What Would They Know? Claire and Sammy of Jane and Jones Flower Co

Flowers really are the flourish that brings all your wedding decor and dreams together. Jane and Jones Flower Co based in Perth, are a creative duo who take great pleasure in creating the perfect floral designs for your wedding day. From flower crowns to bouquets and arrangements for your reception, Claire and Sammy’s style is natural and free flowing, letting nature do the talking. And with WA being our wildflower State, brides can choose to include these stunning blooms to add that local Australian touch. And what is more beautiful than flowers and foliage to add the ‘wow’ factor to your wedding!

Where is Jane and Jones Flower Co based?

We’re based in the northern suburbs of beautiful Perth, Western Australia and work with brides in Perth and the south west regions of W.A.

What is your philosophy about flowers?

Flowers should be used often and in abundance!! The world is a little more beautiful with flowers and flowers and people together make for happy days!

Image by Ebony Sugg Photographer

What are the services you provide?

We mostly focus on weddings and events currently, but we also host super cool flower parties for big and little people. They’ve been really popular for bridal showers and birthdays. At our flower parties we come to your place, set up a little flower shop and teach you and your friends how to make an amazing flower crown or vase arrangement to take home (or to wear out partying!).

What can you provide for weddings? 

If it involves flowers, we’ll do it! We can do as little or as much as the bride wants us to. We are focused on helping our brides create their perfect look for their wedding so we will work closely with our brides through the planning process and quote specifically to their needs.

Image by Quince and Mulberry Studios

How would you describe your flower/bouquet ‘style’?

Flowers are magical in their natural form (mother nature is awesome!) so we don’t like to do too much to alter their natural state. We love organic, free flowing designs which lets the natural beauty of the blooms shine through. Really any design that allows each element, bloom and foliage to shine through is what we’re all about.

With WA being the ‘wildflower State’ – do you find that you often use Australian indigenous flowers in your wedding creations?

We have some absolutely stunning native flowers and there’s nothing better then being able to use local produce in our creations. They are very seasonal however, so a little tip for the bride who really loves native flowers – consider a spring wedding – the selection is ten times better in spring!

How are they shown off at their best (in bouquets and reception flowers)?

Wildflowers have amazing versatility – they look great grouped together in big bunches or clusters or they still look stunning and hold their own scattered through more traditional blooms and lush foliage. You really can’t go wrong with the addition of wildflowers!

Image by Nicole Duncan Photography

Which are your all round favourite flowers to use?

There are so many it’s hard to choose… maybe one for each season dahlias, hellebores, ranunculus and the amazing king proteas!

If the budget for wedding flowers is small, how can brides ensure that the botanicals at their wedding look generous and stunning?

When it comes to flowers, using ones that are in season, and locally grown will always be more affordable. If you’re willing to trust your florist to come up with a design within a colour scheme using seasonal blooms, this will definitely help keep the costs down.

Incorporating foliage into arrangements, arbours and hanging designs can also help keep the costs lower on those items.

We’d recommend really thinking about what your highest priorities are and what items are ‘nice to haves’ – that way your florist can make sure the most important items are always accounted for.

Is foliage more often becoming a mainstay of a bouquet, rather than being the ‘filler’? Do you have some examples you can tell us about?

Foliage is so much more than a filler! There are some really interesting foliages to choose from and we definitely think it shouldn’t just be about the blooms! Foliage is a great way to add texture to your bouquet as well – some of our favourites are plum leaf which is a luxurious burgundy colour, and peppercorn for its awesome draping quality and its surprise pop of pink berries if you’re lucky. Pitto or box leaf are also firm favourites because they provide that lovely touch of green you need with their sweet little leaves.

Image by Jessica Josie Photography

What are some of the more unusual items you like to use in bouquets?

We like to keep things as natural as we can and so far we have been fortunate to have brides who think along the same lines. That’s not to say we wouldn’t add in personal touches to keep our brides happy! So far we haven’t had to add anything too unusual into the bouquet itself but we have had requests to spray paint the stems gold and add special family heirlooms like rings and keepsakes into the ribbon binding the bouquet together. It is always really nice to be able to add in a little piece of the bride’s individuality into the designs we create!

Do you see colour or style trends (for wedding flowers) emerging for 2016?

Cascading lush garden designs for reception tables are very popular with full length table garlands taking the place of traditional centerpieces. It looks like it is really going to be about bringing the outside in, creating a garden feel that everyone can relax in and enjoy.

How do you help a bride design her flowers for the wedding? What factors do you consider?

We love to meet up with our brides so we can have a good chat over coffee, get to know them a little and really get a feel for what they are all about. Meeting in person really helps in gaining an understanding and some insight into what their vision is, who they are (or who they want to be on the big day!) and how they see flowers helping bring the dream to life! On top of that we ask a bunch of questions! Even if you thought you had no idea what you really wanted, our magic question asking skills will surprise you! It’s all about the questions!

Image by Jessica Josie Photography

What can we do with our reception flowers at the end of the night?

The most common thing to do is to give them away to guests on the night which can be a really nice way to say thank you to those who have helped coordinate the day. Another idea we really like is the concept of gifting your flowers so they can be rearranged and donated to nursing homes, an aged care facility and hospitals the next day – to bring a little bit of sunshine to another person’s day. We’re hoping to really launch this idea next year and set up an arrangement to offer this as an option for Perth brides in the future.

How do you celebrate the end of the working week?

Where does the working week end and begin? We’re usually working weekends so Friday night celebrations might be low key for us… or we could be working into the wee hours preparing for a Saturday wedding! But spending time with our families, with some good cheese and a delicious red wine is a good way to wind down on any day!

Thank you Sammy and Claire for sharing your story. And for showing us the many possibilities with flowers – there really is no limit to what beauty blooms will bring to an occasion. To find out more about Jane and Jones Flower Co visit the website.

Headshot courtesy of Jane and Jones Flower Co.