Dreamy, ethereal and romantic wedding florals - Introducing Saint Floral

Saint Floral, let us count the ways we love thee. Hannah’s ethereal, romantic floral style is delicate and punchy at the same time, timeless and effortlessly modern. Her work - which oftentimes looks like a painting but we can assure you is real (to the touch and smell) - are inspired by designers and artists who push boundaries and bring us a little closer to our dream world, like Rodarte and the Dutch Masters. Hannah’s floral designs are totally out of this world too, but she’s the most lovely woman and super down to earth! We chatted to her below…

A little about your business and you

A big warm hello to all you Most Curious brides & grooms-to-be! My name is Hannah Agnes Antmann, the creative hands and continual curious mind behind Saint Floral; my floral moniker and platform in which I tell stories & capture imagination with flowers, embracing all their curiously natural forms, fresh seasonal beauty, colours and whimsically faded charm.

From artfully-curated wedding flowers, installations & floral styling for events & editorial publications, I set out to design aesthetically dreamy floral scenes, pairing the dark with delicate, infusing sultry yet feminine fragrance and mostly always taking inspiration from & displaying them amongst a collection of vintage collectables & curios. And given that weddings are the coming together of nostalgia, style, season & scent, these are the signature themes I love to embrace and weave into Saint Floral's bridal flowers & installations.

I am so privileged to have gained an inspiring set of clients & Instagram followers over the years — from interior designers, photographers, bridal suppliers, art curators and of course florists (!). Words they often use to describe my florals range from painterly, moody, seductive and other-worldly. When it comes to weddings, my floral style often attracts couples who wish to inject a swathe of curiously cool and ethereally wild beauty into their day through floral content — be it in the form of a beautifully trailing and fragrant array of bridal bouquets or a deliciously dark ceremonial arch mirroring something out of a Renaissance painting — all of which exhibit well in characterful spaces and often period venues. It's always music to my ears to hear and see through the photo galleries post-wedding how the flowers formed a talking point throughout the day and beyond!

The coolest/best moment of your career so far?

Speaking of characterful spaces, last year I was lucky enough to flower the most incredible wedding which resided in an epic English Heritagevowned 17th Century country Manor House which exudes all kinds of romance with its notably crumbling ruins. (Hero!) film director Baz Luhrmann shot the H&M x Erdem ad campaign here a few years ago, in which he quite literally filled the entire building, crumbling wall cavities & Romeo & Juliet-esque balconies with dreamy, fresh flowers. Not only was it a privilege to flower in his footsteps, but rather special to work under a netted canopy which to this day holds a bed of scattered rose petals left over from the ad campaign. An extra dusting of magic to an already incredible venue!

Who or what inspires you?

When I'm not head and heart in flowering, I spend the best part of my days drawing floral & style inspirations from classical to modern art cultures, and these are recited through each considered flower, colour palette and even down to ribbon finishes or decorative vase I choose.

My flowers often take on a decorative, almost ornamental nature when composed, collaborating both fragrantly fresh & wonderfully faded flowers, ranging from home-grown English garden roses, to smaller and wilder textured flowers that in turn often air the question of 'are those even real?! A purist at heart, I use all natural flowers and embrace them for all their natural forms, colours, and even decaying beauty. I love their habitual nod to theatre & drama — a concept with the likes of fashion photographer Tim Walker, couture designers Rodarte & Alexander McQueen in mind, with their play on both dark and dream-like themes. You might even find a vintage bird or butterfly nestled in your installation or tablescape...a wonderful partnership with botanicals and is always admired! With thanks to an uber creative Mother with a background in interiors & antiques, I spent my childhood visiting rural antique auctioneers & interior salesrooms, quickly growing a love for objects of curios, decorative soft furnishings & designs from Chinoiserie to Arts & Crafts. The slightly dark but ethereal romance of the PreRaphaelite era & floral depictions of the 17th Century Dutch Master paintings forever capture my imagination and influence my compositions no end.

What do I love most about my job?

I love meeting with my bridal couples to discuss the key floral elements & aesthetics they envisage for their day (typical talks of season, style, sentiment & colour palettes, sharing story & mood boards). It's a collaborative process building on these creative visions. Then comes perhaps the best part of my job — scouting the flower market for first dibs of the freshest, seasonal and unique florals (English where possible), foraging local wild trails for the prettiest seasonal foliages and berried/fruiting vines and sourcing my French velvet finishing ribbons from antique fairs or my favourite UK silk suppliers. I love seeing the floral story take shape, the coming together of these inspirations and creating a rich tapestry of beautiful flowers to reflect their personalities & venue aesthetics, all the while weaving boat loads of romance and charm into every bridal bouquet, ceremonial scene or tablescape.

Any advice for Most Curious brides and grooms-to-be?

21st century weddings are shaping up to be some of the most creatively and visually beautiful weddings I've seen to date. We are well and truly in a century of social media portals aplenty, spending time searching for and falling in love with streams of dreamy imagery oozing style & aesthetic inspirations. Whilst it can be a fantastic source for wedding inspiration (and you might even find your wedding supplier at the same time!), you can become intimidated by choice and expectations. Firstly, see what images/visuals draw you in, or say something about you.

There's a reason why they caught your eye, or caused your heart to skip a beat! Creating a mood-board of these images is a great way to get the visual juices flowing (your supplier might be behind one or several of these images you've collated!) ...however, you can quickly become frazzled by so many ideas of what to include and how much to include on your day and suddenly you're looking at an exceedingly long list of requests that are stretching your budget! Part of any wedding supplier's job is to tailor what they have to offer to your needs and visions, whilst at the same time offering a realistic and bespoke package to meet your budget. I'm always mindful that the true cost of wedding flowers are often an unknown to brides and grooms, but part of my job is to draw on your initial visions and inspirations versus their truthful, realistic costs, in turn working to create memorable flowers with an often 'less is more but big on impact' viewpoint.

Be honest with your suppliers from the get-go, ask questions and be curious!

My approach to everything in life is with care and curiosity and this comes so naturally when it comes to flowers. I look forward to meeting you all with an exhibition of floral wonder and telling your wedding story, the Saint Floral way.

If you want to come and see Hannah’s wonderful work in person - and just verify for yourself that her painterly creations are actually real, and not the work of a genius born again Dutch Masters painter - grab your tickets on our shop now!