Whew! Now that we have that out of the way, the next question to ask is, "What color IS emerald?" Followed closely by, "And what goes WITH it?!" The helpful folks at Pantone have lots of looks at this great & versatile color, Emerald, including some great examples of it's shades and tones. One of the trends that I feel will continue—and that I'm excited about!—is the popularity of peacock/aqua/blue as a primary or secondary color for weddings this year. It's a perfect fit with Emerald! See -- look at these feathers! (Of course, anything with feathers in it is... Continue reading

Here's a great little list of suggestions for how to select your wedding colors. Personally, I think letting the color of your favorite flower guide you is the BEST option (teehee), but I may, MAY be just a tad biased there. Continue reading

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recently blogged about wedding preparedness, of all things. At first I thought, "Hmmm, odd." Then I read it — and the advice is solid. An unlikely source for wedding info? Perhaps. But they're spot-on in their assessment that "planning for a wedding isn't much different from planning for a disaster." Now, not all weddings are chaotic & fraught with disaster, but hey! Why chance it?! As the CDC said: "Build a Kit. Make a Plan. Stay Informed!" I can't argue with that! :) http://blogs.cdc.gov/publichealthmatters/2012/07/cdcs_weddingday_survival_guide/ Continue reading

Cruising through some digital files the other day I came upon a little video that the great folks atFocal Point Digital Media put together. It was a beautiful wedding in late summer 2010 at Beckenridge Vineyard in Dallas, Oregon, for a lovely couple who were a delight to work with. Take a view & I hope you enjoy! Continue reading

Don't be scared if you see a GIANT flower while you're driving around Salem, Oregon — it's just our ad on Oregon Mobile Media's mobile billboard truck. Far classier than a sign bolted to a truck bed and way cooler than a traditional billboard, this mobile media truck has three sides that display scrolling "billboards" (up to 12' wide!) AND----it's lighted at night so it glows. :) Yep, super awesome. You've got to see it in person to really appreciate just how cool it is, but til you do, here's a photo of it in the evening with the lights... Continue reading

We we very excited to be featured in this local magazine, alongside five other talented & successful business women. Other than having my photo taken, it was great! Here's a copy of the article --- (thought it was posted earlier, but the BlogGremlin deleted it!) Download Willamette Woman article Continue reading

Wow. Really, that's the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about the florists who'll be designing the flowers for William & Kate. A friend commented to me, "Wouldn't you just love to get THAT job?" Hmmm, that gave me pause. My first reactions was "YES!," followed by "wellll, maybe...", then "NOOO!" That's a LOT of pressure and scrutiny. Opportunity of a lifetime? Sure. Worth the stress? Not sure. The Middleton's family florist, Emma Sampson, has been working with Royal Florist Shane Connolly on the floral arrangements, but still... (Here's a link to some photos of the... Continue reading

WOW! What a fantastic—and exhausting— weekend! We had 600+ brides attend the Oregon Wedding Showcase in Salem, at the Oregon State Fairgrounds. And boy do I feel like I talked to all of them. :) I posted some photos of the different varieties we had in the shop to "play with" for the show, and here's a peek at some of the finished products: I'll have nice, professional shots up on the website in a couple days—look under the "recent Events" tab. Continue reading

About 80 people +/- attended the tasting put on by the The Oregon Garden Resort on Sunday, Feb. 28. The event let current & prospective brides sample some of the menu offerings for weddings. It was a lovely event, with over 80 people in attendance. Sue Hamilton of SHE Designs and I worked out the 'tablescapes," choosing to highlight the colors of the room wit h our linen & flower choices. We even created a "chapel" area in the room, with the 2 chair offerings the Resort has, so brides could get a feel for what's possible in the room.... Continue reading

This weekend is the Oregon Wedding Showcase at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem, and the studio is a kaleidoscope of color right now! Pink, coral & red! Purple, green & orange! Ivory! Blue! Yellow! Bridal shows (though they make for a verrrry long weekend, in most cases) really are great fun, because I get to design what I want, with the flowers I select. I really have no one to please but me (and let me tell you, that's tough!). I like to think of it as my floral fashion show: clothing designers show their over-the-top designs, then pare... Continue reading

Gerbera daisies continue to hold their popularity—I've had two weddings back-to-back with them, in fact. Here are some snapshots of the wedding this past Saturday, with a red/white/blue theme, as well as some from the week before where orange and wine (sangria) were the featured colors... Continue reading

Not always do I sketch out what I'm seeing in my head, but if I'm communicating with a client via email, it's often necessary so they can "see" what I see in my head. (Scary thought, I know!) This sweet little cube design was for Willamette Valley Hospice's annual banquet at Illahe Hills Country Club. They'd selected an Asian-inspired theme, hence the chrysanthemums & chopsticks. A teal blue was the accent linen on the tables. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the tables fully set, so some of the effect is lost, but thought the photo progression was interesting. Continue reading

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I was very excited to be able to design the flowers at a reception for one of America's most popular and respect ed authors—John Irving. His novels include The World According to Garp and The Cider House Rule s. Irving was on Willamette University's campus on Wednesday, February 24, 2010, to deliver the spring Atkinson Lecture in that evening. Shades of blue & green featured flowers including green & ivory roses, Bells of Ireland, white Oriental lilies and delphiniums. Oh, and peacock feathers. I love working with the clear cylinders for elevated florals such as these, as you can use... Continue reading

The week before Valentine's Day, we donated several arrangements in support of an annual event: the 2010 Governor’s State Employees Food Drive. Different divisions within the State hold various raffles, sales and drives to raise money and gather food donations. We provided Valentine's themed designs that were raffled off that Friday before Valentine's Day. Their drive ends this week, and thus far, they've collected the equivalent of 3,832 pounds of food to help feed our fellow Oregonians—and donations are still coming in. WOW! Continue reading

Here's a sweet little bouquet that goes with the citrus-themed table setting (see previous post) we did at the Salem Paper Zone's wedding show today. The show runs from 11am - 3pm, so stop by! Continue reading

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The PAPER ZONE is hosting a WEDDING IDEA SHOWCASE this Saturday, Feb. 20th, 11am - 3pm, inside their Salem store. This is a great place to find inspiration for the invitation do-it-yourselfer, or anyone looking to add a personal flair to their programs, place cards, favors, thank-you's and MORE! We'll have a little display with information & handouts, along with a wedding bouquet and a featured table (citrus, anyone?!). For more information, be sure to call the Salem Store at (503) 364-9826 and ask for Tara. Link to Paper Zone's site at: http://www.paperzone.com/index.cfm Continue reading

I'm a little slow getting these up — the 2010 Oregon Wedding Showcase was January 23-34 at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem. But better late than never, right? Anyhow, here are a few shots from the recent bridal show at the Oregon State Fairgrounds. The show ran two days, with two fashion shows per day, and over 400 brides in attendance—WOW! I didn't have much of a voice left on Sunday. We showed 10 different bouquets this year, and featured five of them in the daily fashion shows. The bouquets get a little beat up being in the shows,... Continue reading

Greetings, all! Not really sure what to expect from this, but at least at this point, what I hope to do here is give you some more casual, fun and informative info than you'll find on our website, plus the occasional little peek at some behind-the-scenes activities. Having said that, I'll try to post fairly regularly about events, tips, trends and things of interest (to me, at least!) in the wide, wonderful world of flowers. Please feel free to comment, ask questions and share with your friends—the more, the merrier! ~ Michelle PS: if you found the blog before my... Continue reading