Kate Middleton's Bridal Bouquet

An elegant bouquet for an elegant bride.

Kate Middleton arrived at the Abbey carrying a petite wired bouquet of the classic English flower lily of the valley combined with white hyacinth pips, a sprig of myrtle and Sweet William, a touching tribute to her husband. The bouquet looked like it had been inspired by Grace Kelly, another ordinary girl who married into royalty.

By going against the Royal norm of a larger shower style bouquet, Kate's flowers indicate that she has her own sense of understated style. However, the size and style of the bouquet show that she may not wish to be the centre of attention. The bouquet is slightly loose and informal in style which signifies the relaxed type of wedding the couple wanted despite all the pomp and pageantry.

This was a wedding for the people and the country and the couple wanted to promote all thing British which meant that flowers such as roses from Kenya, a country that has a significant place in the couple's hearts, were uninvited on the big day. The unseasonally warm weather meant that the Welsh daffodil had no part to play either, now that these blooms will have faded from the flowers beds of the Royal parks.

Despite the fact that the bouquet is the one part of the wedding that can be easily replicated for us commoners, it will come at a price. Lily of the valley is already one of the most expensive wedding flowers costing around £5 per small stem. A replica of Kate's bouquet would cost from around £450 - at least five times more that the average bridal bouquet.

Royal Wedding Flowers on STV's The Hour

Yesterday, Nick joined Amanda Hamilton and Stephen Jardine on STV's The Hour to give his prediction on Kate Middleton's wedding bouquet as well as sharing his top tips on how to add some 'Royal bling' to your wedding. Click here to see last night's episode.

Wedding fever

As the wedding of the year approaches, Nick was joined by a number of other wedding industry experts in a double page feature in yesterday's edition of The Scotsman. Click here to read the article.

We can't wait to see Kate's bouquet and what impact the Royal Wedding will have on future fashions.

Royal Wedding Flowers

A few weeks ago, Nick commissioned a photo shoot to show his prediction for Kate Middleton's bouquet. The photos along with the accompanying press release were picked up in the UK and around the world by various newspapers and online magazines and blogs. So far we've counted New Zealand, Canada, the USA, Ireland and China among the nations interested in Nick's prediction. We can't wait until Friday to see the real bouquet but in the meantime here's Nick's take on a royal wedding bouquet for 2011.

Special thanks to Fiona MacNeill Photography, Joyce and Maurice at By Storm and Hotel du Vin at One Devonshire Gardens for their help and professionalism on the day. Special mention to our model Aisling Friel for being at her most regal on the shoot - a Kate Middleton lookalike career beckons!

Hong Kong Flora

It wasn't just the florists that were inspirational on Nick and Vivienne's recent trip to Hong Kong. The flora in the parks and countryside was amazing too.

Hong Kong Florals

Nick & Vivienne just got back from a fantastic trip to Hong Kong. A great holiday but Nick also managed to squeeze in a day of work, taking in the sights of this city's incredible florists and flower designs.

First it was off to meet Asia's best florist Gary Kwok, owner of Gary K. Ltd and co-founder of Armani Fiori. It was an honour and a privilege to get an insight into this lady's incredible flower vision. Have a look at her website to be truly inspired.

Next stop was one of the city's premiere retail florists Agnes B. Fleuriste. Nick met Janice Wan, who manages the 5 retail shops across the city, and found out about high end flower retailing Asia style. Elegant, beautifully wrapped flowers with a certain Je ne sais quoi!

Next it was off to RTHK (Radio Television Hong Kong) to appear on the Naked Lunch radio show presented by Sarah Passmore and an interview with P. Ramakrishnan from the South China Morning Post to discuss the upcoming British Royal wedding.

Finally if you want to see beautiful flowers in Hong Kong then head to the city's best hotels. During their trip, Nick and Vivienne ventured into the lobbies of the Marco Polo, Mandarin Oriental and Peninsula hotels just to catch a glimpse of their flower displays.

Happy Easter!

Hong Kong Easter ducks dressed as bunnies. Very cute or a little bit weird?

Nick on The Hour

Nick was back on STV's The Hour on Wednesday showing viewers some ideas for creating flowers arrangements for Easter. Catch him again at 5pm next Wednesday for his royal wedding predictions.

Donna and Neil's wedding

We just got the photos through from Donna and Neil's wedding last year. It was a pleasure to work with such an easy going couple. Donna was determined for the colour of her flowers to "pop" at her wedding and photographers Craig and Eva Sanders captured the vivid pinks perfectly.

Rowallan Castle

We were delighted to work with the very talented photographers Craig and Eva Sanders at an exclusive wedding shoot at Rowallan Castle in Ayrshire last weekend. The weather was stunning and our vintage inspired flowers were captured perfectly by these talented photographers.

STV's The Hour

A busy month for flowers on STV's The Hour. Nick was in the studio with Michelle and Stephen just before Mother's Day showing viewers how to perfect a simple gift arrangement. He'll be back on your screen tomorrow (Wednesday 20th April) talking about flowers for Easter and then on again next week (Wednesday 27th April) to talk about his prediction for the Royal wedding flowers.