A September Bouquet Inspired by the Season at Corick House Hotel
Some of my favourite floral projects are the ones that begin without a completely fixed plan.
This September shoot at Corick House Hotel was one of those occasions. Photographer Ieva and I came together to create something beautiful in the setting of Corick House, while the flowers themselves came from Tara Meadow Flowers in Co. Laois.
For this bouquet, I deliberately didn’t give Tara a shopping list of particular flowers or colours. Instead, she went into the field and picked what was looking its best that week, filling buckets with what was naturally available at that moment in the season.
When I collected them, even I didn’t know exactly what I was going to be working with.
And that is probably my favourite part.
Among the flowers were Café au Lait and Sweet Nathalie Dahlias, Bracken Ballerina and Fama White Scabious, Delphinium Cliveden Beauty, Achillea, Amaranthus and fountain grass.
Some were flowers or combinations I might not automatically have chosen if I had been ordering to a very specific recipe. But when everything was laid out in front of me, I had to look at the colours, shapes and textures differently and work with what the season had given me.
There is something incredibly creative about that process.
It reminds me a little of cooking without following a strict recipe. You start with the ingredients in front of you, add something here, change something there, and gradually it begins to come together. Sometimes the combinations you never planned are the ones that surprise you most.
The bouquet developed into a loose, natural design with lots of movement and texture. The dahlias gave it softness and fullness, while the scabious, delphinium, amaranthus and grasses created those lighter, more delicate lines that I love in a bridal bouquet.
The colours also came from the flowers themselves rather than from a predetermined palette — blush, creamy white, soft blue and fresh greens all naturally finding their place together.
I added just a small touch of orchid as an accent. It was the only part of the bouquet that wasn’t locally grown, but I loved the slightly unexpected detail it brought to the finished design.
A coordinating buttonhole was created for the groom, carrying through the same relaxed, seasonal feeling without trying to make everything look too perfectly matched.
From the field to the final photograph
What makes projects like this even more exciting for me is that the creative process doesn’t really finish when I put the bouquet down.
Then I wait for the photographs.
There is honestly something a little like Christmas morning about receiving a finished gallery from a photographer. I know what the bouquet looked like in my hands, but Ieva sees it through a completely different eye.
She notices the light, the movement, the way the flowers sit against a dress or move as the couple walks. When those images arrive on my screen, it feels like opening a present and discovering the flowers all over again.
That is what I loved about this particular project.
Tara brought what was beautiful in the field that week. I responded to those flowers through the design. And Ieva captured the finished result through her photography.
None of us needed to control every detail from the beginning. Each person added something of their own, and that element of surprise is what made the finished result feel so natural and individual.
It is also a beautiful example of what can happen when we allow locally grown, seasonal flowers to lead the design rather than trying to force nature into a predetermined recipe.
For couples planning a late-summer or early-autumn wedding, it shows just how romantic, elegant and bridal seasonal flowers can be — while still feeling completely unique.
Creative collaborations
I always enjoy opportunities to work creatively with photographers, venues, growers and other wedding professionals. There is something special about bringing different ideas together and seeing where they lead.
If you have a creative project or shoot in mind and feel that Floriology Studio could be a good fit, I’d love to hear about it.
Creative Team
Venue: Corick House Hotel & Spa
Photography: Ieva Kaza Photography
Locally grown flowers: Tara’s Meadow Flowers
Floral design: Floriology Studio
