Tossing the bouquet is one of the images that immediately comes to mind when you think about weddings.  A long standing tradition, the bouquet toss evolved from the very old custom of taking a piece of the bride’s dress in order to have a tangible piece of her happiness centuries ago.  It is said that in order to prevent her wedding gown from being picked to pieces by the guests, the bride would toss out her bouquet as she made her way out of the wedding.  Sometime later, this charming custom was embellished with the belief that whoever caught the bouquet would be the next bride.

These days, with the detail and personality that is put into the creation of a bridal bouquet, many brides are opting for something called a Toss Bouquet so that they can keep and preserve their own bouquet.

A toss bouquet is a smaller sometimes even silk flower version of the bride’s original bouquet.  It can be included as part of the original bouquet that breaks away or can be a completely separate bouquet.  The toss bouquet can even be made it to break off into even smaller bouquets as it is tossed so that all involved in the catch receive a piece of it.

As most of my readers know, my blog posts are usually full of tips on how to create the most beautiful arrangements for your weddings, what kinds of flowers to buy, even how to avoid floral disasters, but today, I wanted to share something else with you.

I have had the most fantastic opportunity.  I am currently in New York creating the most incredible DVDs with Preston Bailey.    I cannot tell you how exciting this is.  This opportunity to work with Preston, who has created designs for Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Hudson, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones is just the most magical experience I have had.  There is just so much creativity in the air.

And I cannot even describe to you how it feels to be working with him, creating these DVDs for the online course that has been a dream of his for quite some time.  He is wonderful to work with, as is his partner, Cho Phillips of the Wedding Planning Institute.  I just can’t tell you all how  thrilled I am to be a part of all of this.

Another flower readily available during the winter months is the Gerbera Daisy. This very popular bloom is widely used in cut flower arrangements and is the fifth most used cut flower in the world. This South American native bloom is also know as the Transvaal Daisy, Barberton Daisy, Veldt Daisy or African Daisy.

Gerbera daisy color varations are almost endless with the exception of blue and violet blue hues. The petal colors include white, cream, yellow, orange, pink, lilac, purple, red, brown, salmon, bicolor and multicolor. And recently, even green Gerbera daisies are now available. The center disc can be yellow, green, brown, black or dark red.

Gerbera daisies come in three different sizes, miniature which measure 2-3 inches in diameter, standard which are 3-5 inches in diameter and giant which are 5-6 inches in diameter. The blooms themselves have five different variations, singles, doubles, crested doubles, full crested doubles and quill crested doubles or spider. With so many options in color and style, this lovely flower perfect for use in almost any arrangement or centerpiece.

And now it’s time to add the crowning glory to your Christmas tree, the ornaments.

When you are ready to start adding the decorations, turn the lights out. This eliminates distraction and allows for a more balanced distribution of the decorations. Place the topper on first, next add any fabric, ribbon, vines, permanent foliages, bead or tinsel garlands. The next step is to add the ornaments. Follow a plan. Visualize the tree as a group of triangles, and decorate each triangular area evenly. Make sure ornament placement and color distribution is balanced. Place large or important ornaments on the tree first, in prominent focal areas. Then place supporting ornaments that may be smaller and less important. Finally, finish with filler materials such as small sprays or permanent, dried or preserved flowers.

Check your work! Plug the lights back on and look at the tree from a distance.  Make any adjustments and fill in any holes. Tape down electric cords, arrange  the tree skirting, scatter packages under the tree.

Plan to use 100 lights per foot of tree height for trees 7 feet tall and as many as 150 lights per foot if the trees are more than 7 feet tall. Consider using shorter strands because they are easier to use than 100 light strands because of cord lengths. It is also easier to replace strands if you have to.

Follow package instructions as to how many light strands to attach together. Generally, you cannot connect more than six strands together. Be very careful NOT to attach too many or you create a fire hazard. Use a multiple strip outlet or special tree light cord attached to the trunk of the tree to safely plug in all strands.

Start at the top of the tree and work your way down. If you have them plugged in while you are attaching them, it is easier to ensure even placement. Place lights on one branch at a time starting at the inside by the trunk and working your way out to the tips. Wrap the lights around the main spine of the branch. As one branch is finished, return to the trunk and move to the next branch, repeating the process. This can take 15-20 minutes per 50 light strand.

It’s that time of year again, decorating for the Holidays. And I would like to share with you tips and tricks for decorating your Christmas Tree.  Whether you are using a fresh tree or an artificial tree, the tips below will apply.   If there are any distinctions, I will make them within the tip itself.  It is important to start with a THEME. Themes can be ethnic (Hawaiian),  colors (like blue and silver or red and green or purple and gold), eclectic (a mixture of color coordinated items where all elements go together), playful, object oriented like stars or fairies, patriotic….you get the idea, right?  All elements including the ribbon, ornaments and colors should help develop the  overall theme.

If you are using an artificial tree, get it in shape before you start putting it together. I call it fluffy the tree. But the idea is to pull, form and shape the branches until they look like a REAL tree branch. Start with the lower branches and work your way up. Then shape the tips so they look as natural as  possible. Obviously, when you are using a real tree, what you see is what you get.

Stabilize the tree. Whether it is real or artificial, you don’t want the tree leaning or falling. In some of the hotels I have decorated, they actually had their maintenance department create plywood bases that the trees were attached to and the bases had wheels so the trees could be moved around the ballrooms as needed. You probably don’t need to do that in your home, but in case you do, it’s a great idea.

If your tree is over 12 feet tall, you really should use guide wires high in the tree, attached high on the trunk of the tree and extending to a wall or ceiling.  If your tree trunk is a little bare, use an artificial garland and wrap it  around the trunk to cover up the bareness and make the tree look fuller.

This is the first time that I can remember seeing bromeliad plants growing wildly in dirt.  I am familiar with bromeliad plants….I have used them for corporate decor (typically lobby plants), had them for house plants in my own home and given them as gifts both from myself and from others via my flower shop in the Bay Area.  I have always seen them growing in pots, indoors until this visit to Maui.

Here are some pictures of bromeliad plants growing in the landscape of Maui, including on a tree!