Notable Kitchen Tour

Enjoyed decorating a lovely home for the tour yesterday! Nice to work together with a wonderful group of people to support the Philadelphia Orchestra. It was a great day of food, decor and flowers, of course!

Sponsor Party at 333 Belrose Bar & Grill

 We enjoyed the Sponsor Party at 333 Belrose Bar & Grill last evening. It was for the various people working on the upcoming Notable Kitchen Tour & Chef Showcase, which benefits The Philadelphia Orchestra. Come on the tour on November 7th and see the home we will be decorating!

For information and to purchase tickets go to notablekitchens.com

Welcome to Autumn!

I love the rich fall tones of flowers available now and incorporating interesting seasonal elements - like Persimmons, Apples, Seckle Pears, leaves, branches and gourds - to decorations this time of year!

Two more great reviews today!

Check them out!


http://www.weddingwire.com/vendor/VendorViewStoreFront?utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Vendor%20System%20Email&mode=edit&tab=reviews&subtab=review&rid=db1567baa4a6573c

New Sweet Pea Sign!

We finally got our new signs up at the Sweet Pea building! Welcome Little Theater!

Welcome to Summer!

Summer is here and it's fun to decorate with bright, warm colors - just like the sun!

Here's what the bride had to say about her flowers pictured above.

"Shelby was the first person I met with about flowers for my June wedding. I met with her only a few weeks before the actual event. She was so easy to communicate with throughout those few weeks. I was able to text her when I had a question and ship things directly to her house for my centerpieces. All of the ways she made herself available, made my life so much easier.

The flowers were better than I even pictured. Shelby just totally got my vision and what I wanted. I was able to trust her 100 percent to make it all come together. If you want a personal touch and want to pass off the responsibility of making your reception look amazing, hire Shelby. She knows what she is doing, and that's exactly what you want in a florist."

DESTINATION UNKNOWN

Destination weddings have become more popular in recent times. Now the party abroad has trickled down from the usual jet-setting crowd chronicled in magazines to the average person. The idea of flying off to a distant, exotic locale to celebrate your wedding with family and friends sounds like a fantasy come true. But is it just that – a fantasy?

Would a destination wedding work for you? Firstly, think about the people you would be inviting – do they have the funds to pick up their bags and go? Do they have kids to bring along? Are they too elderly to travel? With your particular group, is traveling to a tropical island the reason that Honeymoons exist?

It is a similar situation to the “Holiday” wedding. This is when you choose to have your nuptials on a holiday, like New Year's Eve, which can be tricky. People oftentimes have longtime traditions associated with certain holidays, in which they either can't or simply aren't inclined to break. It's the same with vacations. If someone has their plans arranged for one trip and now you are suggesting another, it can be a conflict.

Sometimes a destination wedding is motivated to accommodate family and friends. We decorated the stateside wedding for a couple where the bride was abroad. In this case, they decided to have two celebrations, one in each of the two homelands. I think this is a gracious way to handle guests who might not be able to attend your celebration otherwise. But technically it's not a “destination” wedding, just one that happens to be in a distant location depending on which of the two events you attend. Unless, of course, you are lucky enough to attend both!

But if you have your heart set on some far flung locale and don't mind perhaps a smaller group at your wedding, then ring up that travel agent! There are businesses or wedding planners that can assist with your long distance planning too. Of course, be sure to research their credentials before you leave all the planning of your special day to them. Also, be prepared to add this extra expense into your budget.

Utilizing a reputable professional is good, but still have your own check list as well. You wouldn't want your special day spoiled because of forgetting any necessary things - like a current passport! Perhaps set up a website or a blog for you and your guests to keep everyone updated with details and suggestions, like various hotel room blocks or flights available. Beyond travel information and your wedding itself, consider arranging other group activities or excursions for your travel mates. Maybe outings that reflect the culture of your location. Your guests have traveled a long way to celebrate with you, spending more time with them can only enhance all the great memories. Bon Voyage!

The Knot Industry Party at Top of the Tower

Went to The Knot's industry party at one of the best venues for views of the city - The Top of the Tower on the 50th Floor at 1717 Arch Street. Each of the two rooms, as well as the joining hallway, allow you to see stunning sweeps of Philadelphia. That along with the decor of neutral tones with sleek metal finishes make for a stylish party site.

Busy Week!

It was a busy week of decorating! First we had The Philadelphia Orchestra Volunteer Luncheon at the Hyatt at the Bellevue. Then we had the EATS benefit at TPS. 

An Average Day for a Florist

To decorate beautiful events you have to be ready for anything!

Distrito's Mock Mitzvah

Went to Distrito's Mock Mitzvah earlier. As you can imagine the food was great! Especially enjoyed the  Smores buffet. Also, Hip Philly was there, which always makes a party fun!

SHABBY CHIC

Lately many brides have told me that they want to decorate their weddings in the “Shabby Chic” style. This is a pretty, romantic style that evokes a “lived in” feel elevated with beautiful and sometimes slightly weathered vessels and props. A hallmark of this style is to utilize not just one, but sometimes an eclectic array of vessels for your centerpieces such as garden urns or groupings of mason jars, tea tins, mercury glass vases, etc. Oftentimes, there are assorted props incorporated as well. For example, an arrangement in a garden urn could be placed on a stack of old books or perhaps would have Ivy cascading down and then wrapped around an antique statue. The color palette can be varied, but is usually a pleasant combination of White, Ivory, Dusty Rose, Mauve and Blush. In the arrangements, “Silvery” greens, like Artemisia and Seeded Eucalyptus or even Succulents are nice additions and enhance the sense of agedness.

One common misconception with this look is that it can be done inexpensively. To begin, collecting various vessels and props – your florist might have some – is time consuming and an obvious expense. Perhaps you have some pieces, maybe heirlooms, that you would like to use. I would strongly warn against it, as delicate, sentimental things can get broken or lost at an event. Consider that centerpiece vignettes with multiple arrangements and props means perhaps more flowers utilized and definitely more time spent decorating. This means higher costs. Even when there are fewer flowers in smaller vessels, there are still often multiples on each table or display. Also the flowers that define this look are more high-end flowers, and therefor more costly – Roses, Garden Roses, Peonies, Hydrangea, Ranunculus.

But aside from the expenses and efforts, “Shabby Chic” is a lovely look for a wedding. The charming romanticism and playful whimsy make for attractive and visually interesting decoration. And, of course, the usual soft color palette lends itself well for weddings. It is a creative way to acknowledge things past while looking to your bright, new future together. So I say, in with the old!

Our Bouquet is in Philadelphia Wedding!

Check out the latest issue of Philadelphia Wedding to see our pretty Lace Bouquet!

Happy New Year!

Even though I've been decorating events for many years, every now and then I'm still surprised by something new. Usually the main person I'm consulting with in deciding the decoration for a wedding is the bride. Sometimes her mother, a bridesmaid or fiancé will give some input, but mostly the bride is the driving force.

Although one of the last weddings we decorated in 2012 was organized by only the groom! The bride was in South America – where they will have a second wedding at a later time. For the stateside celebration it was left all to the groom, with a few guiding emails from the bride.

In making the affair to be to her liking he made great efforts. So, I was happy to help him with suggestions for details he hadn't considered. In the end everything worked out beautifully. I hope that this year holds even more such interesting and pleasant surprises! 

 The following is his letter to me.
 

"I want to express my sincerest gratitude and appreciation for the beautiful floral arrangements at my wedding.  They received numerous compliments from (very discerning) members of both families, and I thought the altar table was perfect.  Thank you for helping to make your first 'groom-only' client successful in his wedding planning endeavors.  (The Bride) adored the bouquet."