Scotland is famous for its rainy weather, moody skies and misty charm so it’s no wonder that more and more couples are choosing to travel here for their wedding. Whether they are eloping to the highlands, or making the most of the cobbled streets of auld reekie there’s plenty of beautiful spots to say your “I dos” in Scotland.
Dark and moody spring bridal bouquet in a wild and natural style
After a long winter although the days are beginning to get lighter wedding days in February, March and April can still have the dark and otherworldly charm of autumn. People often think you can’t have dark and moody flowers at this time of year and that they are reserved only for Autumn weddings. However there are plenty of choices if you want to achieve that gothic, romantic look in the first half of the year.
Although this time of year can be tricky for using British grown flowers and foliage there are growers in Cornwall and the south we can use and also, of course, the Dutch markets which can import flowers from all around the world.
Romantic wedding flowers in Aberfoyle
Lisa and Emmanuel tied the knot in February near Aberfoyle in the Trossachs and chose beautiful whites, burgundies and greens for their wedding flowers. Although they weren’t about to get married outside in the Scottish winter we set up two beautiful vases of spring flowers on pedestals either side of the aisle to frame the ceremony space and the view out onto the loch beyond.
Lisa’s bouquet included hellebore, anemone, tulips, ranunculus and narcissus as well as viburnum, jasmine and olive foliage. The jasmine and narcissus lightened the bouquet giving it an airy delicate outline and a beautiful scent.
Photos by Neil Thomas Douglas
Outdoor Edinburgh elopement
Anna and Dakota eloped from America and had a beautiful wild wedding on Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh. Anna wanted the flowers to look like she’d just picked them on the way up the hill and we used dried elements like seed heads, grasses and even pheasant feathers to add texture and that hedgerow feel to her bouquet and buttonholes. Her flowers were mainly dark purples, burgundy and wine tones with just a few pops of white to add contrast. We created these moody tones from dark hellebores, anemones, cherry foliage and fritillaries. We also included purply succulents for a modern twist, and these are available all year round so seasonality should not be an issue. There are some close up shots of the bouquet and buttonholes at the start of this blog post.
Photos by Craig George Photography
Gothic spring bride
Brienne had a beautiful custom made Flossy and Dossy black wedding dress and being a make up artist created the most beautiful and dramatic look with dark lips and dark hair. For her spring wedding in Taynuilt near Oban I included brown tones of foliage as well as the traditional greens, and added berries for texture. We used tulips, double hellebores, snakeshead fritillaries and some beautiful deep dark orchids for a really dramatic moody bouquet to go with her look. Photos by Sidey Clark Photography
So if you’ve booked a spring date for your wedding but you love all things dark and moody don’t panic, there are plenty of ways to include all your favourite deep rich colours into your wedding flowers. For more information on spring flowers read my blog on how to plan a spring wedding or take a look at my Wedding Flowers Gallery or Instagram feed for more examples of wedding flowers. If you’d like to talk about your wedding flowers and find out how to book with Briar Rose Design get in touch.