Garden Party Sisters » Pink

South Jersey Wedding Florist: Karen and Byron

Mary — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:09:46 +0000

Karen and Byron’s wedding was a really special wedding for A Garden Party, we have known Karen for our whole lives! Both of our moms had a baking 4-H club that we were in (Bakin’ Bits <3) and not only did we learn how to make barbie cakes and all kinds of goodies we now spoil our husbands with, we formed a strong friendship. And as for Byron, he was John’s college roommate and I often define our relationship as BB and AB (before Byron and after Byron haha), he has been there by our side for many years and even on our own wedding day. John and I were happy to return the favor for them! Together, Byron and Karen are one of those couples that are just so perfect for each other, watching them is seeing a couple that really interacts as one. Byron farms in South Jersey (his farm actually touches our farm!) and they really wanted to make that a part of their day. Their photographer, Millie of Millies Photography, got some great shots on the farm and at the bride’s grandmother’s historic home in Elmer. Millie was a perfect addition to the wedding day, I just loved her wit, attention to detail, artistic eye and genuine enthusiasm for her job. Thanks for the sharing the images!

A Garden Party made sure to incorporate lots of little “down-home” touches that showed Karen and Byron’s personalities. The boutonnieres were all accented with a touch of dried wheat, right from Byron’s fields and we wrapped Karen’s bouquet with a family heirloom crocheted piece, accented with a vintage brooch (also a family piece). In the bouquet we used pale pink mini callas, bouvardia, dahlias, waxflower, and freesia. Look closely at the picture of the bridal party…Mary was proudly holding one of our creations. We love doing wedding flowers, but especially love doing the flowers for couples that we know. Congrats Byron and Karen and thank you for letting us be such a big part of your day!

Check out the crochet work and brooch….details like this are so pretty, and really meaningful.

Karen and the sweetest little flower girl (love that Caylen!), I love the wreath of flowers we made for her hair. This image is truly magical.

Check out this ring bearer - he is keeping his eye on things! Love you Bradley!

There’s Mary and John, 2nd couple in from the right hand side….gorgeous bridal party!

I love this picture, Millie really caught the perfect moment here.

May your love always reap bountiful harvests…..xoxo

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Salem County NJ Wedding Florist: Aimee & Dan, Pratt Gardens

Mary — Mon, 31 May 2010 22:45:00 +0000

I love to be surprised, who doesn’t? This wedding handed me a lovely little surprise, I had NO IDEA that Pratt Gardens on County Home Road in Pilesgrove NJ even existed! And I grew up on a farm just down the road! From the looks of Aimee’s wedding photos, it was a perfect location for their outdoor ceremony and tented reception. Aimee’s wedding was a casual family affair, full of many personal touches that I just adored….I can’t even take credit for them, Aimee did all the planning! However, during our first consultation when I discovered that her fiance was a glass blower, I quickly expressed my excitement (and jealousy – I took a glass blowing class in college and phew, that stuff is harder than it looks!). I asked Dan to make some glass beads to add to our floral designs and I just LOVE what he came up with. I knew I would, so that wasn’t really a surprise haha. I was happy to design the bridal party flowers for their special day and I hope that Aimee doesn’t mind me showcasing some of her other creative gardeny ideas for all of our other brides out there. Thanks for the inspiration Aimee!

Aimee and her father heading down the "aisle". I love the natural cascade design that she selected, a perfect fit for her natural and casual theme!

Dan's glass teardrop beads were added to her bouquet for the perfect amount of sparkle and movement. So sweet.

Aimee is really into lady bugs and I just had to put Dan's glass lady bugs on display in her bouquet, love love love them!

I like how his light blue shirt matches the hydrangea we used.

He gets a lady bug too!

I think Aimee's friends were the photographers and for non-professional work, she got some great shots!!

They decorated the gazebo themselves and look how pretty it is!

Hanging baskets and ribbon add color to the ceremony background.

Instead of a unity candle, they planted a tree. Ok, you totally won me over here kids.

Dan's mom admiring her glass beads too! I love when all of our little details are noticed!

Her set up for a wishing tree!

What a cute idea! The cards were hung on those trees for all to admire, especially Aimee and Dan.

They get a personalized brick installed at Pratt Gardens! I hope they go back every spring to admire it.

Place cards were actually pinwheels!

Dan also made the favors, beautiful and simple hand-blown glass drops. Perfect for a Christmas tree or hung from a chandelier!

It sure is.

Many congrats to Aimee and Dan, we will always adore your personal touches that you added to your wedding day. Thanks for the delightful surprises!!

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Southern NJ Wedding Florist: Liz & Dave

Mary — Tue, 25 May 2010 19:23:21 +0000

Congrats to the newlyweds! A few weeks ago, Dawn and I were a part of Liz’s wedding day in Swedesboro NJ and we just got the professional pictures back and couldn’t wait to share them with you. Liz’s photographer, Michelle La Brake (call 267.978.6043 for info) did a fabulous job capturing some great flower shots for us, thanks so much Michelle! The lovely Liz was keeping it classy with a black and white theme (I told ya it was popular!) and she fell in LOVE with the look of hot pink “but not fluorescent 80′s hot pink” (direct quote from Liz) against the black dresses. We used a few shades of pink to give it some dimension, lighter pink peonies and bright pink Hot Princess roses. What a classic and beautiful combo!

A Garden Party was happy to create these bouquets for her wedding day!

Peonies, roses and the invite....so pretty!

Delicate stephanotis are accented with rhinestones, we do a lot of this and it never gets old!!

He bouquet was wrapped with a family heirloom handkerchief, a thoughtful touch!

I think this was taken on her front porch, how cute!

The pink really lightens it up!

The whole gang...

Ta da! The highly anticipated cake (I don't know about you, but that is the best part about a wedding! Oh well that and the whole love for eternity thing too.)

Thank you Liz for hiring us to be a part of your wedding day, it was a pleasure! Especially because you picked one of my favorite flowers, peonies! Drive by my house and admire them all blooming (what is left after my harvesting, anyway). We wish you all the best…and tell your hubby to plant a peony for you so he can cut a bouquet for your anniversary every year <3

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Philadelphia Wedding Florist: Nick and Irene

Mary — Thu, 13 May 2010 12:33:30 +0000

The words I am choosing to describe this wedding….fun, stylish, personal, light-hearted, and did I say fun? I met with Nick and Irene many many months ago to get started on the planning for their April showers themed wedding day, and what a delight that was! Immediately I knew we were gonna get along juuuuuuuuust fine. They wanted to find a florist to portray their modern and slightly funky theme without all the fuss, well glad you found us Irene! On April 24th, Nick and Irene tied the knot (I want to know where that expression came from) at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in Gloucester City NJ and then hopped the bridge to Philadelphia’s Society Hill Dance Academy for the wedding reception. Both so beautiful!! Even though it didn’t rain that day (it was picture perfect!), her April showers theme was a hit! We added in touches of umbrellas and bright turquoise blue to compliment the pops of pink and orange flowers and it was oh-so-adorable! I kinda wish more brides would have concrete themes, instead of just colors, we had fun adding in all these creative details. Check out these AWESOME pics from Alimario Photo, there were so many great ones to choose from, I had a hard time! T, you were great to work with and I can’t wait to do it again!

Irene's colorful bouquet or orange mini gerbers, hot pink garden roses (the scent was intoxicating), Cherry Brandy roses (one of my favs!!), stephanotis with pearls and dusty miller....something tells me she isn't afraid of color

Showing off our stem treatment of ivory ribbon overlapped with orange polka dotted trim and we just had to add her umbrella charms on there too!

T Alimario, you are my hero.

The smoky bridesmaid dresses were the perfect backdrop for bright bouquets!

The wedding kiss framed by our ceremony urns, filled with roses, snapdragons and pussy willow.

Gasp!

I love everything about this picture!

Looks like the bridal party is ready for a cocktail!

We took this close up shot of the cocktail tables, so cute!

I designed this umbrella arrangement for her bar; rose petals filled the cylinder vase and dripped off the coordinating parasol! (Sometimes I even impress myself!)

From our lens as well, we just had to show the cute card box that she made. This must be the new thing, a few of our brides have done this! We just finished it off with rose petals and votives.

Centerpieces were an eclectic mix of blue glassware and bright florals, love this look!

Could you two be any cuter? Nice kicks Nick

Thanks to Nick and Irene for letting us have all that fun! Best wishes!

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NJ Wedding Florist: A lil bit of this and that…

Mary — Wed, 12 May 2010 15:12:36 +0000

I am so blessed to have such supportive/amazing/inspiring friends, you know, the kind of friends that make you want to be a better person. Tina is in that category for sure. It just so happens that we have become industry buds too, which adds to the fun. Whenever we are together, we swap stories about creative and awesome weddings that we have been a part of and we are always trading tips and advice. As A Garden Party grows and develops, I can’t help but think that Tina has something to do with it. She has been so generous with sharing her beautiful photos (see many more on her website), always sending me a cd bursting with tons of high res pics for me to play with…come see many of them in the new studio on display! So today’s post is showcasing her talent showcasing our work, cool huh?

This is a sample of Tina's wedding bouquet for her big day in October, we are IN LOVE with the texture/bulk/drama of this bouquet! There is nothing delicate about this baby except for the feathers! Many of our brides are interested in sample bouquets, which we think is a great idea. We do charge for the sample though, these things cost money ladies!

It was windy this day and those feathers were dancing! Every bouquet needs a little bit of movement, that is my motto.

A centerpiece sample that you may have seen at our last bridal show...a trio of square vases with an electric mix of green cymbidium orchids and perfect blue hydrangea, this was HOT people!! Brides loved it at the show!

So we might have went a little overboard on the feathers that day, but you gotta love it. Peonies and roses are a romantic duo.

We got these new jeweled collars that are sooooooooo beautiful mixed with simple pink callas.

Purple mokara orchids (my new addiction), grape hyacinths and ranunculus are cute cute cute for bridesmaids. I think this would look great with black dresses!

We that is my little bit of randomness for today! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Thanks again to Tina for sending me the beautiful photos and for being an inspiration. Love you 619 McKean!! To everyone that has no idea what that means, we were PSU freshman neighbors and loved every minute of that chaos. Looking forward to the weddings we are teaming up for this summer and of course your own wedding in October!

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“I just got engaged….now what?”

Mary — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:42:56 +0000

For those recently engaged brides out there, congrats! We have seen quite an increase in inquiries since the holiday engagement season…who said the winter months were supposed to be slow for florists? We are busier than ever and loving every second of it! Dawn and I love to hear engagement stories, we really are that sappy.

I get a lot of emails and calls requesting appointments and all of my brides have the same question,”what do I need to bring to the meeting?” To help you out, I have made a list of suggestions:

1. Your happy face!

Wedding planning should be a happy time and we think that choosing your floral designs is one of the most fun parts, ok we are a little biased, but we can’t help it. So many of our brides say that the one thing they are most excited about is seeing how the flowers pull everything together on that special day. We agree! While we do understand that there are a lot of decisions to make, we are here to help. Don’t stress about all the little things at the first meeting, we will send you a little “to-do-list” to help you remember to ask your dear Granny if she wants a pin on corsage or a wristlet.

A happy bride!

2. A Wish List

It will save a lot of your time at the meeting if you have a list of all the things you will need from us on your wedding day. If your wedding is 6 months off, we don’t expect you to have the exact centerpiece count, but a rough idea will help. Don’t fret if you decide to add or delete a few things, we can make changes to your order until 30 days before your wedding. Here is a list that might help….

Bridal Party flowers: bridal bouquet (duh.), bridesmaid bouquets, groom’s bout, groomsmen bouts (we will need names for labeling), father and grandfather bouts (with names), mother and grandmother corsages (with names), flower girl and ring bearer flowers, reader or soloist bouts or corsages

Ceremony flowers: alter vases or urns, aisle runner, pew or chair decor, presentation flowers, unity candle, wreaths, toss petals for guests

Reception flowers: cocktail tables, head table or sweetheart table, guest table centerpieces, votives, cake flowers, place card table, bar decor, throw bouquet, gift table

Now I am sure you feel overwhelmed about all of the things on that list, but just reeeeeeeeeeelax. We can discuss all the options at our meeting, but it is a good idea to think about everything that you will need prior to sitting down.

3. Wedding Day Details

We encourage our brides to go about their wedding planning in this order…..get the man, get the ring, book the venue, find the dress, call A Garden Party! Your venue and dress will help set the tone for your wedding floral designs, so it helps to have those decided on. Also, choosing a bridesmaid gown is recommended so we can get a color palette going. To help estimate the price for delivery, we will need to know the general wedding timeline, like where and when you are getting ready, where and when the ceremony is being held and what time the cocktail hour and reception will begin. Dawn and I also like to contact the wedding photographer and bakery prior to the wedding day to firm up arrival times. Many brides will look for suggestions for a photographer or cake designer, and we are happy to recommend Tina Jay Photography and Sweet Life Bakery…we adore them!

Sweet Life Bakery....I want a piece of this right now!

4. All of your hard work!

Dawn and I are sticklers about making sure the wedding flowers compliment all of the other wedding day details, from the invites to the favors! We would love to see a sample of the invitations, programs, favors or anything else that you have been working on. Believe me ladies, all of those little details add up and make a big statement! Let us help you pull it all together! For example, one of our brides wanted a country chic wedding and planned to make homemade jam as her favors. We used coordinating mason jars for her centerpieces and for her aisle decor. It was so cute and totally country chic!

Mason jars hung on shepherd hooks down the aisle for this outdoor ceremony.

5. Pictures!

We love when brides come to us with stacks of inspirational pictures, it gives us a head start! We all know you have that huuuuuuuuuuge pile of wedding magazines at home, take a night to go through them and tear out any pictures that you like. Or head on over to TheKnot.com for lots of ideas and inspiration (be sure to add us as your vendor)! Bring them to the meeting and we can review them and create a custom look, just for you! If you have them, bring pictures of the ceremony and reception location too. A beautifully ornate church may not need the same decor as a simple country church. We can make copies of your pictures to keep in your file.

6. Some help!

We love when brides bring their moms, mother in laws, bridesmaids and even the groom! We kinda go with the motto “the more the merrier”. Everyone has a good time and likes to be a part of the planning, just be prepared to hear lots of opinions We have lots of books and albums to keep everyone busy while we discuss all the details. I have a big table so everyone can fit!

7. A Budget

Many of our brides are unsure about what the cost of the flowers will be, which is totally understandable, you have never ordered wedding flowers before! According to the wedding experts, 10-15% of your overall wedding budget should be spent on flowers. Of course this varies greatly since every bride is different and each case is unique, but let me give you an idea of price ranges. Most bridal bouquets start at $125 and can range to $175, depending on the floral selection and design. We have done simple tulip bridesmaid bouquets for $50 to more elaborate designs for $85 with roses, callas and orchids. Bouts are usually $15 and corsages are $25. Since centerpiece options are so varied, the range does too. We have candle rentals starting at $20/table or more elaborate designs priced around $150, depending on floral selection and season. There are plenty of options everywhere in between too!

A trio of floating candles and bear grass in rented candle holders.

Lush pink elevated centerpieces on silver flower tower.

I hope that this blog has helped! Let me know what you think and if I missed anything!

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Running Deer, South Jersey Florist: Bridal Shower Fun!

Mary — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:21:56 +0000

Ok all you bridesmaids out there, this one is for you! Mary recently had the honor of helping plan a bridal shower for one of her best friends. We decided to get really creative with the centerpieces and they turned out soooo good! It is kinda a rare event that Mary and I get to actually attend an event, usually we just set things up and leave, so this was a lot of fun for us. Even better, we are doing the flowers for her wedding in January, and then will get to attend and enjoy the wedding afterwards. And to top it all off Tina of Tina Jay Photography was one of the guests at the shower, so we have access to some really great photos as well!

The beautiful Bride to Be

The shower was held at Running Deer, we love it there! As you can see this room is beautiful, picture your wedding or shower here….gorgeous.

LOVED these centerpieces. We used bright pink spray roses to create a ‘gift’ for the center of each table. We wrapped them with chocolate brown satin ribbon, topped each with a bow, and a little gift tag. Everyone loved them!

Running Deer has this fabulous chocolate room. We got to enjoy yummy parfaits, and all kinds of treats dipped in chocolate. Mary created this piece with branches, hanging crystals, and more pink spray roses to accent the dessert table.

These scarves were the favors….soooo cute! They were tied onto the chairs to help decorate the room, and were a great and useful gift for the guests to take home with them.

Sarah and Joe meet snowmobiling, so a close friend designed the cake with this cute snowmobile theme.

And I couldn’t not include this picture. Mary’s baby, Lee, enjoying the baby shower with our best helper at the flower shop – thanks mom!

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South Jersey Wedding Florist: This one deserves a 2nd look!

Mary — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:07:12 +0000

I already blogged about Michelle and her gorgeous wedding at the Camden Aquarium, but I couldn’t resist doing a follow up blog once I saw her pictures. Thanks to Morgana Wingard for some spectacular photos, http://www.morganawingard.com/ The flowers, the colors, the bridal party…it all came together for a truly stunning look. Check it out!

Here is the bouquet...full of gloriosa lilies, dahlias, and more.

Look at how her shoes match the flowers! No need to buy a dress to go with your shoes, just get a bouquet to match...

Couldn't resist adding this one in. What a great photo!

This has got to be one of the sweetest little flower girls I have ever seen. Look at her holding up that bright pink rose pomander!

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Little black dress…

Mary — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:58:18 +0000

A few weeks ago Mary and I got to use some gorgeous colors for a very fun wedding. Michelle’s bridesmaids were wearing black dresses and she wanted bouquets with lots of color that would really pop. I think we accomplished the look she was going for! Michelle got married at the Adventure Aquarium, http://www.adventureaquarium.com/cateredevents.cfm; what a great idea for a reception venue! I am sure the party was fabulous. Thanks for letting us be a part of your special day Michelle!

Check out these bouquets! We used roses, pink dahlias, gloriosa lilies, and a ring of artemisia.

We LOVED the gloriosa lilies, the texture of them against the roses and dahlias was amazing!

One more shot....just picture these against black dresses, what a great color combo!

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Bridal Show Season!

Mary — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:53:33 +0000

Hey brides and floral fans! We have been ushered into 2009 with our first Bridal Show of the year! Held at Running Deer Golf Club on Feb. 8th, we met with MANY excited brides and exchanged ideas and advice for their upcoming dream day. Since Dawn was in Disney (ok, I admit I was slightly jealous), my lovely sister Sara helped me out for the day! She was a huge help and I value her support indefinitely. I mean, she did that outta love because you know I didn’t pay her haha! Anyway, back to business…we had bouquets and sample centerpieces to show off, along with lots of printed information for the brides to take home and file away in the massive wedding mountain we alllllll know about. Luckily for those brides, I have all the info on our website in case they misplace things. And for all those brides out there booking Running Deer for their special day, take advantage of our partnership with them! We are proud to be offering an included centerpiece in their wedding package, call us for more details or see Heather at Running Deer for our album.

After we met with brides for a few hours, the runway show started and we were wowed by all the new gowns and bridal party wear out there! It makes me want to do it all over again! I used this opportunity to mingle with some other vendors and was particularly impressed with The Sweet Life Bakery in Vineland, NJ. This husband and wife couple designs wedding cakes, so I of course had to sample a piece….YUM. I immediately ordered a lil something sweet for my upcoming 25th birthday and didn’t feel the least bit guilty, that is how good it was! I hope to do more wedding business together in the future with this fine couple, maybe I can get a few more sugar highs from them!

It turned out to be a great day, full of sunshine, flowers and happy brides-to-be. With events like that, it makes me think that 2009 is going to be a really great year for A Garden Party. Check out our pics below in case you missed us there. Our next appearance will be at The Palace in Blackwood on Feb. 22, hope to see you there!

Bouquet and candle centerpiece with rose petals

Romantic Pink Wedding Centerpiece

Me (and my baby bump) in front of our awesome table!

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