Sending Smiles ~

Ok, don't tell Designer Norman this (because his ego is big enough) but folks who view his online photos and videos just love him. One fan said "When I see his smile, I can't help but smile with him". So yes, I'm a sucker for Norman too because when I'm not wanting to choke him, he makes me laugh. If you have never seen one of his videos, you are in for a treat. All it takes is Shop Coordinator Sheryl prompting him and off he goes as you can see from the videos below. If you want a chuckle, they are worth a look!

You can't teach an old dog new tricks... well, I'm not sure I fall into the category of being an old dog, but I certainly can learn new tricks. Kevin and I just got back from the Retail Success Summit put on by Bob and Susan Negan at WhizBang Training. Bob and Susan are 2 of our favorite business people and we've been learning from them for over 5 years now. Running through the heart of the conference was putting the customer first while giving them an amazing shopping experience. As you can see from the photo above, I had my coffee and I was ready to put my customer first and improve my business. The conference took place in Grand Rapids, Michigan (what a lovely city, not that we saw much but from what we did see, it was super nice) and with over 500 Independent Retailers in attendance. Marketing stategies, customer service, social media and personal improvement were all on the agenda and Kevin and I took page after page of notes and came up with many action items t...

Every week we have been ordering in a different variety of Dutch Hydrangea and this weeks is amazing! It's so much fun being a florist.  This is Magical Amethyst Hydrangea, produces giant spherical flower heads that open lime green that change to pink then back to soft green with pink edges. All we can say is WOW! What do you think? To see these beauties in person, come visit our shop in Princeton, NJ or Yardley, PA or better yet, send some to a friend.

 Ring, ring, ring - Us: "Hello, Monday Morning Flowers, how can I help you?" Customer: "We need 30 floral centerpieces in 2 hours, can you help us?" Us: "Of course, we'll deliver them for you in 2 hours!" Customer: "It's my anniversary today and I need something sent our fast. What should I send to my wife?" Us: "How about a dozen of our Premium roses made by designer Norman? She'll love it" We have fun at the shop and we all work hard to be able to say Yes to our customers. To see more of our custom designs or learn more about our shop visit our website at www.sendingsmiles.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 ...

 Flowers, flowers, and more flowers. I'm such a sucker for flowers and no matter where I am, if I have a camera, I have to take a picture. Like the photo above. While walking through Dublin last summer with the hubby, we came up on these amazing (wow, they were huge) planters filled with petunias (or at least that's what I think they are). It must be the climate there (a bit rainy and cool) that allows these to get so big because here in New Jersey and Pennsylvania I envision them burning up before they ever get this large. Below is a photo of a tiny flower I spied while walking back to my room at the hotel in Palm Springs when I was there in September at the Society of American Florist Conference.  Here at the shop we often deal in cut flowers and not the "planted, garden" variety but we love them all, just the same. Do you love taking pictures of flowers while on vacation as much as we do? If so, we'd love to see some of your photos so feel free to share t...

It's all in the details when you have accent colors like black and teal. Our bride Linzee wanted just touches in her white bouquet to pick up on her super cool color theme. After much searching for something fun but elegant, I decided on these wired black beads over the top of the teal ribbon wrapping the stems. I can't wait to see the photos her photographer gets. There are also black and teal accents among the mini callas in her bouquet but until it's delivered tomorrow that remains under wraps! I'll be sure to post after it's been delivered and the bride herself has the pleasure of seeing her amazing bridal bouquet - and it is amazing!! To see this and other of our floral design, visit our website at www.perfectweddingflowers.com or our main website at www.sendingsmiles.com