I found 'The Dress'

I mentioned on a previous post, a bit earlier in the summer.. my daughter is getting married this June.

The issue wasn't her dress, it was mine. She had a very good idea of what she was looking for and found it quite quickly- first time out. She went dress shopping with her girls- and picked about eight dresses and the one she really wanted. She tried them all on but 'the one'. She said she wanted to wait until I was there when she finally put it on. [Which I thought was so, very sweet.] It was 'the one'. She 'SaidYesToTheDress.' I really look forward to seeing her in her beautiful dress complete with her amazing shoes and beautiful long veil, on her big day.- And of course, with her flowers. I wonder who she'll have do them ? ;)

So, now that she has hers...what am I supposed to wear? Now, I understand what every other mother of the bride has gone through trying to find, -'their dress'.

She did give me some guide lines... nothing frumpy, no jackets, basically- The Mrs. Doubtfire Spring Collection. Not like I'd ever wear that. So, I'm not in the wedding party, but technically, my husband, daddy of the bride- and I are the hosts. So, I wanted something to compliment the bridal party but not look like I'm one of them.

So, when she got the call her dress came in, she and I did look together while at the bridal salon. I did find one there, I liked it, but honestly, I really didn't want to wear black to my daughter's wedding. Or, a long dress, which it was. We'll be outside for the ceremony.

While out the other evening, I popped in to the mall- just to look. And low and behold, on a rack, was this dress. The right color, the right style, size and length. Just enough bling- I slipped it on and said- YES. Well, alrighty then. I can check that off my list. Now, I just have to find shoes.

It's all falling into place and I know June will be here so quickly. I'm glad I got one biggie off my to-do list. Now, I can focus on her shower...... and all of my other Brides planning their big day.

We're on Pintrest

It was just a matter of time, really. Pintrest, like many things, can be a good thing or moments in time you will never get back. If you have an account, you know exactly what I'm writing about. Time completely disappears when you're on your account. So, with that in mind, I've decided to spend my time on it in limited spans and for my client's benefit.

Our new Pintrest account is for our wedding and event clients. During our consultations, I often share photos from our personal collection- our own actual design work, as well as our floral friends. So, I figured we'll share this on a larger scale through Pintrest. Then our clients can take their time and also come better prepared for their appointments. They've gotten the 'Sneak Peek'.

I was a bit surprised to see how many people started 'Liking' and 'Repinning' within minutes of me uploading. I think it will become a great source for viewing a larger collection our photos. We'll also have photos of rentals we have available in-house.

I've noticed a number of people following us already. Please note, we will try and keep our following limited to floral industry friends. We want to keep our focus on images we feel will be helpful to our clients. We also want to select images from flower friends with design styles similar to our own.

Happy Pinning!

A New Year. Big Ideas. Fab Friends

So, this is the first post of 2012.
Like most everyone, my team and I have been talking about what we would like in this 'New Year'.

Things range from.... all of us going to more after-hours events, every month- mixing business with pleasure. A couple of us being awarded scholarships. Committing to shooting a video every month or so, about some nifty flower topic de jour. Making some new wonderful networking connections; affording us the opportunity to work more with the vendors we love.

Today, we had a wedding. So far, we will have three weddings in January. Not typical- and we also had one on New Year's eve, so WOW and Yay!! for us.

Today's wedding was a delight for a few reasons. A lovely and excited bride. Good flower choices and the opportunity to work with some of our favorite vendors.

Our bride married at St. John's downtown. Her photos were shot by the very talented Amy Shepherd. I love a photographer who captures the 'details'. You would think it IS obvious.. catch the details, but- you'd be surprised. Amy does get the details and captures the emotion of the day. She gets the little important things a bride spent time making a decision on. Details in the lace on her dress, the necklace, a floral embellished cake knife and champagne glasses. She pays attention. She's also an absolute delight to work with and I highly recommend her for your big day.

Katie's reception took place at Kye's II. A location well known for hosting a memorable evening. Kye herself, was there during the set up. It is wonderful knowing even though a business like Kye's, a successful event facility, still has the actual owner on premise overseeing the details. When she isn't available, her very capable event manager Herbie Clinard is supervising.

And, it's not a great event without delicious food and excellent service. For that, Katie selected Mirabel Gourmet Catering. Chef Greg- a true French Chef- and his very capable staff, set a beautiful buffet. His refined cooking skills, ensure his client and their guests enjoy a mouth watering meal. People really do feast with their eyes, and Chef Greg makes sure their visual feast is just the introduction to a memorable dining experience.

As I've said in previous posts, the most important thing a bride and groom or anyone planning an event can do is... assemble a
great group of capable, passionate professionals to work with. Everyone will want the same thing you do- a perfect event.

So far, we've had a great start to the new year and we're looking forward to the rest of it.

Our 'Face of 2012'

As this year winds down, our minds ambitiously wander to 2012. What will it hold?

While we can't change world politics or the financial situations that just seem to fester under the surface of many minds, we can think about beautiful flowers...and how we can coax more people into realizing their absolute beauty. It's not just beauty though. They really do serve a purpose, too.

Their mere presence truly does prove benefit to humans. It's a proven fact. They lift your spirits. With the elderly, they provoke thoughts and initiate conversations of past experiences... I gardened with my mother. My first love brought me violets. I remember- and just fill in the blank. Flowers relieve stress, they celebrate life, they ask for forgiveness, they speak for you when you are speechless.

Flowers can be associated with many things. Find your best image and run with it. For me, I have looked through our photos of this year's brides to find our 'Best Image.' As I work on our marketing for this new year of 2012, I want our potential clients to see a snippet of what we are capable of.

I plan to use our lovely bride Megan's image as our 'Face' for 2012. Why her? Because. First, she was an absolute doll to work with. Her choice of flowers truly reflected her- colorful, complex, romantic, fun and individual. She expressed her desire for bright shades to pop and stir interest in contrast to a very traditional church setting. She paid attention to details and textures and it definitely showed.

I've attached some of her photos shot by the photography team of Kreich-Higdon. They're simply wonderful photographers and creative people. And equally as important, great to work with.

So, look for Megan in our ads. She was delighted when I told her - she was 'The ONE'. I'm grateful for the opportunity to have worked with her and even more grateful she will now represent us.

Flora Holland

Over the Thanksgiving holiday week, I traveled to Germany and the Netherlands. As a florist, the trip to the Netherlands was one I'd always hoped I could, one day, take. Not only is the Netherlands- Holland- known for wooden shoes and windmills, but also for flowers. Tulips in particular. Tulips are only the beginning of what is available from Holland.

I made a special trip to Aalsmeer, the Netherlands. Aalsmeer, is the home of Flora Holland. Flora Holland is the largest flower auction house in the world. It has over 6000 member growers represented. The auction house sells flowers grown in Europe as well as from Kenya, Ethiopia, Israel, and from South America. It is the 'portal to the world market and allows trade companies to access the full international supply.'

In a nutshell- it was one amazing place for a florist to visit. I shot a lot of video while in the auction house. It was amazing to see how all of the flowers get from the fields to the florist.

The auction begins at 7am. But the day begins way before then. Flowers begin their trip 5pm the day before they're being auctioned. Product is pulled and the trip to the market begins at 8pm. It arrives around 10pm and things get checked in and refrigerated. By 4am the next day- auction day- the quality inspection begins. By 6am, thousands of buyers review what's available. The auction begins at 7am. As soon as flowers are sold in one of the two auction halls, they begin their journey to the florist. The auction goes very quickly. As the giant clocks tic down, flowers, foliages, plants and other products are sold at a rapid pace. Once sold, they're pulled, packed and their trip to the buyer begins. Flowers sold to local business can appear in-shop later the same day. They begin their journey out of the country equally as quick, with an overnight trip to the rest of the world.

It was amazing to see hundreds of thousands of stems of flowers. Everything from roses, gerbera daisy, orchids, tropicals and more to beautiful blooming and green plants. The photos show a huge variety of fresh product in various stages of handling. Flowers are grouped, pulled by handlers, transported into the auction, on carts and trollies, presented and sold on the 'big clock', pulled again to be packed and shipped to the buyers. And it all happens very fast. The buyers sit in the auction room, at one of the many seats with computers to analyze product and submit their bids.

This was truly an amazing opportunity for me, and one I'll never forget. It's important to know your roots- and now I really know mine... well, my flower's.

It's not always about flower..

A while back, I posted my daughter has gotten engaged. Needless to say, being 'in the business' I kind of have a leg up on the planning and vendors, which has helped to make our planning a snap. But, that doesn't mean I don't have the same thoughts as every other person-about what can go wrong on my daughter's wedding day.

Earlier today I saw an interesting post from a site for a DJ service called "Scratch Weddings". They are old school actually spinning vinyl--[my son would be in heaven.] Anyway, as I looked thru their blog I came across the following words of wisdom and thought it was important to share.

--In the spirit of planning for the worst, we polled our Facebook friends, DJs and recent newlyweds to compile our 7 Sure-Fire Ways to Clear Your Wedding Dance Floor list:

#7 – Hire a DJ who talks too much. “At this particular moment in time, could you put your hands together and give it up for the parking valet hanging out in your car.”

#6 – Tell the DJ to turn up the speakers as loud as they go. Never mind the fact that the Richter scale at the nearby college earth science lab is red-lining…Your guests will love the ear-splitting sub-woofers, we’re sure.

#5 – Stick with one genre all night long. I’m sure no one in the crows likes different genres?

#4 – Don’t pre-screen a DJ’s ability to blend, beat-match and scratch. Yes, wedding guests love being able to experience train wreck transitions – a.k.a., those poor mixes between songs that you never hear from a Scratch Weddings’ DJ.

#3 – Change gears faster than an 18-wheeler on a freeway entrance ramp. Book a DJ who says yes to a request from guests who want to hear a Viennese waltz and then cuts a Michael Jackson song short to crank up Johann Strauss.

#2 – Fail to read the crowd. The latest song prompted the feet of 100+ guests to go limp and a look of “are you on another planet?” to flash across their faces.

#1 – Announce, “The bar’s closing in 10 minutes.” Do we even need to explain this one? Give your guests a solid 30 minutes to get their last cocktail.

We are having a DJ for my daughter's wedding. One of Jen's biggest requests was- after some serious eating- the reception be 'one big, non-stop dance party'. So, the music and they way it is executed will be very important. I can definitely say that reading the 'Top 7' list definitely made sense to me. I know I have experienced all of these things at someone's wedding over the years. And to me, there's nothing worse than music being played that is completely inappropriate for the setting; especially when it's completely obvious as the dance floor evacuates - but the DJ doesn't change the music.

I'm looking forward to an incredibly memorable day. Dancing, great food and of course, a wonderful couple of days with our families. I know June will be here incredibly fast. I plan on enjoying every minute spent along the way.

Brainstorming. Wedding Shows. Which way to go?

Although it's becoming more popular now, it used to be that most wedding shows, were typically held January through March-ish. at least that's the way it had been in our region of the country. Now, I'd have to say for the past few years, it's become a year round thing. This of course, makes sense since people don't just marry in the spring and summer.

The biggest challenge for a vendor such as ourself, is knowing what to show at the show. We know there will be other florists, but how do we best showcase our talent without giving away all of our visual 'pretties' before someone gets to see what we really can do for them. And, we also have to keep in mind, we want to be sure we present something fresh and original. All callas? I hope
not... but, if we do, there will be a serious twist.

So this weekend, we'll be presenting our florals at Garden Court. We have been asked to decorate the entrance, staircase and hall. This will also include providing florals for the other vendor's tables also displaying in the hall. So the question is...what do we bring?

Let's just say, some of our Dutch friends will be making an appearance and some from Ecuador, too. We might have a fresh twist on a decorative idea for that big, dark, heavily carved staircase. I'm just saying. An no one knows just exactly what's going on the check in table or entrance doors- but it will be snazzy.

Well, you'll just have to make arrangements to check it out yourself or wait 'til we post some photos. Normally, the wedding shows aren't such a huge deal for us to do. Except, this weekend, not only do we have the show, we also have four weddings. So, if nothing else- this should be fun to say the least.