Should a bride follow trends when it comes to choosing her wedding flowers?
Hiding in the City Flowers was launched in London in 2013 by Sarah Loughrey-Jennings. They create floral designs for weddings, events and other occasions. Their signature wedding style is relaxed and unstructured florals that are perfect for ultra-cool brides. We asked Sarah if brides should follow trends when it comes to choosing her wedding flowers.
Yes. (Yes and yes again). “I create designs that people feel proud to hold because they are unique, beautiful and feel current and relevant to their style – it’s what Hiding in the City Flowers is all about,” says the owner Sarah Loughrey-Jennings. I believe that people always have, and always will be led by trends. The word ‘trend’ can be considered as faddy, but please bare with me as to why I think you should give trends a nod on your W-day. Instagram influencers that have thousands of followers and the powerhouses that are Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle are so successful because people love keeping up to date with current fashions and emerging styles. Fess up and be honest, we all care about what we look like to some degree, you can only say no if you do not own a single mirror! (If you don’t own a mirror then you win, you can stop reading and just get boring flowersJ).
From watching celebrities on catwalks to clocking the new terrarium hanging in neighbouring conservatories, we are constantly receptive to the changing fashions that are relevant to our personal environments around us. This sub- conscious process of being influenced by what’s ‘in vogue’ is no different while you’re planning your wedding – you’ll come across (and be swayed by) a truck-load of different trends, themes and ideas. That’s why at Hiding in the City Flowers we actually welcome couples spamming us with images and ideas as the process evolves, right up to the week before the wedding day. It doesn’t seem fair for us to not accept any changes to your design because as you spend more time thinking about what you want, your vision will grow and change.
So, your wedding day, one of the best and biggest celebrations you’re going to embark on, should definitely be an expression of who you are as a person and who you both are together as a couple. You may feel drawn to the traditional domes of white roses tightly packed and there’s nothing wrong with that, but at Hiding in the City Flowers we try to show you something a little different to the norm – certain varieties of buds or styles that you may never have even seen before! Have some fun and experiment with the looks you like from magazines, blogs and Pinterest. By taking inspiration from all sorts of current fashions and styles around you, you’ll actually create your own unique style.
Over the years we’ve seen the emergence of themed weddings, less than 20 years ago, a wedding theme only stretched as far as a colour scheme and a touch of ribbon. Now you can have everything from Hawaiian luau extravaganza, right through to a whimsical garden themed day. If the rest of your wedding is going to be bursting at the seams with personality, I think it’s really important for your flowers not to let you down. The power of florals is incredible and displayed correctly they can bring a whole room to life – so for me, missing the opportunity to go to town with trends with your flowers would be a real shame.
I make no qualms in saying that weddings are an expensive business and flowers are no exception. Their price before we even touch them is high – plus they are considered luxury items and with that status, comes a price tag (sorry in advance to your wedding budget spreadsheet!). The thing is, you’re probably going to pay the same sort of price for a typical, standardised bouquet, so why not push the boat out and go for something different, that’s personal to you? The decision sounds like a no-brainer, right? If you’re going to spend all of that money, it may as well be on flowers that you can be proud of, your guests will steal at the end of the night and most importantly, ones that look incredible in your wedding shots.
I can remember needing to order flowers for my friend in a tiny town and called up the local florist, I was a bit nervous as their website was quite traditional, but I explained what I loved and the florist went above and beyond to create a more modern-looking bouquet because she loved doing something different. Similarly, I absolutely relish a challenge and also the opportunity of being able to bounce around ideas with my open-minded clients. I entered into floristry to do something creative that I love each and every day and when brides come to me with fresh ideas and contemporary designs it literally (yes literally) fills my heart. Go wild and think outside the box.
Sarah Loughrey-Jennings, owner of Hiding in the City Flowers
