The Train was Delayed and the Flowers Didn’t Arrive – But Cornelia Vanderbilt’s Wedding Day was Beautiful Thanks to Biltmore’s Gardeners

"In 2001, the Biltmore commemorated the 75th anniversary of the wedding with a month-long celebration among 2,500 blooming roses in June."

April 29, 1924

Today is the wedding day of Cornelia Vanderbilt.

This year (2021) marks her 95th wedding anniversary.

When Cornelia married British nobility, the diplomat John Cecil, the wedding flowers had been ordered from a florist in New York.

However, the train carrying the flowers to Asheville, North Carolina, was delayed and would not arrive in time.

Biltmore's Floral Displays Manager Lizzie Borchers said that,

Biltmore’s gardeners came to the rescue, clipping forsythia, tulips, dogwood, quince, and other flowers and wiring them together.

They were quite large compositions, twiggy, open, and very beautiful.

If you look up this lavish, classic, roaring 20's wedding on social media, the pictures show that the bouquets held by the wedding party were indeed huge - they look to be about two feet in diameter!

I'll share the images in our Facebook Group, The Daily Gardener Community.

In 2001, the Biltmore commemorated the 75th anniversary of the wedding with a month-long celebration among 2,500 blooming roses in June.