Something Old, Something New

Before your wedding day, you're likely to be given something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. Maybe from your mom or sister, or maybe you'll gift them to yourself! It's a popular wedding tradition that stems from an Old English rhyme indicating items that the bride will carry with her on her wedding day simply for good luck:

"Something old, something new

Something borrowed, something blue

And a silver sixpence in her shoe."

If you're a family member looking to fulfill this long standing tradition for a special bride you know, or if you're a bride looking to complete the list yourself, we're giving you creative ideas in order to do so!

1. Something Old

Your "something old" symbolizes continuity of family and the prosperity of the past. Try one of these for your something old:

• Vintage jewelry 
• A old picture of your grandparents or parents in a locket, or pinned to the handle of your bouquet
• Your favorite pair of high heels (incentive: they're already worn in!)
• Antique hair accessories
• A swatch of fabric sewn into your dress from your favorite piece of childhood clothing

photo: www.weddingbells.ca

2. Something New

Your "something new" represents optimism for a bright future for the bride. Use one of these to symbolize the joyous journey ahead:

• New shoes - choose shoes that make you feel special! 
• New lingerie or undies
• Embroider the underside of your dress with the date of your wedding 
• Wear a new perfume scent on your wedding day
• A fun temporary tattoo - don't worry - it'll come off!
• A new shade of lipstick for the wedding day

photo: www.jewelrygalblog.com

3. Something Borrowed

Your "something borrowed" is an item that is lent to the bride by someone who is happily married. The success of that marriage is good luck for the bride's married life ahead. Keep one of these borrowed items close on your wedding day:

• A piece of jewelry from a sibling, mother, or grandmother
• A coin from someone else to slip into your shoe or tape to the bottom (the "sixpence" from the Old English poem)
• Think out of the box by 'borrowing' a family member's first dance song
• Borrow a favorite scripture from a family member and embroider it on the underside of your dress
• A pocket square from your father or grandfather to wrap around your bouquet handle

photo: www.blog.thebrideandgroom.com

4. Something Blue

When you walk down the aisle with a "something blue", it is meant to represent purity, faithfulness, and loyalty. Did you know that wedding dresses before the 19th Century were frequently blue? Try one of these options:

• Blue shoes - they make for fun pictures!
• Blue ribbon on your bouquet
• Blue "I Do" rhinestones on the bottom of your shoes
• Blue nail polish
• Blue/sapphire jewelry

photo: www.editorialite.com

Have fun with these good luck charms! It's a fun idea for you on your wedding day - and a little secret from the guests as to what you'll choose for each of the old, new, borrowed, and blue!

Florist to Our Friends

As a wedding vendor, there's a lot of pressure to make every event as perfect as can be. It's not just an annual office party or family get-together, it's a wedding: a once-in-a-lifetime-if-you’re-so-lucky, magical day full of happiness and love and months and months worth of anticipation. And wedding vendors have to be spot on, each and every time, because there are no do-overs, no “next time”. It’s exciting! And the overwhelming joy absolutely outweighs the pressure. What an amazing thing to be a part of! And we love it even more when we get to participate in a wedding of one of our friend’s or family member’s, or their children.




Bloomin’ Bouquets recently had the pleasure of doing the flowers for a wedding of a dear family friend of our talented florist Sarah's. The bride, Katie Devos Littlejohn, was a neighbor of Sarah’s family and was childhood best friends with her daughter. Since Sarah has known Katie since she was in elementary school, Sarah was thrilled to be a part of the big day! The wedding, especially the bride, was stunning.




Out of about 50 weddings that Bloomin’ Bouquets does in a year, we usually know only a handful of the brides and their families. Every bride deserves the most beautiful, perfect wedding day - and while it’s a treat when we know the couple, it can also add a bit more pressure. You want everything “just right,” and Katie’s wedding was exactly that!

Getting Creative with Your Centerpieces

When thinking about flowers for your wedding, you probably first think about your bouquet. As you should! You're the bride and you and your flowers should look magnificent! But what about your guests? If you're serving dinner, they're going to spend a fair amount of time sitting at the tables at your reception. There are tons of creative ideas for sculpting beautiful and interesting centerpieces that you're guests will enjoy and talk about time and time again after your big day!

Here are a few fun ideas inspired by renowned event planner Colin Cowie for you to keep in mind when talking with your florist about centerpieces:

• Make your arrangements sturdy! Drinks will be flowing, abundantly in many cases, so it's inevitable that guests will bump into the tables at the reception at some point during the night. And you definitely don't want those arrangements falling over.
• Think outside the box! Table arrangements don't have to be made only of flowers (or made of any flowers if you don't want them). Think peaches for summer, green and red apples for fall, brooches, twigs, etc... the possibility are endless.
• Vary the design. Change up the style of your centerpieces from table to table! How fun to have different centerpieces linked together by one theme. Variety will also make the room feel dynamic and unique.
• Keep it consistent with the wedding. Absolutely be creative, but keep your theme in mind when determining your ideal centerpieces. Frosted pinecones don't fit for the month of July, nor peaches in your Winter Wonderland-themed wedding!
• Try working with your florist or lighting designer to highlight your centerpieces. Many florists use candles in their centerpieces to bring light to the table and highlight the beautiful designs. Lighting designers can do even more with features like overhead spotlights.

Photos: Top Left - Angel Wings, Top Right: Katey Penton, Bottom: Melissa Prosser

There are so many fun and creative centerpiece ideas to think about when deciding what you want at your wedding. Your table arrangements are the foundation for your reception space design, so think of them as the perfect opportunity to execute your post-ceremony vision!

To read more about centerpiece ideas, visit Colin Cowie's website. 

Part 2: What Your Money is Getting You!

In Part 2 of our short blog series about why your flowers cost what they cost, we want you to take away one very important thing: you must set your expectations for your flowers realistically for your personal wedding budget. The flower business is very much a "you get what you pay for" industry, meaning you can absolutely have beautiful flowers on a small budget, you just cannot expect an extravagant David Tutera kind of presentation for that cost.

Why? Well, there are a lot of factors that go into determining the cost your florist charges. First and foremost, the actual cost of the flowers is a huge part. If you choose flowers in season, you'll pay far less than if the wholesaler has to search far and wide to find your out-of-season flower.  Just like produce, flowers have seasons. Keep this in mind when determining what flowers you like best for your wedding, and your money will stretch farther. See our last blog as to how flowers get from the ground to your reception and all the stops in between. 

Left Photo: Janet Howard Studio

Another equally important factor is the work your florist puts in to make your wedding day the best and most beautiful experience you could have imagined. Bloomin' Bouquets puts in a lot of work for each wedding. Here's a typical run-down of what we do for our brides:

• First, Bloomin' Bouquets meets with you, the bride. This meeting typically lasts a couple hours, and this is where we get to know you and your personality, listen to your ideas and hopes, and talk about a budget. What are your favorite flowers? What are your colors? No idea what you want? This is where we'll help you sculpt a vision. We love our brides and we love our jobs - which is why we also help you order special linen or envision lighting design as well! 
• Next, Bloomin' Bouquets will spend a few hours working out how to turn that vision into something tangible that can be produced. We then put together a proposal, individually catered to you. Our preparation includes market research for flowers looking at availability and costs, and time spent designing your bouquets and arrangements. Unlike photographers or wedding coordinators, there's no "package" we offer. Every bride is different, and every proposal warrants different factors and costs. 
• Bloomin' Bouquets creates "recipes" for your designs, figuring out stem count first, and then ordering the flowers through a wholesaler. 
• When we get delivery of the flowers, Bloomin' sorts them and maintains them until its time to put them together. We will spend hours crafting your bouquets and table arrangements into the beautiful pieces we have designed for you. 
• We spend your wedding day out on the town, delivering and setting up the flowers at your ceremony and reception, and transitioning some pieces in between that will be featured at both venues (like the altar arrangements). At the end of your big day, we break down, or "strike", everything we have set up! 

Julie Anne Photography

There is a lot of time and effort that goes into making your day look beautiful, no matter which florist you choose. Bloomin' Bouquets is thrilled to be able to work within such a fun, vivacious wedding community, and we enjoy dishing out our knowledge and resources to help in any way possible. 

The best thing you can do as a bride is keep an open mind. Flowers are a valuable commodity and they can be quite expensive. Knowing what designs and flowers can fit into your budget is important, so reach out to your florist before you get your heart set on something so that you can craft your ideal flowers around your ideal (and realistic) budget! 

The Not Wedding Inspiration Shoot ft Kait Murphy Photography

Here is a re-blog from one of our photographer friends, Kait Murphy. Check out her blog and photos from our shoot for The Not Wedding below!

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The Not Wedding Inspiration Shoot (written by Kait Murphy)

We were lucky enough to shoot at sunrise on a beautiful Spring (!) morning, and aside from my embarrassing fear of birds intensified by the large duck population at Piedmont Park that morning - it was an absolute dream to shoot Kelsey and Taylor. They are such a beautiful couple and we could all really see how truly in love they are as they kissed at sunrise, danced at the gazebo, and splashed their feet off the dock. We can't wait for their upcoming wedding!

We look forward to seeing everyone on April 4th at the 2nd Not Wedding in Athens! Lookout for our upcoming feature on Style Me Pretty to see more details from the shoot!

Thanks to our wonderful vendors who helped make this shoot so gorgeous!

- Coordination: Alabaster and Ivory Events

- Florals: Bloomin' Bouquets 

- Stationary: Dearest Olive

- Rentals: The Lost and Found Atl

- Bags: Veeshee Bags

- Custom Tshirts: Uber Prints

Love Gives Way

Weddings are an amazing time. They are a time to celebrate the freedom of love, happiness, and a hopeful future - a freedom that millions of women, men, and children are denied due to sex trafficking each and every day. Bloomin' Bouquets is hoping to make a difference by teaming up with Love Gives Way to help stop sex trafficking through the beauty of wedding celebrations.

What Are We Doing About It?

Love Gives Way is a local undertaking started by photographer Andy Brophy in 2011 with the mission of ending sex trafficking with the help of the wedding community. Wedding vendors team up with local non-profit anti-sex trafficking organizations to raise both money and awareness for the cause. In 2013, Love Gives Way expanded its reach outside of its home of Atlanta to over 10 cities.

How Does Bloomin' Bouquets Play A Part?

We are proud to announce that Bloomin' Bouquets is now an active vendor in the Love Gives Way community!

We have pledged to donate 7% of all of our proceeds to fight sex trafficking. 

You can see our commitment page here.

What Can You Do?

When you choose any Love Gives Way vendor for your wedding day, you are joining in the fight to end sex trafficking. With every LGW vendor, a portion of your money goes to a local organization to help them raise support. See a list of vendors here. 

Want To Do Even More?

Engaged couples can leverage their entire wedding celebration to raise awareness for LGW and anti-sex trafficking efforts. Leveraging your wedding day with Love Gives Way means having the opportunity to use your celebration as a platform to spread knowledge about the injustice of sex trafficking. Find out more here.

Bloomin' Bouquets is proud to be a part of the cause, and we hope you join us in support of Love Gives Way by exploring all of the vendors within the LGW community for your wedding. "Let your one day affect her everyday."

Photos courtesy of www.lovegivesway.com.

2014: The Year of Radiant Orchid

As we ring in the new year, it's no surprise that most of us start thinking about resolutions. Maybe we promise ourselves that we'll hit the gym at least 4 times a week, or perhaps we vow to keep in touch with friends and family more often than just birthdays and holidays. Either way, a new year can mean an opportunity for a fresh start for many of us; it's a chance to say, "This year, I'll do better. This year, my actions will define who I am and who I have always wanted to be."

A new year's resolution is similar to planning your wedding in that aspect. Just as you might ask, "How will I define myself in 2014?," I've frequently found myself wondering, "What will my wedding say about me? How can I showcase myself and my relationship through our celebration?" The obvious answer is through the design and formality of your wedding. It's through the venue, the cake, that amazing dress you put on and said, "This is me." And you can absolutely showcase your personality through your color theme, too.

Pantone, the world-renowned color technology company, has recently released the 2014 Color of the Year. This year, it's Radiant Orchid.  

Photo: Pantone

As Pantone Executive Director Lee Eiseman said in an interview, this pleasing shade of purple was chosen because of its complexity. With undertones of fuchsia, pink, and purple, it has a subtext that reads of intrigue - and the orchid name hints at exotic origins. For brides-to-be, Pantone's color choice couldn't be a better guide. If you're looking to stay in line with the trends of 2014, the Color of the Year name itself inspires flower choice. Purple orchids are a vibrant and stunning choice, one that lends itself to both classic and contemporary wedding celebrations.

Photo: Wedding Decor

                                                        

So just as the New Year has commonly come to be about defining yourself, you have the same opportunity with your wedding. How will you let colors help speak for you on your wedding day?

Meeting With Your Florist

When I got engaged, the first thing I bought was a planning book with a month-to-month timetable and checklist inside so that I knew what needed to be done, and when, for the wedding. For instance, eight to ten month before: find your dress. Three to four months before: order your wedding cake. Even with a checklist, it is very overwhelming to know how to go about it all. So here's a little help with how to approach your florist with your ideas.

First things first, make sure you book your florist as soon as you can. Talented florists fill up their schedules quite quickly - especially during busy wedding seasons! Once you have committed to your florist, it's nice to know what you can bring as the bride to the table so that there is some direction. After all, everyone is working on the same team to give you the wedding you've always imagined --- so don't be afraid to share those ideas!

For instance, one of our brides didn't want petals in any of her flowers. So Bloomin' Bouquets created the beautiful yellow bouquet below for her and her bridesmaids:




Maybe you don't know exactly what you want. That's where Pinterest can help. Visually, having a Pinterest boards is a great starting tool. It helps your florist understand the kind of colors and shapes that excite you.

It is also very helpful if you come into your design meeting already having picked out both your dress and your bridesmaids dresses. Having your wedding dress picked out helps your designer work on finding flowers that compliment the shape of the dress, and having the bridesmaids dresses picked out helps with the overall color palate and theme of the wedding.























Most important of all, be as flexible as you can be. Just like produce, flowers have peak seasons. Letting the season of your wedding guide you can help you use your money in the wisest way possible. For example, sunflowers are in-season for fall weddings, or calla lilies during the summer months.

So bring all of your ideas to your meeting and don't be shy about sharing your thoughts. Just make sure to keep an open mind....and always remember that everyone involved in this planning process is working toward one goal: making your wedding absolutely incredible.

Flowers Speak Louder Than Words

            When I look at flower arrangements at big events like weddings, I am all about the aesthetics. What catches my eye? What compliments the design of the room? What makes me feel passionate? Wistful, even! For me, it’s the use of colors, shapes, and inventive designs that excite me. But have you ever thought about the flower itself? Did you know that different flowers have various meanings? Even colors can change significance!

Bloomin' Bouquets

Bloomin' Bouquets

Many of our guys can probably remember being in middle school or high school, trying to decide whether to get a girl a yellow or pink carnation – or, the most DARING of all, RED. After all, they didn’t want to send the wrong message. Is it love, or just a crush? Well, most times, we received the yellow or pink, as the red would have been far too bold of a statement, and the 8^th grade dance just wasn’t a “forever” kind of commitment.

But whatever colors of carnations or roses you’ve ever received from love ones, they have meant something very specific. The Society of American Florists has even compiled a list of flowers and colors and what they represent (see it here). 

The Ancient Chinese used to select specific flowers for big events based on their symbolic meaning (ex. The Peony symbolized wealth, high societal status, and good fortune to come).

Peony

Further along in history during the Victorian Era of the 1800s, table décor and flower arrangements became more about a fashion statement. A variety of styles of floral arrangements came about, some even incorporating tropical fruits! Flowers were still used as symbols of greater meanings. For example, the Madonna Lily was often used at weddings as a sign of fertility and chastity.

Madonna Lily

But why do we put flowers on the table? Some historians suggest we can trace floral table décor all the way back to the Ancient Romans. They used flowers to perfume both rooms and foods. It’s no wonder the arrangements ended up in places where people congregated – like the center of the dining room table!

Flower arrangements for your tables may make your reception smell wonderful too, but they also create the tone for your reception and the ambiance for your celebrants.

Bloomin' Bouquets

Plus, you get to share a little part of the day’s beauty with your guests as they dine -- After all, the day isn’t about you – I mean, what are you….the BRIDE?? Oh, wait…

Bloomin' Bouquets

So maybe you choose to incorporate Hibiscus because of its vibrant, fun color --  or maybe it’s because it means “delicate beauty”. Either way, your arrangements should represent YOU! … because sometimes flowers can speak louder than words… and at the very least, make you feel something.

You may now pin the boutonniere!

You’ve picked the design for your bridal bouquet! The floral precedent for your wedding day has been set – so where do you go from there? Spotlight on your handsome hubby-to-be! What will he be donning on the Big Day? You also can’t neglect his groomsmen... and, of course, the Father of the Bride!

Bloomin' Bouquets

Boutonnieres play a big role in the wedding design, adorning and complementing the men’s attire. They often match the design of the bridal bouquet, but the possibilities are limitless. From bold and adventurous, to elegant and classic, designs are unique to each wedding theme. And the boutonnieres can be different for every member of the wedding party -- but the groom’s boutonniere should traditionally be more elaborate than that of the groomsmen and Father of the Bride. After all, the bride and groom are the stars of the show!

Bloomin' Bouquets

Boutonnieres have been around for centuries, originating in the 1600s. Similar to the bridal bouquet, boutonnieres were worn to protect from diseases, odors, and even evil spirits. The word “boutonniere” literally means “buttonhole” in French, with the flowers originally worn through the top button hole on the man’s jacket. Boutonnieres were worn for all kinds of events from formal affairs to day-to-day fashion statements. 

Bloomin' Bouquets

In the 20^th century, famous male celebrities and actors were seen in movies sporting various styles of boutonnieres, showcasing the masculinity of using flowers within a man’s uniform.

Cary Grant was one actor known for frequently bearing a boutonniere… and boy, did he have the ladies’ hearts beating!!

Cary Grant

Today, boutonnieres are typically reserved for more formal affairs like proms, homecomings, and (ta-da!)… weddings! But who knows? Vintage is “in”, and maybe the trend will circle around so that boutonnieres are a day-to-day accessory again.

Bloomin' Bouquets

And hey, if more men walked around looking like Cary Grant, I know I personally wouldn’t hate it…

Unique Wedding Centerpieces

These days many couples are looking for ways to kick their wedding décor up a notch. Table centerpieces are one of the most effective ways to accomplish this. Though customary flower arrangements are beautiful, many other centerpiece alternatives exist. Check out these unique table decorations to help set your wedding reception apart.

Branching Out
Want your reception to resemble Central Park? Consider using tall tree branches as centerpieces. You could also make these centerpieces interactive and encourage guests to write well wishes and hang them on the branches.

You’ll have to do a little research to determine which trees are blooming in your area at the time of your wedding and which branches will hold up best. Pairing the tall vases of branches with smaller flower bouquets or candles will make the look even more unique.

Feeling Fishy
One way to really wow your guests is to use a fishbowl with live fish as your centerpiece. You can choose a single beautiful beta fish, have a "couple" of goldfish, or select a beautiful fish in your favorite color(s).

Along with the fish, you could opt to include floating flowers, floating candles, fun glass beads, seashells, or even an underwater figurine. To add even more pizzazz, you could surround the base with flowers, fabric or even grass.   

Freshly Squeezed
A great way to add more drama and color to a centerpiece, without doubling your budget, is to incorporate fresh fruit into the design. It not only adds volume to the display, but it also catches guests’ attention with its vibrant colors and creativity. When selecting the fruits for your centerpiece, be sure that they will not brown when cut and that they will hold up in water. Citrus fruits are typically the most popular for these types of designs.

Unusual greenery, entertaining displays, and surprising non-floral elements make these wedding centerpieces unique. Bloomin’ Bouquets encourages couples to think outside the box for decorating their big days.

 

 

^{Photos are courtesy of Google Images.}