We talk to Anna, the founder of Moss Living Interiors on creating her floral-filled big day! Everything You Need to Know About Styling Your Own Wedding with Anna Moss
Let’s start with how you went about styling your big day…
We wanted to create a wedding very personal to us and doing it at my parents’ home meant we had a blank canvas to create something unique so we could style it exactly how we wanted. I really love anything creative and in particular interiors, and the wedding was a fantastic opportunity to put my skills use! I wanted the look and feel to be magical and enchanting and often marquees can lack atmosphere and look bland with such stark white backdrops. We had originally booked a stretch tent, but you just can’t trust the British weather and so for added peace of mind we went with a brilliant marquee provider who helped us create something very special.
Building the marquee around a weeping silver birch kick started our vision of “enchanted”. We added tiny glass globes, candles and fairy lights to the tree before it went up so at night it was simply magical. At the other end of the marquee I made a hanging floral chandelier made from white wisteria and ivy. I wanted guests to have something to look up at during dinner and the unexpected thing was that the arrangement attracted butterflies and dragon flies over the course of the evening which added another special touch.
Talk us through the logistics and how you made the floral creations?
I’m a big fan of keeping things simple, and so the colour palette was natural with green and white tones with a touch of grey from the tablecloths (grey was an upcoming trend at the time and the colours worked well together). I wanted to do the venue flowers myself. I absolutely love being creative and making things and I knew it would be a lovely thing to do. Because we created as much as possible for the wedding – from the welcome packs, the favours, the flowers, the woodland walk to the wine labels, firstly to save on cost but also for it to be personal to us, it meant being very organised and getting started early (about nine months before the wedding!).
For the flowers, I did a couple of practice runs in the lead up to the wedding and sourced the vases as well as the flowers from a wholesale flower specialist. The tables in the marquee had long eucalyptus runners with candles and roses interspersed along them with candelabras to break it up and add height. On the top table we used array of short and tall vases with different flowers in. The main focus was of course the silver birch tree inside the marquee.
Off the back of the marquee, overlooking our pond, we created an old gentleman’s style library with wingback armchairs, old family photos including those who couldn’t be there, an old telephone, candelabras, blanket, cigars, cognacs and port. The library was a great addition to the event and I loved sourcing things for it like hampers, decanters and photo frames. We opened the library after dinner and it was far more of a success that we thought (although I don’t think the photos do it justice)!
The wedding was beyond anything we ever expected. We really did have the most incredible time. All of the tiny finishing touches and details made it. We were all so pleased that we invested the time in the finer details. Looking around and knowing we had made so much of it ourselves was a great feeling. I’m lucky to have such a creative family as I couldn’t have done it without them. Being naturally inquisitive and creative helped bring every idea together. It took a lot of work, but if you plan well in advance, you can achieve your dream.
It’s also important to hire specialists and respected suppliers who you can trust implicitly. Hiccups will occur along the way and it’s important to have suppliers on hand who will not only help you but will also fix it. Every supplier we used was a real pro and that helped us relax in the run up to the wedding. Also, if you’re planning to do it at your home, it will inevitably create more work and one tip I would suggest is to hire an event manager. Ours was a fundamental part to the success of our wedding and was on hand the day of the wedding but also the day before (when I was at the spa) so we could enjoy it even more. She was worth her weight in gold. You can’t underestimate how many things there are to pull a wedding together, particularly when you’re doing it on your own.
For big-day inspiration, was Pinterest an essential styling tool for your?
Yes but I also get a lot of inspiration elsewhere, such as from travelling, fairs and events, films etc. But Pinterest certainly helped me collate all of our ideas.
Where is the best place for a bride to start?
Spending time researching and thinking about what you like is key. There are so many options and choices out there that it can feel quite overwhelming. It’s similar with interior design – I will often only show a client two options as opposed to the 300 options they really have for, say, a paint colour or an item of furniture – because otherwise it’s impossible for them to narrow it down. Reading magazines, searching online, even watching a couple of weddings on TV/YouTube will help you determine what you’re after and set a path to what you want. From there, you can start to narrow down specific looks or aspects of your event.
Do you think your love of interiors helped you style your big day?
Yes, it helped me put together a clear vision of what we wanted that worked throughout the whole event. Right from the bespoke invitations that nodded to our ‘enchanted’ theme, to the reception drinks and having a woodland walk for guests to wonder through, to sitting at the table under a beautiful tree lit up and surrounded by deep green hues and candle light.
Interiors is not just about making one room beautiful, it’s about how your home flows from one room to another; so although each room is different, they should link beautifully and cohesively. I think the same applies to your wedding. Your dress can set the tone for the reception style you may go with. Or the event location will determine the theme you choose. Determining what that style is from the outset is key and you can build it out from there.
How did you get into interior design?
I have always loved interior design. When I left university, I did a stint in my godmother’s interiors shop in Somerset, but the timing didn’t feel right. So following a career in marketing, I trained with the British College of Interior Design and have since been designing spaces in and around Henley-on-Thames as well as London.
Who inspires you?
Women! Those who work endlessly for causes they’re passionate about or for something they love. Right now, it’s great to see a lot more press highlighting women in positions of power; those who have come from nothing and are now high-profile public figures or successful business women. It’s these women who inspire me to keep doing something I love whilst giving back where I can.
And finally, what are your favourite flowers to make an impression for someone’s wedding day?
I absolutely love flowers and have a small patch growing my own cut flowers. For favourites, I’d have to say peonies. The don’t last long, but when they arrive in June, they just put a smile on my face. You can’t go wrong with their delicate ruffles and pastel hues
Website: www.AnnaMoss.co.uk
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