How would you describe your wedding day?
“It was amazing, honestly you hear people say “it was the most amazing day of my life” but it really was, the people, the atmosphere- everything. I suffer with quite bad anxiety but I feel like I floated through the whole day. We just feel so lucky to have so many people in our lives who we love so much, and they were there to celebrate the day with us.”
If you could change anything about the day, what would it be?
“I would have brought 2 dresses: a shorter one for the evening. I always thought that sounded a bit extra but it rained on & off (we were lucky it only rained at parts of the day where we were all inside) but at the bottom where there were so many layers of my dress and I’d walked around the grounds it was SO HEAVY by the evening I couldn’t wait to get it off! Also I would have asked someone to sneak me some of the cakes from the dessert table. I missed out!”
The Flowers
“We LOVE autumn. So oranges, purples, browns, deep greens were just an immediate choice for us. We wanted most of our wedding to have a burnt orange theme running through it.
Mitchell agreed that we wanted a bit of a mix of dried flowers & purples. I wasn’t really sure on types of flowers – I only knew one specific purple cabbage looking plant that is one of my all time fave flowers. But our florist Heart Bee Flowers was amazing – she totally understood our theme and went into so much detail with our quote going backward and forward sending inspiration pictures. My bouquet in particular is actually one of my favourite things I had from the day. It honestly felt like me if I was a bunch of flowers.”
Rebecca found Julia from Heart Bee Flowers on Instagram. She was looking for local florists who suited her more relaxed view of bouquets, and she couldn’t get over how beautiful her flower arrangements were. Rebecca also loved how a lot of Julia’s choices have strong environmental thought behind them.
How did you find out about my flower preservation service?
“While away on my honeymoon my sister messaged my florist who actually recommended a few people – one of those was your business. I fell in love straight away at how unique and beautiful it was. Without being like – “here’s my flowers in a frame”.
“I absolutely underestimated the attachment I would have to my bouquet. We had to pack up the evening of the wedding and my bouquet got lost amongst the pile of things being tidied away. Luckily my mother in law & sister went into detective mode and tracked down whose van it had been shoved into. I was so delighted that it was found and knew that it had such significance, and I wanted to preserve it.“
“I had a corsage and flower comb made for all my bridesmaids and a flower crown for my flower girl which I know my sister has kept as a memento. They were absolutely beautiful. But all of the preservation was for my husband and I – my sister arranged for the pieces to be made for us as an extra wedding present.”
The Flower Preservation Process
Rebecca’s sister Beth sent the bouquet to me in the post while Rebecca was on honeymoon. It arrived with me around a week after the wedding and was still so beautiful. Laying each of the stems out to see what there is to work with is one of my favourite parts of the process, taking in all of the gorgeousness.
I say this every time but it is a complete honour to be trusted with such special, meaningful flowers. It gives me so much joy to give the flowers a repurpose, in a forever keepsake that will last.
I made an A4 wall hanging tile and six smaller hanging tiles with Rebecca & Mitchell’s flowers. Once the flowers were impressed into the soft clay, they were gently peeled back out, leaving behind an organic skeleton of each stem. I carefully added colours to the surface of the clay to replicate the original colours of the flowers as best as possible.
I was pleased to unload these pieces from the kiln when they were ready. I sent a photo to Rebecca straight away and couldn’t wait for her to see them in the flesh, photos often do not do the pieces much justice. They are so much more tactile in real life.
When the pieces arrived with Rebecca, she said:
“Our parcel has arrived today! It is even more beautiful in person than I could have imagined. Thank you so much for preserving part of our special day.”
Rebecca hasn’t yet hung them up – They are in the process of finding a new house and she has kept them in their original wrapping to keep them safe. As soon as they find the new place, Rebecca tells me they will be among the first things out.
Would you recommend Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics to a friend?
“Yes! Yes! Yes!
You have been amazing – you kept in contact and did the most wonderful job at capturing my bouquet. I don’t know how you did it. You’re a genius!
I didn’t expect to love the preservation of my flowers so much. But it’s a lasting reminder of the most wonderful day. The pictures and videos cannot do it justice. Everyone who has seen them are so wowed and amazed at your creativity and I can’t thank you enough for giving us an everlasting memory.”
