Sending Smiles ~

I love noticing trends as they come and go and I have to say, peach has been a hot trend this year in event and wedding designs. I've always adored peach but with orange being the hot ticket, it seems like peach was just pushed aside. Well, not any more! Looking over our wedding designs from that last few weeks peach was a color we saw used again and again. It's also that time of year when I start meeting with many new brides for their 2012 weddings, a peach remains a strong color theme. I'll keep you posted as the trend into 2012 start to become more apparent but from my point of view - I'd be on peach being a bigger next year!

 It is completely, impossible to get bored around here. This weekend had us doing three, completely different weddings and what great fun they were. We are also excited about our wedding designs but this week was especially gratifying. The bouquet above was created for our bride Danielle and was the coolest, funkiest bouquet we've been able to create since our Funky Peacock Feather bouquet. A hand tied mixture of mini callas, cymbidium orchids, mokara orchids, crespedia, pincushion protea,  limonium and the ever cool uluhe. What do you think of it? This next bouquet was created for the maid of honor for Pierre and Yves. The overall color theme for the wedding was Sunbeam, Tangerine and Guava with each girl carrying the opposite colors to their dress. This bouquet included all three colors as the maid of honor was wearing champagne. The rose varieties used were Gelosia (for the sunbeam yellow), Tropical Amazon (for the tangerine) and Movie Star for the (guava coral). With color...

I wanted to share with you one of our wedding bouquets from this past weekend. How pretty is this bouquet we created for Christina? Lavender roses, white stephanotis, cream hydrangea, purple stock, deep plum colored Floragene carnations and pink gerber daisies really combined to create something special, don't you think? We really liked the coordinating bouquets we created for the brides maids. Pink gerbers, roses, carnations and peony, accented with purple limonium fillers. So sweet but still very elegant. Pink and purple still remains as a very popular wedding trend and doesn't show any signs of slowing down. Looking at these two bridal bouquets, you can understand why! To see more of our wedding designs, bouquets and even centerpieces - visit our wedding site at www.perfectweddingflowers.com

It's always fun creating wedding bouquets but it can be even more fun when we are challenged with a harder color theme, such as the coral of these brides maids dresses for our bride Gemma. Using shades of soft pink, white and coral, I think we did a wonderful job of giving both texture and wonderful shading. I especially loved the bridal bouquet which consisted of Bismark (coral), white and pale pink gerbers along with Amsterdam Roses (coral), Hot Orlando roses (hot pink) and Escimo Roses (white) with touches of pink waxflowers. I'm always telling brides that swatches and photos of the dresses are so important during the planning stages and this photo proves it!!

No matter what I post on Facebook or this blog, if it's purple it's going to get a very positive response and this bouquet is no exception. Created for this past weekends bride Leah, for her Maid of Honor, this bouquet was made using ivory and lavender roses, purple lisianthus and touches of lime green buplurium along the outer edge. What a wonderful color for an April wedding, don't you think?   Brides asking for purple flowers still seems to be  a strong trend through 2011 with shades of pink being next in line (which was the brides bouquet was made of, in this case). Roses are still high up on the flower wish list with peony, hydrangea, lisianthus and even dahlias and orchids often being requested.   To see this bouquet and other examples of our wedding designs, be sure to visit our wedding website at http://www.perfectweddingflowers.com/

How adorable is this cute little button. Running towards the camera with her sweet bouquet of Circus rose, hypericum berries and deep blue delphinium. Shaped like a fairy wand, her loving Aunt May told us that she adored her bouquet. With a smile like that, I don't doubt it!! Thank you to photographer Annie Hosfeld for this wonderful photo! To see more pictures of our wedding flower designs you can visit our wedding website at http://www.perfectweddingflowers.com/

Well, this bouquet is not exactly the shade that was chosen by Pantone Color Institutes color of the year for 2011 - Honeysuckle but it's pretty darn close. With all the brides that I've met with over the last 2 months, I have to say that a bright reddish pink seems to be showing up high on brides wedding color wish list. We saw many brides returning to various shades of pink last year, just as we did for our bride Lauren this past fall. This hand tied bouquet was made using roses in different shades and sizes, hydrangeas, lisianthus, ranuculus and was accented with chocolate cosmos, pink astilbe and very cool scabiosa pods. Imagine this vibrant and cheery bouquet against chocolate brown brides maids dresses. An unexpected and feminine color theme for just about any time of year and apparently the inspiration for this years color of the year - Honeysuckle! To see more of our wedding designs visit our wedding site at http://www.perfectweddingflowers.com/ or our everyday flow...

A meeting today with bride Adele got me to thinking about this blog topic. Working with brides to create floral bouquets that they absolutely love has as much to do with the "texture" the flower combinations create as the "color" theme of the flowers. For example, these bouquets were mostly shades of orange but had these been made using a single flower such as roses or even the dahlias, they certainly would have looked completely different. A bride that likes "texture" will usually love bouquets that have flowers in different shapes and sizes and even though they might be monochromatic, mostly one color like these, the flowers themselves might have slightly different shading with in the same flowers. These bouquets used both roses and tulips that showed mostly as orange but hints and lines of yellow. Take that color away and again, the look would be completely different. Anyone that has ever had a wedding consultation with me knows I generally attack the...

I have to say that I'm so happy that bright colors seem to be coming back into fashion. Remember back in the early 90's when we thought nothing of wearing purple blazers or hot pink sweaters? Haven't you missed those bright, feel good colors? I know I have. Last week I had to do some shopping for a family that Kevin and I were sponsoring for Christmas. One of the family members had asked for a pink sweater. Thinking that it might be tough to find a bright and really cool pink sweater, I ventured into the women's department. I was delighted to see many to choose from and so many other pretty tops and sweaters in bright, vibrant shades. I see this trend also in floral design, from wedding to everyday orders. People are in love with color and I could not be happier! Just like this bouquet we created for a photo shoot for the Nassau Inn - http://www.nassauinn.com/ taken by Kyo Morishima Photography - http://www.kymorishima.com/ - most brides are coming in asking for r...

"I'm on a budget of about $1,000 for my wedding flowers. What's the best way to spend my money"?  Sound familiar? I get asked that question all the time and so I was inspired to write this blog.  I know it seems like a lot of money but if you need a bridal bouquet, 4 brides maids, flower girl, boutonnieres and corsages, altar decor and even centerpieces... wow, it can be a hard one to maneuver! My advise in this budget range would be to concentrate mostly on the personal flowers such as the bouquets, etc. Keep the flowers to one or two colors so that you can keep the bouquets smaller and more chic. Also, be sure to keep to seasonal flowers. No, peony are not in season in October - come on, I know you were thinking they were!! I'm going to hang a sign in our consultation room that says "spring flowers are mostly in season during the spring"!  It's ok to want pink flowers in November but with a little research you'll find that roses, lil...

How striking is this photo of Andrea's brides maid? Yellow has been such a hot color all summer long and toss in at gorgeous shocking blue and you really get - wow!! A small but elegant hand tied bouqueet of yellow mini gerbers, roses, freesia and crespedia were the perfect contrast the the brides maid dresses. Thanks to bride AJ and photographer Lewis Kassel for sharing this fantastic photo with us! To see more photos from this and other weddings visit our wedding website at http://www.perfectweddingflowers.com/

How cute are these kissing balls made of yellow buttons? Made for last weeks bride, Andrea, they hung on the ends of the pews at St. James Church. Andrea's mom said they collected them after the ceremony and brought them to reception to add a little accent of color here and there. "The guests not only took all the flower arrangements at the end of the night, they even took the pomanders", said mother of the bride Pat when she came in today to hand deliver a thank you note. The perfect compliment because the guests loved them enough to take them home. To view more of our wedding designs visit our wedding website at http://www.perfectweddingflowers.com/

This morning I was looking for inspiration for something to post on my Facebook Fan Page and I came across this really cool website. It's called Living Arts Originials and it's all artwork. The part that I found interesting talked about artwork used in hospitals and doctors offices. Read below for some interesting stuff and thanks to Kathleen Karlsen for the inspiration!! Can using flowers in the decor in a room help relieve stress? A 1996 study conducted by Virginia Lohr and others showed that rooms and offices decorated with plants and flowers helped reduce stress as measured by decreased blood pressure and pulse rates. Researchers have further determined that there is a direct link between flowers and life satisfaction. A study done at Rutgers demonstrated that flowers decrease anxiety, depression and agitation. Flowers also lead to a higher sense of enjoyment and increased contact with family and friends. Flowers make a home more welcoming and create a sharing atmosphere...

Here's a photo of an after wedding (the couple got married in Jamaica) reception that we set up yesterday. I don't know about you but I was so happy to find out that the couple were actually going to be able to choose a linen color. In our area, most banquet halls, country clubs and the like only offer ivory or white and so unless budget allows, many of my clients need to stick to those two options. Personally, I love what a colored linen can do for a room, especially with regards to complimenting the flowers. In this case, the bride and groom asked me my opinion on what linen color they should do and I was happy to advise them. One option was a deep orange but that shade was very overpowering and more of a "fall" orange than a summer tangerine. There was also a hot pink and that color was a bit too much and I feared it would have overpowered the brightly colored flowers they wanted. Another choice was a deep plum purple that I really loved but they were a bit fear...

Samantha , originally uploaded by Georgianne at Monday Morning Flowers . Have you ever tried to spin a clay pot? Remember art class where you sat there just trying to get that clay to turn into something of beauty? If you are like me, the clay fought me every step of the way and never was much to look at! I'm the same way with paint. I marvel at how someone can take that little colorful liquid and turn it into an amazing landscape or portrait. Well, the same holds true for flowers in the hands of truly gifted artist. Believe me, I've seen designers come and go through my shop doors who think they have talent but are unable to really craft the flowers the way they should. Even with talent someone needs lots of practice and design instruction to really create beautiful floral displays and bouquets. Don't forget, flowers are not only delicate but they are perishable. Working with flowers means that they must be kept cool and can't be done too far in advance. Transportat...

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?

I thought I'd share a few photos from a Bar Mitzvah we did yestersday. I really loved the "pop" of red that the linens provided. People ask all the time if I think linen colors make a difference and if this event is any indication, I'd say yes! We took our photos before the napkins went down but they were going to be a deep chocolate brown to pick up the color in the curly willow and natural river stones. Because the room at the Nassau Inn is a nice size but does not have overly tall ceilings, we chose to do half the tables with matching down pieces to compliment without over powering the room. If your venue offers colored linen, by all means have fun with it and choose something that compliments your theme! When in doubt, go for a little linen drama!!

Show me the .... I'll bet you thought I was going to say money, right? Actually, I'm talking about what I ask my brides to show me when they come in to the wedding consultations. I ask them to show me: A picture that shows me what color they want their wedding flowers to be. A picture that shows me what texture they want their wedding flower to have. A picture that show me how big they want their bouquets to be. I've been known to give my brides homework if they come unpreppared with the following but truly, it's time well spent. A picture is worth a 1,000 words (or so they say) and the above three pictures really say it all to me when trying to create wedding bouquets. What color do you want your flowers to be? You'd think that would be a simple question but some brides really struggle with this. I try to advise but truthfully, I want the color to not only match dresses and overall theme but also be a color that makes the bride (and groom) happy. Pick colors th...

As, I am fond of saying - It's a matter of personal preference as to whether you will infuse color into your event or not. This above picture is from a wedding we did for our bride Jen. Silver revere bowls filled lushly with cream hydrangea and ivory roses. When the lights come down, these are bound to look spectacular! Cream colored linens are the perfect back drop to the silver tones of the base and are carried into the silver cane of the chairs. Simple and elegant, this direction is always classic. Spring flowers in various shades of blue and purple are accented with soft foliage styled in a white ceramic footed compote.  A pop of color on the ivory cloth gives a gentle yet sutble look. Because the compote blends with the table linens the container is less noticeable. Here's the same white compote filled with deeper tones on a deep blue table cloth. What a difference, right? This time the container pops out and becomes more noticed. These pretty floral centerpieces sit h...

It's that time of year again where brides call and come in to talk about their wedding flowers. I thought I'd post a quick guideline of items to bring to your floral appointment. An organized bride who has given some thought to her floral desires before coming in will have a much more productive meeting than one who has not taken the time to give it some thought! Item #1 - Bring a list of the florals that you will need. Nothing is worse than a bride who answers the question "how many brides maids do you have?" by counting them on her fingers! Item #2 - Pictures of both bridal gown and brides maids dresses. The more we can get a feel for your style, the better. Items #3 - Floral inspiration pictures. This is really a must. Collect pictures of flowers that show your style. A picture is truly worth a thousand words and most brides do not know the name of many flowers. What better way to show the texture, color, style and size of each flower element than...