An eco friendly florist from Corfe Castle in Dorset has won a coveted place in the South West regional finals of a national wedding industry competition.
Catherine Ramm, of Dorset Dried Flowers, was nominated for The Wedding Industry Awards and took a spot among the dozen finalists after every one of her bridal clients from the past 12 months submitted a glowing reference.
A dried flower bouquet and headdress bring a perfect finishing touch to a Corfe Castle bride
Nomination a delightful surprise
Dorset Dried Flowers which was based at a workshop at Sandy Hill Arts in Corfe Castle has just moved into new premises nearby at Norden Farm.
Catherine will now represent Purbeck in the Special Touch category at the Aldwick Estate near Bristol on Monday 25th November 2024, with a place in January’s national finals at stake.
Using dried flowers is more sustainable and practical for weddings as they can be prepared longer in advance and then reused and repurposed after the event.
Her category, which recognises those who deliver the unexpected extra to raise a wedding to an Instagram sensation, sees Catherine up against a dog chaperone from Plymouth, a Cornish caricaturist, a master of ceremonies from Christchurch and a teepee hire company from Devon among others.
Catherine has just relocated her business from Sandy Hill Arts Centre to Norden Farm
A wedding bouquet and buttonhole from an event at The Guildhall in Bath
“A part of something so joyous”
Dorset Dried Flowers, formerly My Scented Home, had evolved into floral home decor, just before lockdown boosted the popularity of dried flowers.
During the pandemic, fresh blooms were difficult to come by so Catherine’s order book grew massively over that period.
But she still felt that there was a further step to take, as customers were largely ordering designs chosen from a webpage and creativity was restricted.
Catherine Ramm said:
“Then I got asked to do a wedding and found that I loved being a part of something so joyous which gave me more scope to be more creative.
“I was a victim of my own success with home decor – I loved it and still do some of it, but I felt like I was on a conveyor belt where people were buying from images on my website and I was making a lot of the same thing.
“Then I had the chance to do more styling with venues and country pubs, where I’m given a blank canvas and allowed to create something.
“And I love working with wedding couples, I feel very honoured that they want to work with me and that I can help them to realise ideas they have in their heads.”
Catherine’s wedding creations, like this autumnal headpiece, have been recognised by a national awards programme
Dried flower columns can make a stunning statement piece at big events
“Eco credentials are very important to me”
Catherine added:
“Dorset Dried Flowers is very sustainable and I won a business award in Purbeck a couple of years ago for my eco credentials, which are very important to me.
“There is a massive nod now to sustainability in any industry and floristry can be dreadful for its effects on the environment like polyester ribbon and floral foams – none of which I use in my work.
“I’m not a huge fan of air miles for flowers and do avoid it. A lot of fresh flowers come from Kenya now, and the carbon footprint is huge.
“Most brides come to me with a vague colour scheme, not many come with a list of set flowers they want in their bouquets, so we can take steps to reduce the air miles.
“Proteas from Africa are beautiful, but there are other flowers just as beautiful in the same colours which don’t need to be flown in from Kenya.”
With no water source needed, dried flower arches can be deconstructed, moved and reused
Dried flowers can also be gifted or repurposed after weddings, to decorate a couple’s new home
Dried flowers can be repurposed
A lot of customers come to Catherine because they like the ethos of her company and the aesthetics of dried flowers and find that there is also a cost advantage to having floral decorations which can be repurposed both during a wedding and afterwards.
Catherine was quite surprised to be listed in the Special Touches category rather than the Floristry section, as she creates everything for a wedding that a florist would – just with dried flowers.
At many weddings, flowers are thrown away at the end of the festivities, but with dried flowers, all of the table decorations can be gifted and the bouquets and buttonholes kept.
And with large scale dried flower archways, many of the flowers can be repurposed into home decor and wreaths, so the happy couple can keep their wedding flowers around them, in a slightly different format, in their home.
Whatever the season, dried flowers can transform a living space
Catherine has also made statement pieces for other businesses, like this bar arrangement at The Fox Inn, Corfe Castle
“To have a statement piece is wonderful”
Catherine said:
“I like doing large scale arches because it gives me the ability to be really creative. If a bride has a space that is fitting for an archway or a chandelier, we should make a statement piece.
“Everyone wants the Instagrammable wedding these days, with pictures to make their friends go ‘wow’ – so to have a statement piece is wonderful.
“When you have an arch of fresh flowers you will often have buckets of water hidden in the foliage, built into the framework, otherwise on a hot day your flowers are going to wilt.
“But with dried flowers, no water source is needed and means that I can move those arches between venues really easily.
“As the last of your guests leaves the church I can lift those displays, put them in a trailer and take them to your reception venue, so you are getting a double whammy – and why not reuse things where you can?”
Wedding photographer Damian Bailey hosted the South West regional Wedding Industry Awards in 2023
Helping couples create fantastic weddings
The Wedding Industry Awards was started by wedding photographer Damian Bailey in 2011 to recognise and reward excellence in the wedding industry and to help couples all over the country find the best suppliers for their weddings.
Damian Bailey said:
“Our judging panel comprises of more than 130 industry experts, giving the results real meaning and of benefit to both the entrants and anyone organising a wedding and looking for great wedding suppliers.
“Throughout my wedding photography career, I have seen talented, dedicated people working hard to help couples create fantastic weddings.
“The differences between wedding suppliers is considerable but the price point and marketing is often very similar.
“If you are organising a wedding and are confronted with a long list of potential suppliers, who would you book?
“Winning an award isn’t the only reason, but to know they have been praised by their previous clients and our expert industry judges should certainly help, right?”
A wedding at Upton House was one of Catherine’s highlights
All the wedding couples that Catherine helped supported her entry to the Wedding Industry Awards
Genuine feedback from a place of love
Whether or not Catherine goes on to the national finals in London, she will receive anonymous feedback from all of her previous clients with ideas of how she could improve her service.
Catherine said:
“I am looking forward to some genuine feedback from people who loved what I did, and have also been empowered to give some constructive criticism.
“That is a brilliant idea, as I know the feedback will come from a place of love and will help me to do things better in future.
“We can all improve our customer service, as a business you never give up learning. It’s a great system, worked out by someone who was in the business himself.”
A beautiful autumnal bouquet shows what can be achieved with dried flowers
Further information
- Discover the world of Dorset Dried Flowers on Catherine’s website
- Follow Catherine’s fortunes at The Wedding Industry Awards
