Sending Smiles ~

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  

I admit that Cascade Bridal Bouquets have not made the big comeback that I expected a few years ago but every now and then we get to create one. Last weekend we were able to design this beauty with a topical theme for our bride Angela. The story behind this bouquet (and there is always a story behind a bridal bouquet) is that Angela and her true love Keehan are actually getting married in the Bahamas. With lots of family, friends and fellow church members, they felt compelled to have a ceremony in New Jersey, hence the tropical theme. Angela's bridal bouquet was created by our Lead Floral Stylist Alanna and consisted of Starfighter lilies, dendrobium orchids, bird of paradise, mini calla lilies flowers along with lily grass, spiral and silver dollar  eucalytpus, ruscus and podocarpus foliages! The bouquet turned out stunning and we think, ever prettier than the inspiration photo provided by Angela and her sister Donchell (who is a wedding planner we work with on occasion)....

I was listening to the radio coming in to work today and heard a great comment that inspired this blog. "There are multiple right answers". It didn't really apply to the flower business specifically but after seeing this bridal bouquet being created today, it made me think how often folks think that there is a right or wrong answer when choosing flowers. Whether it's a wedding or other event, there are many choices and multiple right choices. Take this bouquet for example. The bride is truly a free spirit and allowed her friend (our designer Alanna) to create her bouquet. Kate loves everything natural (she's a Vegan who runs a rescue farm for animals) and is wearing a Chakra Crown to her wedding. Imagine her delight when she sees that Alanna has added healing stone and crystals to her bouquet? Is this right for everyone? Would Kate love this bouquet if it did not have the stones? I think we know the answer but how awesome is that she trusts her friend to cr...

This past weekend was a whirl wind of party activity include 4 weddings but I have to admit that my favorite color theme of the weekend was this peach and coral themed wedding for Bride Kristen. Using green  hydrangeas, peach berries and garden roses, coral Amsterdam roses and accents of navy blue Viburnum berries really made for striking bouquets. The girls dresses were navy so I'm hoping that Kristen shares photos because I can only imagine how these looked when the brides maids carried them.   Not only is the color amazing but the texture was awesome on these bouquets also. We were not sure until the last minute that we could get the viburnum berries and had a back up plan of deep blue delphinium, just in case. The berries were so different than what we usually do that it was a nice change for us as well. By the time the wedding went from bouquets to centerpieces , the centerpieces were much more muted at the brides request with three different styles of cente...

Looking for a centerpiece with drama? I present to you a double ball topiary made from Tea Roses, Spray Roses, Dahlias, Canrations, Berries, Mint, Ivy Trails and Mosses. Clearly not in everyone's budget, this piece is perfect for a buffet or escort card table .  Created for this past weekends wedding  held at the Nassau in, this piece would later be moved to the Escort Card Table to greet guests as they arrived for cocktails.   An elegant, peach, orange, red and burgundy theme, this piece was both traditional and formal ~ perfect for the Nassau Inn , wouldn't you agree? To see these and more of our event design work, be sure to visit our main website at www.sendingsmiles.com 

Folks are loving blue flowers and at the top of their " Wish List " are these amazing blue dyed dendrobium orchids. Last weekends wedding was a mix of common flowers (baby's breath) and unique blooms (these amazing stem dyed beauties) and what a display they presented for Marisa's wedding at the The Palace in Somerset.  The first element that guests would see when they arrived was the silver archway and golden chairs that were decorated both baby's breath and blue orchids. As the bride walked down the aisle, she carried a cascade bouquet of baby and tea white roses, stephanotis and baby's breath, which her maids carried hand tied bouquets of just baby's breath.  As the guests entered they ballroom they were greeted with elegant crystal trees adorned with cascades of blue orchids. Sprinkled crystals around the base helped catch the light from the votive candles while pin lighting from above helped the tree sparkle. For anyone bride looking for ...

Natural and rustic is the theme of this bouquet for our Bride Alaina for her wedding at the Lambertville Inn. Locally grown lilacs, fever few daisies, succulents, blue thistle, silvery brunia and lime green buplerium make for a very textured, fresh picked bouquet.  Formal satin ribbon would not have gone with this bouquet so the stems were wrapped in a natural twine keeping with the sophisticated rustic theme of the bouquet.  Love the mini succulents we added to the bouquet, don't you? To see this and more of our wedding design be sure to check out our wedding website ! 

Here at the shop we are in love with Baby's Breath and lucky for us, our wedding couples are loving it too. What was once considered old is new again and rightly so with all the new varieties available all year long. In this short video I talk about how this lovely "accent" flower can be used in many different types of wedding floral designs, especially for weddings.

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...

I admit that I love doing winter weddings. Last weekends wedding for bride Suzanne was especially pretty. Her bouquet was created using white anemone's, silver brunia berries, white roses ~ both tea and sweetheart size and light accents of lace dusty miller.  The reception was very intimate and romantic with lots of warm candle light and keeping the white and silver color theme going. The Nassau Inn's Palmer room was the perfect place for this winter reception, don't you think?  Low and long centerpieces created with roses, hydrangeas, dusty miller cedar and gerbera daisies were perfect for the 2 long guest tables. Floating candles added a soft glow to the room. To see this and more of our wedding designs, be sure to visit our wedding website at www.perfectweddingflowers.com 

Had to share one of this weekends wedding bouquets and what a colorful bouquet it is! It's not December yet and this colorful, fall themed wedding bouquet proves it. I love when brides are not shy about having colorful bridal bouquets like this one. Made from mini callas, orchids, hydrangea, hypericum berries, mini gerbers, roses, safari sunset, pin cushion protea and even blue thistle, this bouquet is sure to  be a look as she walks down the aisle.  Do you like this bouquet? Would you carry something so colorful on your wedding day? 

What an weekend! Three weddings and all so colorful and lovely! First up, bride Jackie chose these super cool green and ivory bouquets for her maids. Green buttons, orchids and berries along with ivory roses. Loops of lily grass make for an interesting combination, don't you think?   Bride Jackie's bouquet was a stunner for sure. Deep blue thistle, ivory roses, white mini gerbers, arabicum, hydrangea and anemone's combine to make for a very textured bouquet.  Ah, I'm in love with cascade bouquets lately and this one is amazing. White and purple picasso mini calls with white stephanotis, white tea rose and deep burnt orange spray roses accented with green berries and ivy for bride Gia.  Gia's maids will carry these amazing burnt orange roses, ivory spray roses and brown berries. What a pretty combination for a fall wedding, don't you think?  Bride Melissa went for the softer, romantic side of a fall wedding. Very pale blush pink roses, silvery lav...

Every now and then we get a bride who comes in and gives us creative liberty with her bridal bouquet - this is one such bouquet. Don't you just love it? We sure do, especially all the interesting texture. Made using Paco mini callas, mini gerbers, Orange Unique roses, Tango protea, chocolate brown mini cymbidium orchids, fiddle ferns, coffee foliage, seeded euc and fresh lotus pods! Wow, that is a mouthful. What do you think? Would you want to carry a bridal bouquet like this for your fall wedding? To see this and more of our wedding designs, visit our website at www.perfectweddingflowers.com 

This weekend's weddings seem to sum of the weather. On one hand, it's October 6th and the nights have started to get cool and the leaves are starting to drop here near our shop in Princeton Forrestal Village. Summer is definitely over and so our wedding designs for bride Dawn reflect the traditional fall feel of the season. Her bouquet was made using rich red roses along with a variety called Circus, which is a yellow and red bi-color. Along with the roses we have mango mini calla lilies, seeded eucalyptus, burgundy berries, Tango pincushion protea and very cool uhule fiddle ferns. She loved it!!  Now talking about weather, although the calendar says fall, the temperatures say summer, hitting highs in the low 80's so our next bride Kristie's bouquet reflect the feel of the day. Her bouquet was made using yellow fever few buttons, yellow and pink ranunculus, white mini daisies, garden roses, buplurium and gardenias. Gardenia's are special to Kristie and keep ...

Have you seen our Wedding Wire Page? We recently add new photos, a new video and even received a few new reviews recently.  Watch this sweet little video and then be sure to visit our WeddingWire Page. We've also updated our Wedding Website so be sure to take a look around. It's much easier to find examples of our work by color, season and more.  We love doing weddings and we hope it shows.                        

Couples like Rachel and Dion are the type of bride and groom that make what I do a real joy. Not only was it a delight to work with Rachel and her mother but I loved everything they chose! Take Rachel's bouquet for example: Orange roses, peach spray roses, cream ranunculus and dahlias, peach stock, mini calla lilies and touches of peach berries - oh the lovely colors and textures! She loved her bouquet and we could not have been happier!   Their wedding reception took place at the Princeton Marriott and had  vintage book theme. I loved the old card catalog that Rachel found at a Library. She used it for the escort cards - how cute!! Some touches of ivy, their engagement photo and an orange and peach floral arrangement made for a sweet display.  For their tables we created 3 different styles of centerpieces. This style had three different sizes of candle holders, each with an amber underwater light and a floating candle. Touches of petals and ivy trails ...

We love when brides send photos and how nice of bride Corinne to send these lovely shots from her recent wedding. Her color theme of pewter and yellow was such a striking summer color theme, don't you think? Her bouquet was made of all white gerbera daisies with light colored centers and accents of yellow craspedia. Similar to past bride Lauren's bouquet from last year. It was sunny and happy, just like Corinne! I always love Gerberas but don't you love the color of the shocking yellow ones? In this case, the dark centers play up the rich grey of the dresses along with a pop of silvery dusty miller to finish off the bouquets. You know I love rental glassware and the perfect spot to use it is at Triumph Brewery in Princeton. A huge space and long tables are perfect for this mix and match of floating candles in different size and styled vases. Also, a great play off the black linens to really pop and create drama. To see more photos from this wedding be sure t...

Don't you just love the texture of this boutonniere that we made for a wedding last summer? A single peacock feather, a white daisy and a single tiny craspedia ball, combine to make a very unique boutonniere for the groom. Peacock feathers are still quite popular in our wedding and party designs. This wedding took place at Grounds for Sculpture in Trenton, a place known for it's natural setting and herd of lovely peacocks! The bride carried white gerber daisies dotted with the yellow craspedia and was a perfect compliment to this funky peacock feather boutonniere! Have you seen our other famous Peacock feather bouquets? Check out our blog written about it here !

Yes, even as florists, we have favorite weddings we work on and from the last 2 weeks, this bouquet as to be one of them. If you watched our "Hand Tied Bridal Bouquet Cost" video, then this bouquet will look familiar to you. Cream hydrangea, ranuculus along with two shades of peach roses (one a tea rose and the other a garden variety) accented with peach hypericum berries. The reason we loved it was not only for the color but for the wonderful texture the flowers had. Peach has become a very popular color theme and this bouquet really shows why! What are your thoughts? Do you like the color theme and texture of this bouquet? Update! The bride has sent us photos so now you can see how they looked on the day of! We loved the coral color with the blue dresses and the Maid of Honor with her touches of blue with her coral colored dress. ?   And of course, the brides bouquet was stunning with her gown looking soft and romantic, don't you think? To see this an...

How fun to have a wedding in a Winery.... In New Jersey no less. Yes, we grow grapes and make wine in New Jersey and what a wonderful spot for a wedding in May. The perfect location, the perfect couple and the perfect weather! Here's a quick and fun video. Spring Peony, Hydrangeas, Wheatgrass, Burlap, Twine and Curly Willow all take center state in this Elegant but Rustic Wedding. To see more photos from this wedding check out our Facebook Page or our visit our website at www.sendingsmiles.com LinkedTube