Diann Valentine is the wedding planner to the stars, known for her unique and personalized weddings.  To put it simply, she plans some seriously hoity-toity celebrations.  Diann has planned weddings all over the country, for celebrities such as Toni Braxton, Kelis and Lela Rochon.  You may have seen some of her events on Entertainment Tonight and in O: The Oprah Magazine.

You can find some of Diann’s secrets in her new book, Weddings Valentine Style: Rich Inspirations fo Every Woman's Dream Day.  Diann’s style is to pretty much do away with tradition, ignore the bridal magazines, and tailor the wedding specifically to yourselves.  That’s a sentiment we certainly endorse.  Every couple we’ve worked with has their own story—how they met, became engaged, the little things they do to keep each other amused and happy.  There’s no reason to discard any of that on your wedding day.

If you’re looking for tips in planning a completely personalized wedding, check out Diann’s book.  Then give us a call at The Bloomery—we’d love to work with you.

More and more we’ve seen projection screens set up at receptions to show movies or slideshows of the happy couple, set to music.  In some cases, these wedding montages are professionally produced, but in most cases the couple makes them.

If you’re thinking of such a thing, there are a couple of free tools you can use to make these movies.  On Windows XP, there is the Windows Movie Maker, which has a video tutorial on YouTube at http://youtube.com/watch?v=hTLGGnSpf_k.

A new onlline tool called OneTrueMedia was recently reviewed in the Wall St. Journal (http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/solution-20060830.html).  The online video editing tool is free, and should work on both Windows and Macs.  OneTrueMedia will also convert your old photos, slides and VHS tapes to digital format for you.

Macintoshes have iDVD, which you can use to create your wedding movies.  Other parts of the iLife suite may also be useful for your needs as well.

In a recent article in Floral Management discussed the value of floral designers obtaining certifications.  We recently were proud to announce that Polly Berginc of The Bloomery was invited to join AIFD.  We in the industry know how great of an honor this is, so from time to time we’re going to try and help you understand just what an honor this is.  Here are a few quotes from the article:

Many florists agree that the highest honor for a floral designer is to earn designation from the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD).

…

“An AIFD designer can be expected to think creatively and be willing to tackle challenges that others will shy away from,” says designer Tami Lyons, AIFD, of Griffen’s Flowers Inc., in Hannibal, Mo. “They are self-motivated and can be depended on.”

Full article at http://safnow.org/publications/floral_manage/Aug06/Personnel_Space_Aug06.pdf.

There was an article in the Wall Stree Journal on 8/24/2006 about couples using iPods instead of DJs for their wedding music.  We find this to be an interesting trend.  It’s true that iTunes has a great selection of music, and iPods will import music from CDs you’ve purchased.  An iPod can even overlap songs for a cleaner transition.

Despite this level of sophistication, iPods aren’t a comparable replacement for a wedding DJ.  For starters, there is the light show many DJs bring.  Then there are the props and games DJs use to keep your guests involved in your reception, if you want them to.  DJs announce your grand entrance, the champagne toast, the first dance and the parents’ dance.  If you use an iPod, you’re planning your music in advance, and hoping you’ve created the proper mood.  A DJ can read the crowd at your reception, and adjust the music to keep your guests involved.  A DJ can take requests, which your iPod cannot (unless you have a gargantuan music budget, you probably won’t even come close to the music selection a DJ carries).

In every wedding, there are decisions which need to be made to balance budget and desires.  While it may be tempting to do away with a DJ based solely on cost, the bulk of your wedding’s budget will be spent on your reception, and a DJ is an important part of creating and keeping the mood of your reception.

Brides, mark your calendars! The Butler Days Inn Bridal Extravaganza will be October 1, 2006. This is a bye-week if you're concerned about the Steelers schedule. We'll be there, along with almost 100 of the area's best wedding vendors. We'll have bouquet samples, some of our portfolio books, and some of the newer accessories from Beverly Clark and Cathy's Concepts.

More information at www.DaysInnButler.com.

We're thrilled to announce that Polly Berginc of The Bloomery has been accepted into AIFD.  Even more exciting--her acceptance letter arrived the day of her daughter's wedding.

AIFD is a highly selective organization of the world's best florists.  To gain membership, an applicant must undergo a stressful design test, judged by the membership panel.  Just getting to the test is almost a year-long process, and only about 30-40% of those who test are accepted.  Polly was accepted after her first try, which is uncommon.  This year's test was even more grueling because the air conditioner broke in the testing room, raising the temperature to uncomfortable levels.  That's all right--the a/c breaks in flower shops sometimes, and we're still expected to perform at our best.  Once inducted into AIFD, a member must earn continuing education credits to maintain his or her membership.

Polly will be one of only five AIFD members in western Pennsylvania, and one of 26 in the state.  Polly will be inducted next year at the National Symposium in Palm Desert, CA.  Until then, we can only refer to Polly as an AIFD Registered Candidate.  After induction, Polly will be able to use the letters "AIFD" after her name.  That means we have about 10 months before we have to order her new business cards.

For more information on AIFD, check out their website at http://www.aifd.org.  We'll have a real press release soon.  But we couldn't wait to spread the word.

<update 2006-08-25>

AIFD posted its press release today at http://www.aifd.org/2006aesresults.htm.  64 of 115 who tested were accepted.  There is a full listing of all invitees, and some more background on AIFD.

Couples are becoming very creative when it comes to numbering their tables, usually replacing the number with a word, phrase or name that is special to the couple.  Guest cards are being replaced with lolipops, candied apples, or intricate miniature topiaries.  To make it easier for you to find these posts on our blog, we’ll keep an index on this post.

Seating Your Guests - Beyond Table Numbers And Place Cards

Candied Apples as Seating Cards and Favors

Seating Your Guests With Shamrocks

Another Creative Way to "Number" Your Tables

Gerbera Daisy Seating Chart

We’ve seen more and more brides skip numbering their tables, and instead do something more creative to seat their guests.  This couple gets an A++ for effort. 

Our couple took their first names and last name, and created name poem, with a different word for each letter in their names.  As part of the garden theme for their reception, the letters were made from grapevine (grapevine letters can be found at most craft stores), and was hung above the guest book table.

For example, the I in the bride’s name stood for Inspire.

 

Seating cards were small topiaries in tiny flowerpots.

Table cards were hand made to match the other reception decorations.

 This is yet one more example of a creative way to number your tables at your wedding.  Touches such as this really personalize your wedding day, and help make your wedding memorable for your guests (as give your florist something to blog about).

We’re featuring two locations in one this time (yes, this was a Thursday night wedding—Thursday is the new Friday).  The ceremony was held at Heinz Memorial Chapel, and featured a hand-tied bridal bouquet of white oriental lilies.

The bridesmaids carried arm bouquets made of white roses, white cymbidium orchids and white freesia.

The flowergirl carried a tiny bouquet of white cymbidium orchids.

The reception was held in the majestic Mozart Room at Heinz Hall, where we met Tony Lee from Truffles & Flourishes Catering.

Centerpieces were simple vases of two dozen Black Magic roses, surrounded by the petals of an additional 6 roses. (note: when we compress these images, the dark red gets lightened a bit--we apologize, but if we didn't compress the images, they'd take forever to load)

The sweetheart table was a romantic setting covered with red rose petals and votive candles, set in the middle of the dining area.

 

 

Florists: Your Fridays might be getting a little busier. Friday night weddings – once only chosen as a way to get great deals on food, a cake and flowers – are becoming a first choice for many brides- and grooms-to-be, according to The New York Times.

“It sets the tone that your wedding is about the party,” Carley Roney, editor in chief of The Knot, a magazine and wedding resource Web site, told The Times. “You could have even more cost savings on a Sunday afternoon, but that doesn’t say ‘We’re cool.’”

Because Saturday night has traditionally been the most popular (and expensive) time to hold a wedding, according to The Times, venues often offer great deals – say, $2,000 to $3,000 off – if brides book the spot on a day it’s less likely to fill. But those special rates are starting to diminish as more people opt for the Friday-night cocktail event.

Source: SAF Dateline, July 14, 2006

(we’d link to the original, but you need a password to access the site)

We just wanted to say take the time and say thank you for doing such a beautiful job on the flowers for our wedding.  They were so beautiful!  My bouquet was exactly what I wanted.  Thank you also to your husband who was nice enough to fix my dress right before I walked down the aisle.  We are so glad we chose you to do our wedding and will highly recommend you to family and friends.

Mr. and Mrs. J.D.

This is a question we get asked often.  That question is really too general to answer; a number of factors play into the pricing of a bridal bouquet.  These factors include (in no particular order):

• What flowers will be in your bouquet?  On average, daisies are cheaper than roses, which are cheaper than calla lilies, but this is not the sole factor.
• How many flowers?  A hand tied bouquet of two dozen roses is cheaper than a hand tied bouquet made from three dozen roses.
• What time of year are you getting married?  Valentine's Day and Mother's Day are peak floral holidays, and we're asked every year to do weddings at these times (the answer is always no--we're busy with the holiday).  Also, New Year's sees increased prices because of the Rose Parade.  Not much goes on in October, so flowers are usually a little cheaper then.  A red rose bouquet at Valentine's Day is going to be 2-4 times more expensive than the identical bouquet in August (or heck, even April for that matter).
• What style of bouquet?  Cascades and pomander balls take a considerable amount of time to make, and so the labor charge is usually higher.  Hand tied and arm bouquets are a little easier to make, and labor is a little less.
• Are your flowers in season?  Sure, we can sometimes get lilacs in August.  You probably don't want to pay for them, though.  Lily of the Valley is another very seasonal flower.  Roses, most lilies, pomps, gerberas and carnations have excellent availability throughout the year.
• How fragile are your flowers?  Flowers such as orchids, gardenias and stephanotis are very sensitive to environmental conditions, lilies are very fragile, but carnations are quite sturdy.  The sensitive or fragile ones require extra precautions when designing and delivering your bouquets, which also figures into the price.
• How good is the designer/shop?  Yes, we're a little more expensive than the "basement Bettys", but we're worth it.  We have a staff of trained and experienced designers, plus the coolers and vehicles to make sure your flowers arrive in perfect condition.  We stake our reputation on it almost every weekend, over 100 times a year for the past 5 years.  There are people in our area claiming to be cheaper than the retail florists, but your bouquet may share space with the milk in their fridge.

We have created bridal bouquets in the $40 range, and bouquets in the $250-$300 range.  That's why you'll see us give an approximate price or a price range in the photos we post on our blog or in our photo gallery.

If you're looking for the cheapest bouquet you can get, look into an arm bouquet or clutch of daisy pomps and/or carnations.  They are plentiful, inexpensive, and sturdy.  As for silk flowers--good silk flowers are sometimes as much or more than their real counterparts; cheap silks look cheap.