Sending Smiles ~

I was listening to the radio coming in to work today and heard a great comment that inspired this blog. "There are multiple right answers". It didn't really apply to the flower business specifically but after seeing this bridal bouquet being created today, it made me think how often folks think that there is a right or wrong answer when choosing flowers. Whether it's a wedding or other event, there are many choices and multiple right choices. Take this bouquet for example. The bride is truly a free spirit and allowed her friend (our designer Alanna) to create her bouquet. Kate loves everything natural (she's a Vegan who runs a rescue farm for animals) and is wearing a Chakra Crown to her wedding. Imagine her delight when she sees that Alanna has added healing stone and crystals to her bouquet? Is this right for everyone? Would Kate love this bouquet if it did not have the stones? I think we know the answer but how awesome is that she trusts her friend to cr

Fresh Flowers + Gift Option =  A Great Value? Yes if you send one of our new value bouquets .  Did you know that 92% of women remember they received a gift of flowers. That's a pretty powerful gift and now you can send fresh flowers for only $45. Included in each bouquet is an assortment of 3 large focal flowers, 1 style of accent flowers and fresh foliage all wrapped up elegantly in fancy paper. We guarantee that there will be at least 15 stems of flowers in each bouquet and the flower selections changes daily to allow for the freshest selection. Why not send a bouquet to someone special right now? www.sendingsmiles.com - or call 609-520-2005

Oh how often I hear ~ "I want my wedding flowers to be simple but elegant". What does that mean? I think this bouquet below fits the bill perfectly, don't you? Last weekends bridal bouquet for Sangy consisted of soft white hydrangea, creamy white hydrangea, ivory and pale pink tea roses and.... well, that's all! Hand tied and loosely wrapped in a soft satin ribbon, this look is not only elegant but classic. 20 years from now this bridal bouquet will still be in style. What does simple but elegant mean to you? We'd love to know!! 

Do you ever think, "I'm not going to buy flowers because they don't last long enough"? If so you are not buying the right flowers. At our shop we sell a mixture of unique and common blooms and some last longer than others. Here are a few example of flowers that can not only brighten up your home but will last 2 weeks or longer! Protea ~  considered a tropical flowers native to South Africa, these funky and fun flowers last for weeks and weeks. No only are they unique but they come in cool colors like yellow, orange and red! The cost per stem is a bit high but you don't need many to make a statement.  Carnations ~  before you think or say "No Carnations" you need to think again. Not only do these fluffy blooms last a long time, they come in amazing colors. Just a few in a short vase with fresh water every few days can last 2 to 3 weeks!  Daisies ~  now these are not your grannies daisies. These "Micro Poms" (as they are calle

I've been in the flower and balloon business so long I sometimes forget how receiving one of our offerings can make someone feel. Just this morning I took an order from a woman who wanted to send a dear friend a big bouquet of Get Well and Thinking of You Balloons . Get Well Balloon Bouquet  She told me the story about how she felt when she received balloons when her son was born. She said she loved getting flowers but the balloons were so fun and festive and made her happy. I mentioned it was ironic that she and I were having this conversation because we are in the middle of a huge project of expanding our balloon bouquet offerings on our website. I guess it'a all about the timing. Here are a few new bouquets that just went live today!! Sweet 16 Balloon Bouquet  18th Birthday Balloon Bouquet  21st Birthday Balloon Bouquet 40th Birthday Balloon Bouquet  50th Birthday Balloon Bouquet 60th Birthday Balloon Bouquet

Another month of fun Instagram photos. Thought I'd share the behind the scenes from December!  Here a photographer posts a photo of a bridal bouquet we created in November and we share it on our feed!  Our Princeton store decorated for the holiday season!  Kevin and Alanna build a balloon archway for a non-profit awards breakfast in Woodbridge. This is a new frame for us and it really turned out great. It's 12 feet tall!!  A winter wedding of teals and white, snowflakes and birch branches at Old York Country Club in Bordentown, NJ.  A 3 foot tall boxwood tree decorated with real peacock feathers  for the Princeton Residence Inn. Even the ribbon had the peacock feather design!  We held 3 design classes during the month of December including this wreath making class. The students really did a great job.  Design Alanna went out to a club meeting for a demonstration and then then attendees bought what she made.  Lots of holiday themed floral desig

Happy Saturday! I sincerely hope everyone out there had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I did! For us today really kicks off the season of holiday buying and it's starts with Small Business Saturday . Today has us offering 25% everything in the store and we offered a discount to our online shoppers as well.  Admittedly our holiday season tends to get stronger the closer the holiday comes with our strength being our ability to help our customers send holiday love at the last minute.   It's still fun for us to start decking the halls (although we don't formally decorate our shops until the first week of December) and we have lots of holiday themed house and giftwares available. The winter and Christmas themed holiday wreaths, centerpieces and poinsettia orders will start hot and heavy by Mid Decembe r too.   We've had a few browser in our Princeton and Yardley shops today and truthfully with most folks still shopping at the malls, we often pick up those

 Have you met Tara? She works in our Yardley shop on Saturdays (she's student) and has been a great addition to our team. Today she helped out in the shop to assist our Thanksgiving Customers!  Driver Donna is part time and such a wonderful team member. See that smile? She's always eager to help and always with a smile! Yesterday and Today she helped deliver smiles in Mercer, Middlesex and Lower Bucks Country. Meet Jeff. Wonder what he does here at the shop? Well he is certainly very multifaceted ~ have you seen any of our online or printed graphics? If so, they were designed by Jeff. Have you ever gone into our Yardley shop on a Thursday or Friday? Yup, you've seen Jeff running the store, processing flowers and creating bouquets for customers. Or perhaps you have opened your door to his smiling face as he makes a deliver to you. See, we told you he was multifaceted!   The Dynamic Duo!! Alexis and Alanna ~ or should I say the A Team. Posing for me between help

It may seem a little "Late" to be talking about 2015 wedding trends and I would agree with you if it weren't for the fact that we still have some last minute Fall and December weddings finalizing with our shop right now. I love these "Late Arrival Brides" because they give me a peek into next years wedding trends. Speaking of last minute weddings, Beautiful Emily shown below was a bride we worked with on her August 20th wedding . First meeting with her Mother (who had no idea what Emily might like to have for her wedding) we had to wait for Emily to finish school to finally dig into her flower wish list. This happened 11 days before her wedding . Yes you heard right, 11 days.  Although this may have added a few gray hairs to my head being I was not sure what Emily might like, plus I had to cost out and propose quickly not to mention I had missed every single deadline for order Farm Direct Flowers (this could be a blog in itself) but we needless to say, we w

No color has been more confusing to me over the years than coral. Described as a redish or pinkish shade of orange (gee, that's helpful) it remains a very popular color choice for wedding designs. No matter what you call it, this pretty "shade" has been in heavy use this wedding season and I've met with couples for 2016 who are also asking about this pretty color theme. Take the wedding flowers above created for a wedding this weekend. Amsterdam Roses, Bismark Gerbera, Brilliant Coral Spray rose and peach/coral hypericum berries combine to create one striking combination, don't you think? Would you consider this color theme for your wedding ?

Have you started to follow our shop on Instagram ? If not, we would love for you to! Do you love flowers? Then you have to check out our page which is chock full or gorgeous blooms .  In case you are wondering how those pretty pictures get there, then meet Customer Care Coordinator Alanna. Alanna loves Instagram so it was an easy decision when I needed "Social Media" help to have Alanna come to my rescue. She loves breezing around the shop taking pictures to share, creating inspirational quotes and following our clients and business neighbors on this fun application.   First I get a picture of Alanna and her wreath creation to post on Google+ and Facebook and then she's right behind me getting a shot for Instagram .  If you like what's she's posting, we'd love for you to follow our page and like our photos!! 

Who says a floral design has to have tons of flowers to be memorable. Take this floral design as an example. Created using 1 stem of purple butterfly aster, 4 stems of lavender daises, 1 rose, half a hand full of foliage and purple moss with 3 simple butterflies and there you have it. An adorable floral design that looks super cute, is a nice size and is sure to bring a smile. The retail value on this design is just under $30 but imagine this being used on a buffet table for a party or even as a centerpiece. Know someone who could use a lift, this design is sure to bring a smile and make them feel loved. Birthday flowers for your favorite young lady? This will do it, don't you agree? The next time you need flowers , don't assume you have to spend big bucks to make a big impact. Just give your favorite florist some free rein and let them create something special just for you! Remember to keep it local ~ please order your flowers from a local independent business owner an

Have you heard about our FreshTen Bouquets? Each Monday we offer a fresh floral bouquet for only $10. Why is this so special you ask? Because the value of this bouquet would normally cost between $20 and $30 so it truly is a great deal.  Today's $10 Bouquets are sunflowers, the perfect summer blooms. What are your favorite summer flowers? 

Late June has us creating designs for every occasion from Get Well, Birthday, Graduation and Beyond. The designers have been having fun with the designs they are making, including the arrangements in the cooler for those who need to dash in and back out!  Fresh cut bouquets of mixed flowers ready for those grab and go customers in a rush.   Summer candles arrived last month and are on full display, including this Sunshine in a Can candle from Aunt Sadies.   Coffee Coasters - a fun gift for the coffee drinkers in your life.   Who doesn't love yellow daisies , right?   Coffee mugs for your favorite nurse!   Gorgeous orchid plants in the shop this week!  We love making plant gardens and new tropical plants just arrived.   These polka dot plants are super cute and easy to care for and grown. The perfect indoor house plant.   Some adorable signage ~ the joy of the Journey is in the Ride.   Fresh stock grown in California just arrived in colors