Sending Smiles ~

Thank goodness it's Friday! Well, it's actually Saturday but when I thought I wanted to share what's going on in the shop today, I automatically thought of that old "office battle cry" because it absolutely does not have anything to do with working in a floral design shop in May. When Friday at 5 pm rolls around, it does not stop for us and as a matter of fact, things really heat up. Today we had many parties to set up, we're hot and heavy working on tomorrows 3 weddings (we had a small one today too) and I even got out to do a Floral Demonstration at D&R Greenway Land Trust for a couple of hours last night and this morning.  Here is designer is hard at work making Bridal Bouquets like this one for bride Jeri. Lavender and purple flowers hand tied ~ so elegant. We hope she loves it when she sees it tomorrow morning!    Roses, lisianthus, freesia, mini calla lilies... such an amazing combination for Spring.    Lots and lots of party floral cen...

What a glorious day Patrick and Amber had for their back yard wedding. Setting the stage was the mother and father of the bride's farm  in Hopewell, NJ with lovely views in all directions of fresh green grass and lush trees. The perfect setting for a late September wedding  The bridal party all carried gerbera daisy bouquets. Yellow for the brides maid's and white for the bride. Yellow with accents of greens and creams was the over all color theme for the day.   After driving up a long driveway lined with hanging mason jars filled with yellow solidago asters and tiny white daisies the guests were led past the entrance to the home out into the side yard for the ceremony. This fresh flower wreath and potted mums helps set the tone for the rustic elegance of the decor to come.  When I met with Mother of the Bride Lisa at the family home I was taken by the large, open side yard with it's majestic tree. What a wonderful backdrop for the ceremony....

Have you ever wondered how they grow those amazingly huge gerbera daisies that you get from our shop? Well, this week we were lucky enough to visit one of the farms that grows them for us - Ever-Bloom Farms in California. Ever-Bloom has over 14 acres of these amazing flowers - all under the protection of very sophisticated green houses.  According to Sue, the Director of Sales at Ever-Bloom, they grow over 120 varieties of gerbera and gerbera mini's in all shades from white, red, pink, orange and even one that is almost purple. Sue says that hot pink is the color in highest demand. The amazing plants are putting out flowers each and ever day, requiring they be harvested 6 days a week. Sue says the workers walk through each row picking them by hand and sorting them right out in the green house where they are added to these very cool carts by variety.  Minutes after being harvested, they are cut and placed into a special water solution to allow them to continuing ...

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...