Sending Smiles ~

When I say that we have some colorful flowers that have just arrived, I'm not kidding! Wow, the colors in the shop this week run from all the fall arrivals of reds, oranges and red to browns and even deep rich blues. Over 300 assorted colored gerbera daisies arrived from Holland this week and the flowers span almost 5 inches across. Some have dark centers like these yellow ones while others have a light center but all are amazing. Each week we try to get at least one variety of hydrangea that is a little bit different, either in the color or the same of the florets. These are called - You and Me Together Classic and they are an amazing shade of blue. Yes, they grow that color naturally without any help from dyes or paints. This particular variety seems to last a very long time and as it ages, it dries almost the exact same shade of blue with very little fading. Talk about a flower that gives it's all! To see these and more of our floral designs be sure to check out

This past week since returning from my California trip has been a whirl wind of bridal activity. Over the last few days alone I have booked on more 2012 wedding and 3 for 2013. What I have found interesting, is the demand for purple flowers for these weddings still seems to be quite high. Almost 50% of the new brides I'm meeting with are using purple in one way or another in their wedding flowers and decor. Many are choosing a shade of green for the maids or even deep lapis seems to be a favorite among current couples.  Thought I'd share this lovely centerpiece we made for bride Lori and her husband Steve. This floral design was create on to of our 24" tall candle holder. Inside the vase were twirls of purple callas and the cascading floral designing on top was made using green hydrangeas, purple roses, phaelanopsis orchids, calla lilies - both Picasso and Purple and light touches of a deep plum colored carnation. They were truly lovely in person.  I especially

Wow, how fun is this wedding we did this summer at Molly Pitcher Inn? Bride Amy (sister of last years  bride Lauren at Nassau Inn) and groom Matt had a very cool nautical vibe going on to her wedding. Taking place right on the river in Red Bank really set the stage for a fantastic day! The sun was out, it was a bit hot but who could complain with a cloudless sky at the Jersey shore - we sure couldn't. Design Manager Holly and assistant Brendan did a great job delivering and setting up this rather complex wedding. Making our way to the shore from the Princeton area during the summer is no easy task. We had so much fun working with the family again and loved all the flowers and decor they chose. Amy's bouquet was hand tied using white mini gerbera daisy, regular daisies, roses, yellow craspedia and accents of lime green fillers. I loved how her bouquet complimented her lovely gown and especially loved the accent of the variegated foliage around the outside of the bouquet.

Did you know that we do a special every Friday at both our Princeton, NJ and Yardley, PA flower shops? It's called $5 Flower Fridays and each week we offer fresh flower bouquets at a very discounted price. Today's special are summer bouquets and aren't they just adorable? Each week we sell between 15 and 40 of these bouquets and it's our way of thanking our local customers and helping them to afford fresh flowers in their house each week. If you have never joined us for $5 Flower Fridays, we'd love to see you. Want to know what flowers are being offered ahead of time? Just text the word FRIDAY to 555888 and we'll add you to our Text list. Also, check out our Facebook Book Pages at www.facebook.com/localfloris t and www.facebook.com/sendingsmile s for advanced notice each Friday morning. Fresh flowers for just $5, you can't beat it! 

We had so much fun with our first Terrarium Making Class that we have scheduled a second one for  September 12 - from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at our Princeton Store in Forrestal Village. What's it all about? Well you get to mingle with fun folks, drink wine, eat delicious local cheese from Tre Piani Restaurant and then make your very own Terrarium to bring home. With lots of elements to choose from you get to customize it to your home colors and decor. At a cost of $75, you'll agree, it's a great deal for a night of fun. Ask customer Martha (above)  who not only had a blast but made new friends (apparently her and Jean were having lunch the following week). Past Mother of the Groom Jacquie (behind Martha) brought her friend and they seemed to enjoy themselves! Many of this months participant signed up for our Wreath making class to be held on October 3 here at the Princeton store. The Terrarium class only has 12 spaces so reserve your spot early. The wreath making cla

Have you ever wondered how they grow those amazingly huge gerbera daisies that you get from our shop? Well, this week we were lucky enough to visit one of the farms that grows them for us - Ever-Bloom Farms in California. Ever-Bloom has over 14 acres of these amazing flowers - all under the protection of very sophisticated green houses.  According to Sue, the Director of Sales at Ever-Bloom, they grow over 120 varieties of gerbera and gerbera mini's in all shades from white, red, pink, orange and even one that is almost purple. Sue says that hot pink is the color in highest demand. The amazing plants are putting out flowers each and ever day, requiring they be harvested 6 days a week. Sue says the workers walk through each row picking them by hand and sorting them right out in the green house where they are added to these very cool carts by variety.  Minutes after being harvested, they are cut and placed into a special water solution to allow them to continuing drink

I'm laughing as I write the title to this blog but when I look at all these girls lined up and their bouquets, that was the first thing that came to mind. Do you have tons of Brides Maids and are you on a tight budget? If so, what you need are a few big flowers! These bouquets, recently created for the Rebecca's wedding, are only 3 stems of Dutch hydrangea. Although we gussied them up a bit by adding some loops of curly willow, a broach and a touch of fabric from the girls gowns, they were modestly priced. No one would ever say these weren't interesting and that they looked cheap. They actually looked quite elegant and natural - perfect for this South Jersey Winery wedding.  Bride Rebecca actually had 10 brides maids and these bouquet only cost $50 each. A gorgeous compliment to their dresses (the colors were almost exact in shading, it truly was perfect) and no one could complain about the size of these bouquets. Although each stem is quite pricey, just a couple wi