Our first-hand experience of Silchester Farm means we understand how flowers work within both the Hampshire Threshing Barn and the outdoor ceremony setting, as well as how those designs can continue into the Cow Shed afterwards.

We have created a broad range of ceremony flowers at Silchester, including floral pillars, pedestals, meadow-style arrangements and other statement designs. We have also dressed the venue’s outdoor ceremony structure with flowers.

Within the Cow Shed, our experience includes bud vase collections, low floral arrangements, top-table flowers and natural candlelight.

Where suitable ceremony flowers need to be moved after the vows, we can manage the changeover and repositioning as part of your wedding service.

Our wedding styling can also be considered alongside the flowers if you would like candlelight or additional decorative details to form part of the wider design.

One of the reasons Silchester Farm works so well for weddings is that each stage of the day has its own setting.

After the ceremony, guests can move into the courtyard and surrounding reception areas for drinks before making their way through the gardens towards the Cow Shed.

The Cow Shed then becomes the main focus for the wedding breakfast and evening celebration.

From a floral-design point of view, this creates a useful window between the ceremony and wedding breakfast.

Suitable ceremony arrangements can be carefully moved and restyled while guests are enjoying the drinks reception, allowing the same flowers to contribute to both parts of the day.

This is something we plan from the beginning, rather than deciding where flowers should go once the ceremony has finished.

The Hampshire Threshing Barn already has a strong architectural presence, so the most effective flowers tend to define the ceremony without competing with the timber structure.

We have created a wide range of ceremony flowers within the barn, including floral pillars, pedestals and meadow-style arrangements.

The orientation of the ceremony can also influence where the flowers will have the most impact.

When the ceremony faces towards the large doors, the steps provide a particularly effective position for pedestal arrangements or floral pillars. This creates height around the ceremony focal point while allowing the doors and surrounding timber to remain visible.

Meadow arrangements can then be used along the aisle or around the ceremony area to introduce softer movement and connect the larger floral pieces.

Our wedding ceremony styling ideas provide more examples of how pillars, pedestals, meadows and other ceremony designs can be used to create a strong focal point.

The outdoor ceremony setting offers a very different feel to the Threshing Barn, with the surrounding countryside and gardens already providing much of the backdrop.

We have created outdoor ceremonies at Silchester Farm and have dressed the venue’s ceremony pagoda with flowers.

Depending on the overall design, the structure can be dressed more lightly with selected floral sections or used as a stronger ceremony focal point.

Freestanding floral pillars, pedestals and meadow arrangements can also be used around the ceremony, allowing the flowers to add shape and colour without obscuring the wider setting.

Where suitable, floral sections attached to the ceremony structure can also be designed so they may be removed and reused in the wedding breakfast.

When an outdoor ceremony is planned, we consider from the outset how the flowers could work beautifully in both the outdoor setting and the Threshing Barn if the weather changes.

Freestanding designs such as meadow arrangements, pedestals and floral pillars are particularly useful because they can usually be repositioned with relative ease while still creating a strong ceremony focal point.

Planning the alternative setting in advance means the flowers are designed to suit both locations, so any change of plan can be handled smoothly without compromising the overall floral design.

Silchester Farm is particularly well suited to repurposing ceremony flowers because the ceremony and wedding breakfast take place in distinct spaces but remain close enough for a planned changeover.

Suitable arrangements can be moved from either the Threshing Barn or outdoor ceremony setting into the Cow Shed.

Meadow arrangements can be repositioned around the top table, sweetheart table, cake or another focal point. Larger feature pieces such as floral pillars and pedestal arrangements can also be moved and positioned behind, or to either side of, the top table or sweetheart table where the design, size and mechanics make this practical.

Where the outdoor ceremony structure has been dressed using removable floral sections, those flowers may also be reused around the Cow Shed.

When included within your wedding service, we manage the movement and restyling ourselves so you and your guests can simply continue enjoying the drinks reception.

Our guide to repurposing wedding flowers from ceremony to reception explains more about how suitable arrangements can be designed to work across more than one part of the day.

The Cow Shed has enough scale and character to support a variety of table-flower designs without needing every table or surface to be heavily decorated.

We have supplied bud vase collections, low floral arrangements and top table flowers for weddings in the Cow Shed.

The best design depends on the table layout, the shape of the tables and the level of floral impact you would like across the room.

Bud vases can create a lighter, more relaxed feel, while fuller low arrangements bring additional colour and texture without interrupting guest sightlines.

The top table can then be given additional emphasis using flowers repurposed from the ceremony. A long and low arrangement from the signing of the register table can be repositioned on the front of the top table, while other ceremony feature flowers such as meadow arrangements, pedestal flowers or floral pillars can be placed around, behind or to either side of the top table or sweetheart table where their design and scale make this practical.

Flowers in the Cow Shed do not need to be limited to the dining tables.

The room offers opportunities to create additional focal points where a couple would like a more detailed floral design.

Depending on the overall plans, we can develop ideas for features such as the beams, fireplace, top table and other architectural or decorative focal points.

These may be created as separate designs or, where suitable, incorporated into the wider repurposing plan using ceremony flowers.

The aim is not to decorate every available surface, but to identify the areas where flowers will have the greatest visual influence on the room.

Candlelight works particularly well within the Cow Shed, bringing warmth to the timber surroundings and adding atmosphere to the wedding breakfast.

We have personally supplied natural-flame candles for weddings at Silchester Farm, using them alongside table flowers to create a softer, more layered setting as the day moves into the evening.

Candles can be considered as part of the wider table design, with their height, spacing and style planned alongside the flowers rather than added separately.

The final candle design will always be planned in accordance with Silchester Farm’s current venue requirements.

Where you would like candlelight and additional decorative elements considered alongside your flowers, these can form part of our wedding styling.

Your personal flowers are an important part of the wedding morning, and we always hand deliver the bridal bouquet and bridesmaids’ flowers directly to the preparation room so they arrive safely and exactly where they are needed.

Alongside the bridal bouquet and bridesmaid flowers, this may also include buttonholes, corsages, flower-girl flowers or other personal floral details chosen for your wedding party.

Each piece is designed as part of the wider floral direction for your day, carrying the same colour palette, flowers and natural styling through from the bridal party into the ceremony and wedding breakfast.

If you are still deciding which personal flowers you may need, our wedding flowers checklist explains the different options and helps you consider what is most relevant for your wedding.

The outdoor areas at Silchester Farm are well suited to relaxed lawn games during the drinks reception.

Our lawn game collection includes Giant Jenga, Giant Connect Four, bean bag toss, Hearts and Kisses and coconut shy, giving guests an easy and sociable way to enjoy the outdoor spaces between the ceremony and wedding breakfast.

The final position would be agreed with the venue according to the layout of your wedding and the way you plan to use the grounds.

Our lawn games form part of our wider finishing details collection.