Sending Smiles ~

With Prom Season just around the corner, here are my Top 3 Reasons you need to order your Prom Flowers early! Reason #1 ~ each one is made custom, just for you. Each corsage, hand tied bouquet or boutonniere is a one of of kind floral creation. Not only does it take time for our Talented Floral Designers to create each one, we often need to special order the flowers needed to meet your design expectation. Reason #2 ~ Our time to create Prom flowers is limited  Because Prom flowers are designed by hand and take more time than you can imagine, it's important to get your order in early so that we can actually take your order. Waiting till the last minute may mean that we don't have designers available to make one for you. Because they are made with fresh flowers and can't be created too far in advance, we only have so many design hours to devote to making Prom flowers . Prom season is also the time of year that florists are very busy with other events such as Wedding

If you are in the process of planning an event , I'm going to take a guess and say that you probably feel both overwhelmed and over spent. We work with folks hosting events all the time and the common thread seems to be making choices and wondering if spending money on decor is worth it. Although, I'd be the last person to talk you into decorations you don't want, nor can afford, I truly believe that the decor services we provide really help events "feel and look" more special. Take the photo below of a recent prom. I'm sure without the decor the kids would still have a great time but doesn't the room on the right look much more festive?  I think the point becomes what can you afford to do to decorate your special event . Taking any budget you have and doing the most with it can take a little thought and pre-planning but it's worth it. Does a wedding , Mitzvah, Prom or other party need flowers and/or balloons to make the event complete? Certainly

Can you believe that in a few short months we will be back into Prom Season? Well, we are hard at work designing new options for the young ladies and based on the trends we see for 2013, we believe that " wearable " flowers are going to be big. Take this head band for example. Baby roses , waxflowers and orchids accented with silver leaves on a rhinestone band accented with a touch of fresh ivy. What we like most about these rhinestone head bands is that after the prom is over, you have a lovely keepsake jewelry that you can wear again and again for years to come.   Still popular are designs like this wristlet corsage made from dendrobium orchids that are stem dyed a bright blue. This is certainly not your Mom's corsages!  Be sure to check the Prom Category of our website over the next month or so as we'll be adding lots of new corsage designs for 2013! Remember, we have 2 locations for all your Prom flower needs - Princeton Forrestal Village in Plainsboro and 4

 I love giving sneak peeks into the shop and today has been an exciting one for sure. Lots and lots of colorful floral arrangements are leaving the shop. Many were ordered directly on our website... www.sendingsmiles.com and the phones just have not stopped ringing.  Lots and lots of last minute parties have come in this week such as this Murder Mystery centerpieces going over the Windrows (which is an active over 55 residence) and the centerpieces below for the Trenton Thunder Ball Park for their game tonight!  I posted this photo on Facebook and got over 45 likes almost immediately. I'm thinking they will be a hit for all those who see them. I love the mixture of flowers that arrived today, such as the mini calla lilies below. The stems are almost 28" long and the color is just so vibrant! Imagine these twirled down in the water of big cylinder vase!  The peony that arrived today on our Dutch shipment has an amazing coral color. They are just beginning to pop

In our area, Prom season isn't just one or two weeks, it's almost 2 months long. This year we are trying to step our designs and have started offering "Build a Corsage" style of ordering. Our new Prom boards are such a great tool for the guys and girls to choose the individual elements that will make up their Wearable Flowers. The way it works is, they choose what they would like their flowers to be on, whether it's a rhinestone bracelet, a head band, a necklace or even an arm band. Each one shows their retail price. Then they move on to choosing the f lowers . Again, each price is shown for them. Then they move on to the extras such as gems, sprays, feathers, ribbon, etc. They can choose to add as many of those as they like. Add them up and that's the cost. The flowers for the boys work pretty much the same way, chose the flower, add a bit of bling and before you know it, you have a custom boutonniere that only he'll have!! To see more of our F

It's March 2nd and Prom season is just around the corner. The girls are out buzzing around looking for gowns, jewelry and last but not least, flowers. This corsage was created for a wedding but what a great idea to attach the flowers onto a purse. It's a bit different and fun and we especially loved the colors of this one. Lavender roses and blue hydrangea really looked amazing on the platinum purse. A very "in" color theme right now!! Check back to our website shortly as we'll we putting up our Prom category very soon. www.sendingsmiles.com

Novo Nordisk Inc. is working in partnership with an organization called Cinderella's Closet and we are happy to assisting them. Cinderella's Closet is a not for profit organization that is dedicated to promoting self-esteem among young adults by providing less fortunate high school students in our community the opportunity to attend their prom in style. They seek to raise awareness of the socio-economic differences that exist in the local area, while advocating inclusiveness and diversity. The goal is to ensure that no high school student has to forfeit the lifelong memories associated with attending their prom due to financial hardship. In February, Novo Nordisk and Monday Morning Flowers will begin a collection of prom dresses, boys suits, ties, accessories, shoes, makeup, handbags, scarves, shawls & costume jewelry (see attached flyer). Once the collection period ends, they plan to host a "prom boutique" in their facility in Princeton on Saturd

New footnote on this blog - 2012: Wow! What a response we had from all over the country with this blue orchid corsage. Please just keep in mind that our corsages are not available outside our New Jersey and Pennsylvania delivery area. If you like this corsage and would like it created feel free to share this photo with your local florist. Now back to the originial blog post from 5/18/2011: We say no way!! Who says flowers for Prom have to be boring - well not us. This blue orchid corsage was created by our very talented designer Sheryl. Going to prom soon? Why not hint to your date that you'd like your flowers to come from Monday Morning Flowers!! http://www.sendingsmiles.com/aboutus.asp?topnav=TopNav

Brides sometimes ask if the men in the wedding party have to wear flowers and I tell them, not if they don't want to. Personally I think there are few times in life to get dressed up and wear a flower so why not have fun with it. A rose boutonniere is always classic but why not do something a bit funky or fun. This handsome groomsmen (yes, he is handsome, even though I have cut off his face for this blog, sorry James) wore this blue thistle on his lapel and I think it looked spashing! Created for the wedding of Tammy and Mike (our past employee) this past February, the blue thistle was used in most of the flower arrangements including the bouquets and centerpieces. I liked the use of thistle for the men because it helped to carry the natural, artsie feel of the flowers right through the whole wedding. Do the boys have to wear flowers? Not really but oh my, it can be fun!!

Ok, I want to start off by saying that I have the utmost respect for anyone who waits tables for a living. The closest I ever got to doing that kind of work was my 6 month stint at a Dunkin Donuts my summer before College. Thank goodness I found my calling in Entrepreneurship and being a Floral Designer because I was not good at it! Why am I calling all Waitresses (and not waiters for that matter)? It's because yesterday while reading an issue of Floral Management I read about a study that was done back in the 80's that showed that waitresses that wore a flower in their hair earned 17% more in tips than those who did not. So, that explains why I did not include the men in this blog but that really got me to thinking about the true power of flowers. Our very own Shop Coordinator Sheryl often tucks a flower behind her ear while working and darn if it doesn't just make me want to hug her. There's something about a girl who feels care-free enough to risk lookin

How fun was this? This past Friday we did the prom for West Milford High School. Their theme was Oscar Night! The event was held at The Tides and we decked out the place with lots of movie themed balloons. All the students were greeted with a large balloon arch as they walked along the red carpet. The organizers really did a great job of adding additional props such as huge popcorn containers, themed centerpieces and full size movie star pop ups. My Event Staff, Sheryl and David, did a wonderful job and had a great time working on site. Kelly and her team from the High School were a pleasure to work with. According to Kelly, the students loved the decor and had a fabulous time! To see more of our event work, including balloon decor check out our website at http://www.mondaymorningballoons.com/