Intimate wedding ideas: A barefoot beach ceremony with British-grown flowers
Somewhere along the way, we’ve been taught that weddings should follow a certain formula.
Some couples dream of a celebration filled with everyone they love. A packed dance floor, live music, long banquet tables, a first dance and speeches.
Others imagine something quieter. Just the two of you. Barefoot on the beach.
Neither is better than the other. The best wedding is the one that feels right for you. It can be as grand or as intimate as you want it to be. It can be traditional, completely unconventional or somewhere in between.
For J&A, it was just about the two of them and the landscape around them.
J&A’s intimate beach wedding flowers
For J&A, we looked to the coastal landscape for inspiration. We wanted the flowers to feel as though they could have grown right there, in the sand.
The bridal bouquet was inspired by the colours of a beach sunset: soft peach, warm apricot, golden yellow and vibrant pink. The addition of two to three stems of wild British grass gave a quiet nod to the sand dunes and added lovely movement. At May & June, we love bridal bouquets that dance.
For the ceremony setup (which doubled as a backdrop for the couple’s portraits), we created a semi-circle of wild grass that felt completely at home on the beach. The inclusion of some of the same flowers that were in the bouquet created a thread between the designs.
Flower varieties included dahlias, roses, snapdragons, ammi, marigolds, scabious and lavatera, all British grown (more on this later).
Do you need lots of flowers for an intimate wedding?
You need whatever feels right for you.
For J&A, a thoughtfully designed bridal bouquet, paired with a small ceremony installation was all that was needed. They were already surrounded by so much beauty. The florals were designed to accentuate it, not take away from it.
Other couples opt for full floral immersion. This is equally beautiful.
Why we choose British grown flowers
Choosing British grown flowers means working with the seasons, embracing what is naturally available at the time of your wedding. They are freshly cut, beautifully scented with wonderful organic shapes – qualities which are often lost in flowers that have travelled thousands of miles before reaching your wedding day – and therefore much more luxury.
If you’d like to learn more about why we choose British grown flowers for weddings and why they are not only a more luxury choice but an ethical one, you can read our blog, The Case For British Flowers.
If your dream wedding is quiet, intentional and deeply personal, your flowers should tell that story too.
May & June would love to help you create floral designs that feel completely at home in your chosen landscape, whether that’s a beach at sunset, a woodland clearing, a family garden or somewhere that’s entirely your own. You can get in touch here.
Floral design @mayandjunestudio
Photography @arielinblue
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