Sending Smiles ~

Believe it or not, most of the weddings we design these days are NOT held in Churches. With more and more weddings ceremonies taking place in parks, ballrooms and under gazebo's, it's always a change of pace to decorate a beautiful church. From this past weekend, bride and groom Lindsay and Chris were married in this lovely church in Morrisville, PA.  Keeping with the theme of blue and white, Design Manager Holly created 2 elegant floral displays to be placed up on the altar. Hybrid delphinium, hydrangea, thistle, green button mums and elegant foliage's and bells of Ireland combine for a lovely combination of texture and color.   Kevin did a nice job of decorating the pews with a single blue hydrangea bloom accented with a soft green ribbon. Pew flowers and bows are always a nice way to decorate for a wedding and welcome your guests closer to altar for your ceremony. An aisle runner rests at the foot of the altar waiting to be rolled down the aisle just as Lindsay

Don't you just love Sunflowers ? Here at our 2 flower shops, we sure do! Although we are able to bring sunflowers into our store pretty much year round we especially love the summer months when we can buy huge locally grown ones from New Jersey .  Sunflowers are such a joy to design with. Although they look wonderful with other flowers, they especially look nice just by themselves. Don't forget about wedding designs. They dramatic flowers look amazing in wedding bouquets and centerpieces, not to mention on wedding cakes, like the ones pictured below.  Looking to send flowers to cheer someone up? Nothing says "smile, I'm thinking of you" more than a bouquet that includes a sunflower or two, don't you agree?  What's your favorite Sunflower design style? We'd love to know!! 

After yesterdays unbelievable down pour and winds, what a wonderful way to start the weekend. The sun is shinning and lots of happy occasions ~ birthday celebrations, graduations and weddings !  They say April Showers bring May Flowers and our coolers are bursting with beautiful blooms . Why not stop in to either of our flower shops for a little bouquet to brighten your home for the weekend? 

I was so overwhelmed by how many folks read our blog that I was inspired to create and post a video . I hope you find the tips helpful!! We want to be your local florist !

In the floral industry we hear all kinds of stories; some joyous, some somber. A few weeks ago I received a call from a man who worked at another flower shop .  He needed to send a personal floral gift and he needed it in a hurry. Through the conversation he told me that the recipient of the gift was on her death bed… terminal cancer and did not have much longer to live. He wanted to send a few mixed orchid plants in a large glass or ceramic container and said it needed to arrive the next day as early as possible. As promised, we delivered the orchid arrangement just before noon. I called him back to let him know the delivery had been made so that he would not worry.  He thanked me for taking care of this so quickly and I thanked him in return for trusting this important personal order to our shop to fill. I told him that I hoped the gift helped her to know that she was thought of in a special way.  I hung up and went on about my day, as usual.... A week later the man ca

Do you actually like your Boss ? I certainly hope so! If you do, don't forget that Wednesday is Boss's Day and we have lots of fun gift ideas for you. You can even save $10 when you use Promotion code BOSS when you order flowers, plants, gift baskets and more by October 17th, 2013. Shop our fun selection right now ! WE DELIVER ! 

Here's some fun little information about one of our favorite flowers called Alstroemeria .  Did you know that they are native to South America, specifically Brazil and Chile but we often buy them grown in Canada and California.  They are sometimes called Peruvian Lilies and each stem has a cluster of 3 to 6 blooms.  They come in colors such as red, orange, lavender, white, pink, green and even yellow like these shown here. We buy them by the case full and they are a staple for the Floral Industry . These cut flowers are very long lasting and with a fresh cut and a water change ever other day, they can last up to 2 weeks if not longer!  Many of the arrangements featured on our website www.sendingsmiles.com include this very lovely flower. They are especially wonderful because we can get them all year round and often use them in all 4 seasons of floral design. We often feature them as our $5 Friday Flower and they often sell out.  Why not visit our website to see thes

What better time of year is there than Summer for Flowers ? With so many colorful options, our floral designers are in heaven! Below are the most amazing orange lilies. Everyone loves iris. Although they are a typical spring flower , we seem to be able to get them year round.    Locally grown sunflowers - all I can say is Wow! These are huge and they make me smile just looking at them.    Viburnum berries ~ love the color and texture on these.    Ah, I'm in love with Protea ~ especially these Pincushion variety. So funky and vibrant!    Well, there you have it, just a quick sneak peek into our cooler Mid Summer ! 

Ever wonder what it's like to work in a flower shop during Mother's Day Week? You might be surprised to know that this holiday is larger than any other floral holiday, including Valentine's Day. At our shop it becomes a fun filled (yes, we do have fun), mad dash of assisting customers with their floral buying decisions, flower processing, floral designing and then the last ~ delivery.   Here are a few fun things you might not know about the holiday:  Our staff blossoms from 20 to almost 30 during the week of Mother's Day It takes 14 drivers to get all the deliveries done We rent at least 6 additional vans/trucks for the holiday Over 800 deliveries will be made in a few short days Our average amount our customers spend on this holiday is $77 and the customer that has spent the most on his Mother this year has purchased a $350 floral design We will sell over 3,000 roses and 2,000 carnations during Mother's Day Next to roses, the next most popular flowe

We really had a great time working with Christian from YardleyTV while he shot this video. I admit, I think it came out well and I think the store looks adorable. What do you think?

Have you ever seen a flower like this? This is a pincushion protea and the variety of this one is called Tango. Imagine including this in a Bridal Bouquet or a High Style Floral Design? Orange is a popular color for event design and even many of our daily designs are showcasing orange flowers.  I especially love the combination of roses, berries and protea, like this arrangement that we recently added to our website. A great floral gift for man, don't you think?  To see this and more of  our floral designs, visit our website at www.sendingsmiles.com - we have so many floral gift ideas and we are always adding more! We want to be your local florist! 

 You probably saw our recent post where I talked about all the new Non-Floral items we have coming into the shop . It's been fun going out  on a bit of a limb this past year to bring in broader range of products in to the store. We've been doing our $5 Friday Flowers for over a  year now and between the 2 shops, we have over 30 folks come in for their fresh bouquets each week. That got us to thinking because once our loyal customers were coming in for those bouquets, many were surprised to see the wide selection of items were carried such as greeting cards, candy, plush animals, plants, candles and even jewelry. Once I realized that our "foot traffic" was on the rise, currently running 100% ahead of last year, I knew it was time to bring in more products and even broaden our existing lines. I think it's been a great decision for us and customers seem to be loving it.  As with any product expansion, it's super important to closely monitor what sel

They say there is a hurricane coming but for now this bright and sunny bridal bouquet that we created for bride Jennie this past weekend is a beacon of sunshine, don't you think? I love all the fall colors and monochromatic floral designs for events and everyday are super popular right now, with Yellow leading the pack. We've added lots of new arrangements to our website for Fall so if you know someone under the weather or having a birthday , be sure to check out what is new. Here's  hoping that Hurricane Sandy is more hype than wind and rain! 

When I say that we have some colorful flowers that have just arrived, I'm not kidding! Wow, the colors in the shop this week run from all the fall arrivals of reds, oranges and red to browns and even deep rich blues. Over 300 assorted colored gerbera daisies arrived from Holland this week and the flowers span almost 5 inches across. Some have dark centers like these yellow ones while others have a light center but all are amazing. Each week we try to get at least one variety of hydrangea that is a little bit different, either in the color or the same of the florets. These are called - You and Me Together Classic and they are an amazing shade of blue. Yes, they grow that color naturally without any help from dyes or paints. This particular variety seems to last a very long time and as it ages, it dries almost the exact same shade of blue with very little fading. Talk about a flower that gives it's all! To see these and more of our floral designs be sure to check out

Like a kid in a candy store, we all gather when the flowers arrive, especially our Dutch shipments. Above, these gorgeous mini callas are such a pretty pink. They are so perfect, they look fake, don't you think?  We love dahlias and it's the season for them. we love getting them in assorted colors so that we can really play!!   Lotus pods are so cool and are fun to design with. Not an inexpensive flower but long lasting and super cool for those looking for something a bit different in their floral design. Most folks are used to the dried ones but they are green when they are fresh. Craspedia or also called Billy Balls , we love designing with the little yellow balls on a stick. They are super cute in wedding designs, especially boutonnieres! To see these and more of our flower designs, be sure to check out our website at www.sendingsmiles.com

 Here are just few flowers that came in this past week that made us happy, happy, happy. How can you not look at this Blue Peppermint Hydrangea (above) and Sunset Mini callas (below) and not just say - aaahhhh. It's fun getting in new varieties of flowers coming through the Dutch market and these were 2 of our favorites. I'm sure we'll order them in again real soon!  Now moving on to some fun plants, we just got in these elegant anthurium plants. Don't you just love these waxy little heart shaped flowers. These plants had tons and tons of blooms and I doubt they will hang around long once our customers see them.

 Please, please, can we please? We love our website  but sometimes have to create the same floral designs over and over is not so much fun. That's why we love the opportunity to design fun, funky, festive and elegant arrangements for our cooler displays. This is where we get to show customers running in for a quick gift how talented we really are! Don't you just love this simple orange basket arangement. Big is not always better. I love this arrangement above done in a simple glass bowl with "Free Spirt" roses, hydrangeas and veronica. All dutch flowers, so elegant but fun don't you think?    Imagine getting this for your birthday. Love the balloon box! Adorable cube arrangements that look good enough to eat! Love this tropical styled arrangement with river cane, roses, fatsia leaves and even a cute butterfly. Elegant for a foyer table, this makes a really elegant gift . I loved this arrangement that design Rocio made. Three roses, an orchi

 Ring, ring, ring - Us: "Hello, Monday Morning Flowers, how can I help you?" Customer: "We need 30 floral centerpieces in 2 hours, can you help us?" Us: "Of course, we'll deliver them for you in 2 hours!" Customer: "It's my anniversary today and I need something sent our fast. What should I send to my wife?" Us: "How about a dozen of our Premium roses made by designer Norman? She'll love it" We have fun at the shop and we all work hard to be able to say Yes to our customers. To see more of our custom designs or learn more about our shop visit our website at www.sendingsmiles.com

I know what people think... "It must be fun to play with flowers all day long". hahaha, those of us in the Flower Biz always laugh at that because yes, we do enjoy our jobs and let's face it, who wouldn't want to be surrounded with gorgeous flowers day in and day out. The part that most folks find surprising is how truly hard it is to perform at 100% day in and day out. Being creative yes, but also detailed. There are so many important details that one miss and you just might ruin someones birthday, wedding or make them even more sad at a loved ones funeral.  This photo below shows how we plan ahead and advise our clients to do the same. This floral arrangement was designed to fit no matter what the wedding day weather was. In this case, it rained and these flowers fit this nook above a huge fireplace to help decorate the ceremony site. If the sun was out, this piece was made in two pieces and would have been placed on each side of the bride and groom on a ledge t