Coombe End Manor, Elkstone
Quite possibly Gloucestershire's best kept secret, this gem of a country manor house offers every conceivable luxury for your wedding, milestone birthday celebration or brand event. The main house is exquisitely decorated with interior design details, antique paintings and curated details at every turn. With bedrooms for 20 guests and a full size kitchen and dining room, there's room for a crowd. Outside there's a full size swimming pool, hot tub, sauna and spa retreat. Whilst in another annex lies a Club room and party bar complete with sound system and cinema. The gardens are sublime - with orchards, perennial flower beds and sweeping lawns, with plenty of space for a full size marquee for your Cotswolds celebration. Go and check this out for yourselves. Coombe End Manor is not going to be a secret for much longer!
Event Flowers at Coombe End Manor in Gloucestershire
For this editorial photoshoot hosted at Coombe End Manor near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, we were asked to design two different table-scapes of flowers for leading decor hire company The Luxe Collection. I absolutely love working with Jen and Sam the owners of the Luxe Collection for many reasons - as well as being the loveliest of people, they have the eye 👁️ for great design when it comes to serve ware, glassware and linens. They source their collection from the finest makers and producers around the world. We regularly collaborate together on weddings, brand events and editorials to create seasonal set-ups to create imagery that inspires and shows how you can blend the latest styling trends with classic decor to achieve a finished look that's both of the moment and timeless. Jen and I also share a deep love of flowers and a romantic, garden gathered aesthetic that sums up my signature floral style. Using the stars of the seasonal flower garden, including some grown in my Cotswolds garden, I seek to evoke an emotional response that connects with all the senses. Fragrant, tactile, soulful - everything I want my flowers to say.
The Luxe Collection Editorial - Vibrant Spring Tables-scape
The first look for our editorial at Coombe End Manor in Gloucestershire was all about spring. Jen wanted a joyful fresh vibe to this table-scape that started with a heavy linen base cloth in the colour of the season - buttermilk yellow. This gorgeous pastel is so soft and welcoming compared to harsh white linen. Next a woven placemat in a daisy silhouette with a rosy pink border - I have to confess that I fell instantly in love with these and booked them for a June client. The serve ware was the Luxe Collection's Bella Pink range with its hand-painted floral petal motif. A plain pink napkin was sandwiched between the plates to create a pleasing flow of colour over the table edge. Glass ware was kept neutral with the elegant fluted shape of the Santorini glassware, with a red, white and champagne flute. I really love these glasses as they work with any serveware and they're not oversized which can be a problem on crowded banqueting tables.
The cutlery was the Luxe Collection's Tortoiseshell range which adds a more informal look to a banqueting table-scape. And the finishing decor touches were added with a series of Pooky wireless table lamps with a pink rosehip shade and Ester & Erik candles in Gaia porcelain candlesticks. Can you imagine sitting down to celebrate a special occasion with this incredible collection? I think it would be perfect not just for a wedding reception but also for a christening or milestone birthday lunch.
The Luxe Collection Editorial - Vibrant Spring Flowers
To perfectly complement Jen's exquisite tablescape, I drew inspiration from the abundant beauty of the late spring garden. This truly is one of those fleeting, magical times of year when an unparalleled array of our favourite luxury flowers are all available simultaneously – a precious window of just a week or two. Our timing for this styled shoot was, fortunately, absolutely perfect, allowing us to select from the very best of nature's bounty for this spring tablescape. As a Gloucestershire florist specialising in luxury flowers, this seasonal availability is a constant source of inspiration.
When I embark on designing table flowers for a particular brief, my creative process always begins with colour. It's the foundation of the emotional impact of any floral design. I often find myself consulting the trusty colour wheel for inspiration, guiding my choices to achieve the desired harmony and mood. For this specific spring tablescape, I chose to focus on the warm, inviting tints of rosy pink, apricot, and vanilla. These soft, ethereal hues created a wonderfully harmonious visual flow, enveloping the setting in a gentle, romantic glow.
The floral artist's colour wheel
To add that crucial element of vibrancy and to truly brighten the look, I introduced a deeper coral pink. This carefully considered colour pop served a dual purpose: it invigorated the overall floral scheme and, more importantly, exquisitely drew out the subtle pink detailing on the delicate china plates and the charming Pooky lampshades. This meticulous attention to detail ensures that every element of the tablescape, from the grand centrepieces to the smallest bloom, works in perfect synergy. As a Gloucestershire wedding florist focused on luxury flowers, this level of integration is paramount to delivering a truly cohesive and breathtaking aesthetic. Every bloom contributes to the narrative, creating a sophisticated and memorable experience.
I chose the focal flowers first with ranunculus in shades of cream, pink and coral, followed by the garden roses. These designs included some new editions to my mental rose library including the deep coral rose 'Mandarine Xpression' and 'Priscilla', both of whom will be used in this summer's wedding recipes. For a more delicate note amongst these stand out blooms, slender stems of butterfly ranunculus and geums. The latter is a staple of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and it's arrival in my workshop always heralds the start of summer. For a fragrant and whimsical touch, sweet peas in shades of blush united the colour palette. The vessels used were slim porcelain runners from Gaia and delicate glass bud vases from Talking Tables.
The Luxe Collection Editorial - Buttermilk Yellow Tables-scape
For the second look, we set up the banqueting table in the elegant dining table inside the Manor House. Jen's goal for this look was to celebrate the pastel of the season for 2025 - buttermilk yellow. This soft creamy shade is a wonderful choice for brides and event planners looking for a warmer take on a neutral. It brings a sublime elegance to a scheme and lifts the mood.
For this table-scape, Jen started with a lilac base cloth and added Buttercup print linen napkins. A printed napkin is such a great idea if pattern makes you nervous but you know the setting would be enhanced by it. I especially love the printed collection designed by Thyme in Southrop and stocked by the Luxe Collection. For serveware, Jen used the Shell plate as a charge and added the handpainted green and pink Sophie Floral dinnerware collection. The cutlery was matt green handled and the glass ware was the Cuba collection. Candles in a glass ribbed holder together with Pooky Lamps with a green shade completed the look.
Buttermilk Yellow Floral Table-scape Flowers
This look was all about tracking down the stand-out buttermilk yellow flower and I decided upon a beautiful large ranunculus and the garden rose called 'Nona!' The whirls of petals in delicate shades of vanilla and cream worked wonderfully with these table centrepiece designs. To add an accent, I drew on the lilac shades of the table linen with the lilac flowers from my garden. The scent was incredible! Dainter flowers were added included narcissi and more butterfly ranunculus - this time a lovely cream variety called 'Grace'. To add height and touch of whimsicality, stems of 'Attar of Roses' Pelargoniums from my garden were added to the series of porcelain footed bowls and low bowl designs.
Photography by Weddings by Nicola and Glen