Big romantic gestures look great in films…

but in real life, quiet love often means a whole load more. It is true that flowers can be tied to memories. A dozen red roses send me back, way back.

Red roses aren’t romantic to me. They’re intense and symbolic. They show up shouting expectation. How should I respond?

Years ago, whilst I was still scrubbing buckets in a cold florist’s basement for someone else, a man I’d known for years sent a dozen long-stemmed red roses to my place of work. It was meant to be romantic. Instead, it felt like emotional pressure wrapped up in cellophane. Suddenly, a simple catch up felt like a high-stakes romantic event.

I panicked. I gave them away, delayed meeting up, thanked him politely and we never really met up again after that.

Crazy situation then, and then quite out of the blue, loads of years later, I bumped into him whilst flowering up a wedding venue. He was the best man and told to check the venue. We were both surprised. He laughed and told me he’d never bought red roses again.

Honestly? Probably for the best.

I like roses. But I love a flower that feels like a quiet conversation not a shouting statement.

Not all love needs to be loud.

Not all love is red.

But all your flowers should be Cosmic x

You Be You!

This wedding florist got married without wedding flowers!

Yes, ’tis true – I felt the pressure. Just like you may be feeling right now too!
With so many wedding expectations, choices and costs – it can be blooming overwhelming!

For me, being a florist too, I felt the bar was set high and I had a feeling that the guests expectation of what ‘should’ be at a wedding was huge.

• Of course this wasn’t going to be the case, as we were to be surrounded by the friends and family we had chosen to be there! But at the time of planning, it’s a massive mind game of who, what, when and how much. The biggest thing I can say is don’t loose sight of who’s day this is. Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

• You are only planning on doing this once, right? So do it your way. You be You.

• Don’t live out someone else’s dream day. It goes so quick and in a blink of an eye, all the preparation and consideration you have given it for months (or years in some cases) is lost in the moment, and hopefully in the magic of you connecting with your love and starting the next chapters of your life story together.

  
  Our wedding was extremely personal, I didn’t have fresh flowers.
  I carried a few satin handmade buds to acknowledge my grandmothers talented craft and I wrapped them in ivy and berries that were growing from the side of another family members memorial headstone. That wasn’t morbid or weird. Not to us anyway, it was personal, considered and fitting to us and our story.

• If you’re feeling the pressure, take a step back. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by ideas, I urge you to close all the wedding apps open on your device and go for a walk with your love. Choose your wedding flowers around your story. We all have one, even if you don’t think it’s significant, there will be one. This is your staring point. Make your wedding day, yours. Totally you. This should be the only day in your life together that is all about you and only you.

  
  Ditch a hundred photographs you really wont look at more than once, ditch the expensive extras in a beautiful building that has its own voice, ditch the guest list that pleases some but not you, and smile, laugh and be with those who want to celebrate your story.

  
  I also had warm furry boots on under my dress, no uncomfortable nipping shoes that weren’t true to me, in-fact I only wore a wedding dress for fun – and see my husband’s smile!