THE SOCIETY KING
ROB VAN HELDEN
soCiety florist to the late Princess Margaret, elton John, the Beckhams, Claudia schiffer, Liz hurley, and Princesses eugenie and Beatrice, Rob is the maestro responsible for Bea’s glorious flower arch. ‘We tried to create a vintage garden feel, with seasonal flowers including pale peach and pink roses, hydrangeas, jasmine and astilbe,’ he says.
the Dutch-born celebrity florist began his career with a holiday job at the local flower shop. after moving to the UK, he worked for selfridges’ flower department, and 34 years ago, set up his own business which was kicked into the stratosphere when he designed the flowers for the lavish three-day wedding of Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece.
he now works ‘seven days a week’ with his sister Patrice. ‘We have travelled the world,
weddings in india, Mexico, La, nyC, the Bahamas... But i have a great team — every time i’ve gone “this is not going to happen!” three hours later, you’ve never seen a wedding like it.’
STEAL HIS STYLE: Dramatic, sculptural bouquets bursting from tall, thin vases. Van helden flowers tend to be big, beautiful and symmetrical, with hydrangeas, fluttering sweet peas, hyacinths, soft roses and peonies creating a classic bouquet. Use huge hydrangeas for shape and tightly-packed roses to add delicacy, and go easy on the foliage. ‘you achieve most impact if you go with a larger quantity of one flower — it gives a feeling of volume,’ he says. hidden secret? Cable ties! n rvhfloraldesign.com