Sending Smiles ~

Flowers + Size = Cost: Well, that is not really a true formula but with floral centerpieces it should be. Our customers are always surprised to find out that centerpieces placed high above the table cost more than low ones. It's really more about how many flowers it take and what is the correct proportion than it is anything else. Something that appears large directly down on a table will looks small and out of proportion if elevated on a grand pedestal or large vase. Whether you are planning a wedding , shower, or corporate event, the rule applies.  Take the centerpiece pictured below created just a few weekends ago. This piece included 10 premium sized  hydrangeas, 10 roses, 8 spray roses, 10 stock, 2 green hanging amaranthus along with lots of variegated pitta and ruscus foliage. In case you can't tell these centerpieces were quite and large and very dramatic. Keeping the flowers loose and airy helped us to make the most of the flowers use to create the size we wan...

Peach and Pink Wedding Flowers never quite go out of style (thank goodness) but when ever we create floral designs with these coordinator colors, they always manage to be a show stopper.  Bride Emem looked amazing holding her peaches, creams and pink bridal bouquet made from roses, garden roses, hydrangeas, peony and orchids.   The brides maids carried creations of cream hydrangea accented with pink and peach roses and pink cymbidium orchids.   Elegant brandy snifters filled with peach and pink flowers with ivy trails and curly willow loops placed on raspberry colored table linens. We loved the setting at Paradise Vineyards and a special thank you goes out to Jeri Houseworth for her amazing photography!  

It's just for the day! Yikes, we cringe every time someone says that to us while discussing wedding flowers . It's usually followed by "I don't want to spend a lot of money on them". Everything for your wedding day is for the day - you'll wear your gown once (but it will be in pictures), you'll listen to the DJ and dance (memories of fun that will last a lifetime) and you'll enjoy delicious food and drinks (hm, where is that the next day?).  Yes, flowers don't live forever (neither do people) but they do bring much to the "table" literally with regards to your wedding day. Take this wedding for Rhiannon and Joe ~ we had so much fun creating these fun wine themed centerpieces. They provided the mason jars and boxes and we did the rest.  Obviously they not only looked pretty on the tables but look what they did when they got them home? More than "Just for the day" don't you agree? 

When I meet with couples, I sometimes chuckle at the questions they ask me. For some they have read the "What to ask your florist" section in their wedding planners and although some are good questions, others are not really telling you what you need to know about the ability of the florist to do a great job on your wedding flowers.  Of course, nothing replaces recommendations from venues and friends and with all the places to view online reviews, this is the first place to start. If the florist is a "busy wedding florist", you should be able to see many reviews that will often stress similar things such as "they got my vision", "they worked within my budget" and the ever popular "they exceeded my expectations". Finding out from others about their experience is easier than ever. Sometimes depending on the review site, you can even email the past bride and ask questions. I know my brides have done it!  If a dear friend was look...

Beginning in January 2013, Monday Morning Flowers will be hosting monthly discussions for brides-to-be.  In our Princeton showroom, we will be having a guest speaker each month specializing in various aspects of wedding planning - everything from music to flowers to hair!  Find out ways to perfect your wedding day and make it exactly what you want, by hearing from the pros!  Learn tricks on how to save a few dollars here and there, while having all of your wedding planning questions answered.  Of course, there will be champagne and snacks!  On January 22nd, Jasmine Cianflone of This Moment Events will kick off our "Hot Topic Bridal Discussions" with a talk on "DIY? Oh No you Don't! 5 Things you Should NEVER DIY."  Check out our website for a list of upcoming discussions!  Call 609-520-2005 today to reserve your spot as space is limited!

Can you ever go wrong with an all white wedding ? One of this past weekends weddings had us using elegant flowers in shades of white with touches of crystals, candle light, diamonds and rhinestones. Jessica's bouquet was created using ivory roses, creamy white hydrangeas, white mini callas, ranunculus and touches of rhinestone sprays.  For Jessica's ceremony we provided our ivory satin covered chuppah accented with touches of fresh foliage's flanked by two elegant floral arrangements on garden pedestals.  In the ballroom, tall and lush floral displays were created up on 28" tall pedestal cylinder vases which are a rental item , then filled with clear gems, amber underwater lights, a single white cymbidium orchid bloom and fresh water. At the base were diamond like gems sprinkled over table mirrors and 3 crystal votive candles.  To formalize the chandeliers, we had 25 feet of crystals sprays to each fixture. I can only image what this looked like when the ...

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that more and more brides are going to be asking their floral designers to create cascade bouquets for their weddings. In the last 3 weeks alone, we have created 3 of these beauties and buzz on our Facebook page has been quite dramatic. Take the bouquet below ~ Bride Shedline was super pleased when Kevin arrived with her bouquet. Don't you just love the rich color in shades of purple. That in itself is an ongoing trend with many couple choosing purple as their wedding color. This bouquet was created using roses, mini callas, stock, lisianthus, carnations, limonium and touches of elegant foliage's. It's actually not that heavy and was super easy to hold (the biggest fear most bride's have when deciding on their bouquet is weight and ease of carrying it correctly). See my YouTube video that shows how easy these bouquets are to carry.  Another trend I'm noticing more of is the use of mixed plant material such as succu...

LinkedTube A quick video that explains how hand tied bridal bouquets are made, how they come together and why a bouquet costs what it costs. We love doing weddings and the floral industry. Be sure to check out our Facebook page to see more of our floral designs. We'd love for you to become one of our happy brides. To make an appointment I can be reached by email at georgianne@mondayflowers.com

 The weekend of June 15th and 16th had us doing three full sized weddings and what fun we had working on 3. Ah, how can you go wrong with sunny yellow in June? Imagine the brides maids carrying these as they walk down the aisle at the Molly Pitcher in out on the water in Red Bank. The bouquet above was made using bright yellow gerbera daisies, Gelosia roses, cream hydrangea, white and yellow daisy pom poms and yellow craspedia (billy balls - hehehe). How bright and vibrant they are and we can't wait to see the professional shots of bride Amy's brides maids carrying these adorable bouquets. A nautical themed wedding, accents of blue were added to the centerpieces, place card and altar decor but for the bouquets we simply added a navy and white striped ribbon for the nautical touch. Below is the bridal bouquet of white roses, and white mini gerbera daisies accented with those round yellow Craspedia. A touch of lime green make it all pop and give a very fresh and natural ...

Oh my goodness, the line of brides in and out of our shop has been constant (and a bit overwhelming if I'm truly honest)! I predict that our wedding calendar is going to book up faster than any other year since I started doing weddings 20 years ago. On one hand, I'm flattered because it means the word out on the street is that we do a great job with our wedding designs - offer beautiful flowers, fair pricing and excellent service. Wow, I patted myself so hard on the back and knocked myself off my chair! Just kidding. On to the topic listed above - A Real Beach Wedding. The other night I met with past bride Jodi and her friend Jackie to talk about her October wedding. I admit, I was a bit more snippy than usual and I'm going to admit that I probably had put in too long a day, with too little food and water and the tail end of a horrible cold dragging me down. Sorry Jodi and Jackie!! But how sweet was it to come in the next morning to see in my email, sent that night at 1...

Today's wedding had us using a brand new variety rose (well, it's new to us) called Purple Haze. Judging by the number of kind comments on our Flickr page, it seems like this rose is going to be heavily used in our design work in the coming months. A lovely shade of lavender with a hint of magenta on the tips (or at least that's what I might call that color), there's no way this rose could ever be called boring. Purple and lavender still remains strong in our event design, especially weddings, so it's nice to have such a lovely new variety to offer to our customers. To see more of our designs visit our website at www.sendingsmiles.com or our facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/localflorist

As I write this, we are in the throws of wedding season. What fun it is, not to mention hard work. I love this photo from a wedding many years ago because not only was the couple adorable (I believe Annie and Tim, if memory serves me) but I loved their sweet little hanging cones on the ends of the pews at church. Let's face it, hosting a wedding is expensive but what a treat for us when couple actually put money into decorating the church. I personally love decorating the pews. Why? Well, because you only see a church decorated this way if there is a wedding. You'll never see pretty bows, netting, kissing balls or pretty cones of flowers like this if it's just Sunday services or even a funeral. Simple white cones were stung with chiffon ribbon and had three stems of cream colored stock and a touch of seeded eucalyptus. Very simple but very pretty, don't you think? These cones of flowers cost less than $25 each but how the look of this photo would have changed with out...

Imagine this... your guests arrive for your outdoor garden wedding. They have no idea what to expect. Suddenly they enter the venue and walk smack dab into this display! Wow, talk about making a statement but oh, how overlooked this element usually is in the planning process. The particular wedding of Katie and Kyle really had a natural/hip vibe going on. Katie had each detail carefully planned out. All white flowers against black dresses. Feathers in her mini calla lily bouquet coordinated with her slightly feathered headpiece. Rectangular tables with long, low and florals in cube vases down the center. Moss green accents in the way of ribbon, actual moss spheres and even moss covered initials (K&K for Katie and Kyle) were also used. Spidery mums in the arrangements that coordinated with favors that were decorated cookies of the same theme. Last but not least - and actually first to be seen - we planned and coordinated this escort card table piece. Flowers in a square of all w...

Anyone that has read my blogs knows that I'm pretty passionate about flowers, not just because it's my business but because they hold so many sentimental attachments for me. It's as much about the fragrance and the feelings they evoke as it is the actual flower and form they take. As a child I received flowers, a tiny nosegay held together with ribbons and bows, fresh from the florist on my birthday each year. To this day, when I smell carnations, I get a warm feeling inside because it reminds me of my childhood. My own bridal bouquet was created with lots and lots of mini white stephanotis flowers. For those of you without "smellavision" they smell like sweet minty jasmine and even now when we use them, they remind me of my wedding day 25 years ago. The bouquet pictured here was created for our bride Shannon. Garden roses, peony and ranuculus in shades of creams, pinks and reds - so pretty. As you can see from this photo, Shannon loved her bridal flowers enoug...

Nobody knows better than a bride how expensive having a wedding can be. That's why I often suggest to my couples that renting items is far more price effective than buying them. The picture to the left is perfect example of pieces that are really worth renting. The matching pedestals and urns really make the look. Each piece rents for only $25 each. Can you imagine having the same flowers presented in a basic container? I'm sure you agree they just would not have the same effect. Another item that I highly recommend you rent instead of purchase yourself are large glass vases. These pictured here are over 28" inches tall and are very sturdy. My advise if you do buy your own glass to use as centerpieces is to make sure that they are extremely thick glass. I learned that lesson the hard way many years ago. I had a bride who had purchases these very nice cylinder vases. She wanted me to fill them with polished river stones, water and lots of sunflowers. Thank goodness we d...