One of my favourite flowers, no question, peonies are so special! So many stunning varieties from classic Sarah Bernhardt with her delicate pink femininity, to the heavenly scent of white Duchesse to the bold and beautiful Coral Sunset. I get genuinely excited every May at the approaching peak of peony season and part of their appeal is their short season. Flowers are always more alluring when there’s only a short window to enjoy them. I’ve had many brides and grooms in the know choose May/June solely because they want peonies starring in their wedding florals and I am so here for it! 

However, and it’s a big one, getting peony timing right is an absolute nightmare. Like all great divas they are hellishly unpractical. Sometimes you order them and they arrive like bullets, so we indulge them in the unique peony spa experience, plunging them into hot water, massaging their petals and banging their heads on the table, desperately trying to seduce them open. Ideally if they arrive like this you want a good five days for them to reach their peak wedding condition. However… sometimes they arrive ready to pop within hours and they go straight into iced water wrapped in paper and you pray. Are you even a florist if you aren’t kept awake at night thinking about the stage of your Sarah Bernhardt’s, creeping into the workshop at 5am to check on your flower babies?

The trouble is they are just so gorgeous, how can you resist? I love a peony wedding but it’s never an easy one. Last month I dressed a stunning venue, an amazing chapel with the most incredible stained glass and tiled floors and of course the bride wanted peonies, sumptuous coral sunset were just too perfect for the vibrant glass and terracotta tiles. There were peonies throughout the designs so I needed a fair few! They arrived, the most perfect peonies you have ever seen, then, boom we were hit by a classic early British summer heatwave completely out of the blue! No matter what I did I couldn’t keep the workshop cool enough, those babies opened faster than I’ve ever seen. Luckily I had ordered more coming later in the week and was able to source some more absolute beauties from a flowery pal. It just goes to show even with twenty odd peony seasons under my belt those little divas can still catch me off guard. You can pretty much guarantee I will have peonies in my house for two months solid as I juggle hundreds of stems, trying to get them open at the precise moment.

Luckily I have learned to stagger my peony order in the hopes we cover all bases and reach peony perfection for the big day. On top of this rather stressful juggling act peonies are expensive! The best things always are, so brides and grooms - yes I love and appreciate you for wanting peonies for your wedding, but the truth is they are going to be pricey and you will also have to live with the fact you will have contributed to my greying locks, but it is most definitely worth it!