Sunday 24th June had every store thriving with excitement with our guest florists hosting Wedding Demonstrations. There were three sittings, each producing an array of different designs using different techniques. With our stores having their own guest florist, there was creativity everywhere.

It’s a shame we can’t be in multiple places at one time. There was so much to see, it really was a brilliant day. Let’s take a look at what went on where.

Bristol – James Billington

Written by Ophelia

The seats were bustling with people eagerly awaiting an amazing demonstration and that’s what they got, plus more. James was so welcoming and engaging. Keeping the audience, and myself, captivated not only by what his hands could do, but also by his bubbly sense of humour. There was lots of laughter as well as lots to learn.

He starts by showing us his unusual talent. Asking a bride-to-be to stand, he goes on to correctly guess her height, the size of her veil, then her dress style, even the dresses details and placement, and finishing with the shoes. It was quite outstanding. Although an intriguing talent, James uses this ability to visualise his bride on the day so he can create a truly perfect bouquet. This lovely bride-to-be chose silk flowers from our store. James then went on to create a bouquet so the bride could get a visual representation of what could be achieved for her big day. This design, like the rest, was raffled off later in the day.

Going for a more grand design, James chose our gold candelabra to dress. While there are many ways you could do this; a ring at the base, a foam ring that rests on the arms or a foam ball around the central point, James chose a garland design to wrap from top to bottom. He used the new Noir netted foam garland. Not being used to the black foam, James was unsure of the need of the black colouring, however his positivity of the product grew throughout the demonstration. Inserting a mix of fresh and silk flowers and foliage he started to grow the design.

It became apparent that the use of black foam made it harder to see the foam itself and looked more like a shadow. James agreed he can see the intended potential of the foam, however maybe not for something like a table centrepiece. Unless the foam is used as a design feature, it still needs to be covered the same as the green. People are too close for the foam to go unseen or disguised as a shadow.

With a lot of the designs James liked to involve the crowd, keeping them engaged and making them feel at ease to ask questions. He would ask for help to prepare the flowers for the arrangements. A few in the crowd were budding florists so had an understanding of what they needed to do. It just kept the demonstration fresh and interesting.

Overall, not being a florist or getting married, I still found James’ demonstrations so captivating. I was over the moon when he said there were flowers left over for everyone to take! I was not the only happy person with others saying “Can’t believe someone of your stature comes to see the likes of us” and “I had a lovely day”. Thank you James, we are all very grateful for the time you gave us!

Birmingham – Laura Leong

Glasgow – Julie Pearson

Leeds – Helen Jamieson

Written by Danielle

Gracing us with her presence was the lovely Helen Jamieson. As soon I as arrived I could see the passion and creativity Helen had for creating all things beautiful. I was in awe of how quickly she could turn several flowers into a wonderful display.

When asked if Helen knew what she was going to make and how it was going to turn out her reply was “For me, having too much structure doesn’t work. I have a rough idea of how I want it to look, sometimes it works and other times its doesn’t, you just have to go with the flow”.

My favourite piece Helen made was a hand tied bouquet. Using just a mixture of fresh flowers, greenery, a polystyrene ring and wool, Helen's’ creation was unique and ever so romantic. Wool is a favourite of Helen's and she uses it in abundance, in designs where I wouldn’t even think to use it. In bouquets its softens the handle and around the polystyrene ring it adds texture. Its safe to say I am very jealous of Helen's creativity, she literally turns nothing into something beautiful.

All of Helen's designs were centered around creating something different and eye-catching. This is what kept the audience in their seats throughout all three demonstrations, they didn’t want to miss out on what was next. Helen even helped soon to be brides with their bouquets. Mixing her style and creativity with the bride’s vision and once again creating something special.

I found the demonstrations extremely interesting and I immediately wanted to fill my basket, go home and get creating as did everyone else. You could feel the inspiration filling the room. Everyone left feeling happy, motivated to get creative and with lots of new ideas to make some magnificent displays. Thank you so much Helen for your time, tips & tricks and for allowing us view your fantastic work.

High Wycombe – Dean Sharpe

Gateshead – Denis Vanwonderen

Manchester – Anthony Williams

Loughborough – Ian Baxton