Archive for June, 2009
June 30, 2009
Hi There,
I have a few home based weddings this year. The first is next week. The backyard of this home is like a beautiful PARK! I am in awe of the size and beauty of this yard. Not only is there a giant swimming pool, but there is a full tennis court and a guest house with lots of lawn and pathways throughout. Because this wedding is in Sacramento in JULY, when we get many of our over 100 degree days, we took precausions with the flower choices. The bride fist wanted to use HYDRANGEA, then PEONY and now CHYSANTHEMUMS. That was a big jump from hydrangea to chysanthemums! But, we just couldn’t take any chances for the weather to ruin the centerpieces.
The second home wedding I have coming up is doing a casual backyard BBQ themed wedding. This bride picked some bright, fun colors and ran with it. Deep purple, hot pink and turquoise. This brings up a great TIP for you when planning your decor. Often people will come up with a color scheme that usually includes two colors. But, by adding a third color, you can actually bring out the first two colors much better. The third color can make the first two colors POP! The example above is a perfect example of this….pink and purple are great, but add the turquoise and WOW!
The third home wedding is located in the backyard of a home located in a country club on the 18th fairway. This couple decided to take their cue from the environment and are going with a golf themed wedding. There will be 18 tables and each will have a TEE FLAG numbered 1 – 18 with a 19th Hole Flag for the BAR. The tables will have a square of sod in the center with a golf ball bucket filled with bright colors of orange, pink and lime green. For a large vase on the kitchen counter we will add golf balls to the bottom of the vase and then fill the top of the vase with lots of curly willow and bright pink, orange and lime green flowers. For the front door, we’re adding a wall pocket filled with a spill of hot pink, orange and lime green flowers. The theme will be carried through the entire home from the front door to the backyard.
I was intervied by Natalie Weinstein for her weekly radio show to be aired 7/5/09. To listen live tune in to New York Radio WALK FM/AM at 7:00 AM our time and 10:00 AM eastern time. Beginning 7/6/09 you can listen to the interview via their website at www.walkradio.com.
June 18, 2009
Hi There,
This offer just came across to me and I am passing it on to anyone who might want to take advantage of such a great offer.
Basically, this photographer is offering FREE wedding photos in Hawaii on August 5 and 6, 2009. Read below for more information.
A message from Sweet Nothings to all members of Bridal Bargains! on BridalTweet: Wedding Directory for Wedding Planning Ideas!
Hello Everyone!
My name is Erin Garvey–Wedding Virtual Assistant with Sweet Nothings. I am launching my business with a major wedding sweepstakes, but have yet to come across a couple interested. I kind of find this crazy considering it is such a fabulous deal. Here are the details below!
Elope with Sweet Nothings and Blueline Photography!
August 5th-6th, 2009
Oahu, Hawaii
We are looking for a fun, sexy couple who LOVES to have their picture taken!
Complete Package will include:
Full Wedding Day Coordination and complete design consultation with Bride and Groom
Wedding Day Photography by Blueline Weddings
Video coverage of ceremony by Blueline Weddings
Album
High Resolution CD of all images
2 nights stay in Hotel
Bridal Hair and Makeup
Champagne for after ceremony
Reckless Photo Session
Ceremony Site
Officiant
Paperwork help and payment
Bridal Bouquet and boutonniere
This is worth over $10,000!
Winners will be responsible for travel expenses to Hawaii.
Please let me know if you know of anyone who would be interested! if they are, can you have them email me at erin@bluelinestyle.com? The photographer is fantastic and the amount of wedding “stuff” you get is pretty great! Thanks so much and if any of you need help with your business, please do not hesitate to ask! As a wedding virtual assistant, my job is to research vendors from all over and would love to hear from you!
Thanks,
Erin G.
June 17, 2009
Hi There,
Last Saturday, 6/13/09 I had a wedding and the bride wanted aged green hydrangea, white hydrangea and assorted pink roses. She’ll never know the trouble I went through to get the aged green hydreangea at this time of year! I placed my flower order 3 weeks in advance. Two weeks in advance I checked to make sure that the wholesaler did not anticipate any problems with the order. Then the order arrived, 3 days before the wedding. What I received and what I ordered were two very different things. I am still fighting with the wholesaler for a refund for the wrong product sent to me. Aged green hydrangea are not available locally at this time of year. That’s because they age on the plant at the end of their life cycle. Hydrangeas are just beginning to bloom around here. So, these aged green hydrangea needed to be ordered in from somewhere like New Zealand where they are aging on the plant at this time of year. I could not find aged green hydrangea in the 3 days I had left, so I bought some Design Master Just For Flowers spray paint in fresh green and proceeded to tint my pink hydrangea to look aged. To my amazement, they came out pretty well.
- Sometimes you have to help nature.
Tuck this idea in the back of your head in case you ever need to do this yourself. I don’t particularly like to tint my flowers, I would prefer to use them in their natural state. However, sometimes you just have to do it. Not all flowers tint well, but hydrangea and calla lilies tint very well. What do you think…I’ll bet that if I didn’t tell you I tinted these hydrangea you’d never know the difference!
Hydrangea are very intolerant of HEAT, so using them during the summer months around here is always a little scary because we get many days over 100 degrees. But, the weather has been unusually cool so far this year and Saturday was a perfect 75 degrees! The hydrangea, bride, groom and wedding party were all very happy!
June 9, 2009
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long and low centerpiece
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Pool Float
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Italian Themed Centerpieces
Hi There, Saturday was very busy; I had four different events. The first was a birthday party at a private residence in El Dorado Hills, Ca. The home has an Italian Theme running throughout, and the home owner requested that the flowers carry the same theme. She also requested the use of sunflowers. So, here is what I came up with….sunflowers combined with fresh artichokes, assorted red/yellow/orange peppers, lemons and some greenery.
Many years ago I took a floral design class from Ron Morgan; an icon in the Bay Area. He was the first to introduce me to the use of fruits and vegetables with flowers. I was so inspired by him and continue to incorporate fruits and vegetables, whenever I can, into my arrangements. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!
June 3, 2009
Hi There, Yesterday was the AFWPI (Association for Wedding Professionals Int’l) Regional Conference. I received a call from the VP on Monday afternoon asking me if I could put together some Organic Flower Arrangements for one of the Guest Speakers, Tara Murney, Owner of A Green Tie Affair. Tara was speaking on the subject of Going Green, specifically her session was called “Green, The New White – How to Plan an Ecologically-friendly and Socially-Responsible Wedding”. So, I did a quick search on www.localharvest.org, entered my zip code and voila, several organic farms showed up. I found one that had organic flowers, Sacred Paths Farm in Camino, Ca. I called to make sure they had flowers, and Stephanie was very helpful and accomodating. I drove up the hill to Camino, picked up my Medicinal Bouquets and headed back to arrange them into centerpieces. The Medicinal Bouquets included oregano, fever few, mint, valerian root, lavender, ele campagne and a few roses and delphinium and iris. I made a TRUE NOSEGAY, using the red roses, mint, lavender and fever few. I tied it with a lavender sheer ribbon and made a small bow right under the flowers. I say this is a true nosegay because the history behind the nose gay bouquet go back to the time when this country was inflicted with the plague. There were literally dead bodies in the streets, all over the streets and the smell/stinch was awful. So women would pick scented herbs, plants and flowers and gather then into a small bouquet that they would carry under their noses so as NOT to smell the awful odors of the dead bodies in the streets.
So, going green is a good thing for our planet, but you need to know that going green sometimes will mean you won’t be able to use the specific flower type you had dreamed about because not all flowers are available as organic. Organic means that no pesticides have been used on them; instead they are surrounded with organic fertilizer and organic pest and weed control products. Sometimes, if organic is really important to you, you will have to go with whatever the farm can send you at the time that you need them. You can specify a color palette and hope for the best. I worked with a bride who wanted organic flowers and she also wanted to do her own bridal party flowers. She ordered the flower with the colors specified, but didn’t know what she was getting until it arrived. She asked me to use the left over flowers to decorate the reception. I found that most of the flowers were what I would call “filler” flowers. Lots of statice! According to Tara Murney at The Green Tie Affair, using locally grown is also considered “green” because you are eliminating or cutting way back on the shipping/transportation costs and carbon output to get the flowers to you. This is a very interesting subject and I’m sure we’ll be hearing more and more about it.
