Aug 163 min read

Alexandera & Richard This is how their story played out at Iscoyd Park

Updated: Nov 16

Bide and groom leaving St Marys Church at Whitewell

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

You could definitely say it was love at first sight for Alexandria and Richard. They met through a dating app in 2017 – Alexandria had swiped right on a picture of him and a cute dog – which later turned out wasn’t his. She forgave him in the end and when they met in person for the first time, sparks flew.

“Both of us were set on each other within the first hour of meeting- we'd planned and gone on three dates in the next week and never looked back,” she says.

A berry bridal bouquet sitting on the church pew at St Marys Church Whitewell

SOMETHING THAT WOULD WOW

When it came to planning their wedding, flowers were always going to play a big part. Alexandria admits she is obsessed with them, so finding the right floral designer was very high on her list of priorities.

“We wanted something different to what we’d seen previously - something that would wow people but not in an over the top way,” she says. Luckily, Jacqui made her feel at ease straight away when they had their first meeting, over Zoom.

“After I had changed my mind about a few things slightly and we had another chat, I knew she completely saw the vision I had in my head, and I had no issues with letting her do her thing.”

“I was completely confident I would be walking into the wedding breakfast set up of my dreams.”

FEAST FOR THE EYES

Jacqui listened attentively to all of Alexandria’s ideas, even when she wasn’t sure she was making much sense. Alexandria says she was wowed by Jacqui’s experience, enthusiasm and creative flair. “I was completely confident I would be walking into the wedding breakfast set up of my dreams.”

In fact, she says her favourite moment of the wedding was entering the marquee for the first time and seeing exactly what she had envisioned. “It was magical. The flowers were an absolute feast for the eyes, and we couldn't get over how amazing it all looked.”

To achieve their theme, they considered what might grow in an English country garden, such as a classic carnation, and then Jacqui helped them choose newer varieties with fewer petals, for a more contemporary vision. Half the flowers were grown by Jacqui’s local artisan grower, and half were carefully selected from international growers. They then added a modern, “jewel” tone by including cerise hues and deep cherry tones from scabious Sweet Cherry Scoop. Painted fern gave it another contemporary twist.

A close-up of the wedding flower bowl featuring a unique pink rose, elegantly designed by Jacqui O at Iscoyd Park.

SWEET ROMANCE

Their wedding palette consisted of cerise, reds and blush, which was teamed with an assorted array of beautiful candles in brass holders, perfectly complimenting the floral centrepieces and the tableware. The florals themselves included Sweet Romance hypericum, Sweet Lexy phlox, Hashtags Rosa Spray, “Just More” garden roses, snap dragons, red-painted asparagus fern, delicate piano roses, dainty scabiosa, ‘peony’ garden roses, vibrant astilbes and cerise Solomio Imre carnations.

“The colour palette was a big hit - something not many people had seen, and it looked beautiful in contrast to the white marquee,” says Alexandria. “It felt very intimate and also very interesting. No one vase was the same and everyone commented on the variety of the different types of flowers. A lot of people set they felt like they were on the set of a ball in Bridgerton!”

The hydrangea pom poms that Jacqui created for the church ceremony were also very popular, with lots of people - including those from the chapel - commenting on how lovely they looked. The 17cm heads in “lolly pop pink” were so big Jacqui used a single flower head for each pom pom, with jewel ribbons trailing underneath, adding an understated elegance to the quaint chapel.

THE BOUQUET

Bride horizontal bouquet with rudbeckia, dahilia, farden roses at iscoyd park

The bridal bouquet was filled with an array of pure flowers without foliage, which was perfect for Alexandria. The flowers included “Catharina Echinacea”, “Princess Fairy Pink”, Cherry Caramel phlox and Salvia Viridis pink, with a little bit of fragment mint to add a touch of green.

Alexandria's Top Wedding Tip

“Book in the big suppliers as soon as possible and do your research! There are so many suppliers out there it is important that you choose ones that will see your vision and take the stress out of the day.” Which is what Jacqui certainly did.