This distinctive hand-tied bridal bouquet (or bridesmaid bouquet) features rich shades of lavender and purple.  This bouquet features 10 Florigene Moonvista carnations, 8 Florigene Moonshadow spray mini-carnations, 8 Florigene Moondust spray mini-carnations, 5 blue curiosa roses and Itallian ruscus.  The stems are completely wrapped with lavender ribbon, and an amethyst beaded garland is then wrapped around the stems.  Eight fuschia pins tie off the ribbon and garland.  The approximate price is $80-$100.  This is one of the sample bouquets we made for the Butler Days Inn Winter 2007 Bridal Extravaganza.

For years, the wedding books from the John Henry company have been favorites for brides seeking ideas.  This year, John Henry has a brand new Wedding Flower Style book, filled with some of the trendiest ideas and designs.  John Henry's prom guide made a big splash at last year's prom season (you can see the designs on our site at http://www.bloomery.com/promgallery.htm), and their new wedding book continues the trend.

We're the first shop in our area to have this book, and we'll bring it to the Butler Days Inn 2007 Winter Bridal Extravaganza.  If you want to look at chic bridal bouquets and upcoming wedding trends, be sure to attend the show and flip through our idea books, as well as our portfolio.

About two months ago, the New York Times published an article with 15 questions couple should ask before getting married.  Included are questions regarding health history, children, financial goals and having a TV in the bedroom.

Read the full article at Questions Couples Should Ask (Or Wish They Had) Before Marrying.

KwikSeal Self-Sealing Envelopes are now available for most Birchcraft Wedding Invitations from any Birchcraft Wedding Album!   We're sure you will want KwikSeal Self-Sealing Envelopes to make it easy to seal and mail your invitations!  Optional KwikSeal Envelopes save time and effort when mailing Birchcraft wedding invitations.  They make sealing the envelopes so easy--simply peeling off the protective strip and press closed.  Even the groom can handle this.

It's easy to check on the availability of optional KwikSeal Self-Sealing Envelopes.  When ordering your invitations online at http://www.yourinvitationplace.com/bloomeryweddings, the KwikSeal option will be listed if available.  If you found your invitation in one of our books, log on to www.mykwikseal.com and enter the invitation number in the search box to the right.

The extra charge for KwikSeal Envelopes is $2.50 per 25 envelopes when ordered at the same time as the invitation. They are also available Printed with a Return Address. Please refer to your website or an album for the extra charge to print the return address. (This charge is in addition to the KwikSeal charge.)

One of the most exciting flowers to hit the market in recent years are the purple carnations from Florigene.  Available in regular and mini sizes, and several shades of purple and lavender, they are very popular for large event displays, as well as bridal bouquets and every day work.  Two examples from SAF 2006 are below; you can see more examples at http://www.florigene.com/products/safdesign06_1.php.

Florigene is sending The Bloomery hundreds of their purple carnations to use for the Winter Bridal Expo 2007 at the Butler Days Inn.  If you're in the area, be sure to visit us at the bridal show and see what we've created.  If not, stay tuned here, and we'll post some pictures.

What is the proper etiquette when writing wedding invitations when the father of the bride is deceased and the mother of the bride has not remarried? Would it be Mrs. John Doe or Mrs. Jane Doe or Ms. Jane Doe?

We have seen invitations worded with all of the choices that you listed.  However, after consulting with Carlson Craft (a large invitation printer), they advised us that the correct etiquette is to use Mrs. John Doe.  The sample they gave is "Mrs. William Lewis Baker requests the honour of your presence at the marriage of her daughter Barbara Ann"

Weddings are always a little tough when parents have passed on, and our hearts go out to everyone who faces this.  Best wishes.

Approximately 75 stems of Lily of the Valley were used to make this classic bridal bouquet. Approximate price is $225.00 (significantly more when out of season).  The fragrance was incredible, and the unique look was stunning.  Lily of the Valley is usually available for only a couple weeks in May.  You can see this bouquet in our online portfolio at http://www.bloomeryweddings.com/portfolio_detail.asp?product_id=BW142

WeddingMapper.com is a new Google Maps mashup which you can use to map out the locations for your wedding.  From their website:

Wedding Mapper was built to make it fun, easy, and affordable for you to map out your wedding, ensuring that your guests have all the information they need in order to have a great time at your wedding.

We wanted to make it as easy as possible to build and share your wedding map, with a simple interface, both a map view and a list view, easy printing, and the ability to include your map in your wedding website.

The free maps display ads from Google, or you can pay $9.95 for an ad-free map.  This is a new service from the folks who brought you Community Walk, a service to map out all the cool spots in your local area.

hat tip: Lifehacker