Groom & Groom say “I do” in Ampthill; A beautiful, Bold, Black & Gold themed Gay Wedding
Groom & Groom; Chris and Bern, with individual buttonholes
Formal black tie and grooms-maids, gave dramatic impact!
Finding the right wedding flowers for Chris & Berns’ special day was easy and such a pleasure – they had done most of the thinking for me, before we even met! With creative backgrounds and a real keen eye for Art & Design, my wedding couple knew exactly what they didn’t want, and they knew the feel and vibe they wanted to create.
Wedding flowers with a bold look
We chatted excitedly from the very first call, about how we could achieve something Bold, dramatic and classy. We talked about their grooms-maids and best man, and the dresses and suits… the vibe they wanted to create for their friends and family and the wow factor that we could achieve with bold floral statement pieces.
Ceremony backdrop design, with floor meadow
LGBTQ friendly weddings
This LGBTQ wedding was to bring two families together, to be able to pronounce their love for each other in front of their dearest friends and family, meant so much to them. They wanted to be genuine, heartfelt and have some meaningful touches to their ceremony space. At the same time, they had a keen sense of creating an inviting, informal atmosphere, having a long table arrangement for the reception dinner, for example, to create a family atmosphere; bringing everyone together around one table.
I suggested we create a ceremonial floor-meadow around them whilst saying their vows… that could be re-purposed along the middle of the table, creating a beautiful table-scape with candles.
Chris & Berns’ passion and commitment melted my heart, and we knew together, that we could create something really special. Bern had sadly lost his mum, and wanted something special from her, to be part of the day – a home-gift that she had bought them before she passed. Bern packaged and sent it to me by post, and I knew as soon as I saw that it was their initials for their names, that I could fill them with moss and create special flower designs to spill out of them, and place them high on a mantel directly behind them.
“Within a minute of our first Zoom call, we knew Ali was the florist for us...”
The grooms-maids were to be in black evening wear and Chris was to wear a gold velvet jacket, and Bern in black tie. The couple knew they didn’t want ‘flower–heavy’ bouquets – and they didn’t want anything to be “too rosey”. We knew we wanted a foliage-heavy look, but still needed some drama and wow factor!
“Illusion” wedding cake with dried flower design, and hanging test tube floral display as backdrop.
Grooms Flowers
We discussed the idea of one of the grooms carrying flowers, but decided instead to go for dramatic oversized groomsmen buttonholes – each with its’ own style and uniqueness, for each groom.
The grooms-maids flowers we decided needed to have BIG impact. Plenty of mixed ferns, eucalyptus and white fluffy Astilbe providing textural contrast and highlights, with black Scabious providing low lights and a few velvety mixed garden roses to give depth.
Dramatic illusion wedding cake
Chris’s sister-in-law was making the cake; a spectacular ‘floating’ illusion cake, and Chris & Bern were keen to incorporate dried flowers into that. I worked with Chris’s sister and liaised with her with samples and test-run pieces – so that we could get it perfect. Together, we decorated with a mixed palette of dried flowers and grasses, to hide the mechanics and create the illusion.
The ceremony @thewhitehart Ampthill had a backdrop (made by Chris’s dad and brother) with a fantastic, personalised commissioned neon sign of the grooms’ surnames. I decided to adorn the corners with dramatic swathes of grasses, pampas, seedheads, mixed foliage and beautiful draping Amaranthus.
Treasured gifts, turned into floral designs
Personal touches with meaning
At the bar entrance area, a large, caged feature fireplace mantel was crying out for décor/styling – and we decided to go dramatic with a hanging test-tube vase display. 100s of vases were strung with gold thread, filled with water, and filled with mixed grasses, Ammi and sweet pea tendrils. Trailing ivy was trained around the corners of the cage and the backdrop was perfect for the wedding cake display.
The whole venue was dotted with Gold Urns and vases of Gold on black stands, overflowing with draping foliage, ivy tendrils, Amaranthus and eucalyptus, each with black accents and white highlights.
Bold, Beautiful, Classy. It was such a perfect day, with the most beautiful people, and such a warm, friendly and inviting atmosphere.
A perfect, dream same-sex wedding. Huge congrats Chris & Bern! You made my day by choosing me to be your wedding florist!
If you want to check out the eco-friendly wedding florals I do make, have a look here. Feel free to contact me here with any questions about your wedding flowers and plans as well – I’d love to help
Rambling Stems floral tablescape
Venue: White Hart Ampthill, Bedfordshire
Florist: Rambling Stems
Photographer: pgracephoto
Cake: made by sister-in-law, decorated by florist
Flower suppliers: Howbury Farm Flowers, Hay Lane Flowers, Van VLIET flowers
Chris and Bern Wedding day, the beautiful ‘I Do’s’