I apologise in advance for today’s self-indulgent post but in my defense, it is that time of the year for reflection, when you look back on all that has happened  over the past twelve months and oh my was 2013 a goodie! It’s hard to compile it all into one post so I have decided to share snippets of our ‘best bits’ (and I still feel I’m scratching the surface). I’m going to try my best to share these with you in chronological order (bare with me I am going back 12 months and sometimes its hard to remember what happened at the weekend!). First up is our first feature in Wedding Flowers and Accessories Magazine! My lovely Steve was so proud that he had the feature framed and it is now hanging in our hall way (such a sweet heart).

Our first feature in Wedding Flowers and Accessories Magazine! 

I love, love, love this magazine I buy it myself every month and as my couples know I often bring them along to our wedding consultations as a source of inspiration. So you can imagine my delight when I received an email from the magazines lifestyle editor (the lovely Cassie) asking if we would like our flowers featured in the July/August issue of the magazine!

I was asked to create a bouquet, centre piece, button hole and another item of my choice (I decided on a floral wreath) using white flowers. The designs were made up of Roses, Ammi, Astilbe, Ranunculus, Astrantia, Bouvardia and Agapanthus. It was so surreal seeing the magazine on sale in my local WHSmith but a feeling I could get use to of course 😉

Scotney Castle Golden Glory Shoot….

Back in the summer we worked with the fab Creative Brides and an amazing team of suppliers; co-ordination: creative brides, styling: bellaboo and beau, photography: rebecca douglas photography, dresses: oh my honey, stationery lynda loves, cake: flossie pops cakery, hair: simply beautiful wedding hair, hair accessories: bespoke tiaras by sarah roberts, videography: three little pixels, make-up: makeup by natalie, groom attire: marc wallace menswear, macaroons: la dinettebuttons, balloons: bubblegum balloons, car: paladins classic car hire. The venue was Scotney Castle in Tunbridge Wells Kent, what a stunning venue it is with the old castle and moat it is an idyllic setting it reminds me of the fairy tale Castle’s you use to read about in story books when you were little. Anyways I won’t ramble on for to long as I think the images taken by the very talented Rebecca Douglas really do speak for themselves and you can see the full shoot which was featured over on Want That Wedding  these are a couple of my favorite images that I just had to include!

Our First Front Cover!

Never did I think within the first 18 months since establishing Joanne Truby Floral Design that we would have our first front cover, without meaning to sound completely cheesy it really was a dream come true! (I know pass the sick bucket, right).

Another of the beautiful images from the Scotney Golden Glory shoot taken by Rebecca Douglas that features our bouquet. When Clair from Creative Brides sent me this image of the front cover I think I did actually let out a little squeal! Polly’s gorgeous hair style was by Liz from Simply Beautiful Wedding Hair with Make up by Natalie and the dress from Oh my Honey. Since working on the shoot I am also proud to say that we are now a preferred supplier to Scotney Castle too!

The Magic of Oz at the House Meadow in Kent

Have you seen the the Disney film, ‘Oz the Great and Powerful?’ Now I can’t give too much away yet with the details but it was an enchanting shoot inspired by this film and working on it was so much fun! The team were amazing to work with; Cakes Lellas Cupcakes, stationary Becky Lord Design, photography  Kerry Ann Duffy. Kerry is a very talented photographer and The House Meadow provided such a stunning back drop and Clare (manager of the House Meadow) is so welcoming, the sun even came out to play too and it turned out to be a beautiful blue sky day! The shoot is due to be featured next year so watch this space and trust me when I say it will be worth the wait! For now I have these stunning sneak peaks to share with you….

Shortlisted for the Hitched Breakthrough Awards!

Well what can I say other than wow! I have known of Hitched for a while, then again who in the wedding world hasn’t? Its full of brilliant planning tools for engaged couples, I particularly like their venue finding service, a great resource to search for venues in a particular area making it so much easier to browse. I am going off on a tangent sorry I have a tendency to do this sometimes, so back to the awards!

The Hitched Breakthrough Awards are hosted every year and recognise the creativity and talent of newcomers to the wedding industry and entrants are chosen by expert judges to be shortlisted. We entered this year with apprehension, I say apprehension as the awards are for wedding suppliers based throughout the whole of the UK and not just one particular area so of course that is A LOT of entrants! However I clicked the ‘submit’ button and tried not to think about it for the next month until we found out our fate. I couldn’t believe it when we received the phone call from Francesca at Hitched to tell us that we had been shortlisted for one of the top ten placements in the florist category I was completely over the moon!

Alas we didn’t go on to win but I am still very proud to have been shortlisted and to have our work recognised in my eyes still speaks volumes. The votes and comments we received during the campaign from friends, family and fellow wedding industry folk were truly touching thank you and I am so grateful for everyone’s support.

Deco Disco 

Think neon mixed with glitz and 1920’s glamour and you have our Deco Disco styled shoot. An amazingly talented team of suppliers; Photography by Rebecca Douglas, Styling by Bellaboo and Beau, Hair, Makeup & Co-ordination by Blush Makeup by Lucy Oldham, Dresses by Frou Frou bridal boutique, cake by Vintage Rose Cupcakes and the flowers were by yes you guessed it, us! The venue was the Bell in Ticehurst, has a stylish interior paired with rustic wood and industrial looking railings. It was the perfect choice especially as it also has lots of quirky details one of my favourites being the neon light quote.

I had so much fun working on this shoot and the team were just amazing to work with all our ideas came together just perfectly. The shoot was featured on Whimsical Wonderland Weddings if you want to see the the whole thing. It was also cherry picked by Kat from Rock N Roll Bride as part of her Thursday treats and is set to be featured on another well known blog next year (I can’t spill the beans just yet) so I think you could say it was much loved and received lots of attention and it was brilliant to be part of it all. We will be working with both Rebecca and Bellaboo and Beau on a real wedding next year and I can not wait!

Smiles from our lovely Couples

We of course have saved the best until last  with the icing on the top of our 2013 cake being the smiles from our happy couples on their wedding day, which is just priceless! Here are just a few I have picked to share with you…..

It has been hard to narrow all our adventures over the last year into one post so some good stuff did get missed I’m afraid but I must say looking back over this has made me realise how much of cracking year 2013 has been for Joanne Truby Floral Design. I am looking forward to 2014 and even more exciting times that are ahead. Have I had my anxious days? Yes, I would be lying if I said I hadn’t as I guess with many other new businesses its the unknown not knowing how things will turn out but looking back on all we have achieved leaves me with a warm feeling inside all the worrying is totally worth it as I truly am living the dream and loving what I do.

I want to say a special thank you to my wonderful friends and family for all their love and support, especially my Steve aka Chief work experience (who recently promoted himself!!), who without him there would be no Joanne Truby Floral Design.  To the lovely wedding industry folk who I have meet over the last year and are happy to say I now call friends (you know who you all are). To all my lovely couples, thank you for choosing Joanne Truby Floral Design to be part of your special day and to all my 2014 and beyond couples the best is yet to come.

I wish you all a restful and Merry Christmas!

Joanne xx