Sending Smiles ~

Intimate Weddings During Covid-19 ~ What a mess this year has been for couples trying to have a beautiful wedding here in New Jersey. Even my own cousin was affected, changing their date twice and moving locations to accommodate an outdoor setting. Most, if not all our  weddings  for 2020 have been either postponed to 2021 or are being downsized. A few are holding smaller  intimate weddings  for family and friends in their back yards and next year will hold the larger receptions with a vow renewal for family and friends. Here in NJ, we are allowed outdoor events with up to 250 guests but most of our weddings are seem to be less than 100 people. Social distancing and masks will be the norm with couples providing both sanitizer and mask. A few of our brides have even asked for a for floral arrangement for the Mask Table. Who thought that we would need that? Yikes!!  If you are having to have your wedding during this time, we do have a few suggestions for you....

So, what is up with this new trend of weddings in March? Back in the day (well, a few years back, at least) we might have one wedding during the whole month of March and this year we have 5 already I am expecting more! I'm not complaining, I love it but what gives? For that matter, I have quite a few in January and also in February as well. This new trend is wonderful. My designers are doing little floral happy dances because apparently there will not be the usual void of "No Weddings" from January to March again this year. I suspect it's the economy and reception sites giving nice deals. To be truthful, I think these winter weddings turn out nicely. The weather where we are in New Jersey and Pennsylvania rarely has a glut of snowfall so having a nice winter wedding is a wonderful idea. Brides and grooms that pick locations that can easily accommodate their ceremony and reception along with overnight rooms for guests seems to be a great choice! Some of our January loc...

Because of our heavy wedding and event schedule this week, we were not able to attend the Society of American Florist convention this week. One of the discussions I was looking forward to was color trends for 2012. Imagine my surprise when following the convention online, I noticed that the color most likely to trend for next years weddings was red!! Over the past 2 weekends, we have done two weddings for brides named Julia and both have chosen red bouquets! Last weeks bride, who's wedding had a casino theme complete with gaming tables, included fun elements such as feathers and tulle into her bouquet. This weeks Julia kept things simple and classic (see her bouquet above) by having us hand tie Black Bacara roses accented with tiny gems for a touch of sparkle. As brides start meeting with us for their 2012 weddings, I'll be sure to report back on the colors, flowers and other elements they will be using. That's what we love most about doing weddings... things are always ...

I guess most people would think that all the flowers for a wedding come in on Friday and get delivered on Saturday. There could be nothing further from the truth. Luckily for us, flowers take time to hydrate and open but also the process of designing is a much longer and labor intense one than most people would realize. The flowers above have just arrived for our bride Erin, who gets married this Saturday. Stock, delphinium, roses, hypericum berries and hydrangea will all be masterfully arranged into her bouquets and centerpieces! A team effort is definitely necessary and most weddings take about 2 or 3 days to create from start to finish! With three or four weddings each weekend, it's necessary to plan our time efficiently! Designer Rocio is doing the next step to the centerpieces which is adding the lovely assortment of greens such as seeded euc, geranium, ruscus and mint. These centerpieces are already gorgeous before even on single flower gets added! Working in assembly line ...

You may laugh but with over 20 employees coming and going between our two shops, that are open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, it's hard to catch all our employees at the same time! Over the years I've become accustom to sending out my Red Alert News Bulletin's keeping the employees posted on the happenings at the company. While writing this one, I thought it might make a fun blog for those of you that would love the inside skinny of what's new and exciting at the two Monday Morning Flower shops! Read on to see what the employees see! :o) Red Alert!! Monday Morning News Bulletin! From, the Big Cheese, Georgianne Well, I thought it might be time to write a bulletin as the last 6 months have been very eventful, with both devastating news and rebirth. As some of you are new to the company and many are “old timers” I wanted to take this opportunity to let you all know how special and important each and every one of you is to Kevin and me both professionally but personally....

It's not a secret around here that we do weddings, we love to do weddings and we do lots of them. So as you can imagine we were super happy to win both the Wedding Wire Brides Choice Award and to be a Knot Best of Wedding Pick for 2012 again this year. Both awards are chosen because couples liked our flowers and our service. We could not be more proud! People often ask if we make a lot of money doing weddings and the answer I always give is: not really, but it is our claim to fame. It's our time to really shine, to show what we can do. We love flowers and we love arranging them but weddings are special. You only get that one chance, that one day, to make the flowers perfect. Tons and tons of effort and time go into pulling off a wedding for a bride and groom and so although not one of the more profitable parts of our business, it certainly is the most gratifying. We think our flowers add something special to the day and we hope they are remem...

A quick kudos goes out to my staff for the fabulous work that has been done during the month of July. We've successfully delivered 12 weddings this month. In addition to various vacations being taken, myself included, along with a shipment of faulty glass towers, no major disasters were had that could not be diverted! No easy feat considering that July can be hot and unforgiving for flowers. Numerous thank you notes, e-mails and phone calls have come in and the word is that our brides appreciated our great service and gorgeous product. Exactly as they expected and on time! I continue to meet with new brides almost daily and as of today's count we have 85 weddings booked for 2008. Early bookings into 2009 are also going strong and it is gratifying to hear how brides find us. Between hotels and banquet halls, caterers and word of mouth, weddings appear to be our companies strength. What lies ahead for 2009? A concentration on weddings, of course, but balloon event work appears to...

I recently became aware of references made by various media sources making a blanket statement that florists charge more for flowers that are for a wedding than everyday flowers. I can only speak for myself and people I know from the industry and this simply is not true. We might use higher quality flowers for weddings but as with any perishable product, you get what you pay for. Last time I checked, most brides want perfect, fresh blooms for their wedding bouquet.... Our mark up for wedding flowers is the exact same mark up no matter how the flower is being used. Where we do charge a bit extra, about 10% more, is in our labor. Why? Well, because weddings are never done with just one phone conversation or quick meeting, like most other floral orders. On average, I meet with my brides at least two times in person with each meeting taking about 1 1/2 hours. I also spend about 3 hours addressing questions, returning e-mails, ordering flowers and typing (and retyping) proposals. Weddings...

I know, you read that title and said "Of course I care" and you don't even know what I'm about to write, do you?? hehehehe. Too funny but I'll bet that's what you are thinking. This blog is about wedding flowers. And it's about brides. Wedding flowers and brides. Two of my favorite things, most of the time. So back to the title - Do you care? Do you care about your wedding flowers? Are they important to you? I often ask brides during my consultations to tell me how important their flowers are to their overall wedding. I use a basic scale from 1 - 10. One being "I could care less if there was even one single flower at my wedding". Ten being "I must have flowers everywhere" and five being "I'm an average bride, they are important but I don't want to break the bank". First off, I have to tell you right now that I don't care if you are my bride and you tell me you are a 3, a 5 or a 10, as long as I can make you happy. ...

Well, that is actually a bit misleading as September keeps us busy with all kinds of things from Weddings, to Funerals, School Decorating Events and the list goes on. I must admit, however, that creating wedding flowers for sweet and deserving couples is always a stand out at our shop. Take last weekend for example. We had three weddings and although we had to really hustle to get everything created, delivered and set up, it's such rewarding work. The photo above is for our beautiful bride Amanda K (yes we had 2 Amanda's in one day) and her handsome hubby Jon. Their wedding took place at the Boat House at Mercer County Park and although unseasonably warm, the day was spectacular and the lake view amazing. Are you planning a wedding for 2018? Now is the time to book your date with us!! To see more of our wedding designs be sure to visit our wedding website at www.perfectweddingflowers.com  

Ok, ok, I know what you thinking. Why do you have Christmas product displayed at the shops already?? Right, come on, you were thinking it. I could hear you through my computer but honestly it's because people seem to want to buy it. Take these pretty ornaments that just came in. The first day we displayed them, someone came in and bought 2 right off the bat!   Another cute product to arrive are the funny, little pillows and matching coffee mug - nice until proven naughy, the nice list is over-rated. How cute! How could we not put them out when they make us laugh just reading them.    Above and below is some of our fall products. Every year at this time we bring back our peanut brittle - yum and our fall and winter scented candles from Yankee Candles.  Don't forget about our $5 Friday specials. Each Friday we have a special floral deal for only $15. Last week we had mixed bouquets that normally would sell for $15 for only $5 bucks. You can't be...

Are you surprised that we have so many December weddings? We're not, we love December, January and February weddings, especially when they have a winter theme. White and silver is so popular right now and I'm seeing lots of couples using silver and gray as an accent into 2013. High on the lists seems to be gray and silver brides maids dresses, accents of silvery beads in the bridal gown, gray tuxes and even silver shoes and jewelry.  Yesterdays bridal bouquet for Lesley was styled using ivory roses, white mini calla lilies, ranunculus, stephanotis and touches of lacy dusty miller foliage. Isn't it lovely?  The brides maids carried simple bouquets of ivory roses with touches of dusty miller. Lesley wanted her Maid of Honor's bouquet to be a bit different than the rest of the brides maids so we added touches of deep blue delphinium and silver craspedia along with roses, mini calla lilies and the dusty miller. I personally love silver with blue and I can only ima...

Today's weddings were so pretty we had to share. I know you may get confused because both weddings had similar flowers and colors but each was customized to the couples design ideas. Below is the wedding cake for our Bride Jessica. To say that she was "hands on" and so was her mother is an understatement. This cake was not only decorated by our Designer Alanna but Jessica's mother took control and toss a few blooms on their too!  Jessica's centerpieces were oval shaped designs that were left loose and airy in gold mercury footed bowls. Very elegant and stately, even with the fun loving balloons in the background leading guests to the tented area.   This bouquet was created for our bride Leslie - ranunculus, garden, tea and spray roses with dahlias in shades of creams, peaches and pinks. So pretty, don't you think?   My favorite piece from the weekend, the fireplace mantle for Leslie's wedding. So elegant, country, vintage... You get the vibe! ...

I came across this blog that I wrote for the Nassau Inn in Princeton and thought it might be worth sharing here on my own blog. One minute you are engaged and then next minute you are deluged with ideas and dreams. How do you turn your dream into a reality? How do you find a florist that will not only make your dream come true but partner with you to help you decorate your reception and create memorable bouquets? You are looking for someone who will partner with you, not just tell you what you should do. First off, remember, you are looking for someone who will partner with you, not just tell you what you should do. Finding someone that listens and can interpret your floral wish list might take a little extra work at the beginning but will pay off in the end. This blog will give you some pointers to help you save time and frustration. Here are my 5 steps to follow to find a great florist! Step 1: Start by asking friends, family and other wedding vendors (includi...