Posts Tagged ‘euphoric flowers’

Now We are Six

March 2, 2011

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

Its true, we are!

We don’t know where the time has gone but, last week Euphoric Flowers turned six. Traditionally a 6th anniversary is either iron or sugar. Last year we had a party, so that was the sugar taken care of, but what about about the iron? Perhaps it should be a will of iron, which you need to stay in business these days. We’ve always said we’d like to write a book (although we’d never manage to get it published because the title would be too rude)! We should make a list though of everything we’ve learnt over the last six years. It would be a pretty long list too, with what we wanted to achieve, what we actually achieved and what fell by the wayside. When we started, we had a studio that was at the far end of a long corridor with no lights. On dark winter mornings we had to use a torch to find the key hole! We couldn’t afford to heat the space, which was too drafty anyway and we almost had kittens on the day that someone asked us to attach a jpeg to an email!!

Green doesn’t even begin to describe how innocent we were in terms of business, but we never doubted our ability. Confidence grew with experience and being asked to do a wedding in Spain was an early triumph. For future reference, a flexi bucket will fit into a suitcase if you aren’t sure of your water supply abroad! One of the hardest things to achieve when you start a business is an identity. If we’d opened a shop, instead of a studio we would have been instantly known. It could have been the size of a cupboard, but at least people would have seen us. Instead, we had drafty studio at the end of a dark corridor and no one knew we existed.

We desperately wanted some publicity from magazines, but as newbies we had to beg and scratch at editors’ doors for a few crumbs. We’d drive miles to inaccessible parts of North London to deliver flowers to photographers’ studios, only to find that the shots were never used. The words “we may put you on our reserve list” uttered by one wedding planner will stay with us forever. Thankfully, things have moved on since then and we’ve made some great friendships and built excellent relationships with some of the finest planners and venues in the business.

We seem to spend a lot of time driving down the A3 or up the M40 for many of our weddings and our studio is no longer a dingy ice box, but a beautiful light filled space where we are proud to meet clients. If you were to ask us what we would do differently in hindsight it would be, say no to paid advertising. Unless you are Tesco and can afford to spend £105 million a year, don’t do it; the costs are just too great for a small business to bear.

What does work though is going out and talking to people. We do a lot of that and its better than sending blanket emails. If people are rude then you probably wouldn’t want to do business with them anyway, but if you show a passion and enthusiasm for what you do, then the rewards will come in time and your reputation will grow. I’ll never forget the day when a magazine editor actually hailed me by name at a wedding show; I knew we’d arrived! Now WE get asked to write articles and do photo shoots and, have the wonders of blog and twitter, so now the world is our shop window. We share our news with our followers and we love the fact that our work can be seen so instantly.

So, what of the future? Well we have our plans and we know where we want to go, but right now some more cake would be nice!

Euphoric’s 5th Birthday Party

March 26, 2010

Friday, March 26th, 2010

It’s official, we are five!! So, what better to celebrate than with a party? Last week we did just that when we invited friends and colleagues who have supported us so much over the last five years, to join us for a celebration at our studio. Clients, Wedding Planners, Photographers, luminaries from the world of Hair, Make-Up and PR and those closest to us enjoyed a wonderful evening of kir royale, canapes and a lot of laughing, and all by candle light!

Our good friend Lloyd Dobbie was on hand to capture the evening with his lovely images and it was great to see our work space transformed from its usual appearance in to something magical for the evening. A chance for us to have fun and feel proud of what we’ve acheived over the last five years. The celebratory cup cakes went down a treat and, whilst everyone was singing Happy Birthday to us, we felt a sense of enormous pride at having lasted this long, with so much more to come. Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate what has been our pride and joy for the last five years. XX

Romantic Tulip Wedding

February 24, 2010

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Overseen by an angel, what could be more lovely on a cold winter day than tulips? For Kate and Wills’ wedding on Saturday, rich red “Pallade” tulips accented with petrol blue viburnum berries set the tone for their beautiful wedding at Hampton Court House. Just a stone’s throw from the palace and overlooking Bushey Park, this graceful 18th century venue was the setting for the civil ceremony and reception.

Kate and Will exchanged their vows beneath the magnificent ceiling in the entrance hall, with log fires and candlelight adding to the romantic atmosphere before their reception in the ballroom of this historic mansion.

A classical urn of tulips, birch and ivy trails gave a rustic elegance beside an antique mirror.

For dinner nature inspired the informal look of the tables, with vibrant tulips appearing to grow from mossy rings and complementing the chairs green velvet seat pads perfectly. Guests with a sweet tooth were treated to two wedding cakes, with a very popular “cheese” cake adding the finishing touch.

Spring at The Designer Wedding Show

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Spring came to Battersea Park a couple of weeks ago, when we were asked by Waddesdon Manor to supply the flowers for their stand at The Designer Wedding Show. Following on from the success of last year’s show, this time we couldn’t resist using gorgeous french tulips in shades of pink, cream and apricot which were the perfect antidote to the chilly weather outside.

Many thanks to wedding photographer Lloyd Dobbie for allowing us to use these pictures.

Wedding Flowers Magazine

November 12, 2009

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

Last year we featured the beautiful autumnal wedding of Noor and Alan on the blog. We are delighted to announce that it has now been featured in the latest edition of Wedding Flowers Magazine. Enjoy!

Bride Ideas and Frock-Ups

October 28, 2009

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

A couple of weeks ago, we were asked to provide the flowers for a book launch. Not just any old book launch, but Bride Ideas and Frock-Ups. This fabulous new book by Sim Cannetty Clarke, Susannah Frieze and Amanda Lockhart is packed with the most stunning wedding photography, handy hints and fascinating bridal lore. Held at Westbourne Grove Church in Notting Hill, the party was a glamorous and fun filled evening attended by wedding and event planners including, Kathryn Lloyd, Amanda Sherlock and Lester Gethings. Society It girl, Tara Palmer Tomkinson, who wrote the forward to the book mingled with guests and brides featured in the book graced the event in their wedding gowns. One of our favourite quotes from the book. “Marry rich. Buy him a pacemaker. Then stand behind him and say Boo!” Joan Rivers.

Vintage Wedding Flowers

September 9, 2009

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

Last weekend we ventured East for the wedding of Katherine and Elliott. The wedding ceremony was held at the Chapel of St Peter Ad Vincula within the walls of the Tower of London, followed by a reception at one of London’s hidden gems, Wiltons Music Hall. The only surviving grand victorian music hall in the world, Wiltons is on the list of the most endangered buildings in the country and is literally crumbling away. So we were delighted to be able to work at this most historic of venues. Gorgeous lollipop bay trees flanked the main stairs which were garlanded with ivy trails and fairy lights and this theme continued into the main auditorium creating a wonderful twinkly atmosphere.In keeping with the surroundings, the wedding flowers had a distinctly vintage feel, with distressed terracotta pots, scented herbs and soft antique pink roses decorating the tables downstairs. Lavish urns filled with chocolate brown cotinus, pink larkspur, aromatic waxflower, roses and trailing ivy, were placed in the gallery upstairs for the drinks reception. Once again, our thanks go out to Lester Gethings from Number 10 Wedding Design & Management who worked tirelessly throughout the day to help us create such a memorable event. The bride’s father is a patron of Wiltons, and I am sure we are not alone in wanting to promote and save this wonderful building for all to enjoy.

Rose and Herb Wedding Flowers

August 28, 2009

Friday, August 28th, 2009

There seems to be a real demand for garden roses this year, so we were delighted when Sally and Dominic asked us to supply their wedding flowers last week at Stoke Place in Buckinghamshire. This beautiful georgian venue was hired exclusively for the weekend, with Sally and Dominic wanting a relaxed house party atmosphere for the event. Garden roses in soft pastel colours, with hydrangeas and herbs in galvanised pots made perfect table arangements.A towering macaroon wedding cake, in flavours of rose and pistachio from Laduree added sophisticated glamour.Sally carried a trailing bouquet of ice cream coloured roses, decorated with pearls and diamante, and the whole day was co-ordinated by Kelly Chandler from The Bespoke Wedding Company.

Scented Summer Wedding

August 11, 2009

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

We wanted to share with you all a few of the pictures that our good friend, photographer Lloyd Dobbie took at the recent wedding of Rachel and Mark. Gloriously scented David Austin roses were the order of the day for this very romantic occasion, where both the church in Chiswick and the reception venue of Great Fosters near Windsor were a rose lovers paradise!The wonderfully atmospheric tithe barn was filled with scent and candlelight and the whole day was beautifully co-ordinated by wedding planner Kelly Chandler of The Bespoke Wedding Company. We don’t have all the pictures yet, but we’ll keep you posted as soon as we do!

Wedding Flowers Magazine

July 4, 2009

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

We are delighted to announce that Euphoric has been featured not just once, but twice in the latest issue of Wedding Flowers Magazine. The beautiful summer wedding of Julie and Dan, which took place last May and, a two page spread in the flower gallery. Do take a look and enjoy!