Sending Smiles ~

The health benefits of living with flowers are many and the colors can mean so much. According to a 10-month behavioral study at Rutgers University, flowers have an immediate impact on happiness and a long-term positive effect on moods. Study participants reported feeling less depressed, anxious, and agitated when presented with flowers. Color plays a strong role in this reaction: • Red has a positive effect on the immune system and an energizing influence on fatigue and exhaustion. • When you see pink , you often feel joy. Bright hues of this color increase blood pressure, heartbeat and respiration, as well, which leads to energy. • Violet calms the body and mind and nourishes creativity. • Yellow , the happy color, encourages communication while it stimulates memory and the nervous system. • Orange’s psychological profile includes promoting optimism, determination, and success. On the other hand, it also urges viewers to socialization, so be sparing with this colo...

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...

Have you ever noticed how seeing a particular color can affect your mood? As a child I remember the ride home from my Aunt and Uncles house every Christmas Eve. Driving down through the city (they live in Bergen County, NJ) the homes we passed were decorated with tons of shiny bright lights. Some were all red, some were multicolored and some were even all green but my favorite was always the homes with all blue lights. Seeing those homes always made me feel warm, relaxed and happy. I always wondered, what type of lovely people lived in those glowing houses. Why had they chosen all blue and did they know how beautiful they were to me. All through a childs eyes those colors caused strong feelings. I get goose bumps just thinking about! I would mention to my parents how lovely I thought those colors were. But every year my mother would say "Oh the blue makes me so depressed, why do people light their houses all in blue. It's dreadful". Each year I ...

Recently I wrote a blog singing the praises of the color Pink for wedding flowers. Now it's time talk about yellow. In the past 2 months alone, we have done 6 weddings (including one that we are doing this coming weekend) with yellow as the predominant color theme. For our bride Jihan we mixed lavenders, creams and buttery yellows using a mixture of hydrangea, tulips and roses for an elegant spring mixture and an accent of lime green foliage softened the look. Another dramatic combination has been yellow and steel grey. Our bride Jen used a mixture of forsythia branches, roses and orchids in shades of yellow to create her beach themed wedding. Accents of platinum along with soft yellows were an unexpected but gorgeous combination. Even her bouquet carried the theme using fragrant yellow freesia. A very convenient aspect of using this color theme is that there are so many gorgeous flowers that come in various shades of yellow. Orchids, roses, freesia, tulips, dahlias, mum, carnati...

Have you ever noticed how simply seeing a strong color can alter your feelings in an instant? I know it sure can for me. I'm very much affected by the colors around me. Some make me happy and some make me sad but there's not doubt that they make me feel something... Whenever I'm consulting with someone regarding an event, no matter if it's a wedding, corporate function or social party I always try to zero in on the clients wish for color. Not too long ago I met with a bride who was clearly getting mad at me because I kept bringing her back to color. "Why are you forcing me to pick a color?", she finally blurted! I'm not sure if that was the right thing or the wrong thing to do but I always begin with color when I'm designing event decor. Even if someone gives me a theme, such as a night at the casino, I know that certain colors will immediately remind me of that theme and so off in that direction I go. I felt that until that bride could pick a color, ...

Boy, there is just no way around it, I love color!! Take these bouquets for example. These were just delivered yesterday to our bride Jennifer for her wedding. Roses, mini callas, viking poms, stock, fall toned leaves and berries, what a stunning combination! I can't wait to see a picture of these colors up against the chocolate brown of the brides maids dresses!! Now take a look at these bouquets. How stunning are these! My bride Stephanie just loves peacock feathers. Purples and greens and peacock feather what a memorable, artistic combination for her wedding flowers. I'm sure everyone will remember her flowers! I had a bride in with her mom and they both expressed a dislike for green and green flowers. I couldn't disagree more! There are so many flowers that are naturally green. I love incorporating them in with other colors and even by themselves. I anticipate green being a popular color for years to come! Well that's my two cents on colors. My suggestion is use it...