Putting Others Down to Pick Yourself Up? Not a good idea

My designer Gaby and I were talking the other day about the poor flower industry. Have you ever noticed how often other types of business's will put down flowers just to say that their product is better? Society of American Florist spends so much of their time letting other business's know that it's not cool to put us down to make their product look good.

It's amazing how those that sell jewelry, candy, chocolates and goodness knows who else use flowers as a point of reference when saying their product is better. Yes, flowers you send today may be gone next month but is that what it's all about? What about the beauty of flowers or the way they can be personalized? What about how special they make people feel or how they physically brighten their mood? Does everything have to be about the long term? In a society of "let's collect as much stuff as possible" doesn't it make sense to bring a thing of beauty into your home that won't be collecting dust next month?

On another topic, I feel the same way about dealing with competitors. I don't believe in putting down someone who is in the same business as you. Anyway, who am I to put them down? How would I know exactly what they know, what they do and how they do it, right? It's always best to act above reproach. I'd prefer to be friendly with those near me than make an enemy out of them.

Maybe I'm the idiot by not putting in my ads - send flowers they cost less than jewelry but truthfully, I strongly believe that if you have to put another down to make yourself look good, it's a bad sign. I think your product and service should stand up on it's own. That's the way I've done business for years, and silly me, that's the way I'm going to continue to do it!

A Night at a Design Show

Well, there's nothing like a floral design show to get the creative juices flowing!! Nine of us attended the FTD Sponsored seminar featuring Ian Prosser, AIFD, AAF, NDSF last night. Ian is not only a very talented designer but a wonderful businessman who had many wise words of wisdom!

This above design showed just how interesting floral design can be when styling flowers close to the container using lines and loops! I especially loved this arrangement which is perfect for placement on an office desk or on a bedside table. Arrangements like these tend to be very easy to care for and long lasting too! Tables and tables full of creative floral designs using a wide assortment of flowers, foliages and containers. Rocio, Gaby, Sheryl and Tina came away with many floral design ideas! Look for many of these concepts to be included in our floral deliveries over the coming months!

Kevin, Yarrow and David smile for the camera while Sheryl looks on. Needless to say, with 9 of us in attendance we made quite a scene in our blue uniforms! Thanks for the beer, wine and soda Kevin!!

A quick photo in the lobby: along the back from left to right are Gaby, David, Sheryl and Kevin. Seated from left to right is Tina, Rocio, Yarrow and Heena!

Calling All Waitresses!!

Ok, I want to start off by saying that I have the utmost respect for anyone who waits tables for a living. The closest I ever got to doing that kind of work was my 6 month stint at a Dunkin Donuts my summer before College. Thank goodness I found my calling in Entrepreneurship and being a Floral Designer because I was not good at it!

Why am I calling all Waitresses (and not waiters for that matter)? It's because yesterday while reading an issue of Floral Management I read about a study that was done back in the 80's that showed that waitresses that wore a flower in their hair earned 17% more in tips than those who did not. So, that explains why I did not include the men in this blog but that really got me to thinking about the true power of flowers.

Our very own Shop Coordinator Sheryl often tucks a flower behind her ear while working and darn if it doesn't just make me want to hug her. There's something about a girl who feels care-free enough to risk looking silly by tucking a big old Gerber daisy behind their ear. Whenever Sheryl does it, I notice that I can't talk to her without smiling. The power of flowers really hits home, even to someone like me who is surrounded with them daily.

I've also noticed more girl asking for flowers for their hair for Prom and even Weddings. What a wonderful trend. Since the beginning of time flowers have been a natural adornment for special occasions but aren't they nice for everyday too. Just think, if you are a waitress, it just might mean a little extra spending money and who could ask for more!

Wow! It's June and It's Busy!

Thought I'd share some pictures from our very busy weekend!! Five weddings, 4 Mitzvah, 2 showers, 1 anniversary party, 2 Walk-a-thons and 2 sweet sixteens! I may be forgetting something! This picture above if from a garden wedding at Chauncey Center. Simple violet plants in purples and blues in silver mint julep cups. Truly simple but elegant!!

Wow! That's a long table. Elegant white flowers create a runner at this event at Salt Creek Grille, located right here in the Village near our shop! This one will be a personal favorite of mine. No wonder the client was happy!
This balloon arch was designed by our Event Coordinator David!! He builds them tough and he builds them fast. This was for the Kidney Walk that took place on Sunday, also here in the Village! These cool Chocolate Brown and Pearlized Pink balloons decorated the Nassau Room at the Westin Hotel, also here in the Village. Yes, we actually did leave the Village this weekend but it pays to be so close to hotels and restaurants! These funky topiaries were created a for a shower held at the gorgeous Rats Restaurant at Grounds for Sculpture. They were simple moss balls above with green cymbidium orchids and orange tulips below! Christopher from Rats loved them and we love working there! Thanks for the referral Christopher!
These cool arrangements were created for our bride Andria who got married at Grounds for Sculpture on Saturday. She was forced by the weather to exchange her vows but with all the cool, natural elements we provided, it was like being outside! These tropical floral centerpieces were for a "Jungle" themed Mitzvah at Tre Piani on Saturday. Each table was different and they really made a splash!
We really loved the colors on this Sweet 16 themed decor. The table cloths had a zebra pattern and the black, white and rose colored balloons looked fantastic. This party was held at Cherry Valley Country Club! Sean's parents were so much fun to work with. I'll always remember his dad saying "I'm a cop from Hamilton" when explaining that he wanted fun but affordable balloon decor for Sean's Football Themed Mitzvah. I also enjoyed working with him because his "Plan Early and Nothing To It But To Do It" Football Coach mentality worked well with my "Make Up Your Mind Already" attitude! :o) This event was held at the Bucks County Sheraton in Langhorne, PA.

Hope you enjoyed some pictures from this past weekends events!!

It's All in the Details!

Whenever I do a wedding consultation, one of the elements I'm always sure to discuss is the process of tagging all the flowers for my brides and grooms. This insures that not only is there no confusion about whose flowers are whose but also helps us to make sure that each floral is delivered to the correction location.

How we do this is we e-mail each Bride a questionnaire for them to fill out and send back to us. There we ask for all contact information such as day of cells, wedding planner information, drop time desired, banquet hall and church contacts, etc. Then there is a place where we ask to the Bride and Groom to name each person in the wedding that is either wearing or holding a flower. Not only does this include bridal bouquets but also boutonnieres, corsages, etc. Lastly, we ask for this list to be broken down by drop off location. Most Brides forget that they may need their bouquets at one location for pictures and the gentlemen flowers might need to go directly to church! Names on each avoids confusion and getting it to the church on time avoids disappointment!

Well you can imagine my surprise the other a few nights ago when a Mother of the Bride mention to me that when her first daughter had gotten married, they had to go in search of the bouquets! They had been left in a buck of water behind the altar of the church! Nothing was presented to them, nothing was tagged, it wasn't even in a place where the bride was going to be, which was dressing in the church bridal suite!!

Well, that's not how we do things and I'm so glad we don't. Not only does it make for much happier Brides to have everything elegantly vased and tagged, it also makes for wonderful photos!!

I'm always fond of telling people that I am all about the details but even though it might seem a bit obsessive sometimes, it really is best to err on the side of caution. Head of a problem before it becomes one, that's my motto and it's served me well for over 20 years of business!! It's all in the details, the details of I do!!

To view more of our wedding details visit our wedding website at www.perfectweddingflowers.com