Sending Smiles ~

You can't read a business publication without them telling you how important it is to join in on the "Social Networking" craze. I must admit, that both Facebook and Myspace are still a bit of a mystery to me! And Twitter, now that one is really challenging but I keep plugging away! What I'm really enjoying about the Internet is hooking up with other florists from around the world. It's fun to look at the pictures of their creations, especially wedding designs. In this business it's important to constantly be learning new things not to mention being up on the latest trends! Sometimes after a hard day I may post something that only another florist can relate to. It's so reassuring to have them respond, especially when they post kind things about our work. So for those of your out there, doing the whole "Social Networking" thing. Look me up on the following sites. I'd love to be your Cyber Friend!! http://www.myspace.com/mondaymorningflowe

When I met bride Beth and her lovely mother, I knew I would have an incredible time helping them plan a romantic wedding. I think these pictures tell the story. Thanks to Pete Malone at 217 Photography for the amazing photos. We created all the floral designs for Pete and Dawns wedding just last year!! Enjoy!! A wedding day without gorgeous flowers? Unthinkable!! Beautiful Beth her gorgeous bouquet of pink, peach and cream roses accents with pink waxflowers. Simple and romantic, just like her! Proud Papa! The handsome grooms is all smiles. His simple cream colored rose looks amazing on his classic suit! A wonderful shot by photography by 217 Photography! Bubbles anyone? Beth and Keith, the perfect pair.

My designer Gaby and I were talking the other day about the poor flower industry. Have you ever noticed how often other types of business's will put down flowers just to say that their product is better? Society of American Florist spends so much of their time letting other business's know that it's not cool to put us down to make their product look good. It's amazing how those that sell jewelry, candy, chocolates and goodness knows who else use flowers as a point of reference when saying their product is better. Yes, flowers you send today may be gone next month but is that what it's all about? What about the beauty of flowers or the way they can be personalized? What about how special they make people feel or how they physically brighten their mood? Does everything have to be about the long term? In a society of "let's collect as much stuff as possible" doesn't it make sense to bring a thing of beauty into your home that won't be collecting

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

Thought I'd share some pictures from our very busy weekend!! Five weddings , 4 Mitzvah , 2 showers, 1 anniversary party , 2 Walk-a- thons and 2 sweet sixteens! I may be forgetting something! This picture above if from a garden wedding at Chauncey Center. Simple violet plants in purples and blues in silver mint julep cups. Truly simple but elegant!! Wow! That's a long table. Elegant white flowers create a runner at this event at Salt Creek Grille, located right here in the Village near our shop! This one will be a personal favorite of mine. No wonder the client was happy! This balloon arch was designed by our Event Coordinator David!! He builds them tough and he builds them fast. This was for the Kidney Walk that took place on Sunday, also here in the Village! These cool Chocolate Brown and Pearlized Pink balloons decorated the Nassau Room at the Westin Hotel, also here in the Village. Yes, we actually did leave the Village this weekend but it pays to be so close

Whenever I do a wedding consultation, one of the elements I'm always sure to discuss is the process of tagging all the flowers for my brides and grooms. This insures that not only is there no confusion about whose flowers are whose but also helps us to make sure that each floral is delivered to the correction location. How we do this is we e-mail each Bride a questionnaire for them to fill out and send back to us. There we ask for all contact information such as day of cells, wedding planner information, drop time desired, banquet hall and church contacts, etc. Then there is a place where we ask to the Bride and Groom to name each person in the wedding that is either wearing or holding a flower. Not only does this include bridal bouquets but also boutonnieres, corsages, etc. Lastly, we ask for this list to be broken down by drop off location. Most Brides forget that they may need their bouquets at one location for pictures and the gentlemen flowers might need to go directly to chur

There is one question that I get all the time from brides. Want to guess what that is? It's "how much are my wedding flowers are going to cost", of course! That is such a difficult question to answer, and not because we florists don't want to answer it. The truth is that some brides want lots of flowers and others want the bare minimum. I find that most fall somewhere in between. Taking the time to find out what the bride envisions for her day along with any budget she has set, is priority #1 during first consultations with me. The issue that have is that most families have not set an overall budget for their weddings. This is not good!!! Not setting a budget allows for overspending. You wouldn't ask your realtor to show you houses without telling them how much your mortgage was approved for, would you? You don't go car shopping with an open checkbook? Planning a wedding will be one of the most expensive "purchases" you will even make and I can not i