Instead of the ring finger, engagement rings are now placed on the thumb…

Go Steelers!  “Big Game” XL Champs!

A little relationship humor from Scott Adams’ The Dilbert Blog:

So far I’ve taught you how to dance, how to be funny, and how to seem less boring to other people.  Today I will teach you the most important rule about getting along with your mate.

And what is that rule?

WCM stands for Who Cares Most.  If you want your relationship to have a chance, defer all decisions and interpretations of fact to the person who cares the most.

Find the full post at http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2006/02/the_wcm_method_.html.  It’s a short read and a good laugh, but a little un-PC.

The 2006 issue of The Knot Weddings: Pittsburgh has hit the stands, and if you pick up a copy, check out the Trend Alert on page 21.  That’s a real bouquet we made for a bridal show.  The bouqurt features lavender double-tulips, green viburnum and Vendella roses.  You can see the original photo at http://www.bloomeryweddings.com/portfolio_detail.asp?product_id=BW321.

Speaking of real bouquets in The Knot, our ad on page 82 is a real bouquet, and that’s the real bride holding it.  There were three dozen cream roses in that bouquet, and the bouquet was stunning.  It was nearly 100 degrees on the day of this wedding, in the non-air conditioned Harbison Chapel at Grove City College.  The poor bride was practically melting, and was trying to keep cool for a few minutes between wedding photos.  We took a quick photo of the bouquet for the portfolio in our store, and our graphic designer turned that moment into our ad.

Why all the emphasis on real in this post (and in previous ones)?  As you plan your wedding, you’ll get a lot of information from every direction, and it may be hard to filter out the useful from the otherwise.  Our experience and creativity can help you make the best floral choices for your wedding day, pleasing both your eye for beauty and your budget.

We know that planning a wedding can require a tremendous amount of organization, especially if your wedding party is spread out across the country.  Email helps a lot, but can’t solve all your problems.

There is one solution, available for free or low cost (depending on your needs and usage) that can help eliminate many of the problems you have with sharing information such as dress photos, to-do lists, reminders, etc.  BackPack from 37 Signals is a highly regarded collaboration tool, noted for its simplicity and flexibility.  You can post and share to-do lists, photos, and have reminders sent via e-mail or to your cell phone.  You can keep your planning private, share it with your party, or make it public for every one to see.  They even feature wedding planning as one of their examples:

Keep your wedding planning simple and organized by listing all your tasks and tracking your accomplishments. As the big day draws near, you'll have a to-do list to be your guide, photos to reference when making decisions, and reminders that can be sent to you via email. Let your whole wedding party be a part of the planning by sharing your tasks and notes. No more need to stress over all the little details. With Backpack at your side, you can get back to looking forward to the happiest day of your life.

For their example, visit http://backpackit.com/examples/archives/personal/plan_and_organize_a_wedding_or_special_event.php.  Real-life wedding plans made public include http://lisabliss.backpackit.com/pub/211154; others show up as you refresh their examples page.

We remember when chocolate fountains first hit the wedding scene a few years ago—what a stir they created!  Luscious chocolate cascading down several pools, filling the halls with their fragrance.  People couldn’t get enough of them—us included!  It wasn’t very long before it seemed like everyone and their brother had fountains to rent, in several sizes, and offering several chocolates (you can dye the white to match your wedding), caramel, even nacho cheese (not just for weddings anymore—think Super Bowl party).  Tiny fountains for your home were all over the place this past Christmas season.

From talking with our fountain friends, chocolate fountains are still a hot item at weddings.  We did see a lot of fountains this past year, and probably will again this year.  The first year or two, with only a few fountains and high demand, it was all our friends could do to keep up, and they were telling a lot of brides they were booked.  The rental business has calmed down a little, in part because so many people offer the rental service (including many reception sites).  Most reception sites aren’t shy about mentioning they have a fountain, but ask if you’re interested in one and don’t see any information.  They can probably point you to people you can trust if their is booked, of it they don’t have one.

Some rental halls do not allow chocolate fountains at all.  Early on, some rental outfits would dump the leftover chocolate down the hall’s sinks.  The chocolate cooled and hardened on its way to the sewer, clogging the lines and causing thousands of dollars in plumbing bills.  Most people have that figured out now, and dispose of the leftover chocolate in buckets or bags and take it with them.  You definatelty need to ask the hall if you can have a fountain at all.

If you’re including a chocolate fountain in your plans, remember to have your hall designate a table for it—its location will factor in to your overall seating arrangement.  Much like your wedding cake, the table should be out of a major traffic area (e.g., keep it away from the dance floor), but should also be very accessible since it will attract a crowd.

Some tips, if you’re planning on renting a fountain:

• Ask who provides the food to be dipped—sometimes you’re responsible
• Ask what your options are, and if you can substitute
• Ask who provides the skewers, plates and napkins (you’ll need both—plates for the dipped foods, and napkins for the dribbles)
• Ask about what types of chocolate are available (milk, dark, white) and what dips the best in each
• Ask who is responsible for setup and cleanup—some lower cost packages are “self service”.  Trust us—we’ve seen this process many times, and pay the extra to have someone else do it for you.  A big white dress and five pounds of melted chocolate are not a good combination.

A lot of the chocolate in these fountains is thinned with vegetable oil (especially peanut oil), but higher grades of chocolate are usually thinned with cocoa butter.  If you have guests with peanut sensitivities, be aware of this (unfortunately, you may not know until a guest has a reaction).  Ask around as to what is added to the chocolate—you may need to base your decision on whom to rent from by the chocolate additives.

If you’re looking for chocolate fountains in your area, one resource you can try is Chocolate Fountain Network (http://www.chocolatefountainnetwork.com/), which is a national listing of chocolate fountain vendors.  If you’re in the North Pittsburgh/Cranberry/Butler area, check out our friends at Chocolate Fountain Enterprises (http://www.chocolatefountainenterprises.com/).  CFE usually uses a higher grade of chocolate that is thinned with cocoa butter, not peanut oil.  Double bonus—this service is run by Arnella’s Bridal Salon (http://www.arnellas.com/), so you can shop for dresses at the same time.

Visit us and 60 other wedding vendors at the Butler Days Inn’s 2006 Winter Bridal Extravaganza.  Fashion show, door prizes, samples of dinners, cookies and cakes, and of course our gorgeous bouquets!  Pre-register to be entered for the honeymoon grand prize, to be announced after the fashion show.  We’ll supply the bouquets for Arnella’s portion of the fashion show, and they’ll all be at our booth before the fashion show.  We’ll also have samples of the latest wedding accessories from Beverly Clark and Cathy’s Concepts, invitations, Warner Press programs, etc.

Registration is free if you pre-register, or $5.00 if you register at the door, and the first 50 to show up are entered for a special drawing of door prizes.

When you vist us, you never know if you’ll be holding the next featured bouquet in The Knot.  They contacted us last summer for permission to use a bouquet we created as a sample for a previous bridal show.  We sent them the original images of the bouquet, and you’ll see it in the 2006 issues of The Knot as part of an upcoming trends article.

More information at http://www.daysinnbutler.com/Default.aspx?tabid=66.  And, Butler Days Inn homepage if you need that.

For the third year in a row, The Bloomery is a Beverly Clark Elite Vendor, a distinction we’ll carry throughout 2006.  A vendor achieves “Elite” status by reaching a certain purchasing level, and we reach this level with great selections, great service, and great prices.  Thanks to all of the brides who helped us reach this level again, and we look forward to working with all the new brides in 2006!

Dear Kathy,

They were absolutely perfect!  More beautiful than we ever imagined!  Thank you for putting the time into doing all the pearls and rhinestones in the stephanotis.  They looked great in all our flowers, and on the cake, too!…Thanks again!

M. & E. A.

Bloomery note: We always use some sort of pearl or rhinestone-headed pin to attach the stephanotis blooms to special stems (called Stemson Stems, after the manufacturer).  Stephanotis blooms grow on a vine, and have stems too short to work with in bouquets, so we attach the blooms to a special device which has a long wire stem and a top made of cotton (so the bloom has water on your wedding day).  The pins help hold the blooms onto the stem.  If you’re one of our brides, and using stephanotis in your florals, you can choose from several different colors of rhinestones to accentuate your bouquet.  All this extra work is one reason why stephanotis is one of the more expensive wedding flowers, despite its tiny size.