In which the swans attend their second wedding

Ivory and white roses and carnations, bought in multiple bunches from the supermarket. Green-tinged chrysanthemums too, and daisy-like ones with pale yellow centres. Papery statice. Blue thistles ordered from the Norfolk florist. The rest from my parents' garden, gathered in the evening light. Love-in-the-mist with feathery fronds and fat seedpods. Silver-green poppy heads and scented lavender. Blue hydrangeas. Small shoots of mock-orange snapped from the tree, snow-white flowers with an exotic scent. Greenery from garden shrubs, and herbs gathered by the handful; marjoram, rosemary, purple sage, that released waves of fragrance as I brushed against them. Royal blue cornflowers from the Cambridge market, added at the last minute when we reached our destination.

Sitting in the conservatory until 1am on Friday night, cutting and adding and arranging. Rising early to drive to Cambridge on Saturday morning, laying out the swans on startched white tablecloths, between champagne flutes and favours (check out the crocheted booties below that the bride made for the youngest guest!).

I must admit I was slightly worried when asked to create arrangements to fit with a blue colour scheme as there aren't many readily available blue flowers, but I think we* pulled it off...

*A big thank you to Mum for all her help, and the use of her garden, and to Dad and M for their manpower at each end - trays of flower-filled china swans are heavy!