Sending Smiles ~

This past weekend we were honored to create floral designs for a wedding reception at the Princeton Marriott. In addition to gorgeous centerpieces, each female guest received an orchid wristlet corsage and each gentleman received a boutonniere. What a lovely thing to do for your guests - so festive, don't you think? We know that most folks couldn't afford to do this but we sure enjoyed making all these lovely wearable flowers! To see more of our event designs be sure to visit our Fan Page at www.facebook.com/localflorist

It's always fun having the shop featured in a magazine and we were thrilled to be included in this months Floriology Magazine. Designed for the flower shop owner, Floriology is a monthly, national magazine produced by 1800flowers.com for their members.   Each month the issue highlights individual stores and their owners. We were thrilled to have Managing Editor Fred Russell come out to inview us and take some great photos for the article. Our article was named "Marketing Frenzy" and was all about our attempts of social media and online marketing!

What fun it is to look back over the last couple of years and see all the different wedding bouquet designs we have created. This grouping goes from Creams into Pinks and ends in vibrant Purples - no two look the same! To see more of our wedding flower designs be sure to check out our wedding site at http://www.perfectweddingflowers.com/ !

Do you know the difference between a Asiatic Lily and a Hybrid Lily? What makes an O.T. Lily different? If it's one thing I've learned, you need a Ph'D to know everything there is to know about flowers! Take this lily for example. It's called an O. T. Lily or Orienpet Lily. It's wonderful color, shape and texture is derived from crosses between Oriental and Trumpet lily types. The advantage in growing Orienpet Lilies (O.T.) is they are more tolerant of harsh growing conditions, compared to the normal Oriental Lily. Yet they retain the exotic appearance, size and fragrance of the Orientals. What a mouth full but I prefer to say - "Hey, what a gorgeous flower" and as a customer you can be rest assured that we'll seek out and find new and exciting varieties for you. Lucky for both of us, no Ph'D required! Our website is an awesome way to shop for flowers but to send something cutting edge and different, why not call and ask us what is new? We&#

No matter what I post on Facebook or this blog, if it's purple it's going to get a very positive response and this bouquet is no exception. Created for this past weekends bride Leah, for her Maid of Honor, this bouquet was made using ivory and lavender roses, purple lisianthus and touches of lime green buplurium along the outer edge. What a wonderful color for an April wedding, don't you think?   Brides asking for purple flowers still seems to be  a strong trend through 2011 with shades of pink being next in line (which was the brides bouquet was made of, in this case). Roses are still high up on the flower wish list with peony, hydrangea, lisianthus and even dahlias and orchids often being requested.   To see this bouquet and other examples of our wedding designs, be sure to visit our wedding website at http://www.perfectweddingflowers.com/

Did you know that we actually ave a Bridal/Wedding Consultation Room? Yes, we do although sometimes it serves as a Bar/Bat Mitzvah or other Party Consultation room at time.  How wonderful is this space for discussing a wedding? Recently I spent some time freshening things up, flipping the room around and doing an over all overhaul of the space. What a great feeling and just in time for Spring!  We've tried to display all our rental items such as our archways, pedestals, special rental glassware, silk trees and topiaries, urns and even our new decorative trunks. Don't you just love chapsticks? Our brides seem to like them a whole lot. A vintage wedding gown on display in our consultation room. Hey, wait, that's my wedding gown from 1985! Did I just call that Vintage? Well, I guess it is. :o) The grooms love our couch. If they feel a bit overwhelmed (and uninterested) by the whole wedding flower process, they can retreat to this quiet area to flip through a magazine or two.

I took a quick photo as Designer Norman was working on this arrangement before it was finished but I still had to share. This piece was created for a man who adored Star Trek and everything it stands for. I could really relate to why he was so crazy about a TV show like Star Trek, being a fan myself. His niece and nephew phoned our shop and sheepishly mentioned that they would love for us to work in the Star Trek theme and if we could include the Enterprise. I jumped at the idea to create something special for them and became giddy when I found this amazing photo to use. Bold colors for a bold theme, this square wreath of flowers really showcases the Starship and I'm going to guess that this tribute will not soon be forgotten. I think Designer Norman did a fantastic job on this very special floral design. To see more of our funeral and sympathy designs, visit our website at www.sendingsympathy.com