Faith & Flowers - October 2020

Wedding Flowers for Very Different Times
This time last year Sonia, our Treasurer, asked me to help her
with flowers for her granddaughter’s wedding, planned for June
2020. I was happy to accept the invitation and, notebook in hand,
joined the bride and Sonia in the middle of March at the
wholesalers to select suitable flowers.
The wedding was postponed due to Covid restrictions and
rearranged for mid-September. The week before I returned to the
wholesaler to order the flowers. I was shocked to see only about
a quarter of the usual selection of flowers and foliage. Of course
there have been no events, many postponed or cancelled
weddings and places of worship having been closed until
recently, there has been a much reduced need for fresh flowers.
Once the flower order had been placed, we faced the dilemma of
how and where we could arrange whilst obeying social distancing
and following the Covid rul4es. Many prayers were offered that
week for a way forward for us.
The weather forecast for the end of that week was for sunny and
warm days. The flowers were duly collected and conditioned.
Buckets filled my shed and kitchen for a day!
Friday morning saw me awake early and setting up tables and
chairs in the garden so that the team of four of us could work
individually whilst following the regulations, with a box of
equipment on each table and my clipboard on the lawn. Believe
me, it was planned like a military operation! In little over four
hours we made the bride’s bouquet, 5 bridesmaids’ bouquets, 2
table decorations and 16 buttonholes and corsages.
At 2.20 p.m. the bride’s mother arrived to collect the flowers and
take them to the church in the Olympic Park, ready for the
ceremony the following day, and we sat down in the sunshine for
a late lunch and a well-deserved glass of fizz. It had been a
stressful and exhausting few days but also great fun with much
laughter and wonderful teamwork.
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