As more details of the most-awaited wedding of the year are revealed, Kensington Palace released a statement with the announcement that Prince Harry and his bride-to-be Meghan Markle have tapped London-based florist, Philippa Craddock, to design their floral displays for their upcoming nuptials. The final designs are said to be representative of the couple with local sourcing, seasonality and sustainability being at the forefront.
Craddock, who has a studio in Fulham and a flower shop in Selfridges, will reportedly source white garden roses, foxgloves and seasonal beech from the gardens of the Crown Estate and Windsor Great Park, while directing a team of expert florists from St George’s Chapel and Buckingham Palace, to create the displays at the wedding venues, St George’s Chapel and St George’s Hall.
“The floral displays in St George’s Chapel will be created using locally sourced foliage, much of which will be taken from the gardens and parkland of The Crown Estate and Windsor Great Park. Where possible, Philippa will use flowers and plants that are in season and blooming naturally in May. These will include branches of beech, birch and hornbeam, as well as white garden roses, peonies and foxgloves. The designs will reflect the wild and natural landscapes from which many of the plants will be drawn,” revealed the statement by the Kensington Palace Press Office.
The Royal Parks are also scheduled to supply some pollinator-friendly plants from their wildflower meadows, which will be incorporated into the floral designs. These plants provide a great habitat for bees and help to nurture and sustain entire ecosystems by promoting a healthy and biodiverse environment. After the wedding, the couple have arranged for the flowers to be distributed to charitable organisations.
Philippa Craddock said: “I am excited and honoured to have been chosen by Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle to design and create their wedding flowers. Working with them has been an absolute pleasure. The process has been highly collaborative, free-flowing, creative and fun. The final designs will represent them as a couple, which I always aim to achieve in my work, with local sourcing, seasonality and sustainability being at the forefront.”
