Flowers, candles, confetti..

The impact of ordering locally grown, seaonal flowers for your wedding cannot be underestimated. Do you really want your sweet smelling blooms clocking up energy-guzzling carbon miles? Ask the local florist about local growers, find out what is in season. Ask the question; have the flowers been grown in a pesticide-free environment? Many imported flowers are treated with chemicals to keep them fresh. And local flowers, in season, must be cheaper - right?

Here are a few websites we found which give advice on seasonal British flowers:

The Flowers and Plants Association website

The English Cottage Garden Nursery

And Melinda Ashton-Turner recently wrote an excellent article in The Guardian magazine (Saturday March 29, 2008) all about ordering English blooms by post, including Freesias (so beautiful, so heavenly scented - and so reasonably priced!) amongst other lovely things from Cornish Flowers and the fab Real Flower Company who specialise in scented foliage and flowers, grown in England and Kenya, where they clearly operate with a strong social conscience (NB carbon emissions from Kenyan roses are apparently 17% of that for Dutch...).

Grow your own!

Have you got twelve or even six months left before your wedding day? Why not grow your own table arrangements! It's easy, and cheap, and a positive step encouraging natural life. Choose native English species, or consider cultivating wild flowers. Living flowers are perfect as they are not cut and cultivated simply to be thrown away (or transported elsewhere). They can be given as meaningful gifts afterwards, or planted in your garden as a fragrant reminder of your day (and your positive choices). If you have less time, don't panic - support small businesses buy buying living flowers locally.

Try Wiggly Wigglers for native English plants (NB they also deliver seasonal bouquets - next day!) We also LOVE their beehive composters. And they sell worms too...

And don't forget to control your pests biologically!:

http://www.greengardener.co.uk/

To get the look...

We like the eclectic look. After all, pots, vases and flower receptacles can be picked up from charity shops (and even more cheaply from car boot sales) - could you borrow them from friends or family? If you insist on new, what about supporting local artists and potters? You could collect a vase a month for the next twelve months - bingo, ten tables worth.

Why not try different blooms in different vases, or a mixture of pot-grown plants - and add different-shaped candles for that antique effect. Is there a friend or family member who is an expert and would prefer to give a gift 'in kind' and help you with the flowers? (If in doubt hire in a professional.) How about mixing the blooms with seasonal herbs; traditionally carried by the bride to ward off evil spirits. Which neatly brings us to to...

The bouquet....

To have, to hold. But what exactly should you hold? For civil weddings, hotels and historic houses often don't have the requisite long 'aisles'. Do you feel comfortable with a large bouquet? We are not sure that the modern bride needs a full (£100+) bouquet, and her maids a matching one each. Don't feel obliged to carry anything if you are not comfortable - but if you do, a few herbs and simply tied wild flowers (picked from your garden, not the open countryside, or someone elses!) will prove the perfect foil to your divine dress (and who wants to overshadow that dress anyway!).

HOT TIP: Caroline says: "My florist included lavender in my neat little bouquet (pictured above) - which helped keep me feeling calm through all the scary parts of the day!!"

Light up your life!

Candles are expensive there is no getting away from it. But they really can MAKE a wedding we think - a candlelit room is always romantic (and hey - you're not draining the grid at the same time!!)

Tea lights look pretty in cleaned out jam jars and glass yoghurt pots - seriously! Stick to a single colour of glass throughout (we like clear) for an elegant table decoration (although the only thing we found to remove the toughest labels was lighter fluid - perhaps not so green).

We used more expensive candle-holders for the mantlepieces in our venue and things we had collected ourselves for the tables. With some greenery your simple candles and natural flowers will look rustic, unfussy - relaxing! .

We found a few natural candle suppliers:

Corfe Candles who offer beautiful candles made from soy beans - non-toxic and non-carcinogenic and totally biodegradable!

Or for beeswax candles handmade in Wales - try Canhwyllau Cymraeg