KAREN TRAN ROYAL MASTERCLASS AT THE LANESBOROUGH HOTEL, LONDON

Shortly after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their much anticipated royal wedding date, International wedding and event florist, Karen Tran, set her own very special date in London and last month brought her world renowned Floral masterclass to the UK at The Lanesborough Hotel. The former St George’s Hospital dates back to 1820s and now has a reputation of being one of the best hotels in London, it has a long standing association with the royal family – the Great Hall actually has an entrance that is only accessible to Her Majesty the Queen!

With all eyes on London for royal wedding inspiration, Karen chose to bring a “Royal” masterclass to the city and cement her own Anglo- American relationships by collaborating with a top team of UK and London luxury Wedding and Event Suppliers – Cake designer Elizabeth’s Cake Emporium, London Florist WildAbout Flowers and ourselves – London Wedding and Event Planner, Planned for Perfection!

The three day masterclass welcomed students from around the world, who joined together to learn how to create the signature Karen Tran masterpieces, listen to Karen’s words of wisdom, as well as enjoy an inspirational talk by director of UKAWP, Bernadette Chapman who was guest speaker on the first day of the class.

Karen’s Floral Masterclasses always culminate in a spectacular gala dinner, where the students showcase the work that they have created during the week.  We were honoured to be asked to plan the Royal masterclass gala dinner and worked with a team of talented suppliers to create a memorable evening. VIP guests were invited to enjoy a very special event, just a short distance from Buckingham Palace at The Lanesborough. Karen had envisioned an opulent wedding breakfast fit for a royal wedding and the outcome was a perfect blend of sumptuous and elegant floral designs in the most luxurious English setting, in the heart of London.

On arrival at the hotel, the famous Lanesborough butlers welcomed guests to a cocktail reception in the Great Hall, which was decorated with exquisite flower arrangements. The grand staircase was dressed with beautiful cascading flowers and the Lanesborough bar created floral inspired cocktails. The finest Champagne and delicious canapes were served, whilst guests were entertained by Niche London String Quartet and Gloucestershire magician Richard Parsons.

Guests were then called for dinner and walked through a scented floral archway into the Belgravia room. They were captivated by the gorgeous set up and the breathtakingly kaleidoscope of colour in front of them. Thousands of roses, hydrangeas, orchids, tulips and cherry blossom decorated the room and an impressive six foot cake, was the focal point in the centre.

Designed by Elizabeths Cake Emporium, the cake was inspired by the wedgewood blue and peach ceiling in the Belgravia room, where it sat on table completely covered with a cascading  ‘cloth’ of peach and pink roses. It featured hand painted clouds, mouldings of the baroque ceiling design, handmade peach and pink sugar roses, piped scroll work and a hand painted royal crest.

Karen, her team and the students, along with the Wild About team transformed the Belgravia room into a floral wonderland, using a combination of blush, pink and white flowers to create her signature tall cascading table arrangements. Dotted amongst the tall arrangements were gold baroque candelabras and along the length of the tables were low clusters of flowers in beautiful hand crystal vases and gold ornate candlesticks.

The Lanesborough has been awarded a Michelin star and has a reputation for serving the most delicious food, alongside impeccable service, so we knew that guests would enjoy a culinary treat! The food was served on ornate charger plates, showcased for the first time that night by Whitehouse Crockery, who also provided the glassware, gold cutlery and gold plates. The tables were dressed with linen from Over The Top Linen Hire and London furniture hire company, Great Hire provided the white and caramel CKC chairs. The opulent wedgewood blue and gold foil stamped menus and place cards were designed with crowns, shields and bowers, a bespoke design from The Grosvenor Stationery Company who also made the beautiful invitations and thank you cards for the event.

There was a surprise in store for the guests after the main course, when the doors to the dining room were opened and through the tunnel of roses and tulips walked two opera singers from the Royal Opera house, who performed for guests, before the glossiest of chocolate desserts was served.

The night ended with everyone in awe of the inspirational floral beauty designed by the queen of florals, Karen Tran and an evening that was indeed perfect for the royal wedding!

Karens dress was from London bridal boutique The Wedding Club with Di McDonald hair and make up looking after Karen on the night.

The event was captured beautifully by fine art wedding photographer Roberta Facchini and Vogue Wedding Films.

Thank you to the following wedding blogs for featuring Karen Trans London Masterclass and gala dinner:

London wedding directory and blog, Five star wedding directory

International wedding blog, Strictly weddings

Wedding Blogs, BLoved

Jewish wedding blog, Smashing the Glass

American wedding blog, Modwedding

If you would like to discuss your Luxury wedding in London, throughout the UK or overseas, call:

Wedding Planner Mobile: 07917273180

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Cotswold Weddings: 01452 302797