Fresh from creating breathtaking floral installations for this year’s Chelsea in Bloom Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London, the self-taught florist took time out from her busy schedule to offer you all her best advice, regardless of when you’re marrying or the budget you have set aside for the wedding flowers.

Don’t compromise on the dream

‘For me, saying no is never an option, if you say to me, Amie make this, then yes, I’ll make it. It’s never, ever no. Aim for the wow factor. This day should be memorable. The hairs on the back of your neck should stand up. When you step into the barn, all of the elements should come together, the colours, the textures, the linen, the cutlery, the glassware, it all makes a massive difference in the grand scheme of things. I am obsessed with tablecloths because they add an extra luxurious dimension to the room, don’t overlook them. Ultimately it is my job to ensure that you are super impressed when you walk into that room by what they see. I want to make you cry. I always try to be there for the big reveal because that moment is better than any payment I have received. That is the pinnacle moment for me. It’s the best feeling in the world. I wish I could bottle it.’

Be clever – and transparent – with your budget

‘Not everyone has a ginormous budget for wedding flowers. I would suggest spending your money on the things that people will notice, rather than lots of smaller arrangements that can be easily missed. For what you might spend on quite average table centres, you could divert that budget into something like an amazing backdrop for pictures of the wedding party that everyone will want to photograph. I try to get a budget early in the process. My job is to exceed your expectations and there’s no point in you coming to see me if you’ve got £1,000 to spend on flowers and you want a million-pound wedding, obviously it’s not going to happen. People don’t always understand the cost implications when they are looking at a beautiful image on Pinterest.’

Aim high!

‘I would always dress the ceiling. If cost is an issue it doesn’t even have to be flowers, use foliage that trails downwards towards your guests, with elements that actually touch them on the shoulder while they’re eating dinner, so it feels very immersive. I use lots of foliage to help create a very whimsical vibe which is what we’re famous for rather than a neat structured dome of hydrangeas. I’m not your kind of florist if that’s what you’re looking for.’

Light up!

‘If you’re allowed to have real candles, use them, they’re so beautiful in a barn setting regardless of the time year, to create a really romantic ambience. Place them at different heights on the tables and around the space.’

Stick to the season

‘How you decorate the barn doesn’t need to be dictated by the amount of natural light in there. Seasonality is much more important. You get so much more for your money when you use flowers that are more readily available, much more than if you are trying to use peonies in January for example. Stick to what’s in season and the chances are those flowers will come in an array of colours anyway so you can have whatever look you’d like.’

Do it your own way

‘Just because you are marrying in a barn, the florals don’t have to be rustic, it’s all about what you want to create in that space. Barns are great because they are the ultimate blank canvas and you can do whatever you want to do in there. It doesn’t need to be a copy and paste wedding. It comes down to clever design. If I was styling a wedding at Tythe I would want to stand in the barn and feel the dimensions of the space and that’s when the ideas would start to come. I wouldn’t restrict myself in any way.’

Sweet peas will never be wrong

‘They would be my first choice for the ultimate bridal bouquet for their scent and colour. I love how delicate and pretty they are. I also love a peony in a bridal bouquet and Nigella which is such an understated flower.’

Embrace your sense of smell

‘Scent is really important too, it’s part of the vital mix of different elements that will mean your day stays with people long after they’ve left. Years down the line, if scent has been a clever consideration of your wedding florist, then people will smell the same notes and immediately remember your wedding.’

Understand the process

‘You need to have a rapport with your florist because you’re going on a journey together. Ours starts with sending our clients our wedding flowers guide which also breaks down exactly how we work. Next there will be a zoom consultation, where we get a good feel for how we’re going to work with each other. It’s at this stage that we’ll discuss your initial ideas, your venue, the budget. Then I send over an initial wish list based on those conversations which will cover everything we’ve spoken about, right down to the flowers you would like placed in the ladies’ loos, the staffing and the logistics. Once you’re happy we take a deposit and then we start the really creative journey together. I’ll put together a mood board, we may plan another site visit, drawings will be done to illustrate all the installations. Your wedding will be uniquely designed for you. Our mood boards are very detailed. We are working on a wedding in Scotland now where its 78 pages long because the wedding is that big. It took a long time to put together but it’s a fantastic brief. We’ve been working on it for 18 months. It’s our job to think about every eventuality and be as organised as we possibly can be.’

Trust your florist to be creative.

‘I personally love to give brides ideas. When I’m shown an image from Pinterest and asked if I can recreate it, I will always want to evolve it, to use it as a starting point to do something more creative, more fabulous. I don’t want to make something that someone else has made. What we do is all bespoke because each client is different, and each venue is different. Clients are happy with this because they want something different too. Why would they want their wedding to look like one they were a guest at last month?’