Blossomking Bespoke Bouquets
My amazingly talented friend gave me the most precious wedding gift; my bouquet.
Becky and I met at college where we studied Art and Textiles together; we've been great friends ever since. After college Becky went on to study Floral design; she has a natural flare and set up a business in with her mother: Blossomking Floral Design. Becky's arrangements have always had that little something extra, for her own wedding she used lanterns, mirrors and wired bodices incorporating flowers for her table centres, it was beautiful (I pinched a lantern and have it on display in my home alongside a photo of the happy couple!). I have always known that when I eventually got married it would be Becky I would entrust with the floral arrangements; she just gets me!
So after Mr Shortcake proposed I immediately started to filter images and inspiration from wedding blogs down to Becky.
We were planning a long engagement to allow for sufficient savings to be made, as we didn't want to fall into the trap of taking out a loan, so my thoughts on bouquets took a back seat while I finished up my studies. Unbeknownst to me, Becky's creative brain had been ticking over and she produced this beauty in the summer time:
The minute I saw it I needed it! I put in a request to reserve it and kept my fingers crossed someone else wouldn't get it before me.
A few months past and Mr Shortcake got the call for the job in Dubai and suddenly our relaxed wedding plans, which were just pictures I'd saved into a folder, had to be actioned. We had TWO WEEKS to plan a wedding. The panic set in. I called Becky to let her know and asked if I could buy the bouquet on the website. She said yes! Becky also added that if I need anything changing she would do it for me if I let her know. Once Mr Shortcake had picked my shoes (yes, I let him choose, he has great taste!) I acquired some ribbon to match and sent it down to her workshop in Bedfordshire. Accompanying the ribbon were some vintage buttons that matched in colour. Becky gave me a call and asked the colour of my dress and whether I had a preference between gold and silver. I then received this tantalizing picture:
I was now uber excited; she was making me a bespoke bouquet, all of my own and was also giving it to me as a present. It was so very generous I had a little cry! Along with the bouquet were matching buttonholes for Mr Shortcake and Dad Shortcake and a corsage for Mum Shortcake too! They were beautiful and more than I could have hoped for. The most precious thing was that as they are all artificial we are able to keep them as a memento of the occasion. Mum and Dad Shortcake have theirs next to a wedding photo of us!
Becky has since gone on to produce numerous designs in different colours for brides that want something a little bit different form your standard bridal bouquets. One of my favourites’ is 'Victoria', a beautiful gold bouquet:
'Victoria'
Becky collects all the buttons and jewelry herself, bedding them on a base of foam roses. The foam roses look so authentic one customer actually remarked how lovely they smelt not realising they were artificial!!!
Moving...
I'm moving to Dubai if you haven't already guessed from the previous posts. If I'm honest, and I know Mr Shortcake won't mind me saying, I was not best pleased when he told me he'd been offered the job. We were all set to go to France for a ski season, until my shoulder healed slower than expected (I had it stabilised after a snowboarding injury), so the prospect of living in a city in the middle of the desert for a few years did not take my fancy; I made that clear as well, probably a little too much (Sorry Mr Shortcake, love you!).
Mr Shortcake has made a lot of sacrifice and compromise to support me through my studies and various career paths over the years, so I sucked it up and agreed to sup
port him in this little adventure. He assured me it didn't have to be forever, but if we didn't try we will always wonder about what could have been.
So here I am, on Flight EK002, 13.45 from London Heathrow to Dubai airport. My spouse visa is in my bag with my passport, the cat has already been exported and is sat on the bedroom window-ledge waiting for me to arrive. Most of our house has been packed up and put into storage and the rest was sold or gifted. We've shipped the essentials which will hopefully arrive sometime in April; I imagine that will
feel like christmas, lots of boxes of our treasured possessions turning up.
Waiting at the gate to board
Mr Shortcake has been gone for over two months now. We've kept in contact using Blackberry messenger and Skype. I've lived with my parents for the last month, something I haven't done for 10 years! It was great to be able to spend so much time with them before I left. They've been an amazing support base, helping with removals and packing, cooking and letting me u
se their space. I know it couldn't have been easy having me invade again!
The giant A380 Airbus
Mr Shortcake will be at the airport to meet me, I'm so nervous. I don't know whether I will laugh or cry when I see him. I can't wait for a hug! He's got the day off tomorrow and wants to show me around, as I've never been to Dubai, although neither had he until he got the job! We really have embraced the unknown with this venture. I hope it bears the fruit it promises.
I've got lots of exciting plans to implement, business ideas and hobbies to take up. I want to take advantage of the facilities on offer. First stop is the marina yacht club to sign up for kayaking lessons. I was lucky enought that I gained my level 1 kayaking certificate at my last job, I would love to improve. Then there's the textile souks, I have a little sideline that's a bit of a secret at the moment, but the fabrics available in the middle east may bring that added edge I was looking for. I've got a few
plans for our new apartment which involve some statement rugs and textiles so the souks are a definite hot spot for me.
First things first, lets get this flight over with, I'm not a keen flyer!
Toodles,
*Update: I made it to Dubai in one piece. One of the nicest flights I've been on, Emirates are a great airline, everything is included and the entertainment was excellent; I watched a couple of films, read the information provided on screen about Dubai and watched the aircraft land via the onboard cameras mounted on the tail, belly and cockpit with a lovely lady I met on the flight. We had a good giggle actually! :)
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