Sending Smiles ~

LinkedTube A quick video that explains how hand tied bridal bouquets are made, how they come together and why a bouquet costs what it costs. We love doing weddings and the floral industry. Be sure to check out our Facebook page to see more of our floral designs. We'd love for you to become one of our happy brides. To make an appointment I can be reached by email at georgianne@mondayflowers.com

 The weekend of June 15th and 16th had us doing three full sized weddings and what fun we had working on 3. Ah, how can you go wrong with sunny yellow in June? Imagine the brides maids carrying these as they walk down the aisle at the Molly Pitcher in out on the water in Red Bank. The bouquet above was made using bright yellow gerbera daisies, Gelosia roses, cream hydrangea, white and yellow daisy pom poms and yellow craspedia (billy balls - hehehe). How bright and vibrant they are and we can't wait to see the professional shots of bride Amy's brides maids carrying these adorable bouquets. A nautical themed wedding, accents of blue were added to the centerpieces, place card and altar decor but for the bouquets we simply added a navy and white striped ribbon for the nautical touch. Below is the bridal bouquet of white roses, and white mini gerbera daisies accented with those round yellow Craspedia. A touch of lime green make it all pop and give a very fresh and natural feel t

Decisions, decisions... planning a wedding is not an easy task not to mention expensive. With many weddings ceremonies today happening at the same place as the reception, many couples forget to include (or leave) money in their budget for flowers and ceremony decor.  Although it's nice to decorate a church or synagogue, I find they need a bit less done to them to transform them into a wedding location. In the case of Jackie and Donovan's wedding this past Septmeber, we concentrated the decorations to the pews and did not try to add anything to an already beautiful altar. I think the hydrangea and ribbon accents on the pews showed that something special was about to happen. The brides color palate of simple creams and ivory helped tone down the colors already present in the church and not compete with them. We also chose not to put the flowers on every pew. Every third one was decorated and helped draw your eye down to the altar without costing a fortune. Simply tied

We did it, we survived an unexpected October snow storm on a busy event weekend. Taken with the hubby's cell phone, these floral centerpieces were set up at Prospect House on Princeton Universities Campus. Look at the snow covered trees and gardens in the back ground. With 4 teams on the road doing daily deliveries, setting up this party (a Corporate function) a full sized wedding (with church and reception set ups), a flower and balloon decorated Mitzvah and a Halloween party thrown in for good measure - it took nerves of steel to pull it off. Thank you to my amazing crew who without the benefit of boots, gloves or chains for the their tires, managed to set up all parties and get back safely to home base, each with their delivery vans intact. With power outages, electrical poles on fire, party locations being changed at the last minute and all around mass confusion, I think we did a pretty darn good job. I don't think I'll ever think of October as "no need to worry

This past weekend we created these lovely Phalaenopsis orchid centerpieces for our bride Carolyn. This morning she sent a thank you note and expressed that she was so happy with all her flowers and especially these arrangements. Well, who could blame her. Phalaenopsis orchids have to be one of the most beautiful cut orchids that a florist can design with. Most often we sell them as plants but for special occasions and certain design work, we order cut orchid sprays. Longer lasting and more sturdy than you might think, these cascading orchids are perfect for these "umbrella" style centerpieces. Not inexpensiveby any means, but so worth the money and effort. These lovely blooms might not fit everyone's budget but as a florist, I'm so happy when a client comes along who can both afford and appreciate these amazing flowers! To see these and more of our wedding designs check out our wedding website at www.perfectweddingflowers.com

Susan's Bouquet , originally uploaded by Georgianne at Monday Morning Flowers . Yesterday I had a potential bride call me and ask why bride's let the stems show on their hand tied bridal bouquets. I have to say, I did not know how to answer at first. I understood what she meant, she wondered why they choose not to have them covered by ribbon but I think this bouquet really tells the story of why you might want to let the stems show. How pretty these delicate stems of mini callas are! To cover them completely in ribbon would take away part of the beauty and simplicity of the flowers. As I'm fond of saying - Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and to each their own. Personally, I love when the stems show. What do you think?

What is it about these spectacular flowers that is so endearing? Well, first and foremost it has to be their elegance. Beautiful, large heads on long, delicate pale green stems, few flowers have such power to stand alone. These particular flowers were combined into a graceful bridal bouquet for a bride last weekend. All it took were these three open cut blooms.  Hand tied into an arm bouquet, tied simply with a satin ribbon, they must have looked amazing as she held them. Perhaps she'll send pictures? I hope so!! To see more of our floral designs check out our website at www.sendingsmiles.com

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