We don't always travel as far away from Princeton as Camden but we could not pass up on the opportunity to create wedding designs again at the Adventure Aquarium. How cool is this setting in the Currents Ballroom from this past weekend. Our designer did a fantastic job on this gorgeous tropical themed archway which later became the back drop for the Sweet Heart Table. Decorated with ginger, pincusion and king protea, orchids, free spirit roses along with tropical foliage such as aspidistra, monstera and ginger leaves. Our bride's bouquet was a combination of white dendrobium orchids, orange protea, pink giners and mini pineapples accented with palm leaves and mini monstera. The groom wore a boutonniere created with a hot pink accent flower and a mini pineapple. The tables were tall glass vases filled lushly with all tropical foliage and the Mother's and Grandmothers wore orchid corsages. Imagine the ceremony with the Shark Tank as the backdrop and the soft up lighting of the room. It must have been magical! Would you consider an aquarium for your wedding ceremony and reception? 

Check out designer Alanna's little video recap! 

Mason Jar Centerpieces ~ a thing of the past? I think not. Folks are still loving these adorable designs. Although they might not be a good fit for every wedding and/or event setting, they still have their place. We are still doing many barn and rustic setting venues and mason jar designs fit right in. 

If you talk to other floral designers, you might see really "negative" views on these designs but I don't think it's because they don't like them on principle, I think it's because many folks wanting these designs might not realize that although they are small, it can still take quite a few blooms to fill these jar, hence they are not always inexpensive. As a floral designer and an artist (yes we consider ourselves artists who just happen to work with flowers as our medium) we never like being squeezed for money. I think the problem comes from an unrealistic expectation of what it costs to fill a mason jar. For example, the jars below took quite a few stems to fill and the bride did not want anything too common. She was looking for a sophisticated rustic look and did not want little jars that would be get lost on the table. Because she needed multiple to be placed down a long farm table, this design sure did cost more than a single long centerpiece. These jars below are actually quite a bit bigger than the one pictured above, which translated to a higher cost. 

Now speaker as a designer, sometimes when flower trends come along, we are super excited in the beginning but as would be understandable, after your 100th time of creating similar designs, the newness wears off and we are left craving a floral challenge. But if you ask me if I like or dislike mason jar designs, I'm more to the Pro side of the equation.  When we are provided a nice budget, allowing for a beautiful flower mixture, I love the look. All baby's breath? I actually love that too because it's a simple, clean look that fits many wedding themes. It's sweet and cost effective. If the client is happy so am I! 

I also love pointing out to folks that a simple vase design is also a pretty way to go. The flowers don't have to be in a mason jar if you'd like a little more formality. Take the vase below... I love designing in these simple vases. You can do so much with them, they are the perfect height for a table and a little tie of twine or lace can completely transform the look. When I think of the mason jars, I generally include these pretty vases in as being a similar style. What do you think? What I really loved about these designs below is how we matched the flower color to the napkins. We added a touch of rustic twine and the burlap cloths looked like they went with the lace runner. I think this is one of my favorite weddings ever because although not expensive, it was very well planned out. 

What do you think about mason jar centerpieces for your wedding or shower? Are you considering them? I'd love to know!! 

With the 2019 wedding planning season in full swing, we have noticed some trends emerging. White, White and more White! Yes, many brides are still asking for white, champagne and ivory to be incorporated in their bridal bouquets. Although the color choices run the gamete, white is still being used at least 80% of the time. White never goes out of style and whether we are creating a loose and airy hand tied bouquet, cascade style design or tighter, compact look, white always looks lovely in pictures. This past winter had us using lots of eucalyptus, anemone with dark centers, lush garden roses and silvery dusty miller and brunia berries. Quite a few weddings in a row had us including either Phaelanopsis or Cymbidium orchids and even navy blue berry accents. What color do you envision your bridal bouquet being?  I'll post more soon sharing our Spring Wedding Designs! 

We had so much fun working with bride Natalie and groom Paul on their September wedding at the Nassau Inn. I really loved incorporating flowers with their black and white polka dot themed wedding. Which design is your favorite? 

This has been the season for Sunflowers ~ we can't believe how many weddings we have created over the last 5 weeks that included sunflowers in some form. Bridal Bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces and even a huge wedding archway. Luckily the local sunflowers this year were amazing and plentiful. Would you consider sunflowers for your late summer wedding? 

I can't believe that I have not updated our wedding blog since April - Sorry, my bad! It's been very interesting watching the bridal bouquet trends. Some brides have been looking for huge bouquets that are styled loose and airy while others have been looking for tight and compact designs. These are from the last few weeks. Which one is your favorite? 

The Wedding of Michael and Page! Deep rich burgundy, white and pink flowers ~ garden and tea roses, baby's breath, dusty miller, mini calla lilies, astilbe and dahlias. A late September wedding... Enjoy! 

January 6th ~ a high of 20 degrees had us posting notes on the bouquets for bride Amy and her girls - don't freeze your flowers but what a magical day it was. With snow on the ground and a gorgeous setting at Cherry Valley Country Club - Amy and Alex had the perfect setting for a romantic winter wedding. Amy's bouquet consisted of creamy Sahara roses, white hydrangeas, ever greens and eucalyptus foliage. 

A foliage lined garland welcomed guests to the wedding and a petal and candle lined aisle set the stage for the ceremony. Our ivory sheer backdrop  was draped with a soft winter garland and evergreen and eucalytpus swags were hung from the first few chairs so denote where family were to sit. The mother of the groom provide the table centerpieces and an amazing night was had by all!! 

What a strange fall season it's been. Temperatures over 70 degrees, falling leaves with high humidity. Welcome to the weather in New Jersey. Weather aside, we've had some really gorgeous weddings  being created at  the shop in an array of beautiful colors. Almost none of our weddings have been traditional fall colors with many having us create in color palates such as sangria, dusty rose and even shades of blue and purple.  Which one is your favorite?

When bride Angela came looking for us to create a "Tropical Themed" Bridal bouquet for her July 1st wedding we were perplexed but excited. Perplexed because we rarely get asked to do weddings with an Island feel - let's face it, we are in New Jersey but once she explained that this was just the ceremony for her NJ friend, family and fellow church members because her "real" wedding was taking place in the Bahamas, it all made sense. Rarely do we get to create cascade bouquets and working with tropical foliage and flowers is especially rare. What do you think of the finish bouquet? Pretty striking, don't you think? 

We especially love the colors combination along with the flowers mixture. Dendrobium orchids, bird of paradise, orange mini calla lilies, spiral eucalyptus and elegant pink hybrid lilies. This bouquet delivers on the wow factor with a tropical flair!