Blog for Monday Morning Flowers

Bridal Photography

11/14/2013

Nothing makes me happier than when a bride shares her professional wedding photos like this one sent to us today by our bride Tara.

Taken by Jeff Tisman of Jeff Tisman Photography, this all white bouquet reads like a dream. Garden, tea and spray roses, lisianthus, dahlias and lambs ear combine with cascading touches of ivy trails.

An all white bouquet is always a classic and really looked amazing in this Fairy Tale Themed wedding. Would you consider this style bouquet for your own wedding?

Passionate Purple

7/20/2013

Well, it's official, purple is still a very hot wedding color and this weekends wedding proves it. Today's reception was held at the Park Savoy in Florham Park and the setting could not have been more lovely. Most of the tables each had this amazing floral display on them ~ cascading purple phaelanopsis orchids and lavender hydrangeas. Sitting atop our 28" tall candle holders and little twirl of curly willow and the centerpiece is elegant yet natural. This location has oval tables and a tall display leaves the line of vision between the guests wide open while adding a pop of drama over head.

About 1/3 of the tables had submerged mini calla and floating candle centerpieces and when the light get lowered, this room is sure to glow. Also another great way to decorate a long

Bride Allison and her new husband Eric are sure to have an amazing night ahead of them. What do you think of these centerpieces? Would you consider these purple orchids for your table arrangements?

Hydrangea Bride's Maids Bouquets

5/24/2013

Planning a wedding is fun but expensive and I find that often brides and grooms over think the flowers. Hydrangeas to the rescue. Take these bouquets for example; simple but by no means small yet they are elegant, natural and as amazing as it sounds, quite budget friendly.

In the case of these bouquets, extra touches such draping hanging amaranthus and chiffon ribbon took them from boring to beautiful and only slightly added to the cost.

Lesson to be learned? No need to over think the flowers and by all means, take the budget friendly route. Your maids won't mind, your guests won't notice and your wedding budget will love you for it!

Simple Aisle Decor

12/28/2012

Are you having your wedding ceremony in a ballroom? Who says you can't dress up the location a bit and bring in your wedding theme at the same time.

Our brides sometimes worry that that their ceremony location won't look "weddingish" enough because it's not a chapel or church. Never fear, aisle decor is here and it does not have to cost a fortune. Take this today's wedding for instance. For Bride Deborah, I suggested a small touch of white roses and red berries (the same flowers used in her bridal bouquet) accented with ribbon the color of the Maid of Honors dress, simply tied to the end of every other chair.

Just a simple touch like this really speaks volumes when your guests arrive to be seated and also helps to set the tone for what's to come. What I love most about these hand tied chair bouquets, is that they work on any chair. Every other chair keeps the room looking fresh without being over done. Would you consider aisle flowers like this for your wedding?

Investing in Those Extra Touches

11/3/2012

Ok, I have to admit something here... I admit that I love when I get to do those extra special touches for a wedding. Let's face it, it's always about money right and sometimes those extra special touches that add to the bottom line by costing more just get forgotten.

Take one of this weekends weddings for bride Jessica. Her wedding was held at a brand new Club House and when I say this venue was gorgeous, I mean it's really lovely. Jessica loves everything classic and elegant and had at least a slight taste for a hint of bling. Enter these light fixtures in the ballroom. Although they fit the style of the venue to a T, I noticed that draping some crystals from the fixtures would elevate the whole look of the room, more matching the formal look she was going for. These fixtures took five long strands of crystals and were priced out as a rental (meaning we will pick them up the next day). At $75 per lighting fixture the total cost to dress up these lights was $375.

I can easily see how a family might not want to invest the extra money, especially if they are already over budget, but touches like these are what turn the ordinary into extraordinary. As an event designer, it's details like this that I love and remember. For your wedding, do you think it's worth the extra expense?

Ceremony Decor Idea

10/27/2012

We love doing weddings at Grounds for Sculpture and especially love the setting at the 9 Muses. Todays wedding for Allison and Jeremy had us adding some very pretty orchid accents to the ends of the chairs along the aisle.

I loved the way this looked, very elegant but rustic - mokara orchids attached to the bamboo chairs using natural twine. This is an example where is less is best as the setting is already quite dramatic and amazing. This little touch was just enough to make the setting look like a wedding was taking place, wouldn't you agree?

Cake Flowers

10/8/2012

Looking for an easy and affordable way to dress up the wedding cake that is included in your bridal event package? Why not add a few cut flowers to the top, tiers or along the bottom?

In the case of this wedding, we used some medium sized sunflowers to add sunny touches to an otherwise simple cake. Sunflowers were a major part of the wedding floral decor so it made sense to include a few well placed flowers along the tiers. We did not include any flowers on the top tier because the couple were using a pretty cake topper.

Love the look of your simple cake but don't like a traditional cake topper? Flowers to the rescue again. A small round dome of flowers or a few well placed blooms can be a great way of finishing off the top of the cake.

To see more examples of cake flowers be sure to go to our Cake Flower gallery. You just might find the perfect wedding cake floral inspiration!

Wow in Purple - Learning that Size Matters

9/8/2012

Having trouble choosing wedding floral centerpieces for your big day and fitting it all into your budget? We certainly can understand your stress right now and I really strive to make it as easy as possible.

Take this centerpiece for example - created for bride Lori and her hubby Steve at Lambertville Inn. At first glance is looks pretty simple, very purple and I'll bet that you have no idea how big this is. I have a tip for you. When looking at photos like this online, look for something in the photo that you can easily see the correct size. For example, at the base of this centerpiece are fluted champagne glasses. We all know about how large a glass like that is. Now study the glass and salt and pepper shakers in conjunction with the overall size of the floral display. A piece that might have looked rather average in size, now look completely different once you know how to "scale" it in the photo. Do you often see photos that are a close up and don't show anything else to help you determine size? Why not pick out one flower you are familiar with, in this case the lavender roses. Knowing how large the head of a standard rose also gives you a point of reference to help you "scale" the overall size.

This piece stood on top of a 24" tall candle pedetals vase and contained many flowers including 7 stems of trailing phaelanopsis orchid sprays, each with 8 to 12 blooms on a stem, 10 roses, 5 green hydrangeas, 8 plum carnations, 3 stems of stock, and over 12 mini calla lilies. Wow, who would guess this display would take so many flower to create? Retailing at $450, this piece may not be with in your budget but understanding what it takes to create it, just might make you feel better about your floral choices and gives you the power to search floral arrangements on line and determine their size. Remember, the number of flowers it takes to give the desired size, translates into overall cost. The bigger the display, the more expensive it will be. Now that you've learned how to "scale" an online photo, have fun searching to find just the right floral inspiration for your wedding. Want to explore costs a bit more? Check out my youtube videos discussing why flowers cost what they do here and here.

How to Prepare for a Wedding Consultation

1/10/2010

It's that time of year again where brides call and come in to talk about their   wedding flowers. I thought I'd post a quick guideline of items to bring to your   floral appointment. An organized bride who has given some thought to her floral   desires before coming in will have a much more roductive meeting than one who   has not taken the time to give it some thought!
Item #1 - Bring a list of the florals that you will need. Nothing is worse than a bride who answers the question "how many brides maids do you have?" by counting them on her fingers!
Item #2 - Pictures of both bridal gown and brides maids   dresses. The more we can get a feel for your style, the better.
Items #3 - Floral inspiration pictures. This is really a   must. Collect pictures of flowers that show your style. A picture is truly worth a thousand words and most brides do not know the name of many flowers. What better way to show the texture, color, style and size of each flower element than showing us pictures. I highly recommend TheKnot.com and other sources for finding great, real wedding photos. Most online sources even let you search by color and season! Our own website has page after page of our real brides to look at. Back in my day all we had were magazines. Brides today have so many ways to find great photos. Also, if there are flowers or styles you don't   really care for, photos of them as a "Don't" are helpful also. Remember, we are   trying to get into your head, as quickly and efficiently as possible during your consultation. Anything you can do to help us get there fast is helpful for   everyone involved, especially the poor groom who may get easily bored by the   flowers!!
Item #4 - Lastly but still importantly, come in with a   budget. Here's were people get tripped up. They've been told, never tell them   how much you are willing or able to pay but with your flowers, that is exactly   what you should do. If a bride tells me what she needs, what general look and   feel she wants, what colors and what season, I am much more likely to be able to give her suggestions to help her stick to her budget than show her things that blow the doors off of it! Your florist should be your partner. If you do not trust us to be honest with you, you probably should not even be coming for a consultation. We're not here to take advantage, we're here to help you create   the wedding of your dreams! Be sure to check out our YouTube Video to see some of our recent wedding designs!