Happy Bride Blog
5 Common Flowers with Incredible Histories
The history of flower arranging is almost 5,000 years old. These are the stories of 5 favourite blooms.
Going back over 4,500 years, ancient Egyptians were the first recorded use of flowers as decorations as early as 2,500 BCE. As is often the case today, flowers were chosen not only for their beauty, but for their symbolism, with flowers being tied to different emotions and gods.
Given this multi-millenia-spanning history of flower arranging, many flowers - including those stocked and sold by Hidden Botanics, have accrued intriguing histories and associations.
What Flower is Associated with My Star Sign?
Your zodiac sign can represent so many things… Who knew it could even tell people what flower to give you!
As well as certain traits and characters associated with each astrological star sign within the zodiac, did you know that each also has a flower connected to it, representative of the personalities the people born under that star embody?
Depending on where you look, you may see that certain signs have a more than one flower linked to them, while others have only one. In order to not overcomplicate things, we’ll be going through the more commonly associated flowers for each sign!
Wondering How to Clean Dried Flowers? It’s Easier than you Think.
As certifiable dried flower enthusiasts, let Hidden Botanics explain the quick and easy process of how to clean dried flowers.
A familiar dilemma. You’ve got a beautiful floral arrangement made of dried flowers somewhere in your home - it’s gorgeous, maybe it was once your wedding bouquet. They’re a great choice for decoration, as they last much longer than traditional fresh flowers, all while retaining colour and fragrance. The only problem is, yours is starting to look a little dusty. What’s to be done?
What Flowers Should I Give my Spouse on our Anniversary?
Your anniversary is coming up and you want to right flower to get your spouse. Read this and you’re all set.
Here at Hidden Botanics a lot of the dried floral arrangements we do are for weddings, be they bouquets, flower crowns, or something else entirely. We cater to any needs a bride may have on her special day.
However, the wedding day is not the last opportunity to display your love for your partner with flowers! The most obvious anniversary associations are those we are all familiar with: the 1st is paper, the 10th is tin, 15th is crystal, all the way up to 50th being gold, and 60th being your diamond anniversary. However, these aren’t all there is to it. Each anniversary also has a flower (or sometimes multiple flowers) attached to it. Give your partner the romantic gift they deserve by giving them the flower that commemorates your years together.
Many of the flowers below are available as part of Hidden Botanics dried or artificial floral arrangements, browse our stop and see if anything perfect for your partner (or yourself, we won’t tell) catches your eye!
What is Boho Style? 5 Reasons You Should Choose it for Your Wedding
When you are planning a wedding, chances are that you've seen talk of a style called "boho". But what is this “boho style” everyone is talking about?
The Great British Mini-Moon: 10 Amazing Places for a Mini Honeymoon
Choosing to stay in the UK for your honeymoon? These places will ensure you still have a magical and romantic time.
You did it! You tied the knot! Now it’s time for the honeymoon.
Don't have as much time as you would like to pack, nor are you able to go abroad? No problem! These enchanting little places will help you forget that you are having to opt for a stay-cation!
Fancy a “mini-moon”? Let's go!
How Do I Care for my Dried Flowers? (5 Top Tips!)
Flowers can make your home beautiful, and dried flowers won’t wilt and don’t need to be watered like fresh flowers, but there are still steps you need to take.
We know the story. You buy flowers, intent on loving them and turning your home into the nature wonderland you’d always dreamed it would be and becoming the plant whisperer, no, the flower queen you know you’re destined to be.
Only problem is… they keep dying.
5 Colour Combinations Perfect for an Autumn Wedding
Autumn is a gorgeous season, and a beautiful time to get married - but how can you use your wedding colours to best complement the time of year?
First of all, congrats on getting engaged! Excited for the wedding?
You’ve picked a great time of year for it, autumn is full of change, growth, and renewal. A wedding embodies so much beautiful change as you and your partner embark on a new adventure, your new lives together, on a beautiful autumn day. Two people are adding another milestone to their lives and dedicating themselves wholeheartedly to each other. It’s beautiful.
Let's give you some colour inspiration for your big day, shall we?
How to Accessorize as a Boho Bride
The popularity of boho-style weddings is increasing, and if you’ve got the white dress but are unsure what the next step is, keep reading.
You’re getting married! CONGRATULATIONS!
You’ve already got the dress (it looks gorgeous, by the way, very you), and you’re planning to take advantage of that beautiful boho-chic trend that’s been going around and you’re looking for ways to style yourself as the ultimate boho bride. Hidden Botanics has you covered. Below are just a handful of ways brides can accessorise on their wedding days to show off their true, free-spirited selves as much as possible!
5 Great Sustainable Brands for Redecorating your Home!
This list has you covered.
Trying to live sustainably can be hard, but with mounting pressure in the form of the looming, present, and dangerous effects of climate change, and the way humanity has previously exploited the earth and the landscape being responsible, we owe it to ourselves and our world to do our part! Even when decorating your home, it is important to seek out businesses operating in ethical and sustainable ways!
To help you find these businesses, we have put together this short list that can put you in the know when decorating your house sustainably! We’ve tried to make up this list with companies producing a range of products to show that sustainability is available no matter how you are trying to make your house a home!
How to Find a Sustainable Wedding Dress in the UK
It’s much easier than it used to be for brides to find eco-friendly wedding dresses, be they second-hand or new.
Your wedding is something you should be anticipating, excited for, something you almost can’t sleep at the prospect of it. It’s your day. Your friends and family will be there. The person you want to spend the rest of your life with will be there. You’re going to look fantastic.
There’s just one thing that keeps nagging at your mind. That article that you read - or maybe just saw the headline for and then sent it to someone in shock - about the environmental impact of weddings. The waste they generate. The emissions they cause.
Try not to let it overwhelm you. We’ve written previously about how to make your wedding more eco-friendly, about venues that operate sustainably, and now it’s time to handle that one item that you keep thinking about. The wedding dress.
Don’t worry, brides-to-be, it is possible to sustainably source a wedding dress, and look good doing it.
SECOND HAND
I can understand if the notion makes a couple of you wince. I just said this was your day, why am I now suggesting you wear someone else’s dress?
Well, the sustainability of a whole new dress not having to be made aside, what’s so wrong about a second hand wedding dress? It having belonged to someone else first being something that filled them with happiness and confidence at being beautiful walking down the aisle doesn’t mean that you will be any less beautiful wearing it, or that you won’t be filled with the same happiness and confidence. And before you even say it, no one is going to say “hang on, isn’t that the same dress Sandra wore last year?” You’re buying second hand, not borrowing from a friend (although honestly? If you are doing the latter, fairplay to you. Well done saving even more money and time than second hand dresses already do).
If you’re feeling so inclined, after your special day, you can use the below websites to sell your wedding dress on, paying it forward and getting money back in the process. We’ve decided to skip the more general, more obvious ones (your eBays, your Etsys, etc.) and dive straight into the wedding-specific sites.
What to Consider When Purchasing Your Wedding Bouquet
Don’t understimate the importance of your wedding flowers. When you’re walking down the aisle, you want to be holding something beautiful.
Brides have carried flowers on their weddings since ancient Rome, and in the Middle Ages it was not uncommon for a woman to walk down the aisle holding strong-smelling herbs and spices to ward off evil spirits (oddly, garlic was a regular feature). However, it was Queen Victoria that popularised the modern bridal bouquet when she married Prince Albert in 1840 and carried what was at the time known as a “tussie-mussie”.
Nowadays, brides are less concerned with warding off evil spirits (garlic in a bouquet has fallen quite out of fashion) and the phrase “tussie-mussie” elicits mostly confusion, however the tradition of the wedding bouquets remains strong. They’re an iconic part of the ceremony, and will be featured in many of your wedding photos, so you definitely want to make sure get the right one - but how should a bride-to-be assemble their perfect bouquet?
