“Imagine clutching a beautiful bouquet of flowers that were grown especially for your big day.

Mistaken Identity video download Bangkok Dangerous That’s what I’m looking forward to in June 2009 when I get married in Suffolk.  My flowers are all coming from my Granddad’s greenhouse, a local flower grower or the fields near to my parent’s house.

I’m hugely concerned about the carbon emissions, water usage and pollution caused by flower growing and transporting. For me, knowing where my wedding flowers have come from and how they’ve been grown is really important.  And besides my day job is to promote eco-travel in the UK and Ireland, so making sure my wedding stays clean and green is a no-brainer!

The best thing about ecologically sourced flowers is that I don’t feel limited in any way for choice.  It’s a real opportunity to think creatively about our flowers and arrangements.  So I’m looking at lisianthus, delphiniums and chrysanthemums for the bouquets which can all be grown in Suffolk for a June bloom.

For winter weddings, why not try a touch of holly or explore some barks, stems and evergreens. We’re planning to create fabulous green arrangements using ivy that grows in abundance in the local lanes. The ivy wreaths will look great in our barn venue and will cost very little.

In any case, buying flowers in season will save you money. You just need to get permission from the local farmer or council to pick wildflowers or shrubs. We’ll also be ‘growing’ our wedding favours using seeds, tiny pots and Granddad’s green house.

For additional decoration, Mum and I are going to learn the craft of willow weaving to create standing sculptures for the barn entrance. 

I’m convinced that the combination of a personal touch and seasonal flowers from Suffolk is going to inspire my family and friends. It really puts your guests in touch with the local landscape particularly if they are not from the area.  Giving them something to take home and continue to grow is also a beautiful reminder of the day.”

OFFER 1: 10% off!

Get a 10% discount on wedding flowers for all weddings booked by 31 August 2008

OFFER 2: Free bridal bouquet

Receive a free bride’s bouquet worth £100 with any wedding bookings of £500 or more

To take advantage of these offers and go seasonal and local with your wedding flowers, just get in touch with Beatriz at Butterflies of Blairgowrie quoting “Ethical Weddings“.

Let us know how you get on!

Take care,

Katie
Ethical Weddings

Name: Beatriz Custodio-Strachan
Location: Blairgowrie – Scotland

Tell us a bit about yourself and your business
I grew up watching the women in my family create beauty with flowers. Photos that are reminders of this have always surrounded me in every home I’ve ever lived in.

In my shop I sell flowers that are fragrant and beautiful, each stem is unique and each design I create is unique too.

My business comes from wanting to create beauty with flowers that have been produced without damaging the environment by ethical growers, I do this every day and it makes my customers and me happy.

What or who inspires you?
Photos of my Great-grandmother, my Grandmother and my mother with armfuls of flowers, the beautiful flowers I work with, the brides themselves who come into my shop and care so much about making a difference, my children and their laughter.

On the environmental side I am inspired by my determination to make a difference and protect our beautiful planet for future generations.

I am also inspired by suppliers, the flowers and plant growers, who are as passionate as I am about producing flowers that have been grown in an ethical and eco-friendly way.

What do you enjoy most about running your business?
I love doing weddings, the whole romance of it, the dreams and the love I see but most of all being able to create beauty with fantastic flowers that are fragrant and natural. I really enjoy delivering flowers because no matter what mood the recipient is in as soon as I present them with a bouquet of flowers someone has sent to them their faces are transformed!

It never ceases to amaze me the joy that flowers bring to a person’s life, I see it so clearly when I deliver flowers to someone. I also enjoy meeting people who care as much as I do about the environment and the ethical issues surrounding the flower industry.

What is the most challenging aspect?
Helping people understand the difference between my flowers and those that they can buy in other establishments.

Encouraging people to have confidence in the flowers that are grown in the UK.

Trying to get customers to understand the consequences of buying 20 roses for £4 on the lives of the workers in the fields in South America and why buying one rose for £4 that has been grown in the UK makes a difference to the environment.

It is very challenging to stand up day in day out for these principles in a small community that has always done things one way and that way alone; I hope that this is slowly changing as we all continue to support ethical and environmental issues.

What do you feel you bring to an ethical wedding?
I offer couples the opportunity to have beautiful flowers that have been grown naturally without chemicals or pesticides with 0 airmiles. Unique and fragrant flowers made into designs that have been created with their personalities in mind. I offer flowers to feel proud of!!

How do you see the wedding industry changing over the next five years (if at all)?
I see more and more couples wanting to make a positive difference and to have a wonderful wedding without damaging the environment. I see the wedding industry becoming more aware of the difference that can be made by choosing a positive option and doing things in an ethical and environmentally conscious way.

Find out more about Butterflies of Blairgowrie – locally-grown seasonal wedding bouquets

Name: Sue Harper
Location: mid Wales

Tell us a bit about yourself and your business
Growing and selling seasonal cut flowers is something I’ve wanted to do for many years now.

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My husband Pete and I are both organic gardeners and we started the business 2 years ago. We are building up the cutting garden, planting shrubs and perennials, as my hope is that eventually we’ll be able to offer arrangements for weddings at any time of year.

What or who inspires you?
The flowers inspire me, I still never cease to be amazed by the intricacy, beauty, and variety of them and in the case of annuals, the feat of so many flowers, so quickly growing from one little seed is always magical.

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Mio nome è Nessuno, Il video I’m also inspired by my husband Pete with all his hard work, Sarah Ravens’ books have been very helpful with choosing flower varieties and Roger MacLennan, gardener at The Centre for Alternative Technology taught me how to grow things!

What do you enjoy most about running your business?
Seeing people get pleasure from the flowers, watching the plants grow and the bees visiting the flowers, and seeing all the other wildlife at the field.

What is the most challenging aspect?
It’s lucky we don’t mind hard work!

What do you feel you bring to an ethical wedding?
Flowers grown without artificial chemicals, that haven’t been flown long distances or grown in heated polytunnels that use large amounts of energy.

How do you see the wedding industry changing over the next five years (if at all)?
A lot of the enquiries that I receive are interested in sourcing everything as locally as they can.

Find out more about Sweet Loving Flowers

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