A Summer Wedding in June at Old Sessions House, London

On one of the hottest days of the year, we joined Maddie and Alan for their summer wedding at the grand Old Sessions House in Clerkenwell - just around the corner from our shop. From seasonal florals to soft, sculptural installations, here’s how we helped bring their wedding vision to life.

The vision

Maddie and Alan imagined a wedding that felt natural, modern and unfussy - with soft flowers that complemented the venue’s character, rather than competing with it. One of Maddie’s requests was to include peonies - and rightly so. If you’re getting married in May or June, it’s the perfect time to make the most of them. They are a symbol of true romance, prosperity and compassion and they are said to be an omen of good fortune. 

The Wedding flowers and colour palette

In line with the vision, summer season and the venue, we built the wedding colour palette around gentle greens, pastels and whites with pops of coral, blush, and blue. Just enough colour to bring warmth and variation, without pulling focus from the space. We avoided anything too bold or high-contrast - it was more about layering tones that felt natural and gently uplifting.

With our wedding colour palette in mind and the time of year - late June bringing the more petal-heavy, romantic stems into bloom - we used as many British-grown flowers as we could, including; peonies, sweet peas, nigella, scabiosa, dahlias, jasmine vine, smokebush and variegated English pittosporum.

To complete the palette and add structure, we added; quicksand roses, playa blanca roses white and blush lisianthus, hydrangea, amaranthus and delphinium,.

With the floral palette in place, we turned our focus to the venue, one we know well and always love working in.

The Wedding venue

Old Sessions House, a venue that many of our wedding couples use, is full of quiet drama - a huge, light-filled building in the heart of Clerkenwell, with weathered plaster walls, original panelling, and an incredible domed ceiling inspired by the Pantheon in Rome.

Built in 1782, it was once the largest courthouse in the country. The Palladian-style design, solid Portland stone façade and Ionic columns made it one of the grandest public buildings of its time - and just perfect for weddings.

With such a characterful venue, the flowers needed to flow comfortably within the space to enhance its natural features and to bring softness to the architecture. With this in mind we focused on keeping things open and airy.

Designing the wedding floral installations

Achieving texture was important, so we designed the florals so that they weaved through the space. Enhancing the multitude of textures, not hiding them. To achieve the look we used lush green foliage to create depth and texture throughout: smokebush for its airy fullness, variegated pittosporum to bring tonal contrast, and jasmine vine to add shape and gentle movement.

A few key areas were:

• Window florals - We wove florals between the tall window panes to let the light come through.
• Staircase flower trails - On the staircase, we created soft, cloud-like moments that followed the curve of the banister without covering too much.
• Flower Arches and plinths - At the top of the ceremony we created an arch but not your traditional arch - this one was a deconstructed broken arch, aimed at drawing your eye down the aisle for high impact. One side followed a broken arch shape, while the other was made using a plinth and a cluster of vase arrangements. It felt modern but still elegant. Due to the installation not being fixed, they were free to move the florals to other parts of the venue when they needed to, making the most of their beautiful flowers. A tip we often suggest, so you can really get the most out of your flowers throughout the day.

Everything was about enhancing the space - florals designed to belong, not just sit.

The day itself

Arriving early, the fun begins. About half of the wedding flowers had been made in the studio the day before, but key installations - like the ceremony arch and staircase - were created in the space on the day. It’s always such a fun part of the process, building everything up piece by piece, working with other suppliers and seeing the slow transformation of the space.

It was a particularly hot day - 34 degrees - so extra care was taken with the more delicate stems, keeping them on ice, holding back until the last moment, and making the most of any fans or aircon we could find. British-grown sweet peas and scabiosa aren’t made for heatwaves, but they pulled through beautifully.

From a vision, ‘natural and modern with just enough colour to lift the space,’ to floral arches, cloud-like staircase meadows and delicate seasonal stems - the space was transformed. With every detail of the wedding flowers being carefully crafted to reflect the venue, the hazy summer, and the couple’s calm, elegant style.

Emily comments,

“That moment where you step back and see the full picture, and it feels exactly right - that’s the part that never gets old. And seeing the bride and groom in the morning is always the best. Usually I’ve gotten to know these people over the course of a year or even two, and it’s all leading to this moment. It means so much when they’re happy - when they see, for the first time, what we’ve been talking about for so long.”

A favourite moment

Emily has been working with wedding florals for over 6 years now, but each one is so unique, as everyone is different. Emily comments on one thing she particularly loved about this wedding,  

“One of my favourite parts of the process was the planning session Maddie and I had in the studio. We pulled out all the props - candles, vases, plinths - and spent time piecing together the details. It’s always such a joy to work like that: not rushing, not defaulting to a template, but building something that is true to them.”

Lovely words from Maddie & Alan

“I just wanted to say a huge thank you for everything on Saturday. The flowers were amazing and beyond anything I expected - we had so many compliments on them the whole day and they really brought out the best in the venue. It was such a pleasure to work with you.”

“I cannot speak more highly of Emily and Botanique Workshop. They provided our bespoke wedding flowers which were above and beyond what we had imagined.
We went to Emily with a very high-level idea of what we wanted and a variety of inspiration photos. Her enthusiasm and knowledge of flowers was clear from the start, and she guided us expertly through the whole process. She perfectly balanced our debate over where to spend money and where to save money to have the most impact, and when she turned up on our wedding morning with the largest café au lait dahlia I’ve ever seen - we had no words!

We had bouquets, boutonnieres, bud vases, an aisle meadow, and some freestanding aisle and staircase pieces. They were all absolute perfection and I cannot wait to share the photos once we have them. Thank you so much Emily and team.”

Planning a wedding in June – or considering Old Session House as your venue?

We’d love to hear from you. We know the venue well, it’s just round the corner, and we know what works well seasonally, style and vibes wise. Whether you have a clear idea in mind or are still figuring things out, get in touch with Emily, our Wedding Florist, she will help bring your floral dreams into reality!

Wedding Flower tips: Read our tips on how to get the best out of your Summer Wedding Florals & Venue Decor.

The Creative team & details

Venue: Old Sessions House, 23 Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R 0NA
Photography: Tamsin Hurrell / @tamsinhurrell_weddings
Dress: Alexandra Grecco
Planner: Hannah Rose Weddings and Events
Style: Natural, modern, and unfussy – in fitting with venue
Colour palette: Gentle greens and whites with pops of coral, blush, and blue
Wedding flowers used: Peony, blush sweet peas, nigella, scabiosa, dahlias, jasmine vine, smokebush, variegated English pittosporum, quicksand roses, playa blanca roses, white and blush lisianthus, hydrangea, amaranthus, delphinium
Wedding floral items: Bridal flowers, Ceremony flowers, staircase arrangements, Table flowers, bud vases, Deconstructed Arch and aisle arrangements
Wedding props used: Plinth, Arch, Candlesticks, Bud vases.