DIY Wedding Floral Design classes

Are you a bride who has a limited income for your flowers? Are you thinking about trying to do it yourself? Then you will want to consider taking a DIY Wedding Flowers class. I will be personally teaching you how to design everything from your bouquets, boutonnieres & corsages, and will also give you several inexpensive centrepiece ideas with tons of info on how to obtain a gorgeous wedding for less. This class will be fun and informative! Hurry and call me today for more information on cost, location, and what you will need to bring with you. Classes will start soon and class size is limited. Now you CAN do-it-yourself and impress all your guests with the outcome! Call 480-234-3935 or jen@everafterflorals for more info.

Cabbage Roses vs. Peonies

Attention brides who LOVE peonies!!

Peonies are not available year round. There are two seasons for Peonies, domestic or Peruvian. The Domestic Peonies are available from the end of May (usually the last week or two of May) through mid June. The Peruvian Peonies are available from the end of November through the second week of January. So only 4 months out of the year, you will be able to get fresh Peonies. Now there is always alternate growers off of the mass market who can sometimes get some big enough for cutting, but this is very rare and definitely not guaranteed. What I have been suggesting to my brides who have to have PEONIES, is a wonderful alternative that look very similar and are available pretty much year round. Are you ready for this super floral secret?...... Cabbage Roses! Yes, there is a variety of rose that has an extremely large petal count and open very similar to Peonies or a cabbage (hence the name Cabbage Rose). Can you tell which photo has Peonies and which are the Cabbage Roses? I'll give you a hint the one on the left is NOT peonies. So brides to be, please know that there is alternative flowers out there for you and a professional floral designer can help you obtain the look or style that you are trying for, without using the obvious.

Bella Boutique Cookies

Do you still need a favor, a little something more to give the bridesmaids as a thank you, or are you having a shower and want a yummy dessert that will be talked about more than a cake from Costco or a tower of cupcakes? Then you must check out Bella Boutique Cookies. They are a wonderful company offering unique designed cookies for any occasion. I think these are perfect for wedding favors or if you are having a candy buffet for your guests, why not throw in a few wedding cookies as well. There is no minimum order and their prices are perfect. I have to say that you can never go wrong with food, especially couture cookies. Check out their website at http://www.bellaboutiquecookies.com/

Monograms, crystals, and rhinestones. OH MY!

Many of my brides are asking for crystals, rhinestones, and monograms to be included in their bridal bouquets, their boutonnieres & corsages, and even on their cake.


There are many fun ways to incorporate some bling to the bouquet flowers themselves, or even on the ribbon wrapped
handles. We can even dangle monogrammed letters from the
bouquet to personalize each of the Bridesmaids' names.

The cost to add a bit of sparkle is very minimal. Ask for details during one of our free consultations.

Bridal Show Special

The Bridal Show this weekend was a huge success! I was so excited to have over 800 brides come into my booth. Everyone was raving about my bouquets. I allowed anyone to take photos of my work and handle all of the flowers and bouquets as well. (What a wonderful compliment for anyone to want to take a photo or see the bouquets closer.) All of you girls were all very positive with your comments about the ribbon wrapped stems, the freshness of the flowers, and the colors and styles of all of my bouquets. I want to thank each and every person who came to my booth and was interested in my work.

If you are getting married and would like help with your flowers, I would love to design for your BIG day! Because I do not like to pressure people into contracts, I am offering my show special through February 1st. This way you can still take advantage of the savings of attending the show, but did not have to feel pressured to sign with me right then and there. The show special is a huge savings. Not to mention I am very reasonably priced to begin with. Please contact me today to get the "January Show Special". You can have the most beautiful flowers ever...at an affordable price.

SHOW SPECIAL:

*Free Grooms' Boutonniere

*Free Throw Bouquet

*10% off total flower order

*$50 off delivery & set up fee

Hurry! This offer ends 2/01/09

Preventing a disaster wedding

PREVENT A DISASTER WEDDING 101: Do it yourself FLOWERS... This is a very risky idea that could end up costing you more money than having a professional floral designer help you with it. I had a bride who I quoted $1,000. This would cover her bridal bouquet, 3 bridesmaids, a flower girl, about a dozen boutonnieres, some corsages, 10 small centerpieces, cake flowers, and delivery & set up. Sounds like a lot of money, but it was actually pretty decent for all the things she wanted and the flower choices that she wanted. However, she decided that she could save a couple of hundred dollars if she went to Costco and bought and designed her own flowers with the help of some "creative" friends.

The bride decided that she would start working on the store bought flowers a few days before the wedding to give her enough time. So she went to Costco bought what she thought she needed, had her friends over to help her, and then started on it. This was harder than she thought. But they were all having fun and when all the flowers were used up, she had to make another run to Costco to get some MORE flowers, and then a third run because she didn't realize how many flowers she actually needed to make the bouquets look decent. Now she was getting worried because she was actually spending a bit more money than she thought. However, she was still under the $800 mark so she figured she still did good.

The bride had finished most everything a day ago, put the flowers in her refrigerator and felt that they would certainly do great in there. WRONG! Refrigerators have food products in them which give off ethylene gas and kill fresh flowers. This is exactly what happened to this DIY bride. Most of her flowers had gotten too cold, froze, and then turned brown due to the ethylene gas and some of the other flowers got wilty due to the culture shock between Costco, the car ride home, the mishandling of the flowers by the unprofessional "creative" friends who helped design the flowers, and then going into the fridge. So the night before the wedding, the bride is now at a grocery store ordering her flowers. She ended up with whatever the grocery store had available, which was not exactly what she had wanted, and spent about $500 more here. Her total for flowers between Costco & the grocery store ended up being $1125.

It is not worth saving a few hundred dollars when you are working with perishable items. Leave this work to a professional florist who not only knows how to handle and design the flowers, but can guarantee them as well.

Orchids at Troon

This sexy wedding took place at the Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, AZ. I designed with all cymbidium and dendrobium orchids. I loved what this bride envisioned and was very excited to not only work with her, but to be able to work with nothing but orchids was very fun. The bride's original bouquet was to have been all phaelenopsis orchids, but unfortunately her wedding date was a bit to early in the year for them this time around. Therefore, we substituted with all cymbidiums and I think it was very classy and complimentary to all her other floral creations. Everything flowed so perfectly. Melissa was a beautiful bride and her venue was very chic. The flowers not only made this wedding gorgeous, it gave it the style that the bride was looking for. This was one of my favorite events thus far.... The photos are also very beautiful. Photos taken by Jane Zarzynski. Her photos are sure to make any bride happy. Check out her site at http://www.janjordanphoto.com/

Pre-Show special

HUGE SAVINGS!

I will be a vendor at the AZ Bridal Fashion Debut at the Phoenix Convention Center on Saturday & Sunday, January 10th & 11th, 2009. At the show I will have some package deals as well as a pre-book special for all my brides. I will offer this special to anyone who attends the show. However, I will be offering a pre "Show Special" early to all who read this.

Book your wedding with me by December 13th and you will receive the following:

Free throw bouquet

Free groom boutonniere

$50 off delivery & set up fee

15% discount off grand total

Hurry and call me today before your wedding date is no longer available. 480-234-3935

This PREBOOK special expires Dec. 13th, 2008

Leftovers?

Turkey Cobb Sandwich
Put your Thanksgiving leftovers to good use with this delicious recipe for a turkey Cobb sandwich from the November 2008 issue of Martha Stewart Living.

Ingredients:
Makes 1.
3 slices applewood-smoked bacon
1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for roll or bun
1 brioche roll or hamburger bun, split
1/4 ripe avocado
1 teaspoon crumbled blue cheese, such as Roquefort
2 thin slices tomato
1 medium egg
4 thin slices cooked turkey

Directions:
Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain, and wipe skillet clean.
Butter cut sides of roll or bun. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Place roll or bun, buttered side down, in skillet, and cook until golden brown, 1 to 3 minutes.
Mash avocado and blue cheese in a small bowl. Spread mixture on bottom half of roll or bun. Top with tomato and bacon.
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add egg, and cook, until white is set, about 1 1/2 minutes. Gently flip egg, and cook until yolk is runny in center but slightly set around edge, about 30 seconds. Remove from pan. Add turkey to pan, and heat through.
Place turkey and egg on top of tomato. Top with remaining half of roll or bun, and serve immediately. Yum!