Only one vendor from each category has been selected, the best of the best just for our local brides! Come see what they all have to offer, each vendor will have show specials and prizes for attending brides. Check out their websites for more info:

Auburn Road Vineyards - local wines, custom wines labels, rehearsal and shower venue

Designed By M.E. Stationary - exceptional custom wedding stationary

Lia Sophia – beautiful wedding day jewelry for you and your bridal party

Rental City - designer linens, chairs, tables, tents, china and more will be showcased at our Open House

Salon Nicole – hair and makeup trials will be done at the show!

The Sweet Life Bakery - delicious AND beautiful wedding cakes and treats, Jill is bringing samples, YUM!

Tina Jay Photography - see her stunning albums and meet the beloved Tina in person

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Welcome brides, near and far! Our new sign is ordered and will be here in a few weeks, but we think this is looking rather charming!

This was the day the concrete was poured, Lee put his little prints in it!

Lee monitoring John (prepping for concrete)....this picture always makes me laugh.

Our workspace under construction....yes, we did a few weddings like this.

Consultation area, mid project.

We added shiplap to the walls and ceiling, this wall used to be a corn crib that Mitch reworked into built in storage. Mom hung a gutter to hold all of our ribbons and we have a perfect place to display pics of a few of our beautiful brides!

I know this may not seem impressive to most of you, but we FINALLY have running water! John promised me last year that if I booked 20 weddings in 2009 that he would install it, TA DA! He is a man of his word. The sink is a used gem that we found in Vineland, it is a vegetable processing sink out of a grocery store that is perfectly designed for us with a place to mount our bunch cutter and a hole for the trash, which we now compost (most of it anyway). Oh and a HUGE sink!

Yeah yeah yeah, not to impressive, but DID YOU SEE THE BEFORE SHOT?

Here we are (Dawn on the left, Mary on the right)!

Entering our consult space, I hung this old mirror that my Poppop bought for me at an auction a few years ago. I painted it and it looks better than new! We will be adding shelves here to display our books and albums.

My favorite spot!!! Well, besides the sink. We poured concrete in this bay (it was a dirt floor a month ago!) and insulated the walls, added the boards, but chose to leave an original beam exposed at the top and bottom. Our barn was built in the 1920's with our house and we wanted to save some of that charm. The upstairs has an awesome hay loft, which we now use to store our rental items. Pull up a seat and let's chat in our nook!

Our bride wall of fame!

Enlarged prints showcasing our work are displayed for all to admire.

All of our current centerpiece options are on display, which makes it so much easier to visualize and order your wedding centerpieces.

Well, what do you think? The new space is so enjoyable to work in and Dawn and I even think it has helped us creatively! Stop on by for a visit or schedule your consultation today to see it yourself. We would love to have you!

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During many of my bridal consultations, I kept hearing that Mabilog name pop up, so I decided to check her out and BAM there she is right down the street! I emailed to introduce myself and she invited me to her studio for a casual meeting…sure I was down for that! Denise also asked me to provide a bouquet for her “trash the dress” photo shoot the next day and I was happy to do so. Sometimes I see these bridal photo sessions with NO flowers and I just feel like something is missing, the bouquets finish the look! I kinda like the idea of the “trash the dress” shoot, I wish I had done it! You get to wear your gown again before you pack it up forever and take some more natural shots and you don’t have to be so worried about getting it ruined. Genius, Denise, genius. So while we were at her cute little studio in downtown Mullica Hill, she offered up a little impromptu photo shoot with little ole me and my bouquet! There are more photos on her blog, but here are a few she sent to me.

I currently do not look this wide awake haha

Being a busy wedding florist is serious business

How does she make this look so good? Denise, you rule!

Latin Lady red roses are my new red rose standard - the two tone look is so eye catching! I wanted to keep the bouquet natural, so I added some texture with feathers and willow. I think the bouquet is on the back of the bride's horse...how cool is that!?!

The bride, wearing a vintage 1964 wedding gown, it was her mom's! What a great way to give it a new life!

Thank you Denise for the photos and the new friendship! It feels good to be making many new friends in the wedding industry, to check out some more of my vendor friends, see my Vendors page. I guess that is all for now, the sun is up and my house is still quiet. John has another busy day ahead on the farm and Lee and I are going to spend the morning with Mommom, I hope I can keep my energy going until I get to the Philadelphia Flower Show tonight! I love that I can use the “research” excuse…

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I want to take a picture like this is 50 years...we will be 75 and still side by side!

This is a more personal entry for Sarah’s wedding (see full post below for all the flower details), I have had many requests to share my wedding toast and words of wisdom regarding marriage. Sure, why not?!?! I had brainstormed about this toast for many many months and felt a lot of pressure (I had never done a toast before!!), I tend to be a worrier, in case you don’t know me haha. However, I think I pulled it together nicely in the end (meaning, I didn’t blubber up a storm and flood the building with my tears of joy) and even had a pleasant mix of laughter and a tear or two! My dad is such a softy when it comes to Sarah!  Below is the main portion of my speech, I would love to hear if you agree with me or if you have more tips to add…feel free to comment!

“I would like to share some thoughts I put together about surviving marriage to a farmer. With a few wedded years under my belt, I have learned many lessons from my loving husband, John. There are many ladies in this room tonight that I am sure will agree with some of my survival tips for Sarah. So here we go…

1. Never compete with the weatherman for attention. You will always lose.
2. While the rest of the world hopes for a sunny weekend, realize that a rainy weekend could finally let you see Joe during daylight.
3. Surrender any thoughts of a summer vacation with Joe now. Use it as leverage to get an even better winter vacation for the both of you.
4. Embrace the dirt. He will trek it in the house after you just cleaned and his work jeans will have to be hosed off from time to time, but at least your dry cleaning bill will be small!
5. Be wise to “Farmer Time”. If Joe says “I will be home in 20 minutes, I just have to finish up”, realize that he MIGHT be home in 45 minutes. It is inevitable that something else will always pop up.  Never put the pasta in the boiling water till you see the truck in the driveway.
6. Always be sure to greet each other with a kiss hello, even if he smells like motor oil, it is worth it.
7. Never underestimate the power of an amazing home cooked meal. In your case, Sarah, forget the cakes and cookies, just stock up on lots of chicken. I have seen with my own eyes the amount of Jamaican Jerk Chicken that Joe can consume, it is pretty impressive! I seriously thought Jamaica was going to run out!
8. Accept some gender roles. Sarah, you are now in charge of trying to feed this machine. Joe, you are now the designated bug squasher, Sarah is deathly afraid, in case you didn’t know. However, be sure to remember that no man ever died from putting in a load of laundry and no woman is incapable of taking out the trash. Always help each other out and save the nagging for the real issues in life, like what to watch on TV together.
9. Be flexible. Know that life will sometimes throw you for a whorl; all in good reason. Sarah, you may think that Joe will always be the rough and tough guy, the solid ground that you stand on. Joe, to you, Sarah is the tender one, always with a soft spot. But life will happen and roles will reverse, and before you know it, Sarah is the rock and you are the one needing a helping hand. Always be each other’s helping hand.

 Well, I guess those are most of the lessons that I have learned so far in my young marriage…if you need more, just ask you parents, they have been great role models for you both.

 Let us raise our glasses to Sarah and Joe….Joe, thank you for promising my best friend a lifetime of smiles and love, she deserves it. Sarah, I am sad that you won’t be just one dusty lane away from me anymore, but overwhelmingly happy that you have found his man to love for the rest of your life. May your love grow stronger with every season. Congratulations!”

Tears of joy I hope! Love you guys!

Well, what do y’all think? Do you have more tips to add?

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So this post is a peak into our personal lives….February has been a slow month for weddings and we are enjoying it for a change! We are using this time to meet with lots and lots of new brides, gather fresh inspiration for our future weddings, get organized for the busy season ahead and, of course, enjoy our families. Dawn has two little angels, Grace and Leah, and these two beauties have Aunt Mary totally wrapped! We just celebrated Leah’s 2nd birthday party on Monday, here are a few shots from her Elmo party! (We couldn’t sell her on the roses and bling. Dawn made Elmo look fab though!)

Blow out your candles Leah!

The birthday girl in her new tent tunnel!

We also have been enjoying the snow, have you? Yes, it is annoying that I have had to reschedule almost every major event this winter (Sarah, you are one lucky girl!!) and yes, I am totally ready for spring (some of my bulbs are coming up already!!! And now they are covered with snow, yikes). However, I am lucky enough that I can work from home! Here are a few shots of Lee playing in the snow last Sunday <3

7 months old already...slow down father time!

If only I had captured the screech of excitement that came with this face!

 

Lee in his little den of snow, just as happy as can be.

Dawn and I hope you are enjoying your snow day! I know we are!

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1. I meet so many great people!

While many people in the wedding industry complain about bridezillas (I have met one or two), I have found that 99% of brides are just happy, glowing women who want to have a magical day! They are giddy and full of excitement, and it is contagious. If I didn’t want to share in their happiness, I wouldn’t be in this industry. I love all my brides!

A stunning bride and a stunning sunflower bouquet

2. I work with my best friend!

I know, I know, I hear it all the time, “”Beware of owning a business with your family”. Well, I am willing to take the risk. My sister, Dawn, and I really are best friends. We talk EVERY SINGLE DAY and usually at least 3 times a day (my apologies to her adorable husband), there is a lot of business (or gossip) to discuss in a day! When we have to work late finishing a wedding masterpiece, it doesn’t even feel like work! We are just working in our shop, listening to Mariah, laughing about our kids, teasing our husbands, brainstorming business ideas, and maybe having a glass of wine. Could our working conditions get any better?

Sisterly Love

3. I get to be creative. EVERY. DAY.

I meet with brides every week that are in need of some inspiration, and I am so honored to be that source! They come through my door with a theme of “Green” (which isn’t a theme at all, but that would be another blog), and leave with a gardeny, natural, whimsical theme filled with ferns and flora abound! We toss around ideas like hot potatoes and our creative juices combine to make one fine wedding cocktail. It makes every day and every wedding exciting and different, you can’t say that for every job!

White hydrangea spheres in branches and of course, crystals!

4. I have the best little helper!

I am home all day with my 6 month old son AND running my business, which makes for a busy day! Our schedule is a little bit like this: get up early, giggle at Mommy, breakfast of champions, email check, diaper change and phone calls (this is tricky), play time, paper work, read/eat a book, nap time, Mommy frantically gets a million emails sent and phone calls made during these 90 minutes, diaper change, lunch, tickle time, diaper change, nap time (he is a good napper!), afternoon office field day, diaper change while on the phone, cook dinner, welcome Daddy home, clean up the house, Daddy play time, Lee’s nightcap, our nightly peak-a-boo session, tuck Lee into bed at 8, one last email check, at least one terrible tv show with the hubby, then collapse. repeat again. Doesn’t this sound fun? It really is, Lee adds so much life to my life…the expression, “My kids are sucking the life out of me” does not apply, it is the opposite! True, I don’t get as much done as I did before and yes I am exhausted at the end of the day, but our little farmhouse is full of happiness and love. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Lee, you are a too cute for your own good. See www.tinajayphotography.com for more pics!

5. A Garden Party’s success is MY responsibility.

I am the kind of person that works well under pressure, which is a great trait for an entrepreneur to have! I put a lot of pressure on myself to establish the kind of business that I can be proud of, and I hope that I am one step closer with every wedding that we complete. I am constantly challenging myself to be more creative, more productive with my time and energy, and more focused on A Garden Party’s future. If I fail, it falls on me. But if I succeed, there is not a sweeter feeling in the world. It makes it all seem worth it.

Proud Owner of A Garden Party

I have always been a big believer that you should fill your life only with things that bring you joy, and your job should be one of them. So if youare lucky enough to have a job that you love (or at least some parts of it), please share it with me! I want to hear about it!

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As usual, I have decided to take on yet another project. I have this vision of crafting “icy” pine cones for my much anticipated winter wedding in January. So this is where you come in, I NEED CONES! Does anyone have some neglected in their yard? I will happily come and collect them from you! Any size will do! Is there anyone out there willing to support my addiction? Puh-lease…..I am starting to get the shakes….gotta get those cones!

And for your viewing pleasure, I had to include this picture I found on The Knot. Look at all those cute pine cones used to support the branch. What a great place card table centerpiece! You could make several trees if you needed more room for all of your escort cards. I will be sure to post my cone creations in January…

Pine Cones and Place Cards

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Here he is at the hospital….obviously not too happy about having his picture taken. No worries though, Mary’s good friend Tina (www.tinajayphotoraphy.com) was able to capture some precious pictures of him.

Too cute for words!

Mary and Lee – mommy is so in love already!

Look how tiny he looks in daddy’s hands!

As cute as Lee is, I still need to include some flowers in this post.  A few months ago we hosted Mary’s baby shower at Running Deer.  They have a room that is the perfect size for a baby shower (www.runningdeergolfclub.com) Our theme for Mary’s shower was ‘Mommy to Bee’.  I thought it turned out really good…here are some pictures. 

Centerpieces were white hydrangea and yellow tulips..two of my favorites.

Look how cute this cake was…made by a family friend.

Diaper cake courtesy of mom…her first one and it was adorable!

Mary’s chair of honor!

Everyone had lots of fun at the shower.  The food was great and the staff at Running Deer was excellent.  Don’t forget to call A Garden Party if you need help with your next party, whether it be a baby shower, engagement party, bridal shower, or anniversary party!

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Ok, on to today’s real business, sorry for the rambling, I just can’t stop talking about all the fun things we have been doing. I would like to share with you some of our most recent work, particulary our favorite wedding so far this year. We have seen so many brides have a love for pink flowers, but no one compares to Christine! She wanted pinkpinkpinkpinkpink flowers and that is what she got! Dawn and I LOVE how well they photographed (thanks to Gary Johnson). If you are thinking of using pink in your upcoming wedding, try to think of a complimentary color to help make it pop. In this case, we used orange and some bright green. What do you think? Some other colors that we like to pair up with pink are purples and blues for a cooler palette. Christine was a great bride to work with, she let us do whatever we wanted! How thrilling for us! We could tell by the smile on her face that she was happy in the end! Check out more pics at www.gardenpartysisters.com

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