In the heart of Cheshire, two wedding creatives, cake designer Julie Rixon and florist Jacqui O, are revolutionising the wedding industry with their commitment to sustainability. Together, they’ve crafted a collection of five unique cake designs that showcase their innovative use of repurposed materials, locally-sourced flowers, and environmentally conscious practices.
Their creations, showcased at Tower Hill Barns, are a testament to the beauty and elegance that can be achieved through sustainable design. From the ethereal “Secret Garden Cake” to the vintage-inspired “Blooming Treasures,” each cake tells a story of environmental responsibility and artistic expression.
Jacqui O shares, “This editorial is a celebration of our shared passion for sustainable wedding design. By using repurposed materials and locally-sourced flowers, we’re not only creating stunning cakes but also contributing to a healthier planet.”
Photographer Sarah Horton from Nantwich has beautifully captured the essence of these creations, showcasing the intricate details and the harmonious blend of nature and artistry. This collaboration is a testament to the power of creativity and sustainability, inspiring couples to choose weddings that are both beautiful and responsible.
Photographs by Sarah Horton Photography.
Romance Meets Eco-Elegance: How Two Wedding Creatives Are Redefining Wedding Trends With A Commitment To Sustainability
Nestled in the heart of the North Wales countryside, Tower Hill Barns is a wedding venue that perfectly blends timeless charm with a strong sustainability ethos. It was a fitting shoot location for cake designer Julie Rixon, from The Red Rose Cake Company, and floral designer Jacqui Owen, of Jacqui O Florals, to collaborate on their latest wedding cake styling project.
With the guiding belief that every aspect of a wedding should not only be beautiful but also reflect a commitment to the environment, the wedding suppliers – with support from photographer Sarah Horton who shares their commitment to sustainability – came together to create magical moments that are both romantic and sustainable to showcase that beautiful wedding cakes don’t need to be relegated to the corner.
All eyes on the cake; the conversation that sparked a wedding styling transformation
Over coffee and cake, the pair discussed a common wedding dilemma: artfully made wedding cakes are often placed on a table that’s relegated to a corner of the room, with little thought. They planned to transform these delightful confections into masterpieces of art, using beautiful flowers and integrating reuse, recycle, and repurposed elements into the styling in a venue that aligned with their values.
Demonstrating that it is possible to pair flowers with cakes, Jacqui, who credits the Sustainable Wedding Alliance for her expanded knowledge of sustainability, says she prefers to “decorate around the cake using creative techniques that add interest without coming into contact with the cake.”
While adding fresh flowers to cakes is popular, it’s crucial to be cautious about which flowers you use because not all flowers are suitable, some are treated with pesticides and some can even be toxic – the wedding suppliers drew upon their wealth of experience to source mostly Cheshire-grown flowers or from trusted international MPS-certified growers who adhere to strict sustainability standards and banned chemicals.
Julie added, “My couples receive a document that details as many flowers as possible with recommendations on the flowers that should and shouldn’t be used on a cake and the best ways to use them.”
Here’s how the creative duo beautifully dressed tiered wedding cakes with sustainably sourced florals and repurposed materials to create five incredible focal points at Tower Hill Barns, and their take/ words on the inspiration that ignited the idea.
5 Dreamy Designs to Dress & Style Your Wedding Cake with Flowers
1. Whispers of Romance: The Secret Garden Cake
Inspiration: The ethereal beauty of Jane Austen’s novels and dramatisations with their romantic and tranquil gardens.
Design: Imagine a cake of tall and slim proportions, left pure white, with only a thin ribbon to demarcate the different tiers, creating the perfect canvas for the floral elements to shine. The subtle aroma of lemon and elderflower reminding your senses that it is summer, drifting every time you get close to the cake. The scent of vanilla from the icing blending with the florals. Where British-grown cotoneaster cascades like a waterfall with delicate ammi flowers dance around Sweet Avalanche’ and classic ‘Avalanche’ roses. Their soft pink and ivory hues evoke a sense of romance and timeless love, reminiscent of secret gardens and enchanting love stories. The roses, known for their lush blooms and elegant appearance, create a beautiful contrast with the airy ammi flowers, to add depth and texture to the arrangement.
Sustainability: The cake stand, a repurposed wooden spool originally used as an electric cable reel, symbolises our dedication to breathing new life into old objects. Now a coffee table at Tower Hill Barns, it made a perfectly repurposed cake stand, reducing our environmental footprint.The flowers surrounding the cake are inserted into 100% biodegradable and home-compostable Oshun pouches, designed in America for single-day events. After the event, the coir from inside the pouches was added to Jacqui’s garden, benefiting her homegrown phlox. Later, the flowers were bunched and gifted to the team to be enjoyed before being composted.
2. Traveling Tastefully Together: The Conscious Couple’s Cake
Inspiration: The rich heritage and exquisite designs of William Morris, a leading figure in the Arts and Crafts movement and an advocate for traditional craftsmanship, paired with a vintage banded steam trunk from the 1920s.
Design: A three-tier cake of smaller proportions, nestled into a truly unique, upcycled steam trunk, adorned with William Morris’ Strawberry Thief wallpaper. Featuring strawberries, leaves, and flowers, it adds a touch of historic charm and vibrant colour to the installation. The cake uses buttercream/ganache as a paint to create a 3D effect on the tiers, each placed on an acrylic separator, allowing the light to shine and reflect through the cake itself. The smell of rich chocolate tones from the cake mixes with the scent of the wild strawberries creating a truly decadent mix. The floral display captures Cheshire-grown artisan blooms, including self-seeding strawberry plants, strawberry red geraniums, crème brûlée phlox, and alstroemeria. These flowers are arranged to intertwine and reflect the colour palette of Morris’ design, enhancing the characteristics of his style and emphasising his love for the natural world and his commitment to high-quality, handcrafted design. Despite not being an obvious wedding colour palette, we encourage our clients to capture their unique personalities and embrace items they love with their wedding styling, whether it’s a painting, an outfit, or as we have done here, a timeless trunk.
Sustainability: The repurposed steam trunk not only celebrates craftsmanship but also symbolises the couple’s journey—a romantic voyage adorned with blooms that honour sustainability. The flowers are placed in troughs inside the trunk, which have been used for numerous weddings. These troughs symbolise “something borrowed,” bringing good luck to the wedding and highlighting our commitment to reducing waste and celebrating the beauty of repurposed items.
Local and Eco-Friendly Blooms: These blooms are part of Jacqui’s collection, ‘Bee Friendly, Bee Kind,’ quintessentially English and proudly grown, not flown. Nurtured in rural Cheshire, less than 10 miles from Jacqui’s home studio, they not only enchant with their beauty but have already contributed to a thriving ecosystem, providing sustenance and habitat for butterflies, bugs, and bees before becoming floral decor.
3. Blooming Treasures: Unveiling Vintage Charm with Every Drawer
Inspiration: Behind this design stems from the age-old adage, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure,” and the heartfelt philosophy of “waste not, want not.” Earmarked for disposal, Jacqui’s sister was on the verge of discarding a pine bedside table before Jacqui saw its potential and swooped in to rescue it from the scrap heap. Restored and repurposed by Jacqui, after five years waiting in the wings for its moment, it played a prominent role in the styling, infusing beauty and charm.
Design: This tall slim design was airbrushed in a pale spring green to the lower tiers and is displayed on the bedside table to showcase Julie’s beautiful cake. The drawers overflow with Cheshire-grown delicate ammi, nigella seed pods, vibrant calendula, and scented sweet pea trails. These blooms are lovingly arranged in a bed of eucalyptus grown in Jacqui’s secret garden. The pale green-to-white effect of the cake provides a subtle background for the florals and foliage. A delicate chiffon ribbon provides a simple touch of styling, having also been repurposed from the discarded hem of a bridesmaid’s dress, now adding softness. Even from afar the smell of almonds and cherries rings out with cherry bakewell being the flavour of the sponges. A reminder of childhood and Bakewell tarts comes to mind.
Before becoming the cake display, why not use the drawers as a champagne tower to add a unique touch to the celebration?
Sustainability: This design is a tribute to the beauty of repurposing, bringing new life to an item in a meaningful way. Each drawer tells a story, and every flower adds a touch of nostalgic charm. The environmental benefits of upcycling, such as this, are significant. By repurposing existing items, we reduce waste, decrease the need for new materials, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Upcycling often requires less energy than recycling, making it a more eco-friendly choice. Embracing the philosophy of “waste not, want not,” this design not only enhances the wedding’s aesthetic appeal but also underscores a commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility.
4. Ethereal Drapes and Fondant: A Symphony of Softness
Inspiration: Chiffon’s ethereal quality is celebrated for its sheer and lightweight texture that drapes effortlessly, adding elegance and romance to both fashion and modern wedding decor. Its softness and fluidity create a sense of movement, transforming spaces into dreamy and enchanting settings.
Design: The buttercream-painted cake stands before the suspended florals that complement the chiffon’s allure, capturing the colours of the floral curtain, and the acrylic tiers reflect the movement and changing light to enhance the artistic feel Picture blooms like Kenyan Delphinium ‘Donna’ and ‘Ballkleid’, renowned for their delicate petals and vibrant colours, delicately suspended in the air. This trend not only enhances visual appeal but also adds a whimsical and magical ambience. The interplay between chiffon’s soft folds and the natural beauty of flowers creates a dynamic contrast, emphasising the meticulous craftsmanship and intricate details of the design. To add a multicultural element, garlands of chrysanthemum ‘Kaya’ flower heads have been incorporated from Zentoo’s, a collective of Netherlands chrysanthemum growers committed to sustainable practices.
Sustainability: Although some of these flowers have travelled from afar, Jacqui believes helping every part of the globe become sustainable is an investment in the future of our planet and so knowing the growers and their approach to the three pillars: people, planet, and profit is vital as a sustainable floral designer.
Zentoo growers prioritise sustainability with practices such as geothermal and residual heat, CO2 recycling, and solar panels to reduce energy consumption and environmental impact. They hold MPS-A certification, emphasising responsible production practices like efficient resource use, reduced pesticide use, and waste management. MPS-A mandates traceability and transparency through detailed record-keeping, promoting continual improvement and appealing to environmentally conscious consumers globally. This commitment enhances market access and supports a futurefocused approach to floral design and production.
5. Repurposed Blooms: A Celebration of Sustainability
Inspiration: Embracing the timeless allure of reusing and repurposing floral arrangements on your wedding day adds a touch of romance. It extends the lifespan and value of these blooms, giving them a meaningful second life beyond their initial decorative use. This approach not only reduces waste but also honours the natural beauty of each flower, aligning perfectly with the principles of sustainability.
Design: The opportunity to surround the cake with a collection of ceremony flower arrangements gathered from various parts of the wedding decor, creating a cohesive statement. The floral palette seamlessly merges naturalistic elements such as grasses, pastel achillea, and textural statice with contemporary touches like suspended chrysanthemums and delphiniums. This blend forms a spontaneous and whimsical display that beautifully showcases the natural beauty of repurposed blooms. This design encapsulates sustainability, where each petal and leaf contributes to a larger, enchanting narrative.
Our commitment to sustainable elegance for your wedding day
Our cakes and flowers are not merely desserts or single-use decor but masterpieces that bring your vision and venue to life, telling a story of love while honouring our planet. By integrating reuse, recycle, and repurpose elements, we’re conscious of our impact on the Earth when creating enchanting designs that captivate you and your guests with memorable installations that spark romance, whimsy and art on your wedding day.
All of the processes used within each business have been purposed with sustainability in mind, from the packaging to the baking, growing, arranging and delivery. Although polystyrene tiers are used to create the cakes displayed, these items are continuously reused and consideration is given to the intended long-term use.
From the cascading flowers of the Secret Garden Cake to the vintage charm of Blooming Treasures, these five creations are a nod to sustainable elegance and the photos visual proof that your wedding cake can play a bigger role in your day than just the cliché cake cutting moment. “It’s an honour to see Jacqui & Julie’s creative vision come to life in the venue and how they’ve used our event spaces and wildflower meadow to create true works of art.
We’re passionate about giving our couples an incredible wedding day and in doing so, we endeavour to ensure the footprint on the day is as eco-friendly as possible,” says Sally Marshall, venue owner.
We hope these designs inspire your vision for wedding cakes and wedding flowers that are both stunning and sustainable. Because we believe each wedding is a fairy tale where romance and environmental consciousness go hand in hand. Let us help you turn your wedding day into a masterpiece of beauty and sustainability for an unforgettable celebration that is environmentally conscious.
