Great British Bash, Fiona Winn shares with us her love of decorating wedding venues and her passion for using silk flowers. Read on to find out where Fiona gets her inspiration from to create the most beautiful dream weddings.
The Interview
| You first started out in Interior Design, what made you change from decorating houses to planning and decorating peoples wedding? |
I immediately fell in love with the wonderful fairytale feeling and creative freedom I have decorating weddings! As our work is for the big day only, there’s the joy that whatever we create doesn’t have to be practical or long lasting, in the way that designing houses does! The moment came when I was asked to decorate a family wedding and couldn’t find what I was looking for, in the colours or style that I wanted! I ended up buying the materials and making everything myself, so they all coordinated, much in the same way I’d been used to decorating houses! Instead of matching the sofa to the lamps and curtains, I created a theme with everything from bunting to flower arrangements, so it all flowed together. It was a great success and we got our first booking. I’m so lucky to have stumbled across this marvelous vocation, as I never have that Monday morning feeling and even if it’s a been a long day, I’m still as passionate now, as I was then!
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| From the very first meeting, we always want them to feel as if we’re going to help them create the wedding of their dreams, rather than sell them products! We spend a lot of time listening to our couples, getting to know them and their individual style. We then translate that information into creating their unique look. Even though we’re hands on and very involved throughout, we want their Big Day to be a reflection of their personalities. That’s when the magic happens! |
| Your designs are absolutely beautiful and we love what you do, where do you get you inspiration from? |
| Thank you so much, it’s always fantastic to hear that from our fellow professionals! Inspiration comes from many sources and it sometimes feels as if the theme has chosen us, rather than the other way around! Although we look at current trends, if we think an idea is so great that we just have to go with it, we’ll create our own trend! It’s often the idea that keeps me awake in the middle of the night, the one that develops and is never far from my mind! Marrakesh was such and amazing, rich source of ideas and the photo shoot generated a lot of interest and bookings from clients who told us they wouldn’t have dreamt of using such vibrant colours for their Big Day, until they saw it done! |
| What advice would you give other people? |
| Focus less on trying to please everyone and every venue & more on developing your own unique style! |
| What do you love about Country Baskets? |
| Your products are just brilliant to work with, we love browsing the aisles in store to see what’s new, especially when the Seasons change and pumpkins make way for holly! We get inspired by the showroom at Gateshead and are always made to feel welcome by your amazing staff! |
P.S I’m absolutely passionate about silk flowers - love working with them and all of their possibilities!
Fresh flowers don’t allow me the same creative freedom to do the bigger architectural installations that are our forte. I also love to break down the perceptions people sometimes have about silk flowers, looking fake of being very static looking. The biggest thrill for me are moments when, for example a top photographer said, “will these flowers survive for photo’s until this afternoon, as its so hot in here?” ... Yes funnily enough, I think they just might! |
If you would like to view more beautiful photographs and find out more about Great British Bash click here.
Thank you Fiona for chatting with us, we can't wait to see more pictures of your gorgeous weddings shoot
