Romantic + Whimsical Georgian Era Wedding Inspiration

7 Stems Astrantia Major Roma

3 Stems Sebastian Dahlia

5 Stems Cafe Latte Garden Rose

2 Stems Caramel Antike Garden Rose

10 Stems Pale Pink Sweet Pea

2 Stems Secret Garden Rose

4 Stems Trailing Jasmine Vine

2 Stems Eucalyptus Parvifolia

2 Stems Eucalyptus Populus

2 Stems Eucalyptus Gunnii

From Kate Alban Davies... My favourite part of the design process has to be the interpretation of a vision, taking someone's ideas and transforming them into a design. So when I was asked to create the flowers for a Georgian Era themed wedding shoot I couldn't wait to get started!

The stylist Serendipity Wedding Planning and photographer Zosia Zacharia wanted the flowers to embody the romantic and ethereal style of the era. The setting was Parkstead House replete with neo-classical architecture, decorative plaster work and spiralling stone staircases which provided an elegant backdrop for our shoot. When discussing the style we focused on the idea of capturing the classical feel by creating a trailing bouquet with an English Heritage colour scheme. Zosia shoots with film which makes pastels soft and colours pop, so with this in mind I was careful with my colour selection, too many bright colours would dominate the subtle theme we wanted to create.

I wanted the design to be as authentic as possible and to truly capture not only the graceful feel of the era but to use native and seasonal flowers that were fashionable at the time. Roses were at the height of fashion in the Georgian period, so they had to play a dominant part. To truly capture the nostalgic feel I selected old English rose varieties such as Cafe Latte and Caramel Antike with beautiful layered textures. To form the cascading shape I used trailing jasmine, sweet peas and three different varieties of eucalyptus foliage. Inspired by an English Heritage colour palette I selected a blend of subtle shades with touches of richer tones. I used eucalyptus for the soft greys, Secret Garden rose for the blush pinks and added gold and dusky pink roses and copper dahlias to add depth.

I loved designing this bouquet and it was a joy working with Zosia, she captured the subtle and elegant mood perfectly. There is a real revival of heritage varieties of flowers, the rose in particular which is wonderful to see as they are a real favourite of mine. I love to use native seasonal flowers, my inspiration has always come from the flowers growing both in the garden and in the wild and whenever possible I use the flowers growing in my cutting garden in Kent as the basis for all my designs.

Floral Design: Kate Alban Davies Floral Design | Photography: Zosia Zacharia