Too much snow!

This cold, snowy weather is not friendly to cut flowers! If you need a little color, and the promise of spring, buy just one or two special blooms. Try pale pink or deep burgundy peonies (yes, they are available now) or a beautiful rose. Cut the stems short and float in a special bowl - cut crystal, pottery, or colored glass. Surround with votives or other candles and you have a fragrant, inviting display with little expense and no fuss!

See BEAUTIFUL WEDDING FLOWERS (where else?) pages 55 and 219 for some pretty examples.

A little help from my friends!

Now that BEAUTIFUL WEDDING FLOWERS is available, I want everyone to know that it includes gorgeous photos and expert tips from several of my favorites in related areas of the wedding business: master cake maker Ron Ben-Israel (page 195), creative Julie Goldman from the Original Runner Company (page 117), and fabulous Ann Davis of the equally fabulous Total Table (page 143). My sincere thanks to all involved!

BEAUTIFUL WEDDING FLOWERS

I am very excited to announce that my newest book will be available tomorrow, January 4th, at Barnes & Nobel stores and online at Amazon and other booksellers!

BEAUTIFUL WEDDING FLOWERS

Bridget and Nick

Bridget & Nick's wedding flowers had a very natural, rustic theme. The ceremony fit right into the Battery Garden setting with vines, ivy and graceful stems of orchids. The subtle details were captured in beautiful photos by 5 West Studios.

Bridget's romantic bouquet combined cream and white flowers - roses, gardenias, lisianthus and freesia. It was a beautiful, textual bouquet, and the stems were wrapped with lace to match her gown!

The flowers girl's rustic basket was filled with open pink spray roses, lisianthus, Queen Ann's lace and astilbe for a lacy look.

Burlap textured fabric and ribbon trimmed the stairway leading from cocktails to the reception.

Scotts Flowers NYC expertise in installation and beautiful details made the wedding even more special.

Very soft, full, open pale pink and white flowers contrasted beautifully with the rustic birch covered containers. Even the table numbers were made of slices of birch. Soft sage green "Krinkle" table cloths added to the ambience with subtle color and texture.

New Look at the Stone Mill

For late November wedding at the Stone Mill with Surroundings Flowers & Events we used long tables for the first time in the space. It was a very elegant look with lots of candlelight, flowers in shades of purple and plum, and pale gray tablecloths.

Details!

Here is a sneak peak at my new book, Beautiful Wedding Flowers, coming January 2011. I'm very excited to have so many of my floral ideas and tips published in a beautiful hardcover edition. The book offers information to help brides at every step, from selecting a florist to working on a color scheme and choosing bouquet flowers. It is also a valuable reference for wedding and event planners.

This table design was inspired by the pink and gold tones in the beautiful cloth from my friends at The Total Table. The pink ranunculus in the centerpiece are so large and perfect, and just the right shade. To further complement the cloth, I gilded fresh ivy (it keeps for a very long time).

Don't forget the napkin flowers - they really add a custom touch to the tabletop.

Keep watching - there will be many more ideas!

Rustic Wedding Details

One of my favorite autumn weddings was for a bride who really did not want to carry flowers! She came to Surroundings Flowers & Events where I, along with her mother, convinced her to reconsider. The result is this very subtle combination of flowers. White cymbidum orchids were the only concession to tradition with burgundy scabious, acid green dendrobium orchids, deep purple lisianthus and veronica completing the color scheme. The bouquet stems were bound with sage green tafetta and the bouquet was wrapped with curly willow. The result was distinctive, beautiful, and perfect for the bride!

The chuppah, constructed in front of the NYBG arbor, was of cream chiffon in classic lines. Large bouquets of bouquets kale, dahlias, orchids, veronica and more curly willow tied the centers of the supports - a rustic floral theme that was carried throughout the wedding flowers.

The small, intimate dining tables were decorated with urns and wreaths of the same flowers. I love the use of green kale and variety of foliage