Judy & Stuart’s dream wedding
The inaugural Rook Botanics’ wedding! Judy and Stuart’s wedding will always have a special place in my heart.
I met Judy many years ago at one of the first jobs I took after graduating from the University of Glasgow. It blossomed into a friendship and as we both moved on to different jobs we stayed in touch.
When I said yes to Judy and Stuart’s wedding Rook Botanics was just a tiny seed of a thought in my mind. I had been working in marketing in the charity sector for about six or so years and I was feeling unsatisfied. I hadn’t intended to return to flowers, but Judy asked me whether I would be interested in doing her wedding, as she wanted someone she trusted. It was such an easy yes to take on this wedding. It felt right. That’s when the ball really started rolling for RB.
I had done many weddings before when I had worked in brick and mortar florists. At the time it was exciting to work on weddings, but there was definitely less creativity and less imaganitve in the wedding brief I had all those many years ago. Judy and Stuart’s wedding was the first solo wedding I had taken on. It was also the most original wedding I had worked on. The colour palette was divine, so romantic and dreamy. I couldn’t have asked for a better brief for my first solo wedding!
Seeing everything come together on the day was just incredible. I was so tired, emotionally and physically. But the second I saw Judy step into the room I welled up. To see her carry a bouquet that I had created, and tweaked and obsessed over, just filled me with so much pride and happiness. I knew then that weddings would be a pillar of Rook Botanics.
This realisation was solidified when I was able to grab a second with the photographer and cheekily ask if she would be able to send me the professional photos of the flowers I had created. The wedding was shot by Rhiannon Neale, not only a photography whizz, but also an incredibly kind human being! She said that my flowers were some of the best she had seen. It was a pinch me moment. Whenever I let self doubt creep in I remember her words.
A year on I can vividly remember creating every single buttonhole, all the table centres, the bridal bouquet, all as if it was yesterday. The absolute cherry on the top of doing this wedding was it coinciding with the launch of the Lord of the Rings audiobooks, which had been rerecorded by Andy Serkis. After listening to Serkis’ version of The Hobbit, I was desperate for the trilogy to be released. It came out days before I started working on the wedding flowers. The timing was perfect. I couldn’t believe my luck, getting to work with flowers whilst listening to one of my favourite book series. It felt like dreams coming true.
Right after the ceremony we were ushered outside to throw confetti at the newly married couple. The second I was handed a cone of confetti I clocked that the cone was made from a book page. A page from Lord of the Rings, the groom's favourite book.
If you would be interested in me creating florals for your wedding, I would be absolutely honoured. Please check out the weddings section on my website for more information.
All photography taken by Rhiannon Neale.
