Florists and stylists use countless flowers to dress up couples' big day. Julia Köhler of Marshmallow and Magnolia deals with styling, flowers and concepts for modern chic weddings at home and abroad.
Classic flowers
Julia says: "The nice thing is that every wedding is unique, and we never create the same thing. Based on the wishes of the bride and groom, we choose the appropriate flowers, colors and materials. We see a trend towards traditional and 'classic' flowers such as Iris, Callas and Anthuriums."
Photo left:Nynke Laagland, photo right: Sandrine Philie Photography
Rosa Quicksand
"Every season comes with beautiful flowers and varieties. It is precisely this alternation of seasons that makes the profession so special, but spring is my favorite. Beautiful tulips, ranunculus are always a good idea, and peonies remain a favorite. But I certainly don't turn down a beautiful rose which petals you can flex. An all-time favorite that I almost always use is Rosa Quicksand. The perfect shade of nude, beige, and blush. I think that Dianthus is really underrated, what a diversity and beautiful colors there are. It's a strong flower that I really love to use," she says.
Weddings in France
"We take on a maximum of 15 weddings a year, with three spots reserved for weddings abroad." Julia continues. For weddings she gets help from freelancers. "This year we were again allowed to be part of 15 beautiful weddings, two of them in France. It is important to us that our brides and grooms get our full attention. Besides taking care of floral arrangements, we devise and create concepts and take care of all the styling. In the autumn, we also give workshops and enjoy freelancing for other colleagues in the industry."
Foam-free floral arrangements
Julia: "We specialize in complete concepts.That is, devising and creating an atmosphere at the wedding combined with styling and foam-free floral arrangements. Every detail has been thought of. We love large and sumptuous backdrops and floral arrangements. Our style can be described as modern chic. Romantic, timeless, airy with an edgy touch. Our floral arrangements are completely foam-free, so we do not use floral foam in our creations."
Buying locally
Julia buys the flowers from wholesaler Florazul, she says. "I am very happy with them. I like to buy 'local' and prefer Dutch growers, but unfortunately that is not always possible. I like to use VIP roses with their beautiful creations, I love the distinct colors. Perfume Flower Company's roses are also regularly on my buying list. I also like to visit Verse Rozen, and we regularly buy from Waterdrinker and Dobbeflowers."
Photo: Amanda Drost Photography
Availability
Whereas importers, exporters and wholesalers have had to deal with a lot of reduced availability of certain flowers this year, Julia finds that the situation has little impact on her work. "I experience few problems with the availability of flowers. Occasionally, it does happen that certain varieties I wanted are currently unavailable, especially during the busiest wedding months. But there are always plenty of alternatives, so it has little impact on my work or working methods."
For more information:
Julia Köhler
Marshmallow and Magnolia
[email protected]
www.marshmallowandmagnolia.com