Weddings Archives | Charlotte Argyrou

3 Ways to Choose Unique Wedding Gifts

Charlotte Argyrou — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 12:37:57 +0000

3 Ways to Choose Unique Wedding Gifts

If you wish to stray from the registry list

Introduction

I like to give unique wedding gifts. That’s probably no surprise. But I’m not ashamed to admit I do get a thrill logging on to a John Lewis registry list in the run up to a friend’s wedding. I file in it the same category as snooping through their “Dream House” or “Dream Wardrobe” board on Pinterest. It’s like a red velvet curtain drops to reveal their fantasies, a vision of their imagined future. Which, to a nosy one like me, is unmined treasure.

Saying that, I’ve definitely experienced a sinking feeling when presented with a registry list that is, quite frankly, dull. Probably it’s the fallout from couples living together pre-marriage, because, no, I don’t want to buy you a new kitchen bin.

I appreciate the monetary value is the same, but I want to be the one to get in first and buy the champagne flutes. There’s a cosiness to knowing that my gift is the one that will be remembered and celebrated in the good times. Not where the couple scrap the remnants of their dinner. But is it rude or selfish to go off list? Should you just throw money into the pot and be done with it, if it’s want the couple actually want?

I checked in with three wedding planner friends and together, we came up with the essential ingredients to consider when buying a meaningful or unique wedding gifts outside the lines:

1. A gift for them, not you

2. Personalisation

3. Longevity

1. It’s a gift for them, not for you

By Susie Evans, Surrey and South East Wedding Planner

Susie Evans: “A trap that I have often seen myself fall into is spending more does not always guarantee a well-received gift. Sometimes, the thought isn’t always there but we often assume that it will be well received as it cost a lot of money.”

Susie Evans: “I always suggest to think about the overall value the person is going to derive from a wedding gift over a longer time period. Think about the recipients’ personalities and creating memories and something that they would actually want. It’s ok to ask them too! Often thought of as a taboo but they will be happier to receive something they genuinely would like.”

I totally agree with Susie, and will often choose to pitch a couple of options to a friend and gauge their reaction before committing. That way, there’s still an element of surprise, but I’m safe in the knowledge I’m on the right lines. This applies outside wedding gifts too, as we all aim to be less consumerist and more mindful with our purchases. To celebrate a milestone birthday, I recently offered a family member babysitting and dinner out. It’s not ground-shatteringly exciting, but I know the value to newish parents is far greater than the cost of a meal.

2. Personalisation

By Lucy White, co-founder Wiskow & White, Italian Wedding Planners

Lucy White: “When gifting a newlywed couple, the most meaningful gifts are those that really reflect something personal to the couple. Think emotions and memories – what gift would spark that memory that takes them back to a special moment (at their wedding) or creates a new one for them in the future? Anything that awakens the senses, such as fragrance, is a great place to start.”

Here are just few ideas of things that can be personalised, either by you or outsourced to a professional. The budget span is vast here, so hopefully there’s an idea that sparks your imagination regardless of available funds.

3. Longevity

By Valentina Ring, founder The Stars Inside, UK and Destination Wedding Planner

Valentina Ring: “Many of the most meaningful wedding presents are those that can be passed on from one generation to the next, so longevity is a key element of this. I would say that’s the case more than ever now, after a year of postponed and cancelled weddings making guests want to take extra special care in their gifting.

Valentina Ring: “Keepsake gifts like this could be seasonal in nature – a joyful reminder that returns year on year – or they could be heirloom pieces that become a part of the family. Quite a few of my couples have received beautiful heirloom jewellery or perfumes from their close friends or family, and even chosen to make this a part of their wedding day, imbuing the items with memories of their own.”

Valentina Ring: “If you know the nearlyweds very well, and want to step outside of the gift-list box to give them something really special that you know they will treasure for years to come, that is always welcome! If you love the idea of gifting the couple something meaningful and long-lasting, but aren’t sure what, I always recommend speaking to their family or close friends for advice, so you can get to know what they will both love. Consider your histories together, the interests of the couple, what stage of life they are in, and what exciting milestones may be coming for them in the near future.”

Valentina Ring: “If pearls and homeware isn’t your style, then make the gift your own: is there something you could create for them? One of my brides received a gorgeous hand-decorated photo album including original photographs of both the bride and groom growing up in different parts of the world, with family members that had passed away, and I know just how much this meant to them – and always will. And if you know the couple are more into moments than they are into things, then why not think about gifting them long-lasting experiences: maybe contributing to hiring that videographer they aren’t sure they can afford, send them a book of all your favourite recipes, or help them with their next big DIY project for their new home. The key to unique wedding gifts that couples are likely to appreciate and remember for years to come is to choose with care, in a heartfelt way, from you, to them.”

Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service by Charlotte Argyrou

Conclusion

When I polled by Instagram community, there was an interesting mix of people who stick to the list versus those who are happy to venture into the unknown and choose unique wedding gifts of their own. DMs and comments suggested that if the newlyweds are colleagues or extended family, you are content to buy from the registry. Afterall, it’s simple, quick and a safe decision that you know will be appreciated.

But if the wedding couple are very close friends and family, you’d rather go off list and aren’t so keen to contribute money to a fund:

I’ve done all three – registry list, cash donation, gone off piste – depending on the relationship. Cash always leaves me cold, but with a gentle shoulder shrug I accept it’s the couple’s choice. If I am sticking to the list, I set a calandar reminder for the morning the list opens, so I can swoop in a get to the goodies. A little excessive perhaps, but the best gifts always feel great for the gift-giver, as well as the recipient.

For those diving into the unknown, I hope these tips from Susie, Lucy, Valentina and I are helpful. I’m always on the Insta DMs to have a good old chat about wedding gifting, and you can find my national-award winning Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service details over here.

Find Out More

Susie Evans, Surrey and South East England | Website | Instagram

Wiskow & White, Italian Weddings, UK & Italian-based | Website | Instagram

The Stars Inside, UK & Destination | Website | Instagram

love Charlotte

Weave in and out of my illustration business, inspirations and latest collaborations. Join me on instagram, pinterest and facebook.

The post 3 Ways to Choose Unique Wedding Gifts appeared first on Charlotte Argyrou.

2022 Floral Trends Report

Charlotte Argyrou — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 07:18:00 +0000

2022 Floral Trends

Introduction

Where We Were, Where We Are Now

Let’s kick off the 2022 Floral Trends Report by looking back at its predecessor. My 2021 report began with an unsettling disclaimer by way of introduction. To save you searching, here’s a reminder of where we were one year ago:

Written November 2020: At the time of this post’s publication, weddings are not permitted in England. The only exception is so-called “deathbed weddings” – a heartbreaking and tragic phrase I’d never heard until verifying the current standing on the official government website. If one partner is dying, weddings of up to six people are allowed. For the sake of talking about flowers in the context of weddings here, we are going to optimistically write as though small weddings will go ahead in 2021.

Charlotte Argyrou, Flower Blogger and Botanical Illustrator, Nov 2020

I say “unsettling” for two reasons. Firstly, oooooooph, does anyone else feel sick to the stomach to be reminded of the phrase deathbed weddings? Yet in the same exhalation, feel a deep rising, swelling wave of gratitude that we are no longer stood in the desperate place?

But secondly, I hear a nervousness in my tone of writing, so fearful of criticism. Scared I’d be slammed for insensitivity, for boldly and blindly soldiering on chitchatting about flowers when people were experiencing grief and despair in the strangles of Covid-19. For me, it articulates the key narrative thread that will run through this report and a critical transition from last year through this year and beyond. We’ll call it Being Human.

Welcome to my Contributing Editors

This year I’m welcoming Katie Sutton, creative stylist and floral designer, The Vintage House That Could and Isobel Watts, florist and grower, Wizz and Wild. Katie’s work has been on my radar for years but she really piqued my attention with a single blog post, back in January 2018. In the blog, she bid a kind-hearted farewell to the Cath Kidston-inspired faux vintage floral décor that dominated her aesthetic. In its place, she welcomed an authentic blend of modern craftmanship and real antiques. It was a bold move, especially after building a reputation based on a specific trend. I was keen to ask Katie how it all played out a couple of years and a pandemic down the line.

Issy is an incredible florist with a defined and lustworthy faded glory aesthetic. But it’s her work as a grower that I have been utterly seduced by this year, as she’s shared her Lockdown life on the land, harvesting her cutting garden and hosting small scale workshops. It’s all exquisitely documented in Issy’s Weekly Words e-newsletter, which I highly recommend for learning about seasonality or simply to indulge in some pure countryside escapism all from the comfort of your sofa.

About

The Floral Trends Report has never professed to be a definitive guide to what’s hot and what’s not. I wouldn’t dare! But this year more than ever, conversations with clients and suppliers haven’t focused on colours or floral species or styles of installations or arrangements. Rather, we’ve all enjoyed a good gossip about how we present our passions and values to secure desireable work with dream couples and clients. Happy to go with the flow, this year we are largely looking at trends within our floral businesses, covering communication, branding, joy, finding strength and planting roots in work that is meaningful to us and lands with our customers. Fighting back with renewed energy, resilience, creative impulse and experience.

Chapters

1. Floral Business: Being Human

2. Personality-Led Branding

3. Show Us Some Context

4. Waste is Unpoetic

5. Rooted in Nature, Rooted at Home

1. Floral Business: Being Human

This report is written for all our shared online communities – florists, growers, stylists, creatives and of course, wedding couples-to-be. But whether you are a consumer or supplier, most of us experienced a blurriness in the boundaries between “work” and “life” as we’ve renegotiated our understanding of normal day-to-day living.

Until 2020, we would, for the most part, market our floral businesses quite aside from our homelife. Then with shops closed, access to suppliers restricted, studio space sacrificed or shared with our bubbles, the home became the workplace and what followed was a natural softening and dismantling of an invisible boundary business coaches and personal development books had advised us to build.

Andrea McDowell, founder of Dahlia Beach, closed her thriving wedding video editing business due to Covid’s enforced cancellations in 2020. What followed was a meteoric rise to fame within the floral industry despite rejections, knockbacks and rotten bulbs and tubers. “I was told categorically that dahlias were out of fashion and that it didn’t sound like a very wise business venture for someone with no experience in horticulture,” Andie writes in an Insta grid post celebrating the one year (!) anniversary of creating her logo on Canva and setting up shop.

“Behind every female-founded small business there is a woman who is also managing a life.”

– Andrea McDowell, founder, Dahlia Beach

I shared with Andie that it is my feeling that this past year, female floral businesses owners are doing away with previous aspirations to having boundaries between our life and work. Maybe we once tried to compartmentalise away chicken nugget dinners, parents’ evenings and the thanklessness of folding laundry. Instead, we’d promote dreamy photos of curated floral tablescapes and luscious landscapes, our art and interiors all primed and prepped. Now, it seems there is value in sharing it all mushed in together. Our social media audiences enjoy the rollercoaster, and our peeks and troughs echo their own – a source of comfort and connection, as well as inspiration and entertainment.

Andie: “I couldn’t agree with you more although I don’t think it has changed, I think it has always been this way and just wholly unreported. There was a fear that admitting that you were struggling with keeping on top of the house or the kids’ uniforms would undermine your professional abilities in some way. Like if you couldn’t even manage the logistics of the afterschool clubs, what hope did you have of fulfilling 1000 dahlia orders!”

“The idea that there was a boundary between work and life was a facade and there was shame and embarrassment associated with the juggle.”

– Andrea McDowell, founder, Dahlia Beach

With hindsight, I can reflect on my 2021 – particularly the dark Jan-March homeschool period – and acknowledge that I experienced a daily conflict and relentless pull to thrive in both camps.

Had to be an excellent, attentive mother, wife and friend.

Had to be a one-woman wedding business survival story.

At this time, my Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service gained a glitzy national win at The Wedding Industry Awards, but in the same instant I experienced fear and upset that all my summer’s wedding work would be pulled from beneath me for the second year. It would leave me floating aimlessly, superficially successful, but without requisite substance to not quit. All the while, the runaway train of social media’s tyrannical rule would have us constantly present something, anything relevant to appease an algorithm and cling to and unite with our longed-for customers and community.

Maybe it’s a sink or swim mentality, but the reason I share this moment of reflection within an exploration of 2022 floral trends is to pinpoint the moment where and why the shift in how we present our floral businesses had (has) to happen.

Andie: “I have found that far from undermining my customers’ confidence in me, admitting when I’ve made mistakes or failed, has shown a vulnerability which people can connect with emotionally. We’re all human after all. Sometimes I’m dancing around the field with arms full of flowers and the sun on my face and other days I’m face down in the dirt which tears running down my face. This is the journey for ALL of us so it’s about time we were owned our stories and wore them with pride.”

Photo: Carla Blain Photography | Styling: Katie Sutton, The Vintage House That Could

Personality Led Branding

Katie: “I think the main lesson I have learnt from last year is that couples should have exactly what they want. Weddings are and always will be the most important event in most people’s lives where their love can be celebrated and if that means you want a relaxed chilled out party in a field with no speeches and no cake then go for it. Equally if they want to go all out and be extravagant then that’s also allowed. It’s the vibe that’s important and my job is to ensure that the couple’s vibe is clearly evident in all aspects of that day. Guests should walk in and immediately feel like they are at A & B’s wedding and not some generic off the peg event.”

It’s where I feel couples and wedding businesses suffer at the hands of social media and search engines. Although it blows open opportunities and access to information and inspiration, there’s a homogenising process that happens almost without your knowing. As you click on an image that appeals, the dark lords of the internet decide to show you more or the same, hoping to keep your attention longer and put more money-generating adverts in front of you. The consequence is you are introduced to increasing numbers of similar brands and businesses, which can have the effect of making you feel there is one look, or one way to do things. You feel compelled to keep up. The definition between a trend and everything looking the same becomes hazy.

One way to have real impact on a wedding day is to work with couples who are attracted to work with us, because of us. That means booking us not due to geography or pricepoint – couples have so much choice now – but because they are magnetically attracted to our values, natural style and ethos. Here’s the critical point:

You don’t have to have an out there personality.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

You don’t need to be political, or take a stand on all current affairs.

You don’t have to share aspects of your life you don’t want to.

Having a personality-led brand is an invitation to connect B2B and B2C, not a competition or an endless, exhausting PR campaign.

(Currently, my dusty mirror selfies always inspire customers and suppliers to say hello, far more so than glossy professional imagery. It’s pretty representative of the move away from formality, accelaterated by the pandemic perhaps – one woman running her empire from her phone. )

Let’s pull in some thoughts from experienced branding pros. Joanna Southwell supports bridal businesses to find their place in the market, especially from a retail point of view. I asked Joanna how we can all find our own unique space on- and offline.

Many wedding industry professionals start their businesses after their own wedding. They create a business to fill a gap in the market or to provide a service that was lacking in their own planning journey. This is why I think it is so important to show your thoughts, vision and taste to potential customers. What is important to you will be the key in attracting and engaging other likeminded people. If it was so important to you that you created a business out of it, it will resonate with other people too. What you do and why you do it is what connects people. You don’t have to do something dramatically different but if you lead with a real reason and share that with your audience it will build your connection and sales.

Joanna Southwell, brand positioning and retail mentor to the wedding industry

Freya Deabill creates branding concepts and design elements for wedding professionals (as well as wedding stationery for couples who aren’t afraid to swerve conventions). I asked Freya how we can work through feeling stuck in a particular style. Or what if couples are asking for a look that feels inauthentic or copied from Pinterest? Or worse, we feel compelled to mould to it.

Think about the good old days when you used to browse the high street, perusing the shop windows, imagining your Saturday evening outfit, Christmas table, living room decor… and the aspirations you had in those moments. How boring would it have been if all those shop windows were the same, using similar colours, in the same fonts, using the same style of design and the same messaging? All competing for the same customers, all 67.2 million of us! How insane does that sound? How would you choose which shop to go in and which one would offer you the kind of incredible customer experience that you deserve?

I often say to my kids… ‘how boring would the world be if we all looked the same, how would we recognise each other?’ and this is also true in business, a wedding and indeed any element of ‘life’ where you get the chance to really show your own personality, and it’s one of the most important values in my two businesses. If every florist chose to work with the same flowers and arrange them in the same way there wouldn’t be any excitement or value in using one over another. The very spark of consumer experience would disappear in a poof of pollen. You can’t assume that all 67 million of us are looking for the same, run of the mill ‘trend’ which happens to be on Pinterest, we may be inspired by that image we saw but we can do so much better. There.. are.. enough.. consumers.. to.. go.. round, and we are all different in our own way, so let’s celebrate that.

Freya Deabill, stationer, graphic and brand designer to the wedding industry

3. Show Us Some Context

As Pinterest Perfection loses its lustre, I sense a growing appreciation of floral businesses that fluently integrate real weddings, styled shoots, meaningful community and real life. Katie fully embodies this by treating us to a photo of her own home every nine squares or so. Far from losing a customer base by showing her real environment and floral-filled life minus the professional photography, she inspires her customers. A virtual peep through the window excites us with this moment of intimacy and invitation to connection, and consequently brings us in and along on the journey with her. It is the context that makes everything make sense, showcases genuine passion and nurtures customer loyalty and investment.

I’m going to emerge from the Closet of Guilty Pleasure Hard-Crushing Obsession for Katie’s kitchen sink photography (Zuzana at Fig & Flower’s workspace is another perfect example). These are images that really fill the boots of what I’m seeking when I tap on the Instagram icon on my homescreen. I wrote to Katie:

Charlotte: “Hi Katie, Am I right in thinking that photos of your DIVINE kitchen sink

are some of the most saved grid posts you’ve ever shared on Instagram?”

Katie: “Hi, yes they are!”

(Pictured top row: Katie The Vintage House That Could‘s kitchen sink | Pictured bottom row: Zuzana Fig & Flower‘s workroom)

Behind-the-scenes snaps presented as quality content please me because they is just so effective at communicating not only the aspirational entertainment we crave, but also at effortlessly educating customers. In showing the stages of preparation in our floral work – not only relegated to spontaneous Stories but proudly on our website sales’ pages and our glossier grids – we help explain both our pricepoints and our core values.

Beyond just a bouquet

Beyond just an illustration

Beyond just an invitation, dress or cake

Whether as a consumer or as a fellow wedding supplier, when we witness the growing, sourcing, transportation, preparation, styling, dismantling, recycling or repurposing of flowers (or any other element of a wedding for that matter) we decrease a potential customer’s urge to hustle for discounts and become less likely to be ghosted when we provide quotes.

show us beyond just a bouquet

I asked Issy what her customers are asking for.

Issy: “Full and fantastic in the scale of things and intricate with details. After a year (plus) of constant restrictions and being told ‘no’, I have found that many of my clients for 2022 are breaking the boundaries and going big. Whether that is with wild, whimsical archways, or dramatic colours and textures, I feel as if everyone is ready to burst at the seams with creativity, and so am I. In terms of style, I am looking towards textures and shape to inspire my work. Long stems of beautiful, reflexed roses, with seasonal fruits and berries nestled lower within arrangements creating depth and detail. On the surface these works are full of shape and structure, and when you look more closely, they are filled with magic and seasonal meaning. More and more clients are asking for a specific variety of flower, and for the cutting garden this is a really exciting time to be able to start to tailor our orders to what we are sowing and growing for upcoming weddings and events.”

“I have found that many of my clients for 2022 are breaking the boundaries and going big.”

– Issy Watts, florist & grower, Wizz & Wild

For me, it is an inevitable outcome of Issy’s year that people are jostling to work with her in the hope of absorbing that magic and seasonal meaning. She shows us and speaks to us about every element of thought and manual labour that goes into making a single bouquet from seed to the reveal moment walking down the aisle. When a brand or florist shares that level of context and it lands, potential customers will be delighted to book and wholly trust in the experience about to unfold.

4. Waste in Unpoetic

We’ve been reporting on sustainability for years, firstly as a theme, then as an overarching narrative. Now, customers are expecting planet-kind knowledge and guidance from all their wedding suppliers, be it production aspects, florals, catering, clothing or gifting. Katie usefully reminds us of The Vintage House That Could ethos:

Katie: “Happily, I am pleased that more and more couples are questioning the sustainability of their weddings though as the whole core of my business is vintage and recycled pieces. All aspects of the day are reused from ceremony flowers reappearing in the reception spaces through to using recycled paper and repurposing props. Leftover flowers even become confetti for more weddings. Making weddings more sustainable doesn’t impact on the overall look but it does mean that couples spend less on throwaway tat and more on things that will have a greater meaning.”

I recently polled florists in my Instagram community about whether or not they agreed customers are becoming increasingly savvy about seasonality and species selection from a sustainability point of view. Agree or disagree. The poll was an even split, but the resulting DMs unanimously agreed that customers are asking more insightful questions. Caring more. Wanting answers before committing to quotes and moodboards, even though they may not be fully armed with the floral intel themselves.

Issy adds a layer of thought that has evolved from 2020/2021 global events.

Issy: “I’m always gathering my inspiration from antiques, fashion, art, film, architecture, and walks around the Cotswold countryside. I photograph everything, and always use my photography as reference points when sketching and designing ideas for my clients. I forage different foliage whilst out walking and find vessels and vases in the deepest darkest antique shops, I wander the gardens of heritage houses and spot a particular rose, hundreds of years old and look at the way it’s petals fold. Over the pandemic, we had so much time on our hands, to slow down and appreciate the world around us. I noticed things now that I never would have previously when so busy day to day.”

Issy: “People are no longer interested in fast floristry. We have had all this time to think, read, breathe… And this has given my audience, and clients in particular, time to re-think the way in which they demand florals. For us, the slowing down element has always been at the heart of Wizz & Wild, using regenerative and traditional farming methods in our cutting garden. We use almost a third of our land to fill with cover crop, attracting bees and butterflies to pollinate the working beds. We also introduce a crop rotation twice a year, as well as producing our own compost to increase organic matter into our soil (which is often where the flowers from our weddings go once the day is over). My client is so much more conscious than before, and I think that is down to the sustainability narrative we read more and more about every day. ‘Slow and seasonal’ is not just an aspiration, it is something we are actively providing.”

“Thrift is poetic because it is creative; waste is unpoetic because it is waste.”

– GK Chesterton, What’s Wrong with the World (p. 1910)

I am reminded of the quote by What’s Wrong with the World author GK Chesterton.

Note to self – Poetry is always luxurious. Waste is unwanted. Wasted time. Wasted energy. Wasted resources. Wasted planet.

Pictured above: Life on and around the farm for Issy Watts, Wizz & Wild

5. Rooted in Nature, Rooted at Home

So we circle back. Come back to nature, come back home. Revisit the idea that we are all just being humans in our floral businesses, trying our best, inspiring our customers, seeking connections, growing financial wealth, or simply growing.

Katie: “Even more so than before people are conscious of how their homes look and feel, so the relaxed and the natural vibe has had a resurgence. Natural materials and colours are everywhere, terracottas, nudes, all shades of green are so popular and this has clearly had an impact on wedding décor choices too. In the same vein, there is still a love of dried flowers but with fresh mixed in to make it feel more seasonal. My couples are only using florals and colours of the season and make choices based on these factors rather than what is on trend. I always encourage my couples to think about their interior choices too, for example I ask “would you have this in your house?” If the answer is no, then why would you have it at your wedding?”

Katie: “My biggest reference point is and will always will be nature, which for me includes all aspects not just floral points of interest but this could be something as simple as the colour of a shell or the shape of a leaf.”

“My biggest reference point is and will always be nature.”

– Katie Sutton, creative stylist and floral designer, The Vintage House That Could

Issy: “Here on the farm, we live wholeheartedly with the seasons, from the cutting garden, to cooking from the kitchen garden, painting, drawing, dressing, farming, combining all of these things feed my imagination and help me create beautiful floral sets for my clients, in a gentle and thoughtful way. I love the idea of being able to re-connect people with nature, bringing the outside, in, and helping them to understand the processes by which we work. Rather than create a uniform bouquet of flowers, I like to think we are re-discovering the imperfectly perfect lessons of nature and nurturing that. We use ingredients that are original, exciting and memorable, often foraged from hedgerows or picked straight from our cutting garden which may still have a ladybird or two on their leaves.”

Imperfectly perfect

Perfectly imperfect

Conclusion

Upon publication day of this document, it has become mandatory to wear masks in shops and on public transport once more in England. A cold shiver runs through me. I close off the report with such a hopeful heart that caution over the next few weeks or months leads to the boyant, celebratory wedding season 2022 has promised to be. Breaking the boundaries and going big, as Issy calls it. Katie, Issy and I would love to hear your thoughts and plans if you’ve enjoyed reading our collated ideas about the year ahead. All the links are below. My Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service thrives from referalls and recommendations by our shared floral community and I’m buzzing to receive next year’s commissions. I’ll be sharing illustrations, more behind-the-scenes of my business and ideas about creative living over here on the blog and of course oversharing daily ramblings on Instagram. It’s made all the more fun just by having you along for the ride – with continued thanks.

With Thanks

It takes a village to compile this report and I’m grateful to every contributor, including creative teams who allow us to share images. Huge thanks to contributing editors Katie Sutton and Issy Watts, for sharing their businesses and ideas with big open hearts. Find out more About Me here, or all the squad’s links below.

Katie Sutton / The Vintage House That Could | Website | Instagram

Issy Watts / Wizz & Wild | Website | Instagram

Andrea McDowell / Dahlia Beach | Website | Instagram

Joanna Southwell / brand positioning and retail mentor | Website | Instagram

Freya Deabill / stationer Deabill & Quince / brand designer The Brand New Studio | Website | Instagram

Zuzana Hewer / Fig & Flower | Website | Instagram

Carla Blain Photography | Website | Instagram

Thanks to Jen Feroze / copywriter Jackdaw Editorial for sense-checking and ensuring I delete entire paragraphs of oversharing (even though that bit was quite funny…)

Thanks to Sophie / designer A Lover’s Thread, Liz / florist Blue Sky Flowers and Sally / florist Halo Blossom for your well-timed enthusism ensuring this beast gets written and shared.

Love Charlotte

Weave in and out of my illustration business, inspirations and latest collaborations. Join me on instagram, pinterest and facebook.

The post 2022 Floral Trends Report appeared first on Charlotte Argyrou.

Modern Vintage Style with dressmaker Rose Savage

Charlotte Argyrou — Tue, 08 Jun 2021 12:10:55 +0000

Modern Vintage Style with dressmaker Rose Savage

Interview and “New Moon” Collection Showcase

Introduction

Though heavily inspired by the 1930s and 1970s, Bristol-based dressmaker Rose Savage says any era can inspire her modern vintage style. Previously a costume maker for theatre and television, she now making her name as one of the coolest bridalwear brands around. So I was intrigued to ask Rose how her era-hopping aesthetic and theatrical fashion background combines to make such a dynamic, exquisite brand. And with our shared passion for dressing up on country walks, I thought Rose’s creative life would be very at home with this blog community.

Interview with Rose Savage

When a customer comes to you with an idea for a dress, how do you make sure you are on the same page?

The first thing I ask for is inspiration images or photos so that I can get an idea of the customers’ style and taste and see if it’s something that I will enjoy making. Thankfully most of my clients come from Instagram where they have seen my work so often our design aesthetics are usually well aligned. I then have a good chat about how the process of getting a bespoke outfit will work and give them an idea of the costs involved. It’s important for me to be upfront at the beginning so we both know we are right for each other. The consultation stage is probably the most important in terms of getting a feel for each other and whether the creative process together will be fun one. It’s definitely not one side choosing the other, we both have to mutually choose each other!

How does modern vintage style influence your bespoke designs?

Fashion history has always been quite important to me and I have a background in theatre and costume so it very much influences my work day to day. There is so much inspiration you can take from the past that can be reinterpreted to create something new and exciting. If I’m ever stuck in a creative rut I just get the history books out or watch an old movie. My favourite eras for bridal inspiration are the 1930s and 1970s but I’m also a Victorian corsetry lover!

Into epic bouquets?

As well as blogging about flowers and creative living, I am also founder of the national award-winning Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service. It’s a modern way to preserve your bouquet, without a mouldy rotten petal in sight. Click for more info.

Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service

What’s the best stage of the entire bespoke process from your point of view? And from your customer’s?

There are so many best bits for me but I really love the toile (or prototype stage). After I’ve created a custom pattern using my clients individual measurements I need to test the pattern by making up a version of the design using cheaper fabrics like calico. We then use this prototype to see how the garment fits on the client and whether the proportions are correct. I really get into the zone with this task and will often pin, cut and draw over the toile until I’m totally happy.

I think from a customer’s point of view probably the first time they see their dress in the chosen fabric is very exciting. It can be daunting to buy a wedding dress without actually seeing it or trying it on so this is the stage where she can see it finally coming together into her dream dress. It’s a really special moment.

Your New Moon collection has a luxe, creative, cool girl vibe, but it’s still very soft. How did you pinpoint that aesthetic?

I have a real love of fabric and the juxtaposition of textures so I like to play around with different materials to see what works well together. I love matt fabrics like crepe, georgette and organza but I also love a bit of sparkle! I never really have an aesthetic in mind, I just go with the flow and listen to what’s inspiring me at the time. I just have to make sure I don’t go overboard with ideas, I just want to include everything!

And Finally…

Just for fun…. who was the best dressed bride in history?

Oooh that’s a tough one! I still think that Kate Middleton’s dress was a masterpiece but my personal favourites came from Solange, Bianca Jaggar, and Kate Moss.

Find Out More

Rose Savage Bridal Atelier – alternations, bespoke and collection, Bristol, UK | Website | Instagram

New Moon Collection available now, photographed by Charlie at Bristol Contemporary Photography | Website | Instagram

Styled shoot, photographed at Townhead Estate by Jo Greenfield, featuring bouquet by Made in Flowers | Website | Instagram

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love, charlotte

Weave in and out of my illustration business, inspirations and latest collaborations. Join me on instagram, pinterest and facebook.

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Wedding Bouquet Illustration Reviews

Charlotte Argyrou — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 13:57:27 +0000

Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service Reviews

The National Award-Winning Wedding Gift Service

Despite all the extraordinary challenges of 2020-21, the Wedding Bouquet Illustration reviews prove love is not cancelled. Micro weddings, intimate weddings, ceremonies in masks….we’ve seen it all, and my cusotmers commitment to enjoying fabulous flowers continues to astonish me. Here are a selection of recent wedding bouquet illustration reviews, alongside it’s corresponding drawing. Check out my 2021 Floral Trends Report if you are planning a summer 2021 wedding or you may wish to see further Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service reviews here. You can book directly through the Wedding shop page here on this website, or use the button below. And I’m always hanging out on Instagram if you wish to fire me a DM with questions.

Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service

If you’d like to learn more about my Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service, you may be interested in the following blog posts: Click on the titles to go direct to the relevant post.

Love Charlotte

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Wedding Gift Idea – Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service wins National Award

Charlotte Argyrou — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 11:55:53 +0000

National Award-Winning Wedding Gift Idea

Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service wins “Special Touch” Category at The Wedding Industry Awards 2021

Every January, the wedding industry unites to celebrate all the brilliant businesses that offer exceptional customer service and experiences to couples and their families and friends. The Wedding Industry Awards (TWIA) is renowned for the most rigorous judging process in the sector, which demands suppliers present a portfolio and an in-depth Q&A, combined with customer scoring and feedback. It’s not a popularity contest where you beg everyone you know to vote. Entrants are then judged by a panel of experts, leading to a regional awards ceremony. Winners at regional level (I won in the London & South East) go on to to further analysis by the judging panel and eventually Janauary’s national awards.

In the absense of a glitzy award ceremony in London’s west end, we settled on the sofa to watch The Wedding Industry Awards 2021, via YouTube, from the comfort of our sofa. Lockdown 3.0 has had it’s challenges, but for this special evening, we were not willing to let Covid rob us of an opportunity to dress up and make a meal of things. We set up my phone on a tripod to video the experience to share with our absent family and friends. Here’s four stages of the Win (let’s call them anticipation, joy, shock and hysteria).

To be able to declare my Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service a national award-winning wedding gift idea is such a thrill, especially amid the despair of the 2020/1 wedding landscape. While postponements and cancellations were inevitable, I was honoured to find a customer base who were so creative and resilient in their determination to go ahead with micro weddings. Even with only a handful of guests present, my 2020 couples were committed to working with exceptional florists who delivered incredible bouquets and installations. I’ve always said I have the BEST customers, and I hope this Wedding Industry Award award feels like a little bonus for them too. It’s a thank you gift from me for going ahead in stressful circumstances, finding the joy anyway, and booking me to curate those brilliant and bizarre memories.

One very special element to The Wedding Industry Awards is that they share customer and judges’ feedback. I already knew my customers loved their bouquet illustrations; the process is so collaborative and don’t get me started on those messages when a newlywed opens my emailed photos or the special envelope that the postman brings). But I was totally taken a back by the comments shared. Here are just a few.

Charlotte is an incredible person with such a gift. Her attention to detail and outright skill is something I have never seen before. My bouquet drawing is something I will cherish forever, and I am so grateful I found Charlotte and her incredible talent. In addition to this, Charlotte is one of the kindest individuals I have had the pleasure of working with. I have already recommended her to multiple friends and family and she truly deserves this award.

Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service customer

Charlottes work is beyond excellent! She is wonderful to work with. Humble, thoughtful and professional. These traits are not commonly found in one person, however she leads with them AND her work is exceptional. Her flowers are on point every time. Shadow, light, whimsy, elegance, creativity and structure… it’s all here. I would highly recommend her to everyone! One of a kind person with incredible talent. She has overfilled on even my highest expectations. I will treasure my wedding keepsake.

Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service customer

Charlotte’s work is breathtaking. She has a gift for intuitively understanding both brides and blooms and this is this applied with sensitivity, affection and gentle sentimentality in her drawings. It’s impossible not to love the future heirlooms she creates. Every step of her process is carefully considered so that you are left feeling completely confident that your precious memories are in the safest (and most talented) hands.

Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service customer

The judge’s feedback offered food for thought. I want to think about how I can share the process of creating Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service drawing and how I can communicate why it’s such a unqiue wedding gift idea. But this one comment made me smile (I made a very amateurish short video on my phone, introducing myself and showing a couple of drawings in process…)

I love your passion and the fact that you have found such an amazing niche. Beautiful work. Thank you so much for the fab little video – feeling quite emotional – watching your love of what you do which is quite something after 18 years in our industry.

The Wedding Industry Awards 2021 "Special Touch" Judge

I’d like to offer a massive heartfelt thank you to TWIA and each and every one of my customers who took the time and energy to vote, especially when the process demands more than just a tick of a box. At the moment, in Lockdown 3.0, I feel like we have to grab onto every glimmer of hope and opportunity to celebrate, and you have given me that in bucketloads.

I only hope I can pass on the joy to more customers in 2021.

love, charlotte

Weave in and out of my illustration business, inspirations and latest collaborations. Join me on instagram, pinterest and facebook.

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Dear Award Winning Botanical Illustrator

Charlotte Argyrou — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 16:56:59 +0000

Dear Award-Winning Botanical Illustrator

A Letter to my 15 Year Old Self

Hey Charlotte, it’s Charlotte,

Just wanted to get in touch from the future with a bit of good news: everything is going to be ok.

Any day now, you are going to meet a careers advisor. In your classically gung-ho way, you are going to inform her that when you grow up, you intend to be a botanical illustrator. She’s going to poo poo it, and say that that is not really a Thing. She’ll say eveything is going to be on computers anyway and perhaps you should consider being a graphic designer instead.

When that happens, don’t cry.

21 years from now, you are going to get yourself in a place where your hand drawn botanical illustrations make people really, really happy. You’ll discover that this is your way to serve the world. You’ll learn all that stuff that makes you weird – how you like doing things the slow way and your love for everything old-fashioned – well that’s actually the stuff that makes you pretty awesome.

And one day, in the depths of a global pandemic and locked down in your own home, you will win The Wedding Industry Awards Special Touch Award for London and the South East of England 2021. It’s pretty niche, but in essence, it means you are a unique and celebrated part of floral loving couple’s wedding experiences.

Click for Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service

On the night The Wedding Industry Awards winners will be announced – via something we call You Tube – you’ll be overdressed in a floorsweeping rainbow tulle gown, surrounded by your husband and daughters. And up and down the country, families, also sat on their sofas (as they aren’t allowed out) will be jumping up and down celebrating their wedding businesses. But I should also add that weddings are not permitted to take part right now, infact, they are kind of illegal. It’s difficult to explain, but I want you to know, it will all be worth it.

love Charlotte

PS. Wear SPF, even in winter

PPS. Those girls who pretend not to see you are just jealous

PPPS. They are going to invent a thing called Pinterest. You will DIE when you see it. You can find loads of quotes and inspiration, like this list of Life Lessons by Regina Brett that you should really pay attention to. You would have written your own list, but you have two children and they want their supper…(Reader, please note – the list refers to God, but I think you can probably just sub in Universe or Energy, if that’s more your thing.)

50 Life Lessons by Regina Brett

Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
When in doubt, just take the next small step.
Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
Pay off your credit cards every month.
You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
Overprepare, then go with the flow.
Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
The most important sex organ is the brain.
No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?”
Always choose life.
Forgive everyone everything.
What other people think of you is none of your business.
Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
Believe in miracles.
God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.
Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
The best is yet to come.
No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
Yield.
Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

Weave in and out of my illustration business, inspirations and latest collaborations. Join me on instagram, pinterest and facebook.

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2021 Floral Trends Report

Charlotte Argyrou — Sun, 22 Nov 2020 17:17:19 +0000

Disclaimer: At the time of this post’s publication, weddings are not permitted in England. The only exception is so-called “deathbed weddings” – a heartbreaking and tragic phrase I’d never heard until verifying the current standing on the official government website. If one partner is dying, weddings of up to six people are allowed. For the sake of talking about flowers in the context of weddings here, we are going to optimistically write as though small weddings will go ahead in 2021.

Charlotte Argyrou, Botanical Illustrator and Flower Blogger

2021 Floral Trends

Introduction

Why a Trends Report when Weddings are Currently Banned?

In the mid-noughties, I used to edit fashion trend reports for retail guru Mary Portas. I’d tear the pages from the newspaper runway reviews after each day of shows and I’d scrutinize over each collection on Catwalk.com within hours of publication. We’d share our analysis in a Powerpoint (!) presentation with clients promptly at the end of the New York-London-Milan-Paris cycle.

I’d taken the job at Mary’s PR company over the offer of an unpaid internship on the Fashion Desk at The Times newspaper. My fiancé (now husband) and I had already moved to central London, paying bloodsucking rent on a flat in downtown Camden, and quite frankly, I like eating so needed cash. It’s my Sliding Doors moment, and occasionally I wonder wistfully (never dwell doubtingly) if I’d have made it as a fashion writer. Identifying and extracting the trends, pinpointing representative looks and choosing the words to succinctly articulate the vibe was one of my favourite seasonal tasks in that job.

Fast-forward 15 years, and now I am doing the same with flowers. Through the little squares on my phone, I see with curiousity the colours and species presented by our floral community and am naturally moth-to-flamed by certain styles. So this blog post does not profess to be a definitive analysis of the impact of Covid or Brexit on the industry. Rather, my guest editors and I use that a basepoint to showcase what we see happening, intended as a useful guide to 2021 floral trends for our mutual potential clients. We edit this with a hopeful heart that weddings will proceed.

For the 2021 Floral Trends Report, I’m welcoming florist and grower Laura Elisabeth Montgomery of Xyris Botanicals and Gemma Hales, florist and online retailer, Iris & Co.

1. The Potential of Intimate Weddings

2. The Year of the Truly Individual Wedding

3. On the Subject of Sustainability

4. Single Species Bouquets

5. Fresh + Dried Bouquets

1. 2021 Floral Trends in Intimate Weddings

“Many couples will be seizing the opportunity to tie the knot in inner cities within Registry Offices,” begins Laura of Xyris Botanicals. “Sleek and contemporary styled flowers will be requested by many brides looking for modern florals to reflect their chic minimalist ceremonies.”

Gemma of Iris & Co agrees that couples are amending their florals to reflect the mood of the moment, but that by no means cutting corners on style. “I’m incredibly grateful that the downsizing of weddings we’ve experienced in 2020 hasn’t dramatically led to a downsizing in flowers for the majority of my couples. There’s still an appreciation for how much flowers add to the decoration of a venue and the ‘feel’ of a wedding.” Pictured below: Florals by Iris & Co, photo by Taylor Hughes Photography

Gemma continues, “In fact, I’ve seen people spending their budgets differently, making the flowers a little more ‘experiential’ rather than just something nice to look at. For one of my first post-Lockdown 1.0 weddings, I made 25 buttonholes and corsages, one for each guest, something that most people wouldn’t be able to do with a reception of 150! I’ve also had a couple who spent almost all of their budget on a gorgeous arch for their Zoom wedding as a backdrop to their vows and for those watching at home.”

I absolutely concur, as one of my own Lockdown 1.0 illustration clients invested in a lush bouquet and lavish archway for a wedding with just two guests. The passion for florals is still there, we are just seeing a reallocation of budget from tablecentres and buttonholes to single installations, fierce bouquets and then preserving bouquets by one means or another.

2. The Year of the Truly Individual Wedding

With reduced attendance, bridal couples perhaps feel less pressure to appeal to the tastes of their guests. “I’ve seen a huge increase in the individuality and ideas coming through for weddings in 2021 and I can’t wait for that to develop,” says Gemma. “As a florist, this can be a challenge – with no similar images to include in proposals, I’m finding myself having to sketch more designs to show couples what it will look like. For me, that’s the exciting part of my job – creating something bespoke for a couple or a venue that’s never been done before and I’m so excited that more couples are embracing who they are and representing it beautifully in their wedding.” Pictured below: Florals by Iris & Co, photo by Chloe Mary Photo

“Pinterest does absolutely still have a place, it’s a great way to bring ideas and colour palettes together but I think people are starting to move away from the ‘Pinterest aesthetic’ for weddings. Instead, they are thinking more about bringing their own interests (be it music, films or fashion) into their wedding in new and exciting ways.”

I’d add here that I also ponder if 2021 weddings will be assembled in weeks, rather than months; as restrictions continually change, will couples sense an opportunity to go ahead quickly, especially where internationally travel may come into play?

This idea of the Year of the Truly Individual Wedding really intrigued me (forever seduced by anything against the grain). So I got straight on the phone to Joanna Southwell, editor of consumer and industry facing website The Weddinghood.

“For me, the one saving grace after this hellish year for weddings is the sense of freedom it has created. Anything goes now and I find it liberating. It allows couples to let go of the “we shoulds” and instead concentrate on the essence of weddings. The love between the two people involved. Everything is stripped back. The elements that mean the most to the couple are reinforced and everything else goes by the wayside. Home-created or foraged flowers are miraculously pulled together. It reminds me of how weddings used to be and I cannot wait to see the results.”

Joanna Southwell, Editor + Founder, The Weddinghood

Something I have found truly exciting during Lockdown 1.0 and 2.0 is florists being playful with flowers for their own creative fulfilment. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much play, and goodness, it’s refreshing. To see creations built on kitchen tables from foraged finds is deeply inspiring both to others working in the floral community and those who are simply #excessivelydivertedbyflowers.

I nod here to Laura’s digital work, combining Dutch Masters influence with Lockdown’s demand for some desk- or studio-based creative expression. I like to imagine these like the inner explosions of florists’ brains each time the rules about weddings changed. Cancellations, postponements, messed up supply chains – all represented as splattered dahlias. Art for our times, don’t you think?

3. On the Subject of Sustainability

British and Seasonal

Gemma of Iris & Co: “No discussion about the future can fail to include sustainability and the environment. A huge trend in every part of our lives and weddings are no different. With more couples educating themselves on where flowers are sourced and how their designs are put together, we as florists need to be at the forefront of new (or most often, embracing old) techniques to keep our art as kind to the planet as possible. The embrace of seasonal and, in particular, British flowers, is growing every year and I’m so proud when I’m able to create gorgeous designs with flowers that haven’t been on a flight.”

Many of us in the floral community were proud to participate in Sarah Diligent of Floribunda Rose’s Kickstarter campaign. Her book A Guide to Floral Mechanics was published in July 2020 and features step-by-step guides to creating bouquets, buttonholes and smallscale installations with no floral foam. Click here to read my blog post with Sarah, posted on the day of the book’s publication.

If you don’t already follow Laura’s cutting garden updates on Xyris Botanicals’ Instagram, they are a must watch. It is a relevant, entertaining and practical way for enthusiasts and florists alike to gain insight into British seasonality in real time.

A Shared Responsibility

It’s not a new trick for couples to serepetitously re-use their florals from ceremony to reception. As Gemma suggests, “Aisle runners make the most incredible fireplace and staircase designs and also look amazing in front of your top table (I promise, your guests will never know they’re the same!) And gorgeous urns and arches can be bought into your reception to be enjoyed all day long. Myself and the team are experts at sneaking in whilst you’re halfway through a confetti tunnel and transforming your reception, before you’ve even had the first photos.” Below: A ceremony display repurposed for an initimate table of six wedding breakfast. Florals by Iris & Co, photos by Maxeen Kim Photography

2000s couple: “Reusing flowers saves us money and probably no-one will notice that we’ve cut corners.”

2020s couple: “Reusing flowers is a smart way to cut down on imported flowers, making for a more eco-friendly wedding.”

I remember at my own wedding, 11 years ago, being so surprised when I realised the mantel flowers from my ceremony had been placed along my top table in the ballroom, a move made secretly during our drinks reception. It looked incredible. But my thought process went more to “ooh that saved us a bit of cash,” rather than “it’s great to use less imported flowers but with the same visual impact of having twice as many flowers.” Today, I think the necessity to be conscientious and planet-kind would be forefront in my mind if I were planning a wedding. On this point, I spoke to Meera Majithia, on the new mindset when it comes to sustainbility in the planning process.

“There is no doubt that sustainability is becoming more important to couples. They are looking to their florist (and other suppliers) for guidance on how to have a more sustainable wedding. In 2021, it’s important that suppliers themselves are well-educated on the topic and ready with relevant resources for their clients.”

Meera Majithia, Founder, Carriages Weddings & Events

Author of Planned to Perfection: A Modern Approach to Wedding Planning for the Indian and Interfaith Bride

Personally, I like luxury. I do. I like luxurious things. I like to feel luxurious. But the critical difference in today’s environment is that waste is no longer luxurious to me. So therefore, my clients receive their wedding bouquet illustrations sandwiched between two pieces of recycled greyboard. Because while their illustration bathes in the luxury of time and intense attention to detail to lovingly create it, wasteful and environmentally-harmful packaging is no longer luxurious to the modern couple.

4. Single Species Bouquets

Contemporary, Sculptural, Minimalist

“Already in 2020, we have started to see single ingredient bouquets and arrangements appearing on social media,” says Laura at Xyris Botanicals. “Sumptuous, sculptural bouquets of monochromatic roses (reflexed with some of the foliage left on) together with some table styling in the form of bowls of roses layered at different heights and directions, loosely influenced by the Japanese form of flower arranging known as Ikebana.”

“As a small-scale grower of British flowers, I looked at this trend initially and worried that perhaps it did not align itself to the loose naturalistic style that British flowers lend themselves to so beautifully. This is however a brilliant opportunity to support British flower growers specialising in roses such as Usk Valley roses and The Real Flower Company. I did just that for a photoshoot over the summer where I ordered the most stunning Koko Loko Roses from Usk Valley Roses for simple table styling, a bowl arrangement and a bouquet pictured below.” Pictured below: Florals by Xyris Botanicals, photos by Sammy Taylor Wedding Photography, model Charlotte Muyot

“I have also taken the trend and applied it to Dahlias, creating simple but structural bouquets and bowl arrangements using blooms from my cutting garden in south east Kent.” Laura’s work is all kinds of crazy gorgeous and it’s thrilling to me that she has taken influence from this ancient Japanese craft and made it modern, relevant and sustainably-sourced.

5. Mixed Fresh and Dried Florals

“The popularity of dried flowers continued throughout 2020, with stylish arrangements adorning homes around the country,” says Gemma. “Saying that, I’ve seen more requests for a mixture of fresh and dried elements more recently, as opposed to the fully dried bouquets and designs I was asked for before. It adds so much texture to bring in those fresh elements as well as the scent that only fresh florals can bring.” Pictured below: Florals by Iris & Co, photos [left] Imogen Eve Photography and [right] Chloe Mary Photo

“I’ve also seen a lot more brides drying their bouquets and other flowers from their wedding which I love. More of an art than a science, my top tip is to group them in different places, to avoid a disaster. Whilst they will need somewhere with good air flow, where you can hang upside down, you can’t be sure you don’t get a damp patch and your flowers fall apart so best so spread them out and at least some will dry beautifully! Alternatively, I know a girl who will exquisitely illustrate your bouquet to make sure it lasts forever…”

Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service by Charlotte Argyrou

Conclusion

As we look ahead to 2021, with – at best – uncertainty, it’s a comforting distraction to fantasize about the stylistic potential a new era of weddings will bring. While multiple traditional tablecentres may be an unlikely feature, the presence of an exquisite bouquet – a defining feature throughout 2020’s triumphant micro weddings – is a safe bet. I’m so grateful for Gemma and Laura sharing their expertise here, where we do appreciate a good bouquet.

To the wedding couples-to-be reading this, your suppliers have everything crossed for you and your 2021 plans. You have no idea how much a we want to make your wedding experience spectacular, with memories to last a lifetime. And to the suppliers, I’m so grateful to see out this year alongside you through our online platforms. Your vision, energy and talent is appreciated and admired, and a inspiration to many.

Find Out More

With huge thanks to my two guest editors:

Gemma Hales, Founder, Iris & Co | Website | Instagram | Christmas

Laura Elisabeth Montgomery, Founder, Xyris Botanicals | Website | Instagram | Buy The Miniature Cutting Garden £5.99

With additional contrbutions from:

Joanna Southwell, Founder + Editor, The Weddinghood | Website | Instagram

Meera Majithia, Founder, Carriages Weddings and Events | Website | Instagram

Meera’s book Planned to Perfection is available from Waterstones from 11th December 2020

With thanks to the following photographers for generously sharing their work:

Chloe Mary | Sammy Taylor | Maxeen Kim | Imogen Eve | Taylor Hughes

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Visit the Blog Homepage

charlotteargyrou.com Homepage

love Charlotte

Weave in and out of my illustration business, inspirations and latest collaborations. Join me on instagram, pinterest and facebook.

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How do I Gently Grow my Unique Wedding Business in a Pandemic?

Charlotte Argyrou — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 12:31:41 +0000

How do I Gently Grow my Unique Wedding Business in a Pandemic?

Five Mindset Lessons I Share on The Wedding Business Podcast

Introduction

Renowned wedding photographer and industry business coach Faye Cornhill came into my life through a mutual client. I was booked to draw a magnificent Edwardian-inspired cascade bouquet, from a wedding photographed by Faye. My wedding bouquet illustration is pictured below. When I pinged Faye a quick email to ask if she was happy for me to potentially feature the image on my social media and blog, I had no idea of the doors and windows that were about to fly open in my life.

I discovered Faye’s coaching work (at a time I barely new what a business coach was), signed up for her e-newsletter (emails I stupidly ignored for months) and eventually took part in a five day free online challenge. With outrageous gratitude, I was overwhelmed when Faye identified my courageous streak and saw potential in my unique wedding business, and consequently awarded me a scholarship onto her 90 day coaching course, Booked in 90.

Two and half half years, six months of one-to-one coaching, two retreats and a second annual membership to her Wedding Business Club later, I’m still inspired daily by this Powerhouse of Positivity. So when Faye invited me to be a guest on her Podcast, I was thrilled to have an hour in her company for some therapy and a jolly good giggle at the path we’ve trampled together.

Click here to explore the Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service

The Wedding Business Podcast Episode 20

On the podcast, we talk abut my career-to-date, and the weird and winding road that led to me super-niching as a botanical illustrator and founder of the Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service. The at around the 16 minute mark, we move on to talking more generally about the mindset hacks I’ve learned along the way – partly implanted by and partly coaxed out of me by Faye. While we of course reference the wedding industry, I strongly feel the lessons shared below can benefit any creative business owner.

Lesson One

Know Thyself

– Know who you are.

– Know who you want to work with.

– Know your boundaries.

– Know why you are doing what you do.

Knowing these things will help you on the toughest days (or in the toughest months, thank you 2020).

Lesson Two

Everything Will Be Fine

I don’t have a crystal ball to see into the future or know when the wedding industry will be revived. And I appreciate the devastating impact Covid has had at a core level on our lives and livlihoods. But I choose to operate from a place of “everything will be fine.” It’s a thought that helps me to take small, safe, imperfect action everyday towards fulfilling my goals and potential, even when the wedding market has gone t*ts up.

Covid-aside, it’s a great mantra for beating procrastination. If you feel that the worst case scenario of what you are holding back on is manageable, then you can proceed. Want to pitch your business to the most beautiful venue in your county, but worried about what they’ll think? If the likely worst case scenario is that they simply ignore your email, and if you could cope with that disappontment, then just send the email. Because if you don’t, the answer will always be “no.” Send the email, everything will be fine.

Lesson Three

Thoughts are not Facts

Just because you have a negative thought, that does not make it true. On the podcast, I shared a list of about 15 limiting beliefs I have about myself and my ability as a business owner. The process of getting those thougthts down on paper was revelationary. In my head, it’s a noisy jumble of cloudy mess. On paper, it’s pretty clear how to sort facts from fiction.

Let’s say I have the thought “I’m not talented enough”. A quick scroll through my customer testimonials will prove that to be untrue. So the next time that thought rears its ugly head, I can swot it away like a fly.

But let’s say I have the thought “I’m not good enough at tech to run my own e-commerce website.” I recognise truth in that. It’s not my interest, let alone my passion. I’m not ignited with curiosity for learning about it. It’s not within my genius zone. So when that thought shows up, I know it’s time to outsource to a specialist. Which is why I choose to pay a brilliant web developer to run updates and back-ups for me, as it doesn’t serve me to stress and worry about it.

Lesson Four

Visualise your Highest Self, and then Start Showing Up as Her

Who do you want to be? Figure it out, and then start thinking the thoughts and taking the actions that person would think and take. If you want to grow your unique wedding business despite these crazy 2020 circumstances, work out who you need to be to do that. Do you need to be networking, even if it via Zoom? Then scribble down that list of people you want to approach and commit to a weekly schedule. You’ll emerge in Spring 2021 with a wealth of new contacts ready to promote each other’s businesses to all your wonderful 2021 couples.

Lesson Five

You Only Have So Many Life Minutes

You only have so many life minutes, so how many of them do you want to spend worrying and making yourself small? Though none of us chose Covid and the events of 2020, you do get to chose how you react to it. How can you choose to nurture your unique wedding business now? How can you support and inspire your audience in this time, ready for the next wedding season? How can you improve your skillset, or zshoosh up your marketing? There’s an entire industry of brilliant creatives out there to skill swap and collaborate with, to help us improve or diversify our offering right now.

Conclusion

Since March 2020, I’ve juggled my Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service and commission work with all that Covid has entailed with regards to childcare and the huge drop in weddings taking place. Every supplier has experienced their own dramatic change in circumstances, some frustrating, some tragic. But in sharing these five lessons from my personal experience with Faye Cornhill on The Wedding Business Podcast, I’ve reminded myself to seek the positives in every situation. Growth is possible when you see the world with an abundant mindset. Faye’s a guiding light if you are struggling, and I’m a pretty good listener and ideas-sparker – if I can help too.

Find Out More

Register for Faye’s FREE epic masterclass for wedding business owners here. You’ll learn:

01. The Top 3 Mistakes that EVERYONE makes when they build their wedding business

02. The secret sauce to building a Successful & Profitable Wedding Business

03. Faye’s 4 Step Strategy for getting your next paying client

Listen to Episode 20 of The Wedding Business Podcast

Learn more about Faye Cornhill’s coaching offering

Follow Faye on Instagram where she shares tips and behind-the-scenes of her life and business

Faye’s debut book I Do: How To Say Yes to Running A Successful and Profitable Wedding Business, was released on 2nd Nov 2020. Click the Amazon link below. PLease note this is an affliate link, so you pay the same price, but I earn a teeny commission from the Bank of Amazon.

Click here to visit the blog homepage

Visit my website homepage

Who's editing this fabulous botanical business blog, anyway?

love, charlotte

Weave in and out of my illustration business, inspirations and latest collaborations. Join me on instagram, pinterest and facebook.

The post How do I Gently Grow my Unique Wedding Business in a Pandemic? appeared first on Charlotte Argyrou.

Flowers with Friends: Sarah Diligent, author, A Guide to Floral Mechanics

Charlotte Argyrou — Mon, 20 Jul 2020 09:23:00 +0000

Sarah Diligent of Floribunda Rose shares her floral tips and inspiration

As a creative living and flower blogger, I’m always excited to cover industry news and beautiful launches. This one has been brewing for some time, with a false start Kickstarter campaign in 2018 followed by a triumphant follow-up campaign in 2019. Proving that sometimes pretty flowers are the tip of the iceberg and that there’s gritty determination, resilience and hard work behind every successful creative/floristy business I know, I’m delighted to welcome Sarah Diligent to this blog series. Founder of Floribunda Rose artisan floristry and now author, Sarah publishes her eagerly awaited book A Guide to Floral Mechanics this week.

In this blog post, I quickfire interview Sarah about her floral inspirations, signature style and floral home hacks. You’ll also see a sneak peak of A Guide to Floral Mechanics.

A Few of My Favourite Things

My signature floral style is…

Naturally abundant and beautifully polished.

And here’s how I discovered my signature style…

My style developed over time but was and is always inspired by the natural forms that I see around me. The more I look, the more I find and I don’t think one could ever feel as though they had seen it all.

My all-time favourite flower is…

Well, that’s almost impossible to answer, I am a very fickle florist. I change my mind almost weekly. One of the most wonderful things about being a floral designer who uses exclusively British seasonal flowers is how special each flower becomes, how you long for what isn’t in bloom and treasure what is. If I had to choose just one though it would probably have to be the garden rose and if pushed even further I would say Margaret Merril. She is elegant, fragrant and endlessly beautiful.

My favourite scent is…

Scent is a huge consideration in my work, scent is tied strongly to memories and so needs careful consideration and balance. I love the scent of tuberose and wish it could be grown in the UK, having said that, there’s something absolutely intoxicating about a handful of lily of the valley.

The species that should be sent to Room 101 is…

I think that there’s a time and a place for every flower, but I must confess the smell of some species of hypericum berries does absolutely nothing for me.

Inspirations

My first floral memory is…

Lying in the grass and watching bees and butterflies coming in to land on a butterfly tree in the garden one warm summer in my childhood. The scent of the flowers still transports me back to that moment if I unwittingly catch a waft whilst walking down a street in the summer and I remember how fascinated I was.

The species with the most sentimental value to me is…

Actually alpine strawberries, they remind me of my grandfather’s garden. My mother adores them and they have the loveliest little fruits, and the sweetest flowers. They are just wonderful in buttonholes and corsages too. I can’t help but smile when I get to incorporate them into personal flowers.

The most beautiful bouquet I’ve ever seen was…

I’ve never really thought about it, I see so many bouquets and I’ve loved racking my brains thinking about which was the most beautiful. The one that inspired me the most was a celebration of spring flowers by The Garden Gate Flower Co in Cornwall, it made me think, someday I would love to be able to create such seemingly effortless beauty. It stuck in my mind for the longest time and inspired me to work with rather than against nature.

My favourite installation was…

The hanging hoops that my team and I created for a dear friend’s wedding – I was a guest and sitting below the floral hoops was just an absolute joy, usually we’re well away before the wedding breakfast and the speeches but sitting underneath those fragrant flower filled hoops whilst sipping champagne and feeling all of the love in the room was something I’ll never forget.

My Floral Home Hacks

If you’ve got £20 to spend on flowers/decor for a dinner party, you should…

Find a grower and ask for a few stems of their loveliest flowers. www.flowersfromthefarm.co.uk would be a wonderful place to start.

This year I’m growing…

I’m growing lots of roses, clematis, herbs and wisteria and I shall enjoy each and every bloom, whether I cut them or not. I’m planting some abelia too because I could never have enough…it’s my favourite flowering foliage at the moment.

With a £50 budget, the best botanical/floral gift for a loved one is…

Floristry scissors and a book on floral mechanics!

Loving Sarah Diligent's floral home hacks? Read more from this blog series

Charlotte Argyrou Blog: Floral Dreams and Creative Living

In all my years of experience, here’s my one tip to make your florals at home look better and last longer…

Learn about conditioning flowers well, it’s the biggest difference you can make to your flowers longevity.

The best supermarket flowers are from…

I believe that Waitrose sell some British flowers, but honestly I’d rather get fresher flowers from a grower, supporting a small business and knowing the provenance are important to me.

When it comes to wearing floral prints, I…

Tend not to, but now and again just can’t resist.

In my home, florals are…

In teeny tiny bud vases or in huge bottles/vases – they’re usually little leftovers or snapped stemmed flowers that wouldn’t be useful in designs or branches that weren’t needed but which I couldn’t bear to leave to be chipped ready for the compost.

Find Out More about Sarah Diligent | Floribunda Rose | A Guide to Floral Mechanics

If you’ve loved scrolling through Sarah Diligent of Floribunda Rose’s portfolio of beautiful florals, you can discover more here:

Follow @floribundaroseflorists on Instagram

Artisan Floral Design and Workshops on the Floribunda Rose website

Buy A Guide to Floral Mechanics by Sarah Diligent here

love, charlotte

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Flower Blog Series – Flowers with Friends: Blue Sky Flowers

Charlotte Argyrou — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 14:52:27 +0000

Flowers with Friends: Blue Sky Flowers

A quickfire interview with founder Liz Inigo Jones

It’s high time for a flower blog update, with another in my Flowers with Friends series. Today, I interview Liz, founder of west London based Blue Sky Flowers. Liz serves up incredible installations and bouquets for some of London and the Home Counties’ finest venues. We caught up on her floral memories and tips for your flowers at home, plus there’s an new illustration revealed at the end of the blog.

My signature floral style is…

Elegant and lush, natural and beautiful

And here’s how I discovered my signature style…

It developed over time, I guess. I’ve always said I don’t think I have a style but people say ‘You do!’

A Few of my Favourite Things

My first floral memory is…

My dad grew dahlias and although I tend to incline away from bright clashing colours, that’s what our garden always looked like and I loved ‘helping’ him in the greenhouse although I mostly washed pots.

My all-time favourite flower is…

Erm… it changes with the season. Spring is Sweet Pea, Summer is a fragrant garden Rose, Autumn is a Chocolate Cosmos and Winter a dark aubergine coloured Ranunculas… or Anemone… or both!

My favourite scent is…

Le Labo Neroli for me and in a flower, Jasmine all the way.

The species that should be sent to Room 101 is…

How big is the room…? Gerbera, station forecourt Carnations… and the lovechild of either of those with Gyp!

The most beautiful bouquet I’ve ever seen was…

One made by a florist friend of mine, Alison at Mad Lilies…. She has a photo of it on her shop wall and every time I see it, I wish I had made it.

My wedding bouquet was…

Bizarrely, although I wasn’t even nearly a florist when I got married, I made my own bouquet. I went to a stall in Seven Dials and chose Chocolate Cosmos and brown Hypericum berries to go with the green and black Pittosporum foliage I’d already found in my garden. It was my second marriage so I didn’t do the whole jumping up and down about the design side of things, I decided what I wanted and did it all myself… we had an Italian themed weekend in Devon, foraged for mushrooms in the morning, decorated the Hall of the place with flags and banners and had a masked ball.

Home and Style

If you’ve got £30 to spend on flowers/décor for a dinner party, you should…

Spend it on a mix of white flowers from a high street florist, get some greenery from your garden and fill as many little bottles, small vases as possible and make a loose line of them down the table with loads of candles and tealights.

With a £50 budget, the best botanical/floral gift for a loved one is…

Find out what they like and get a bouquet to reflect it. Often people buy for others what they like themselves and it doesn’t always work that way.

In all my years of experience, here’s my one tip to make your florals at home look better and last longer…

When you get them home, recut the ends, put into deep cool water before you arrange them. After a few hours of conditioning, recut and place them in your chosen vase. Change the water every few days and try not to put them in full sunlight.

When it comes to wearing floral prints, I…

Don’t!

In my home florals are…

Usually leftovers from weddings or a few bits from my garden, if I can be bothered. It’s a bit all or nothing. My husband says it looks like a funeral parlour on strike sometimes. Charming!

Above, an original bouquet design by Liz at Blue Sky Flowers, alongside an illustration by Charlotte Argyrou

Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service

Find Out More

Visit the Blue Sky Flowers website

Follow Liz on Instagram

Home delivery bouquets available here

Where to Now?

Enjoy this blog post? There’s plenty more exploration of creative living, becoming and being a creative business owner, all with a floral flourish here

Find out more About Me

Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service and Botanical Illustration Commissions

love, charlotte

Weave in and out of my illustration business, inspirations and latest collaborations. Join me on instagram, pinterest and facebook.

The post Flower Blog Series – Flowers with Friends: Blue Sky Flowers appeared first on Charlotte Argyrou.

Weddings Archives | Charlotte Argyrou

3 Ways to Choose Unique Wedding Gifts

3 Ways to Choose Unique Wedding Gifts

If you wish to stray from the registry list

Introduction

1. It’s a gift for them, not for you

By Susie Evans, Surrey and South East Wedding Planner

2. Personalisation

By Lucy White, co-founder Wiskow & White, Italian Wedding Planners

3. Longevity

By Valentina Ring, founder The Stars Inside, UK and Destination Wedding Planner

Conclusion

2022 Floral Trends Report

2022 Floral Trends

Introduction

Where We Were, Where We Are Now

Welcome to my Contributing Editors

About

Chapters

1. Floral Business: Being Human

Personality Led Branding

3. Show Us Some Context

4. Waste in Unpoetic

5. Rooted in Nature, Rooted at Home

Conclusion

With Thanks

Modern Vintage Style with dressmaker Rose Savage

Modern Vintage Style with dressmaker Rose Savage

Interview and “New Moon” Collection Showcase

Introduction

Interview with Rose Savage

When a customer comes to you with an idea for a dress, how do you make sure you are on the same page?

How does modern vintage style influence your bespoke designs?

Into epic bouquets?

What’s the best stage of the entire bespoke process from your point of view? And from your customer’s?

Your New Moon collection has a luxe, creative, cool girl vibe, but it’s still very soft. How did you pinpoint that aesthetic?

And Finally…

Just for fun…. who was the best dressed bride in history?

Find Out More

Where now?

Wedding Bouquet Illustration Reviews

Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service Reviews

The National Award-Winning Wedding Gift Service

Read about my national award win at TheWedding Industry Awards 2021

How Does the Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service Work?

5 Reasons a Bouquet Illustration Makes a Perfect One Year Anniversary Gift

Like the illustrations but not ready to book? You can follow me on Instagram, ask questions via my contact form, or sign-up to my occasional newsletter here

Success! You will receive the next edition of Still Life in your inbox as soon as it is published

Wedding Gift Idea – Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service wins National Award

National Award-Winning Wedding Gift Idea

Wedding Bouquet Illustration Service wins “Special Touch” Category at The Wedding Industry Awards 2021

Dear Award Winning Botanical Illustrator

Dear Award-Winning Botanical Illustrator

A Letter to my 15 Year Old Self

love Charlotte

50 Life Lessons by Regina Brett

2021 Floral Trends Report

2021 Floral Trends

Introduction

Why a Trends Report when Weddings are Currently Banned?

1. 2021 Floral Trends in Intimate Weddings

2. The Year of the Truly Individual Wedding

3. On the Subject of Sustainability

British and Seasonal

4. Single Species Bouquets

Contemporary, Sculptural, Minimalist

5. Mixed Fresh and Dried Florals

Conclusion

Find Out More

How do I Gently Grow my Unique Wedding Business in a Pandemic?

How do I Gently Grow my Unique Wedding Business in a Pandemic?

Five Mindset Lessons I Share on The Wedding Business Podcast

Introduction

The Wedding Business Podcast Episode 20

Lesson One

Know Thyself

Lesson Two

Everything Will Be Fine

Lesson Three

Thoughts are not Facts