Blog for Monday Morning Flowers

Sunflowers and Roses for Fall

10/30/2013

What a fun time of year to have a wedding and we love the drama of these bouquets created for this weekends wedding. We don't often do lots of weddings in November and this year we have quite a few this year.

This bouquet was being designed for Jessica's brides maids. Ring of Fire sunflowers, Black Bacara roses along with brown hypericum berries make a striking combination, wouldn't you agree?

What I love most about this combination is the different shading and textures that each flower provides. Also, the striking yellow really pops against the dark burgundy roses. Be sure to check out our Fall Category of this website for more photos from this fall themed wedding!

Fun Flowers for Men

8/23/2013

Want to infuse a bit of personality into the boutonnieres at your wedding? Why not have fun with it.

Take these boutonnieres made for bride Maggie and Groom Gennady. They love, love, love, grape soda. All the brides maids dresses were a rich grape color and the grape soda bottle tops add a touch of whimsey to the mens attire, don't you agree?

In this case, groom Gennady wore a single white rose accented with a touch of green hypericum berries with the grape soda cap adding a splash of color at the bottom. Want to see other fun boutonniere ideas? Be sure to check out our Flowers for Men" category on this website!

DIY and Working With Your Florist

7/5/2013

I love when bride's do a bit of DIY. Yes, you heard it right, I love when my bride's do a little themselves. Especially like what today's bride Crystal did. She let us handle the fresh flower part, while she and her maids set up some floating candles and votive candles on their own. I especially loved the little boards she found to anchor the centerpieces and the table numbers. She was able to personalize her wedding while not having to worry about processing flowers and worrying about the weather (today hit 95 degrees). She left that up to us and at a very modest cost, I might add. Again, vintage ~ country is very in and these adorable tablescapes were perfect for this tent wedding at Chauncey Hotel and Conference Center here in Princeton. Would you consider doing a bit DIY while your florist handles the floral aspect of your table centerpieces?

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!

Blooms for Spring for Lambertville Wedding

4/26/2013

I know I've posted wedding photos of very rustic, vintage bouquets but that sure does seem to the be the trend this Spring.

Today's wedding bouquet for bride Alaina has some of our favorite Spring elements such as feverfew, buplerium, lilacs, thistle and accents of succulent plants. The stems were wrapped with a thick twine to keep with the natural theme of the bouquet. We had hoped to include mountain mint and fresh lavender but the unusually cold Spring has made those flowers a little late to bloom but the overall look and feel is sure to meet with her approval. Do you like Alaina's Spring Time Bouquet?

Nicole's Wedding On Brides.com

1/28/2013

It's always fun having our design featured in a blog but especially one like Brides.com. We had fun working with bride Nicole, who by chance works for Brides Magazine. All white flowers, simple and romantic for her fall wedding at Clarks Landing Yacht Club. Her bouquet was created with hydrangeas, dahlias, ranunculus and lisianthus. Nicole feel in love with a bouquet we had created for a bride (Jackie) last year at the shore, so it was a pleasure to recreate it for her. The brides maids carried hand tied bouquets of creamy white hydrangea and as you can see for this photo, the look is soft and romantic. This wedding is the true example of simple ~ elegance, wouldn't you agree?

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?

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.