Tudor Rose Flower School

He may be bit of a shrinking violet but only so many people can tell you you should set up a flower school before you take note.

So now our own head honcho florist, Danny Preston, who despite his shy demeanour has a reputation as one of the best in the business, is sharing his extensive floral knowledge at the Tudor Rose Flower School – passing on the skills which have given him so much job satisfaction as well as considerable personal pleasure.

The warm and informal coaching sessions – held in the brand new design space created at our beautifully refurbished shop in Hatter Street, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk – will be fun and informative with a magical sparkling of Danny’s unique brand of inspiration.

Morning, afternoon and evening workshops, of between six and eight people, are perfect for groups of friends and family looking for that special “experience” outing.

Learn to make the lush Christmas door wreath you’ve dreamed of creating or how to transform a bucket of stems into a beautiful bespoke bouquet. Whatever the results, cake and fuzz will celebrate your achievements!

Danny and his talented team also offer in-depth tuition for people looking to gain more formal floristry experience – possibly as the foundation for a new career.

Day sessions and more extended coaching courses over several weeks - timed to coincide with large-scale wedding and event work - are available. One-on-one sessions on request.

Maison Talbooth Open Evening

When the lovely Alex from Maison Talbooth emailed to ask if we would be able to do some flowers the following week for an open evening at the absolute jewell of a wedding and party venue, we were utterly shattered.

We were in the thick of a major refit. Our new-look shop and flower school was about to open and we were knee deep in paint, electricians and boxes and boxes of new stock.

But having done some beautiful, intimate weddings at Maison Talbooth, we knew how glorious the venue on the Essex/Suffolk border looks and how some great florals can make it really magical.

With autumn fast approaching, we chose a very seasonal colour theme – flame reds, burnt oranges, berries and seed heads. We coupled densely packed posies with a shimmering runner of floating candles in glass vases and finished the display with seasonal gourds and wispy old man’s beard.

The array for the long dining table was complemented with a long low display set out in the neighbouring room, which – along with the stunning pool area in the delightful and secluded gardens, is licensed for wedding ceremonies.

And chatting to guests and the Maison Talbooth staff throughout the evening was a delight – they were all very complimentary and not one of them mentioned the matchsticks in our eyes!!!

P.S - I expect the candlelight helped...

Sophie & Ben – Garden Marquee

With the trend for spectacular marquee florals taking hold, finding the right florist for the job is key.

Having specialised in wedding and event floristry for many years we feel we have seen and done most things but when our lovely bride-to-be Sophie came into the Tudor Rose shop in Bury St Edmunds with her mum, Kate, they had a challenge, even for us.

They wanted a spectacular floral ceiling as the focal point of their marquee wedding – running between two towering hornbeam trees and really bringing the beauty of Kate’s gorgeous Suffolk garden into the marquee itself.

Planning for the breathtaking giant chandelier-style display in the traditional Chelmer marquee was a feat of engineering in itself – working within strict weight limits and deciding on the best way to stabilise such a large-scale piece above the heads of so many wedding revellers.

And on the day itself hundreds of individually wired blooms were slotted into place to completely cover the industrial looking scaffold structure.

Amid not a little trepidation, the Tudor Rose team winched the ceiling into place. Sighs of relief were met with encouraging applause from our fellow suppliers. High fives all round!

We thought the end result was rather beautiful – hope you agree!

Professional Photographs – Steven John Brooks Photography https://www.stevenbrooksphotography.co.uk/

Natalie and Chris – Hengrave Hall

IT sounds awful, but if the bouquet makes the bride cry you know you’ve nailed it.

And so it was with our beautiful bride Natalie, who let the waterworks get the better of her when she was handed her gorgeous bouquet of blush pink peonies.

We feel for the make up artists – they must dread the arrival of the bouquet as it often has so much significance for the bride – but not so much that we don’t get a serious sense of satisfaction when a bride is so overcome tears are the inevitable result.

The lovely Natalie managed to avert serious make-up malfunction but the tears were a clear indication we had handed over a perfect bouquet.

We rarely get to see the bride’s reaction to the rest of the flowers but judging from her comments on social media, Natalie was equally moved: “Thank you so much @tudorroseflorist, the flowers were exactly what I dreamed for our wedding…”

Elegant martini vases topped with clouds of blush pink and ivory summer flowers – including stunning scented peonies and sweetpeas – decorated the Long Gallery at Hengrave Hall, alongside lower displays of similar flowers on our eye-catching crystal stands.

The displays were used first – to stunning effect – in the pretty church in the grounds of the stately home.

And Natalie even chose soft, fluffy astilbe for her aisle posies – the flower of the moment since it was used so prominently in Meghan Markle’s bridal bouquet.

Dear Tudor Rose,
Not sure how to thank you all. I truly was in awe the entire day at how magical and beautiful our flowers were. Thank you so much for your amazing expertise and skill. I absolutely love looking at the photos and think you will have a customer for life out of me and my mum! Love Natalie and Chris

Janay and Fraser – Hengrave Hall

IT was the toughest week of the year – a floral onslaught of gigantic proportions, logistics from hell, a wedding to end all weddings….and then there was the mother of the bride!

Thank God for her – the wonderful Lisha. She was just the most perfect customer in the world – she knew exactly what she wanted and she made all the hard work so worthwhile with her sublime charm and her absolute delight at our heroic efforts. And boy was Lisha’s daughter’s wedding grand!

On asked how many tables, our favourite bride’s mother said the dreaded words “twenty five” like she was ordering a cup of tea! And it wasn’t only 25, metre-high vases topped with statement displays massed with beautiful roses and the whitest hydrangea and finished with cascades of stunning phalaenopsis orchids.

It was rings of roses and hydrangea at the base of each one and every vase was finished with dozens of strands of glittering crystals – a perfect finishing touch – but a logistical nightmare given first access to Lisha’s fabulous marquee was at 9am and the wedding was at 2pm. However, Lisha wasn’t done with the 25 tables, a billowing cloud-like runner for the long top table, hundreds of vases filled with floating candles, several grand urns and a statement vase for the entrance to the marquee. No sir! She had her heart set on a fairytale church.

We tentatively suggested six magical tree-like arrangements lining one of the widest aisles in the country – St Mary’s, in Bury St Edmunds – might be enough. Lisha thought for a minute and said “how about 12?” Another cuppa Lisha?? And so it was…12 trees underlit with an enchanted runway of church candles in gleaming cylinder vases, a 15ft floral arch and two giant urn displays at the front.

Oh…did I mention the giant shower bouquet of phalaenopsis orchids for the bride, the lovely Janay, 10 bridesmaids handtieds of massed roses, 250 buttonholes and a Tudor Rose speciality – a beautiful floral table plan, which every single guest had a good look at.

Here are a few pics by the fantastic Martin Beard Photography which help capture an utterly amazing (if completely exhausting) day.

Claire and Josh – Hengrave Hall

Congratulations to Claire and Josh!

Our first big wedding of the season and the flowers were quite something!

The soft pinks and ivories – we used roses, some lovely Kloon ranunculus, stocks and some lush white and pink hydrangea – were given a fantastic lift with the use of some deep plummy/raspberry red tones.

Our bride, Claire, wanted classic and romantic with a pop of colour and she chose just the right shades for the beautiful little church at Hengrave and the grand Long Gallery.

Elegant lily vases adorned the altar, flanking a sumptuous long low display and the entrance was draped with a trademark Tudor Rose arch – finished with glorious, trailing jasmine to give a beautiful ethereal feel.

For the wedding breakfast, the tall lily vases on every other round guest table gave some wonderful impact, with the other tables adorned with lower displays on our eye-catching crystal stands.

The flowers were made that touch more gorgeous with the welcome appearance of the summer – a few days in late April which fooled us all that winter was over!

National Wedding Show – Olympia

Wow – what a weekend!

It was our first visit to the National Wedding Show at London’s Olympia and we were a little nervous, to say the least.

But we wanted to show off what we can do and decided to go for a very lavish top table design made up of three very tall fluted vases topped with a canopy of roses, hydrangea and flowing orchids – finished with opulent gold foliage.

The whole display was finished with a bank of glass vases with twinkling floating candles and hanging glass orbs filled with individual orchid heads or tea lights. We decorated the corner post of our plot with a vertical beam of flowers following the ivory, cream, pink, peach and gold colour theme we used for the main stand.

And the finishing touch was one of our beautiful trademark flower frames – perfect for a table plan.

The reaction was fantastic – our stand looked amazing and couples from all over the country were bowled over by what we did. Their comments made all the hard work and planning worthwhile.

Many thanks to @waltergrootscholtenorchid, @meijerroses and @flow_brooks_photography – Flow’s images captured the beauty of the orchids and roses (and, of course, the floristry…)

Emily and Mark – Hengrave Hall

Tudor Rose was delighted to supply the flowers for Emily and Mark’s wedding. The wedding took place at Hengrave Hall, Bury St Edmunds. Profusions of foliage in all the bouquets added a natural feel to the soft colour palette of blush pink, white and green. Offset against the deep blue of the bridesmaid’s dresses and it looked gorgeous! Emily and Mark also chose to have a Minstrels Gallery cascade in the Banqueting Hall within Hengrave Hall which adds such beauty and height to this wooden clad room.

Claire & Jonathan – Butley Priory

IT’S music to any florist’s ears when the bride – and her mother – say in no uncertain terms: “We don’t micromanage – work your magic.”

And so it was with Claire Morneau and her mum, Joyce O’Donnell.

Claire and Joyce gave us a colour scheme, some of their favourite flowers and a rough idea of what they wanted for Claire’s wedding to Jonathan at the beautiful Butley Priory in July.

In fact,we didn’t meet either London-based Claire or her mum until the day of the wedding – dealing mainly with Joyce (both on the phone and on email) from her home thousands of miles away in Texas.

We ran with their ideas and suggested a very muted pink and cream colour palette using beautiful vintage roses, blush peonies and more architectural calla lilies to create dramatic candelabra displays, a gorgeous mantel display lit with church candles and more simple posies for vintage glass vases offset with some lovely low candlelight.

It all sounded great on paper and we do wonderful wedding flowers throughout the year for scores of delighted brides but even with such a vote of confidence in what you do, and especially when the family is as lovely as this one, us wedding florists still worry about getting it pitch perfect.

So it was with some trepidation that we rolled up the Butley Priory drive and set to work. Joyce was out to greet us before the van came to a stop and wasn’t going anywhere until we opened up the doors.

Her reaction on seeing the flowers all boxed up for transportation (not the prettiest of sights) was fabulous. We knew we’d got it right straight away and Joyce and Claire, and their whole party of friends and family, were a delight from the minute we arrived.

Claire sent a lovely thank you note earlier in the week and Joyce continues to be the world’s best mother of the bride. In an email (see below) we received last night, entitled “Thank you for performing magic”,  she made all the anxiety over getting things just right absolutely worthwhile.

Our vote for magic mother – Joyce O’Donnell

photos by Phil Hearing Wedding Photography

I don't know where to begin with expressing how thrilled I am with the floral and decor that Tudor Rose provided for my daughter's wedding at Butley Priory on 22 July 2017.
It has been a particular pleasure to work with you, James, from the very beginning. As we were planning this sight unseen from many thousands of miles and time zones away, it seemed an impossible task. You helped make the planning and decisions so much easier with the wonderful Pinterest board you developed for Claire with the numerous options and suggestions. You were able to handle everything, including last minute rosemary sprigs for decorating the place setting. I believe I asked for ``magical`` and magical it was - the bouquets were absolutely lovely, the pew ends so pretty and summery with the rose petal aisle. The high candelabra florals with the tapers were so elegant and paired nicely with the low table arrangements with the beautiful glassware and candles. The mantlepiece with the pillar candles was so very stunning and completed the room perfectly.
You and your team at Tudor Rose handled everything brilliantly the day of the wedding. I was able to relax and just watch the magic happen.
An eternally grateful Mother of the Bride,
Joyce O'Donnell

Emma & Gavin – Hengrave Hall

It’s always lovely to get thank you presents – especially large tins brimming with delicious cakes…

But nothing – however calorific or alcohol laden – can beat a thank you card like the one the Tudor Rose team received from one of our favourite couples of the year – the fabulous Emma and Gavin.

The pair got hitched at Hengrave Hall earlier in June and Danny, Jess and Aimee worked their socks off to transform the gorgeous venue into a fairytale setting for their wonderful, relaxed wedding.

Jess brought together a glorious, billowing church arch, while Aimee and Danny were shinning up ladders to decorate the graceful pillars inside with breathtaking garlands.

Over in the hall itself, the tables for the wedding breakfast were finished with tall, elegant martini vases topped with dreamy white clouds of wedding flowers and low, crystal stands cradling displays in the same style.

A stunning frame of flowers in the white wedding theme held the table plan – a design which is rapidly becoming as  much a trademark for Tudor Rose as our unrivalled flower arches.

Thanks to some serious pre-planning and preparation in the cellar of our boutique style shop in Hatter Street, Bury St Edmunds, and on-the-day hard graft  everything came together beautifully.

But for the team, usually completely drained after big weddings – actually very little in the world of real wedding floristry is anything like the dreamy, flowery world portrayed by the romantics – a thank you like this makes all the hard work totally worthwhile.

Emma and Gavin’s lovely message – attached to the very gratefully received box of cakes – read as follows –

``Dear Danny, James and all the Staff at Tudor Rose. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your hard work at Hengrave on June 10th. Every area of Hengrave looked truly stunning and it exceeded all of our expectations. We have had so many messages and all have mentioned how beautiful the flowers were. Thank you for helping make our wedding day so perfect in every single way. Now put your feet up, have a cuppa and enjoy! With love and best wishes, Emma and Gavin (Mr and Mrs Collins) xxx``