A Fresh White and Green Garden Wedding at Markovina Vineyard Estate

Joanne and Harvey’s wedding at Markovina Vineyard Estate was fresh, calm and beautifully green. Their white and ivory flowers sat naturally within the estate’s garden, from a triangle ceremony arbour framed by tall cypress trees to relaxed bud vases on the reception tables, styled with green grapes, pears and citrus.

This wedding was a special one for us: it was the first wedding where Willow & Peony took on the full design. As well as the flowers, we designed the details on the tables, from the dark green ribbons carrying each guest’s name to the tote bags that were the guests’ gifts.

The couple wanted a clean, simple palette that let the greenery of Markovina do much of the work. We kept the flowers to white, ivory and soft green throughout the day, and brought in fruit, sage linen and olive ribbon at the reception so the tables felt generous and a little playful without needing large arrangements.

A ceremony in the garden, made to last

Markovina’s ceremony garden is already full of texture: tall cypress trees, tree ferns and lush planting on every side. A timber triangle arbour sat at the end of the gravel aisle, with an asymmetric floral arrangement climbing one side and resting on the other.

For the ceremony, the chair-back flowers and the welcome sign, we used high-quality artificial flowers and greenery. These pieces are outdoors for hours, often in full summer sun, and artificial stems hold their shape and colour from setup to the last photo. They were designed in the same way as our fresh work, with loose, layered shapes and plenty of movement.

White roses, white and green hydrangeas, delphiniums, eucalyptus and olive leaves were repeated across the arbour, the two stone pedestals and the low arrangements at the foot of the aisle.

Small posies of roses and baby’s breath, tied with sheer white ribbon, lined the aisle on the chair backs.

At the entrance, the welcome sign was anchored by a matching floral arrangement and a cluster of pillar candles.

Joanne’s bouquet

All of the personal flowers were fresh. For Joanne’s bridal bouquet, I used a variety of garden roses in ivory, cream, buttery yellow and soft pink to bring in a little colour, with delphiniums, lisianthus and dahlias adding texture.

A seating chart with fresh dahlias

The seating chart was printed on long fabric banners draped over three white plinths. On top of each, we arranged white dahlias and phlox in silver coupes, with bunches of green grapes, pears and limes beside them.

Reception tables under the vines

The reception was set beneath Markovina’s vine-covered pergola, strung with festoon lights. Long white tables ran under the leaves, each with a sage cheesecloth runner.

Along each runner we placed clusters of clear bud vases holding single fresh stems: white roses, dahlias, cosmos, lisianthus and delphiniums. Pillar candles and tea lights sat between them, and each guest’s glass was tied with olive green ribbon.

Between the vases, green grapes, pears, lemons and halved limes brought colour and a sense of abundance to the tables. It is a simple way to make long tables feel full while keeping the flowers light and airy.

Instead of place cards, we designed dark green satin ribbons printed with each guest’s name and tied them around the wine glasses. They matched the sage runners and the green of the fruit, and every guest could take theirs home.

Every chair also carried a small canvas tote bag, the couple’s gift to their guests. Joanne and Harvey sent me photos of their two dogs, and I drew them into the illustration on the front, with the words “Pawsitive vibes only”. It was a personal, playful touch, and a favourite detail of the day.

The bridal table

At the head of the room, Joanne and Harvey’s bridal table sat under white draping and the pergola vines. After the ceremony, we brought the ceremony flowers inside and joined them into one long bank of white roses, white and green hydrangeas and soft greenery along the full length of the table front. A small posy and fresh bud vases sat on the table itself. Reusing them this way gave the reception a statement piece, and let the ceremony flowers be enjoyed all evening.

Our first full wedding design

Designing the whole look, not only the flowers, meant every detail could work together: the colour of the ribbons, the fruit on the tables, the plinths for the seating chart and the gifts on each chair all came from the same white and green palette. We loved being trusted with it.

Fresh and artificial, working together

Joanne and Harvey’s wedding is a good example of how fresh and artificial flowers can share one design. Artificial flowers carried the outdoor ceremony and the welcome sign, where they would spend the longest in the sun, and then moved inside to dress the bridal table. Fresh flowers went where guests would see them up close: Joanne’s bouquet, the seating chart and every table.

Thank you, Joanne and Harvey, for letting us be part of your day at Markovina.