Bride&Bloom: Hannah Walker
Emma Case, 2017: Bridal Bouquet
“Seasonality” and “Sustainability” is a trend that has been around for quite some time now and more and more people arrange their life around these two powerful words.
But the latest movement of growing and working with british grown plants, produce and flowers has set many interesting career paths for plant enthusiasts, horticulturists and of course floral designers :
Sam Jayne, 2017: Hannah Walker
Hannah Walker, based in Worcestershire is all of the above.
As floral designer and founder of “Bride and Bloom” her philosophy is based around sourcing flowers for weddings locally and seasonally.
Each bloom hand-cut a few days before the bride´s big day, therefore offering not only “unique one-off” arrangements that are fuelled with Hannah´s enthusiasm for wild and natural looking wedding flowers, but also a brilliant bespoke customer service that charms with personality and individualism.
Having moved from London to Worcester in 2014, it struck Hannah how she’d missed the countryside and the ability grow and nurture a garden. Therefore her decision to source local British flowers in her work was immediate. And so she works with several local growers in Worcestershire such as Tammy at “Wild Bunch Flowers” or Faye at “Rural Floral”, just to name a few.
Whilst growing as a business and conquering Worcestershire with her wild and natural arrangements she plans on growing more of her own, investing in plants for pollinators to help the bee and butterfly population and to be able to add more unusual plants in her arrangements and floral designs.
I had the pleasure of asking Hannah a few Questions about her business and her passion.
Sam Jayne, 2017 : Hannah Walker
“What made you choose Floristry as your Path?”
Having married in 2011 and DIY- ing my own wedding flowers it sowed a seed to learn more about floristry. My background is in the Fashion industry working as an account manager and although I loved it I definitely needed a creative outlet.
When I fell pregnant in 2012 I embarked upon some floristry courses in London and I haven’t looked back.
That said the major shift for me was deciding to use British flowers and foliages as much as I cold in my work. They’ve got their own character and those wonky stems have really influenced my style.
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“Have you always had a connection to Horticulture?”
Yes, from an early age on. I have lots of childhood memories of playing outside and enjoying nature,making daisy chains, digging for worms and helping out in the garden.
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“Your designs are very wild and enchanting so where does your inspiration come from?”
I’m inspired by all sorts of things: design, art, architecture and flowers themselves. I guess my designs happen in a very natural way. I don’t think I could ever make two bouquets the same even with the same “ingredients”.
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“What is your favourite flower combination, and why?”
Well - that’s a tricky one to answer: for me it just has to be a seasonal combination , so Ranunculus with a snakes head fritillary bobbing above it, or lilac and mock orange in may for heady scents. Dahlias and cosmos in autumn.
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“What was your Highlight in your career so far? “
No glamourous awards or anything, yet. But I was asked by “Flowers From The Farm” to be the subject of a short documentary film that they commissioned!
The link for that can be found below.
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“What advice would you give a young Horticulturist?”
Be open to the many different avenues of horticulture, they all complement each other - I would love to learn more about Garden Design! Also stay fit and active - it’s hard labour sometimes.
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“How do you think climate change will influence florists in the future?”
I think we’ll have to be lot more savvy and reactive – I have a wedding end of October and have been very vocal to my bride to explain that having all British flowers probably won´t be possible as ordinarily frosts would have kicked in by now but if this weather holds up I’ll be cutting dahlias and other gems at the end of Autumn!
It can go and will go against me in years to come though.I guess being flexible with what I might have to order but also helping to educate prospective clients about what’s realistic.
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And while the days get inherently shorter, let´s hope that the weather will hold up until the end of October for Hannah to be able to create another perfect wedding with the perfect bouquet and arrangements.
One hand-cut flower at a time.
Sam Jayne, 2017: Summer Bouquet
More of Hannah and her work can be found on:
http://brideandbloom.co
Be sure to catch her behind the scenes for a Photoshoot and for “The Flowers of the Farm”- Community here :
https://www.instagram.com/p/BaJHRWGDX1z/
Or why not follow Hannah and her story of flowers on Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BRIDEANDBLOOMUK/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bride_and_bloom/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brideBLOOM
and Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/bridebloom/
Find out more about the Photographers behind Hannah´s Story:
Emma Case: https://instagram.com/emmacaseweddings/
Sam Jayne: https://instagram.com/samjaynephoto
