Britt runs a floral design studio, The Botanical Connection, and she recently made the case on Instagram that naming flowers in your florist brief might not get you very far. What actually matters, she argues, is translating the feeling behind what you’re drawn to into an actual design language, bountiful and romantic, sculptural and modern, fluttering and classic, whatever it is. As part of our Garden Issue, she walked us through what that looks like in practice, and what she wishes every couple knew before their first florist meeting.

I don’t love this trend as a wedding florist: just naming types of flowers for inspo.

Why?

As a designer, I want to know the feeling behind what it is you’re drawn to. Because you’re drawn to elements for a reason. Because it helps you learn flowers you like, but it’s just surface level.

This is my real job: bountiful femininity and romance. Sculptural, modern texture and a fresh palette. Fluttering, classic heritage and impactful. Bold, a point of difference, cottage-core loving. Whimsy, dancing and dainty.

2027 is calling romanticisers, I’ve got you.

Photo by Brendan Back

When Steph and Emerson first reached out to me, they had a Pinterest board full of ideas but weren’t quite sure how to bring it all together. They wanted drapery, greens and whites, but their florals to feel personal and exciting, not run of the mill white roses and green foliage. We started with their ideas and turned them into a plan that truly reflected their style, refreshing, classically modern and bountiful. I handled all the design details, from layout to flower choices, so they could enjoy the lead-up to their day stress-free, and I poured my heart into every single design so their florals felt totally unique to them.

Their ceremony was filled with lush, sculpted garden-inspired blooms that subtly nodded to Steph’s heritage, and their reception was bursting with arrangements that felt like they’d been created just for them, because they were. It actually took a bit longer than planned to repurpose the flowers from the ceremony to the reception, because so many guests kept stopping me to chat about them.

Tip 1: Tell your florist who you actually are

First and foremost, I love to hear all about my couples, who they are, how they met, how they spend their time, and what’s important to them in life. Do they want their wedding to feel formal, or is a relaxed dinner party more their style? Are they sentimental? Will they be having a signature cocktail? Why did they choose their venue? With this information I can help create spaces that truly reflect their life and however they dream of projecting it into this moment.

Tip 2: Trust the process of finding the feeling

Sometimes it’s not just one feeling, it’s multiple feelings that need to be harmonised together. All the clues to curate that feeling are hidden within the inspiration a couple provides, the vendors they’ve booked, and the questions they answer. Think of it like deconstructing a menu.

Photo by Golden Hour Visuals

Tip 3: Don’t fight the backdrop, frame it

On garden and outdoor weddings, the most common mistake I see is how couples frame the ceremony space. A beautiful garden arch adorned in florals is one of my favourite statements to create, but a plain timber frame with a few arrangements attached tends to feel like it doesn’t belong. You want the end of the aisle to frame you both while enhancing the natural beauty of the spot you’ve chosen, not competing with it or taking away from it.

Tip 4: Sort your weather backup properly

I’d also love to share some general advice that isn’t directly flower related but is so relevant. Adequate flooring, and the biggest game changer, walls on your marquee, even if you don’t use them. I’ve been to weddings in gorgeous fields where the flooring was going to be the saviour, but it flooded because the marquee couldn’t be closed. You can never predict the weather, so having a backup plan you’re genuinely happy with is a game changer. I’ve seen couples stressed and in tears on the morning of their wedding because they didn’t have that.

Photo by Lauren Young Photography

Tip 5: Understand what you’re actually paying for

If there’s a myth I’d love to bust once and for all, it’s the idea of a wedding flower tax. Supermarket flowers have most likely been machine batched. Wedding florists spend hours upon hours ensuring the service is outstanding from enquiry to pack down, whether that means driving hours to farms to source the perfect colour, running around the flower market at 3am, or calling in extra staff because it’s windy and the location changed last minute. It’s like comparing a fast food chain to a five star restaurant, and couples who know, know.

Tip 6: You don’t need to arrive with answers

You don’t need to feel ready, and you don’t need to know exactly what you want. A good wedding florist will help you with something as simple as your venue and the colours you’re drawn to.

Photo by Cassandra Allan

About the author: Britt is the florist and designer behind The Botanical Connection, based in the Nambucca Valley on the Mid North Coast, where she lives on a property with her family. Raised with a deep love of nature and flora passed down from her father, and a childhood filled with the whimsical illustrated worlds of Beatrix Potter and Shirley Barber, Britt brings an organic, cottage-inspired style to every celebration she works on. Her aim isn’t just a beautiful arrangement for the day itself, it’s an experience that feels intentional, artful, and completely reflective of the couple at its centre.

Header photo by Golden Hour Visuals