Sending Smiles ~

Rutger's University:  Emotional Health With today's high-tech and fast-paced lifestyle taking its daily toll on our lives, experts advise exercise and other personal lifestyle changes to relieve stress. According to recent behavioral research conducted at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, nature provides us with a simple way to improve emotional health - flowers. The presence of flowers triggers happy emotions, heightens feelings of life satisfaction and affects social behavior in a positive manner far beyond what is normally believed. "What's most exciting about this study is that it challenges established scientific beliefs about how people can manage their day-to-day moods in a healthy and natural way," said Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Rutgers and lead researcher on the study. Research Findings A team of researchers explored the link between flowers and life satisfaction in a 10-month study of participants...

When sending flowers as a gift, we'll sometimes ask you if you would like for us to arrange the flowers or perhaps wrap them. It might sound confusing but it's just the difference between having us provide a "container" for the floral gift or wrapping the bouquet so that the person receiving the flowers can add them to their own vase. Even if the bouquet is just wrapped in pretty paper, it's still arranged in a way that makes it easy to put right into a vase. If you know the recipient would like to "arrange" their own flowers, we can wrap the flowers presentation style and they can have fun designing their own creations! Below is an example of a hand tied bouquet of fresh flowers. When sending flowers to a private home, this might be the way to go as many folks have plenty of vases to choose from in their kitchen cabinets. This also allows us to put as much money as possible into the value of the flowers.  When sending a gift to a nursing home, hosp...

Flowers are such a thoughtful way to brighten someones day. Take this adorable little floral design.... "my friend is feeling a bit down, can you create something to cheer her up"? Of course and so we made this sweet design. A cube vase filled with orange gerbera daisy, white stock, lavender daisy, hot pink roses, burgundy spray carnations, yellow sunflowers and silver dollar eucalyptus. The best time to send flowers for no occasion at all! To see this and all our custom designs be sure to visit our website !

I had a thought while driving in the car this morning ~ I think sending flowers is almost a "Random Act of Kindness". When we make flower deliveries the person receiving the floral gift does not expect them. Sometimes it's their birthday , sometimes it's a get well but often they are not expected. I guess by definition, it's not totally random as the sender knows the recipient but it really is unexpected and to me that makes it one of the most powerful gifts you can give. I think most of our Floral Stylists here at the shop think the flowers are the most important part of the gift and of course, a gorgeous, fresh arrangement never hurts - but the card sentiment really convey's the message, making the receiver feel loved and special.   Want to make someone's day? We say send them a bouquet of flowers and that will do the trick!! 

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

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.  ...

Can you believe it's already August 7th? We sure can't! This week has been a busy one for us creating floral designs for 3 gorgeous weddings and lots of daily deliveries. Take this floral design for example. Garden and tea roses, hydrangeas, orchids, hypericum berries, asiatic lilies and queen anne's lace combine to make a stunning floral centerpiece for a birthday party being held at Jasna Polana Country Club tomorrow.  Brightly colored flowers are not only popular for daily deliveries but today's wedding consisted of pinks, creams and peaches. Saturday's wedding is simple shades of white, greens and creams and Sunday we'll be using all white, lavender and purple flowers. If you received flowers right now, what color would you want them to be? Know someone having a birthday? Why not send them a bouquet of gorgeous flowers from our shop ? We'd love to help you... Send Them a Smile !

Nothing makes us happier than when our customers send pictures of the flower they received. It's nice to see how folks live with flowers in their home. This yellow rose photos was post last week by a woman who received these beauties from her children for her anniversary ! A customer also shared a picture of her 2 week old alstroemeria she got from us for $5 Friday . Looks great right?  Our past bride Lisa loved the pale pink roses her hubby sent to her.   White roses from a groom to his lovely bride on their wedding day. 

I laugh when I see this graphic below (borrowed of course) but I admit that I am encouraging those flower sending guys out there to send flowers 1 day early this year. The main reason is because Valentine's Day falls on a Saturday in 2015 and it's always more exciting to receive flowers at work than at home. Why you may ask? It's fun to having your coworkers see you get flowers and makes you feel special!  As I write this blog, we've already started receiving orders for the holiday with about 75% be requested for Friday the 13th and the rest going out on Saturday. What day would you want to send or receive your Valentine's Day Flowers this year? 

Have you ever wondered what type of flowers to send in January ? Well, you are not alone. Even as florists we often wonder what types of flowers our customers wish to send, what colors, what styles. It's all a mystery in January . Just coming off of Christmas with all those Reds and Whites, do folks still want winter colors and themes or are they looking for something more colorful, it's hard to say.  Take this arrangement for example. Created by our talented designer for a get well, the customer asked for lots of fun colors all mixed together. Who wouldn't want to receive this cheerful bouquet on a rather dreary day in January right? This design can't help but bring a smile with it's combination of blues, pinks, oranges and lime green. Gerbera daises are the focus along with roses, hydrangea and Asiatic lilies. We loved this arrangement so much that we've actually added it to our website . Would you consider sending this to a someone you know? 

Have you ever tried to order flowers, done a Google searched, used a "floral company" only to find out they farmed the order out to a "Real Florist" and charged you a huge fee to do so? Well, then you are not alone. This is happening more in more in many industries, one of which is in the floral trade. As florists, we are often "Impersonated" with unethical Order Gatherers acting as if they are us, only to the collect the order and charge a high fee. It hurts our business so whenever we can we try to educate the public any way we can! When you send flowers out of your area, the best way to do it, is to be sure the florist you are calling is local or to let your "Real Local Florist" that you know and trust handle it for you. Did you know that we handle out of town flower orders? We not only find a "Real Local Florist" to create and deliver your flowers but we also confirm the order was delivered by contacting them directly. We then ...

I love this photo of my mother, brother & I. I always had red, white and blue themed parties because my birthday is so close to the fourth of July. I begged to be a normal girl and have a pink dress ~ lol. My m om always had a nosegay from the florist made for me on my special day. I remember how my mom would show it to me, all boxed up and wrapped in cellophane and smelling like heaven. She'd make room in the fridge to keep it fresh until picture time. I always felt like a Princess with my tiny nosegay. Such a small thing but made me so happy. I had the best mom ever! Are you creating memories like this with your little girl?  Do you remember the first time you received flowers? I'd love to hear your story!! 

Holiday Price Increases...  We answer your most asked questions Why have you chosen not to raise your prices this year? The last few years we only added $5 to the cost of our dozen roses to help offset the higher prices we pay. Because it barely makes any difference and we'd rather treat our customers well, we are choosing to leave our prices at our normal level. Do roses really cost you more during Valentine's Week?  Yes, the cost of red roses and other flowers nearly doubles during a holiday and demand for certain flowers, such as red roses goes up about 6 times normal volume.   Actually prices start to rise in mid January and don't come back down until late February.  This sounds like really good news for your customers? It really is but we are encouraging our customers to order extra early this year. We have chosen to only handle a comfortable amount of deliveries and we will sell out earlier than usual. It will be more important than ...

A thank you to our customers and what is new for 2014!

Let's face it, sometimes deciding on a gift can be down right difficult. With so many options, it's easy to become confused so that's why I have come up some awesome reasons to give the gift of Fresh Flowers! Top 5 Reasons to Give Flowers as a Gift: We all have times when we need a gift for someone that we don't know all that well. Perhaps it's a coworker that is having a birthday at the office. Flowers are the perfect choice because everyone loves getting flowers. 92% of women can remember the last time they received flowers as a gift. Studies actually show that people who are surrounded by flowers at work are more productive. How's that for getting a co-worker to pull their weight, while making you memorable to them.  It's time to come clean. Sometimes you forget an important occasion like a birthday or anniversary , right? When you have no time to plan and need something fast ~ flowers to the rescue. Not only can they be delivered within a matter ...

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 la...

Nothing makes a florist cringe more than reading those words in an obituary ~ In Lieu of Flowers. The death of a family member or close friend is one of life's most painful episodes. Those in mourning need support and most of us are anxious to find some way to comfort them. One of the most appropriate and appreciated ways to express sympathy and compassion, as well as respect for the deceased, is by sending flowers . Occasionally, the obituary announcement includes the phrase " In lieu of flowers , contributions may be made to...". Often times, this terminology is used to encourage charitable gifts but not necessarily to discourage other expressions. Most families sincerely appreciate all personal expressions and may later regret having too few flowers at the funeral . It is important that each giver make their own choice and many people are choosing to send a floral remembrance to the service or family home as well as a donation to the charity indicated. Whil...

We love holidays here at the shop, not only because they can be a very busy time for us (which means business is good) but we love what our flowers "bring" to these special days. Even as florists we love having and sharing our floral designs with family over the holidays. Take my niece Mary Ann who absolutely adored this "bunny" floral arrangement. Not only did she carry it around but she was seen petting the "bunny" many times in the course of the Easter celebration. How gratifying it was for me to provide her with this first floral experience.  The holiday dinner table wouldn't be complete without a floral centerpiece and gauging by how many Easter centerpieces we sold this year, our customers felt that same way. Who says kids don't appreciate flowers? My nephew carefully staged this display which include not only the floral centerpiece but also his Transformer and his Enterprise model. :)    If you didn't have flowers on your din...

Don't you love the Internet? We do but with the invent of the internet came a very bad thing for florists ~ The dreaded Order Gatherer. What is an Order Gatherer you ask? It's a business who sometimes claims to be a physical floral store, located in a town where they really are not located. How do they stay in business? By acting like they are a real florist , they "gather" orders and then turn around and send them via a floral network such as Teleflora or FTD back to real florists who then fill them.  Why is this bad?  First off, it's bad for the florist, because the orders are "stolen" away from them and then often resent back to them at a lower price than the consumer pays.  Second, this is bad for the consumer because they are often paying a high fee almost $20 in some cases, that goes to the "order gatherer" directly and not into their floral gift. Some even do what we call skimming, which means they pay the florist even less than...

Flower Power!  We all know that flowers are pretty but did you know that studies have shown that flowers are a very potent mood enhancer? Well, a study done by Rutgers University by Jeannette Haviland-Jones Professor of Psychology and her husband Terry McGuire, Professor of Genetics offer convincing evidence that flowers may be  potent mood elevators. I know my opinion might be suspect because I'm surrounded with beautiful flowers every day but it's fun knowing that the product that I petal, that provides my livelihood can be so powerful in making folks so happy ! Quoted from a Rutgers Blog called "Flower Power" this is what they found out during the study! "In the first of several double-blind studies performed in 2005, Haviland-Jones and her team presented participants with one of three gifts—a decorative candle, a fruit basket, and a floral bouquet—­supposedly as a thank-you for taking part in a study on mood. The delivery people were really out to...