPT

The idea for this Van Gogh’s lucid dreams shoot came to me during a chat with Joanne Fleming, one of the most talented couturiers I know. I love, love doing styled shoots. It’s one of the best ways to test out luxury wedding cake ideas and concepts, build a portfolio and show clients your style.

To me, Vincent van Gogh is unmistakably one of the best known painters in the world. A pioneer of modernism, this master of colour and innovator produced an impeccable oeuvre which continues to inspire many artists today.

As a young painter in Holland, he had loved yellow and used it liberally in his early paintings.

In honour of the major exhibition at the Tate which brings together his dedication and thoughtful art, I came up with the concept of a happy, joyful styled shoot based on Van Gogh’s love of yellow and blue.

THE VENUE

Number 10 and No. 11 Carlton House Terrace currently houses the British Academy. The premises built in 1831 to designs by John Nash, is steeped in history. It was previously occupied by four-times Prime Minister William Gladstone, and was a First World War Hospital for Wounded Officers.

The atrium with its very high ceilings and beautiful light was the perfect setting for this shoot. Whilst the white alcove with the yellow gold baroque detailing provided exquisite framing for a number of the shots, we took the presence of the modern art paintings on the walls in the shoot colours as a sign that our Van Gogh’s lucid dreams shoot would be best presented at the venue!

DECOR AND DETAILS

For this shoot, we tried to capture in 3D form, the textures and vivid tones found in several Van Gogh’s paintings including Cafe Terrace at Night, Irises, Chair, Girl in White and of course Starry Night. We also referenced the fact that he loved a tipple or two and his pipe. The tablescape created by Wild About featured their signature tall and elegant floral design. The outstanding overhanging flower canopy ran across the length of the table and featured different hues of yellow flowers from the deepest ochre VanGogh was famous for, to the palest and creamiest yellow. The flowers used included sunflowers, roses, oncidium dancing lady orchids, cymbidium orchids, Craspedia, Fritillaria, tulips as well as assorted greenery.

The texture and tone theme continued with WildAbout using texturised vases some in glass, crackle glaze and velvet, in different hues of blue, including midnight blue, navy, teal and cerulean. The vases housed clever groupings of more gorgeous yellow flowers. The gold candlesticks were topped with candles in royal blue and cornflower blue.

Each place setting featured ornate gold charger plates which were topped with yellow plates sourced from Italy and hand carved sunflower ceramic plates. The charger plates, etched gold rimmed crystal and gold cutlery were from Classic Crockery.

Ananya Cards, created beautiful deep blue stationery edged in gold which featured a specially created monogram and the most elegant calligraphy. The menus were placed on mini easels, as a nod to the artist. The table linen was from Just 4 Linen and gold edged yellow velvet chairs completed the look.

WildAbout also created three bouquets for the shoot. Two were yellow and the third made up entirely of Irises.

THE DRESSES

Reminiscent of Van Gogh’s Girl in White, for the first look, our model wore a high waisted skirt with boned foundation and deep pockets made in heavy ivory French linen and paired with a silk chiffon and swiss-dot tulle peasant bodice for an informal bridal look. The skirt embellished with a pair of Victorian embroidered sunflowers from Joanne’s collection of vintage trims, and the luxuriously ruffled sleeve cuffs were made from lengths of unused old stock antique lace.

The look was finished with a pair of Harriet Wilde’s classic block heel ‘Lana’ shoes in bridal ivory, and the hat from Jo’s personal collection which is trimmed with the same Swiss-dot tulle as the blouse.

For the second look Jo wanted to conjure those iconic VanGogh paintings of yellow ochre wheat fields and Provençal sunflowers. The corset waist skirt was constructed in slubby silk tussah for a homespun rustic look, and embroidered with knee high stalks and ears of wheat. The high ruffle-necked blouse was made from tulle embroidered with little sunflowers that have all been hand tinted in shades of golden yellow and burnt sienna. Again, Jo used a length of antique Victorian lace, hand painted to match, for the collar and cuffs, to provide that connection to the past.

A wonderful flower trimmed yellow straw hat by inspirational milliners Lomax and Skinner references the straw hats VanGogh depicted in several of his paintings.

The shoes are a pair of Kurt Geiger ‘Daisy’ linen platform sandals, with the daisies converted to sunflowers with the help of silk paints!

For the third look, Jo created a more sophisticated look inspired by that glorious yellow ochre shade that glows from so many of Vincent’s paintings of the South of France. Supple shimmering silk satin skims and flows around the body, catching and reflecting the light. A huge stylised sunflower is the only embellishment on this gown, which is paired with Harriet Wilde’s fabulous ‘Arabella’ shoes in midnight blue velvet….. the combination of golden yellow and rich blue evoking the jewel tones of ‘Starry Night over the Rhone’ and ‘Café Terrace at Night’. A Lomax and Skinner curled feather headdress adds a little Moulin Rouge showgirl glamour to the look.

BEAUTY

The hair and make up for this shoot was by the amazing duo of Sylwia Kunysz and Stacey Goodwin. For the first Girl in White look, we used a soft and natural palette on the face, the hair in a soft tousled up do with some loose tendrils framing the face, working with the models own natural curls to create a relaxed look. It was good way to pay homage to the painting, giving it a modern twist. For the second look, the hair was soft and loose, the team creating a 30s inspired look with bold lip to complement the gorgeous silk ochre dress.

THE CAKES

For this shoot, I created four luxury wedding cakes, cupcakes, cookies and mini chocolate magnums. The main cake was a 7 tiered Van Gogh mottled deep blue baroque confection. The baroque detailing gave the cake grandeur and the yellow sugar flowers adorning the cake were in different shades of yellow. The handcrafted sugar flowers included tulips, roses, dahlias, peonies and gold leaves. The second cake was a blue gravity defying split cake with hundreds of yellow sugar flowers seemingly cascading out of the centre. This cake was created to reflect the prolific art that poured out of Van Gogh despite the darkness that often over took him. The other cakes were distressed and decorated with bas relief, gold leaf, wafer paper and crackled effect and symbolised the fact that art is often never perfect!

PHOTOGRAPHY

We were honoured to have one of the most sought after luxury fine art photographers in the UK, Roberta Facchini capture this shoot in all its glory. We can all agree that she has succeeded in showcasing the essence of Van Gogh’s Lucid Dreams.

_{SUPPLIER CREDITS}

_VENUE

_{10-11 Carlton House Terrace SW1 5AH htttps://}_10-11cht.com_@10-11cht

_{CONCEPT, PLANNING, STYLING AND CAKES}

_{Elizabeth’s Cake Emporium}_{https://www.elizabethscakeemporium.com}

_{@elizabethscakeeemporium}

_{FLOWERS AND FLORAL STYLING}

_WildAbout_{https://www.wildabout.co.uk/}_{@wildaboutflower}

_{DRESSES AND BRIDAL STYLING}

_{Joanne Fleming}_{https://joanneflemingdesign.com/}_{@joflemingdesign}

_PHOTOGRAPHER

_{Roberta Facchini}_{https://www.robertafacchini.com/}_{@Roberta Facchini}

_{HAIR and MAKE UP}

_{Sylwia Kunysz}_{http://www.sylwiamakeup.co.uk/}_{@sylwiakunyszmua}

_{Stacie Goodwin}_{www.staciegoodwinhairdressing.co.uk}_{@staciegoodwinhairdressing}

_STATIONERY

_{Ananya Cards}_{https://www.ananyacards.com/}_@ananyacards

_{CHARGERS, CUTLERY AND CRYSTAL}

_{Classic Crockery}_{https://www.classiccrockery.co.uk/}_{@classiccrockery}

_RINGS

_{The Exquisite Collection}_{http://www.theexquisitecollection.co.uk/}_{@theexquisitecollection}

_SHOES

_{Harriet Wilde}_{https://www.harrietwilde.com/}_{@harrietwildeshoes}

_{Kurt Geiger}_{https://www.kurtgeiger.com/}_@kurtgeiger

_HATS

_{Lomax and Skinner Bespoke Millinery}_{https://www.lomaxandskinner.co.uk/}_{@lomaxandskinner}

Introducing Luxury Wedding Planner Lindy Dowling

June 27, 2019

On today’s blog post, I thought I’d switch things up a bit and have a guest blog post. In our 13 years of making cakes we have worked with many amazing wedding planners. Those that stand out to us are those that put their clients at the centre of all they do and treat their suppliers with kindness and dignity.

Lindy Dowling is an awesome luxury event planner we’ve had the pleasure of working with a number of times and every time has always been a delight! She attracts clients from all walks of life, as she is always calm, lovely and unflappable. She tells us a little about herself and her plans for the future.

Tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Lindy, I’ve been planning weddings and events for a very long time now, predominantly covering London, The Home Counties and The Cotswolds. I have experience with all budgets and pretty much every wedding you can imagine over the years and I have loved being a part of each one.

I’m a calm, confident, positive person. I take pride in the experience I have and love nothing more than planning new events, meeting new clients and developing long lasting relationships along the way.

How did you get into wedding planning?

I had my own floristry business for a short while, after taking a break from my City job of 10+ years. Luckily I met a wonderful planner at a wedding fayre, who I then began working alongside. She gave me the motivation to set up my own business. I’ve always been incredibly organized and reliable as well as being very passionate about weddings, so it felt like a natural progression for me to break into the wedding planning industry.

What is a typical day like for you?

First tea! I start my day by checking emails, my to-do lists for the weddings I’m currently working on, followed by calls or meetings with my lovely clients and suppliers alike. You won’t find me on social media much. I’m quite old school in that respect and humble with my work. Predominantly my day is spent liaising with suppliers and working on my client’s schedules and budget sheets – very glamorous!

Your most favourite wedding to date?

I come away from every wedding thinking it’s my new favourite. I’ve been incredibly lucky to plan many glitzy, glamorous and high profile weddings over the years. However, some of my most memorable weddings have been those with a simple ceremony at a London Town Hall, followed by a classy, elegant reception. I love having the ceremony in a separate location away from the reception – it allows for the wow factor when guests arrive full of anticipation (and a glass of bubbly) at the reception.

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Five tips for couples looking to get married;

1. Set a budget and aim to stick to this throughout the planning process. If you don’t have a clear budget set, it’s too easy to be dazzled and before you know it your costs are spiralling out of control.

2. Be realistic about guest numbers and invite those family and friends who are important to you – not just because you feel under pressure to have them there. It’s your day after all.

3. It’s never too early to start work on your table plan. Most of my clients find this the most stressful part, but it doesn’t need to be if you begin this way ahead of time.

4. Book your Photographer asap! The best photographers get booked up super fast, so it’s always key to book at the very beginning of your wedding planning journey. I always say ‘After the big day has been and gone, you’re left with wonderful memories, a wedding ring and your photos’. Don’t scrimp on the photographer as it’ll end up being so much more important as years go by. I still look at my Grandparent’s wedding album now – it’s something I’ll treasure forever now they’re gone.

5. Take time out to enjoy the planning process. Book a weekend away before your big day – just the two of you and relax, leave the plans at home and enjoy each other’s company.

What lessons have you learned along the way?

Gosh, I could write a book on my experiences and the lessons I have learnt throughout my time as a wedding planner! That’s why I value my experience so highly. I get countless emails each day from people wishing they were a wedding planner, regarding the profession as being uber glamorous with days spent sampling cakes and wine. In reality it is extremely hard work and much more labour intensive on the day than you would imagine. Most wedding planners will tell you the day after a successful wedding you feel like you’ve been hit by a bus – but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Name your top 5 venues and what venue would be your dream venue to work with?

The Wallace Collection, The Savile Club, Claridge’s, Aynhoe Park and Petersham Nurseries. I don’t really have a dream venue in mind which I’d like to work with, as for me it’s more about finding my dream client. I’ve been extremely lucky over the years to have worked for so many lovely clients, whom have become friends.

What has been the biggest wedding catastrophe you successfully averted?

One of my clients bridesmaids left her dress in a taxi on the morning of the wedding. After numerous calls, I was able to track down the driver whom I arranged to meet to collect the dress. Luckily the bride was none the wiser! I also remember fixing a damaged wedding cake alongside a wonderful florist many years back now. Again, my clients had no idea and the cake looked great!

What are we to expect from you in the future?

I don’t have any grand plans to expand or evolve. My future plans are to continue to create wonderful, memorable, timeless events for my clients. After all – it’s always about them for me.

For incredible wedding inspiration and to contact Lindy, visit her website at https://www.lindydowling.co.uk/

Karen Tran Royal Floral Masterclass

December 17, 2018

Karen Tran Royal Gala Dinner at the Lanesborough in London

In a few weeks all eyes will be on the UK as we celebrate the royal wedding between Prince Harry and Miss Meghan Markle. After the engagement was announced, I was approached by world renowned flower guru and icon Karen Tran who wanted me to work with her on bringing a rather special floral masterclass to London. I asked event planner extraordinaire, Jane Riddell of Planned for Perfection to work with me on this project. Along side the very talented, supportive and generous Leanne Roberts-Hewitt of WildAbout, we set about planning the the most anticipated royal inspired gala in the events industry calendar.

From the onset, my preferred venue for the royal inspired floral masterclass was The Lanesborough in Hyde Park, London. The former St George’s Hospital was originally opened in 1733 and now has a reputation of being one of the best hotels in London. It has a long standing association with the royal family with the late Princess Diana often taking Prince William and Prince Harry there for tea and the Great Hall of the hotel actually has an entrance that is only accessible to Her Majesty the Queen. To top things off, the hotel actually has an aptly named Royal Suite (the most expensive in London) that overlooks Buckingham Palace Gardens!

The three day royal wedding inspired floral masterclass was attended by students from all over the world and they alongside Karen, her team and WildAbout delivered a grand wedding breakfast fit for the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Miss Meghan Markle. The outcome was a perfect blend of outstanding American floral design in a typically English regency style setting.

The floral filled gala was a breathtakingly beautiful kaleidoscope of pastels, whites and golds.

Karen transformed the wedgwood blue Belgravia room designed by the late Albert Pinto into a floral wonderland featuring the most dramatic floral tunnel and tablescape laden with exquisite blooms supplied by Piet Van Kampen of G Fresh. She used a combination of blush and peach roses, white hydrangeas, seasonal tulips in white and pinks, hyacinths, phaelanopsis and cymbidium orchids to create her signature tall cascading table arrangements. In between the tall arrangements were baroque gold candlelabras and along the length of the tables were low groupings of flowers in beautiful hand cut vases and gold candlesticks.

The floral tunnel and archway of beauty that framed the entrance to the Belravia room stood at an impressive 12 feet tall and 14 feet wide and was a sight to behold. Decorated with a flower carpet made up of thousands of roses, hydrangeas and orchids, it featured a tulip canopy and was topped off by magnificent branches of cherry blossom.

In the centre of the room the focal point was the impressive 6 foot cake in wedgwood blue and peach designed by us at Elizabeth’s Cake Emporium. Inspired by the ceiling of the Belgravia room, it featured hand painted clouds, the signature mouldings of the baroque design of the ceiling, hand made peach and pink sugar roses, piped scroll work and a hand painted royal crest. The cake sat on table completely covered with a ‘cloth’ of peach and pink roses.

The evening began with guests being given a red carpet welcome by the famous Lanesborough butlers. They enjoyed a cocktail reception in the beautiful Great Hall whose grand staircase had been decorated with thousands of blooms.

The guests included a mix of the best event planners and notable florists, editors of bridal magazines, bloggers, influencers and fashion designers to royalty. They sipped on specially created floral inspired cocktails, the finest Champagne and canapes from the Michelin starred kitchen of the hotel. Niche London String Quartet and magician Richard Parsons entertained the guests.

After the cocktail hour guests were ushered in to the dinning room which had been transformed into a floral wonderland. They all enthusiastically applauded the very regal Karen as she made her entrance into the room. The guests were welcomed by Head of Events, Antoinette Lettieri who had worked incredibly hard in bringing the event to The Lanesborough.

For the first course, guests were delighted with scallop carpaccio and roasted beetroot tartare served with berries and pomegranate yoghurt. The gasp inducing main course was a very delicious stone bass baked in globe artichoke with samphire seaweed and lemon butter and crunchy green asparagus parcel with an incredible burratina. For dessert, the pastry chef created the glossiest chocolate pudding with a perfect mirror glaze layered with the lightest chocolate cream, cocoa streusel and chocolate sponge; a perfect blend of texture and smoothness.

The food and drink was served on never seen before charger plates, supplied by Whitehouse Crockery, who also provided the china, crystal and gold flatware. The tables were dressed with linen from Over The Top Linen Hire and Great Hire provided the white and caramel CKC chairs. The opulent gold foil stamped menus and place cards in wedgwood blue were by Grosvenor Stationery Company who also made the invitations and thank you cards.

In between the main course and dessert, guests were entertained by a duo of opera singers who performed a few arias including the flower duet by Lakme.

Jane of Planned for perfection who meticulously planned the event, said “Elizabeth has been the driving force behind bringing Karen’s wonderful royal master class to London. Thank you Elizabeth for asking Planned for Perfection to join the collaboration and to choreograph this evening’s event. Karen thank you for your inspirational artistic talent. A fabulous team has worked so incredibly hard to bring everything together culminating in this wonderful environment.

Congratulations to you all, especially to Leanne of WildAbout, her team and masterclass students who have worked tirelessly with Karen to create these exquisite surroundings”

The event was captured in all its glory by fine art wedding photographer Roberta Facchini and Vogue Wedding Films. We can all agree that this night of floral celebration full of awe inspiring beauty produced by the queen of florals, Karen Tran was indeed perfect for the royal wedding.

SUPPLIER CREDITS

Venue: The Lanesborough, London – www.oetkercollection.com/destinations/the-lanesborough
Wedding & Event Planner: Planned for Perfection – www.plannedforperfection.co.uk
Cake: Elizabeths Cake Emporuim – www.elizabethscakeemporium.com
Support Florist: Wild About – www.wildabout.co.uk
Stationery: The Grosvenor Stationery Company – www.grosvenorstationerycompany.com
Photographer: Roberta Facchini – www.robertafacchini.com
Videographer: Vogue Wedding Films – www.vogueweddingfilms.co.uk
Hair /Make up: Diana McDonald – www.dmwmakeup.co.uk
Entertainment: Niche Quartet – www.nichelondonquartet.com
Candles: Wick and Tallow – www.wickandtallow.com
Crockery, Cutlery & Glassware: www.eventcrockeryhire.co.uk
Magician: Gloucestershire Magician – www.gloucestershiremagician.co.uk
Opera singers: Fiona Haynes & Atinuke Koyejo
Master of Ceremonies: Lanesborough Butler
Chair Hire: Great Hire – www.greathire.com/uk (Chandelle Chairs – Gold / Latte)
Linen: OTT rentals (Libby) – http://www.overthetoprentals.co.uk
Illustrator: Poppy the Illustrator – www.poppywaddilove.com
Karen Tran’s Dress – The Wedding Club www.thewedding-club.co.uk
Flower Supplier – Piet Van Kampen G Fresh

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