Blush Wedding Flowers & King Proteas

Their story

Blush wedding flowers, with winter king proteas

Tara and Jason married in August 2016, with blush wedding flowers by Fabulous Flowers & Gifts of Claremont, Cape Town. The palette moved from white and cream through blush and pink to soft peach, and it held from the first flowers of the morning to the reception tables. Fabulous Flowers made the bridal bouquet, small rose posies for five bridesmaids and a flower girl, a ceremony arch of blush roses, pink hydrangea, curly willow and eucalyptus, and low reception centrepieces built around king proteas.

August is late winter in the Western Cape, and Tara and Jason's wedding flowers made the most of it: king proteas, white Queen Anne's lace, purple limonium and peach roses on pastel-blue tables, with a driftwood centrepiece of roses and fern. Jenni Elizabeth photographed the day, and this story is told through 12 of her pictures, from a bouquet resting in a cream ceramic bowl to white petals scattered across the reception tables. It is one of the real weddings behind our wedding flowers in Cape Town, and it shows how blush can carry a winter wedding without ever looking pale.

I · Getting ready

Blush wedding flowers, first seen in a cream bowl

The first flowers of Tara and Jason's wedding day were not in a vase. In Jenni Elizabeth's photographs the bridal bouquet rests in a cream ceramic bowl lined with white tissue, set on the bed in a soft pink room beside a gold bedside table.

Up close, the bouquet is a mix of white and blush roses, cream spray roses, white lisianthus and small white blooms, with trailing greenery breaking out of the round. The roses carry most of the colour. Some are nearly white, some are the faint pink of the inside of a shell, and the cream spray roses sit between them so that no two heads are quite the same shade.

Blush is the hardest colour in a bouquet to photograph well. Too much of it reads as one flat pink, and too little disappears into white. Mixing several roses that are almost, but not quite, the same colour is what gives blush its depth, the same thinking behind our pink and white roses.

On the bed nearby stood a pair of rose-gold glitter sandals, with the bouquet soft and out of focus behind the straps. It is a small picture, rose gold beside blush, the two colours almost touching.

Getting-ready flowers have one job, which is to be ready first. A bouquet in a bowl of tissue can rest, be photographed and be lifted out when it is time, without anyone hunting for a vase.

Bridal bouquet of white and blush roses, cream spray roses, white lisianthus and trailing greenery resting in a cream ceramic bowl lined with white tissue on a bed — The bridal bouquet, resting in a cream bowl

Bride in a blush tulle gown and long veil on a staircase with navy striped wallpaper and gilded oval mirrors, holding a white and cream bridal bouquet — On the staircase, among the gilded mirrors

II · The bride

A white and blush bridal bouquet for a blush tulle gown

Tara wore a white gown with a lace bodice and a full blush-pink tulle skirt. In the first portrait of the day she stands in front of a tufted headboard, holding a round bouquet of white and cream.

A blush skirt changes what a bouquet needs to do. Had the bouquet been pink as well, it would have melted into the tulle. Kept mostly white and cream, with blush only in the roses, it sits against the skirt as a shape of its own, and the pink of the dress does the rest.

The white lisianthus does quiet work in a bouquet like this. Its ruffled cups open in layers, softer than a rose, and they let a round bouquet breathe at the edges instead of closing into a tight dome.

Another of Jenni Elizabeth's photographs looks down a staircase lined with navy striped wallpaper and gilded oval mirrors. The veil trails up the stairs behind the bride, and the bouquet is the brightest thing in the frame, a pale circle against all that navy and gold.

That is the plain case for a white and cream bridal bouquet. It belongs in a soft pink bedroom and on a dark staircase, and in both it is the first thing the eye finds.

III · The bridesmaids

Bridesmaid bouquets of white and cream rose posies

Five bridesmaids wore blush lace dresses with high necks and fluttered sleeves, and a flower girl wore a floral dress. In the photographs they gather around the bride outside white walls, with bare branches overhead and golden light coming through the trees.

Each bridesmaid held a small posy of white and cream roses, with a touch of peach in some of the heads and a few sprigs of green. The posies fit in one hand and are round enough to read clearly against lace.

Bridesmaid bouquets work best when they repeat the bride's flowers in a simpler voice. Tara's bouquet was loose and mixed, and her bridesmaids' posies were neat and mostly roses. Side by side they look like one family of flowers. We write more about that balance in our guide to choosing a bouquet for any event.

The flower girl's posy was the smallest of all, white and peach roses with a single purple bloom tucked in. It is the only purple in the bridal party, and it looks ahead to the purple limonium on the reception tables.

Blush dresses with white flowers is a forgiving pairing outdoors. Bright light bleaches pale pink fabric in photographs, and white roses keep their edges where a blush posy would wash out.

Wedding arch post dressed with blush and lilac-pink roses, pink hydrangea, eucalyptus and curly willow beside a wine barrel on the lawn at Tara and Jason's ceremony — Roses, hydrangea and curly willow on the arch

IV · The ceremony

A rose and hydrangea wedding arch on the lawn

Tara and Jason's ceremony was held on a lawn, under a wooden arch hung with white fabric drapes. A wine barrel stood at its base.

The arch was dressed across the top and down one side with blush and pink roses, pink hydrangea, white spray roses, curly willow and eucalyptus. Leaving one side bare is a kind of restraint we like. The flowers climb rather than enclose, and the drapes and the open lawn get their share of the picture.

Up close, the pink hydrangea fades from cream at the centre to blush at the petal tips, and the roses run from dusty pink to almost lilac. Curly willow threads through all of it in loose copper loops, and the eucalyptus gives the column its soft grey-green weight.

Curly willow is one of our favourite materials for an outdoor arch. It adds movement without bulk and catches the light, and it makes an arrangement look as if it grew up the post instead of being fixed to it.

An arch like this sits somewhere between a bouquet and a building, which is why we treat our wedding flower installations as structures first. The frame, the fixings and the way each stem gets water are settled before a single rose goes in.

V · The reception

A king protea centrepiece on pastel-blue tables

The reception mixed pastel-blue painted tables with tables in white linen, and the centrepieces were kept low: wooden boxes and white boxes, each filled to just above the rim.

At the heart of several stood a single king protea, its cream bracts tipped in burgundy, surrounded by white Queen Anne's lace, blush roses, peach roses, purple limonium, eucalyptus and trailing greenery. Stems of leucadendron foliage were laid on the table around each box, and white petals were scattered between them.

South Africa's national flower, the king protea, is at home in a Cape winter. One is enough for a low centrepiece. It is a heavy, sculptural head, and the lacier flowers around it, the ammi and the limonium, are there to soften its outline.

Against pastel blue, the palette shifts. The peach roses look warmer, the limonium reads more purple, and the blush roses that looked so pale in the bedroom that morning suddenly look pink.

Low centrepieces are a choice about conversation as much as flowers. Guests can see one another across the table, and the flowers are enjoyed at the distance of a plate. Our guide to wedding flowers for tables has more on getting the height right.

Low king protea centrepiece with blush and peach roses, white Queen Anne's lace and purple limonium on a pastel-blue table scattered with white petals — A king protea centrepiece on a pastel-blue table

VI · Late winter

Winter wedding flowers in blush and peach

One centrepiece broke from the boxes. Its container was built from driftwood sticks, standing upright like a little fence, and filled with peach and cream roses, white roses and fern.

Driftwood suits the season. In the last weeks of a Cape winter it brings bark and grain to the table, and the roses inside look softer for it.

August in the Western Cape is a good month for blush and peach wedding flowers. Good wedding roses are grown all year, king proteas are in season, and fillers such as limonium and Queen Anne's lace give winter arrangements the airiness that summer gets from garden flowers.

What carries Tara and Jason's flowers from morning to evening is repetition. The blush roses of the bridal bouquet turn up again on the arch and on the tables. The cream of the bowl and the posies comes back in the Queen Anne's lace, and the peach in a bridesmaid's posy finds its way into the driftwood box.

Flowers last a few days. The photographs keep the line between them, from a bouquet in a bowl of tissue to white petals scattered on a blue table.

Bride with five bridesmaids in blush lace dresses and a flower girl in a floral dress, holding white and cream rose posies beside white walls at Tara and Jason's wedding — Five bridesmaids, a flower girl and their rose posies

Top of Tara and Jason's wedding arch dressed with white roses, blush hydrangea, eucalyptus and curly willow against a blue winter sky

Wooden wedding arch with white drapes, blush roses, pink hydrangea and greenery above a petal-strewn lawn at Tara and Jason's ceremony

Rose-gold glitter bridal sandals on the bed with the white and blush bridal bouquet behind, on the morning of Tara and Jason's wedding

Close-up of a king protea centrepiece in a low box with white Queen Anne's lace, purple limonium, roses and fern on white linen

The flowers

Tara and Jason's wedding flowers, piece by piece

Bridal bouquet: A loose, round bouquet of white and blush roses, cream spray roses, white lisianthus and small white blooms, with trailing greenery, delivered resting in a cream ceramic bowl lined with white tissue.
Bridesmaids' posies: Five small posies of white and cream roses with touches of peach, carried with blush lace dresses.
Flower girl's posy: The smallest posy of the day: white and peach roses with a single purple bloom.
Ceremony arch: A wooden arch with white fabric drapes, dressed across the top and down one side with blush and pink roses, pink hydrangea, white spray roses, curly willow and eucalyptus, with a wine barrel at its base.
King protea centrepieces: Low wooden and white boxes, each with a king protea among white Queen Anne's lace, blush roses, peach roses, purple limonium, eucalyptus and trailing greenery.
Driftwood centrepiece: A container of upright driftwood sticks filled with peach and cream roses, white roses and fern.
Table dressing: stems of leucadendron foliage laid around the centrepieces and white petals scattered across pastel-blue tables and white linen.

BlushPeachCreamLimonium lilacPastel blueEucalyptus

In the mix

King protea, blush and pink roses, peach roses, white and cream spray roses, white lisianthus, pink hydrangea, purple limonium, white Queen Anne's lace, curly willow, eucalyptus, fern and stems of leucadendron foliage.

Wooden ceremony arch with white fabric drapes and blush and white flowers on a green lawn, with a wine barrel at its base, at Tara and Jason's August 2016 wedding

The place

From bedroom to reception, one blush palette

Tara and Jason's wedding day moved through very different spaces, and Jenni Elizabeth's photographs show each of them: a soft pink bedroom with a gold bedside table, a staircase hung with gilded mirrors, white walls under bare trees, a ceremony lawn, and a reception set with pastel-blue tables and white linen. One palette of blush, peach and cream had to suit them all.

On the lawn, the arch was the only tall piece, so it carried the whole ceremony. The white drapes filled much of the frame, which let the flowers climb one side instead of covering everything, and the wine barrel at the base gave the arch some weight at ground level.

Box centrepieces are among the easiest wedding flowers to transport. They can be finished in our Claremont florist studio, carried in their own containers and set down on arrival, with only the branches and petals left to place by hand. That keeps a reception set-up calm, however many tables there are.

For more places to marry around the city and the winelands, read our guide to Cape Town wedding venues.

FloralsFabulous Flowers & Gifts, Claremont (Josie van Aswegen, since 1999)

PhotographyJenni Elizabeth (jennielizabeth.com)

Planning notes

Planning blush wedding flowers: what this wedding taught us

Keep the bouquet lighter than the dress
Tara's gown had a blush tulle skirt, so her bridal bouquet stayed mostly white and cream, with blush only in the roses. A bouquet a shade lighter than the dress keeps its shape in every photograph.
Mix several blushes, not one
A single pink rose in quantity reads flat. Tara and Jason's flowers mixed white, blush, pink and cream roses with spray roses, so the colour had depth up close and softness from across a room.
Dress one side of an arch
The ceremony arch was dressed across the top and down one side, with white drapes filling the rest. It still holds plenty of flowers, and curly willow gives the bare side movement.
Anchor a winter centrepiece with a protea
In August, one king protea gives a low centrepiece its focal point. Surround it with lacy flowers such as Queen Anne's lace and limonium, and keep the box low so guests can talk across it.
Plan flowers with the table colour
Pastel-blue tables made the peach roses warmer and the limonium more purple. If your reception has coloured tables or linen, choose the flowers with that colour in mind.

Gallery

Close-up of pink and cream hydrangea threaded with curly willow and fern on the ceremony arch at Tara and Jason's August 2016 wedding

Low centrepiece of peach roses, purple limonium, white Queen Anne's lace and small white blooms on a pastel-blue table with scattered white petals

Driftwood stick centrepiece filled with peach, cream and white roses and fern on white linen at Tara and Jason's winter wedding

Good to know

Frequently Asked Questions

What are blush wedding flowers?

Blush wedding flowers are white, cream and palest pink flowers used together, so the colour reads as a soft flush rather than a strong pink. Fabulous Flowers built Tara and Jason's August 2016 wedding around blush and pink roses, cream spray roses, white lisianthus and pink hydrangea, with peach roses and purple limonium on the reception tables for warmth and depth.

Can a Cape Town florist do blush wedding flowers with king proteas?

Yes, Fabulous Flowers & Gifts did the wedding flowers for Tara and Jason in August 2016. The studio made the bridal bouquet, posies for five bridesmaids and a flower girl, a rose and hydrangea ceremony arch and low king protea centrepieces. Fabulous Flowers has been based in Claremont, Cape Town, since 1999, and Jenni Elizabeth photographed the day.

Are king proteas available for a winter wedding in Cape Town?

Yes, king proteas are available for a winter wedding in Cape Town, and Fabulous Flowers used them in the reception centrepieces for Tara and Jason's wedding in August 2016. The king protea is South Africa's national flower. In a low centrepiece one head is enough, set among white Queen Anne's lace, blush and peach roses, purple limonium and eucalyptus to soften its outline.

What flowers go on a rose and hydrangea wedding arch?

A rose and hydrangea wedding arch works best with roses in two or three close shades, hydrangea for volume and greenery for shape. Fabulous Flowers dressed the wooden arch at Tara and Jason's August 2016 ceremony with blush and pink roses, pink hydrangea and white spray roses, then added curly willow for movement and eucalyptus for its soft grey-green weight.

How should bridesmaid bouquets differ from the bridal bouquet?

Bridesmaid bouquets should be smaller and simpler than the bridal bouquet and made from the same family of flowers. At Tara and Jason's wedding in August 2016, Fabulous Flowers gave the bride a loose, round bouquet of mixed roses, white lisianthus and greenery, and gave each of the five bridesmaids a neat posy of white and cream roses with touches of peach.

What are the best winter wedding flowers in the Western Cape?

The best winter wedding flowers in the Western Cape include king proteas, roses, Queen Anne's lace, limonium and eucalyptus. Fabulous Flowers used all five for Tara and Jason's wedding in August 2016, which is late winter in the Cape. Roses are grown all year, proteas are in season, and lacy fillers such as limonium give winter arrangements an airy finish.

Your wedding

Tell us about your day

If you are planning a winter wedding in blush and peach, or you would like a king protea on every table, tell us about it. Josie and the Fabulous Flowers team would love to hear what you have in mind.

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