The final part of our interview with Susanne Hatwood of The Blue Carrot, wedding florist.
Click here to visit Susanne’s website.
I know you grow many of your own flowers. How does that affect the flowers you offer for weddings?
I grow things that other commercial growers wouldn’t grow, things that don’t travel well or don’t last very long. I can pick them and use them immediately. I love using herbs and maybe things that look wild but aren’t really wild (picking wild flowers is illegal remember!). I never really promise particular flowers for wedding flowers, I can’t do a shopping list. That works for me because sometimes you have an idea but then you find something else looks so much nicer when you put it together and it’s a wonderful surprise!
Which flowers do you particularly like growing?
I grow a lot of English roses because they’re so beautiful, they look so different from the commercially grown roses. I also grow a black cow parsley, it starts as a faded purple, it’s so beautiful. It’s one of my most successful discoveries. I search for new seeds and plants that are unknown. A lot of florists have asked me about the cow parsely since I posted it on Facebook, I have even sent some seeds to a florist in Paris.
How would you describe your style?
I think my style reminds couples of childhood memories, being in the garden. My flowers smell like garden flowers, it reminds them of being in the garden with their mother or grandmother.
Do you have a wedding you’re most proud of?
All of them! They are all different in their own way. Some I’m proud because the flowers look really good, some because the couples are so lovely, some because the photos are so great and so stunning. I’m always aiming to create flowers that really suit the bride perfectly. To me that’s the most important thing.
Tell us what you like most about wedding work…
There are several things I love about wedding work. First, I put so much of my passion into my work and myself into my flowers it’s so wonderful that there’s someone at the other end who has the same appreciation for my work because it’s such an important day to them.
Secondly, there’s nothing better than the moment when the bride sees the flowers for the first time. I get emotional just thinking about it now, that moment when she sees them and she gasps! I usually deliver the flowers when the bride is getting ready and it gives me such a huge buzz to see her face when she finally gets to see the flowers. Bringing flowers really brings joy, whenever you get flowers as a gift or a surprise, there’s such a great feeling surrounding flowers.
And finally the doors are open to places that I would never get to see, all these beautiful venues, beautiful places, it’s a glimpse into a different world and I love that.
So tell us about the name ‘The Blue Carrot’…
When I first started I was growing vegetables and I had the name because I was useless at growing carrots! It’s a catchy name and when I moved into wedding flowers I decided to keep it, it’s very memorable for a florist.
It certainly is! Thank you Susanne for sharing your thoughts and experience with us today.
