Elegant Bride - more photos

Here are some better photos of the trunk show at The Elegant Bride - I just LOVE the owners Irina and Steve, and all the ladies who work there are just wonderful.

	Each bride was given a beautiful long stemmed rose as a special thank you for participating in the trunk show. See all those photos on the wall behind the roses? Those are thank you notes photos, and rave reviews from all the happy brides who found their dream gown here...
	Oh, and if you happen to like sparkly things - The Elegant Bride has a DAZZLING selection of absolutely GORGEOUS jewelry, tiaras, and accessories for your special day! (Did I mention I'm easily distracted by shiny objects? I love bling!)

Elegant Bride Trunk Show!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Best Floral "Bang for your Buck"

Getting the most "Bang for your Buck" is very important in planning your wedding. You want to concentrate your floral dollars where they will have the most impact.

As I'm helping brides decide how to best allocate their floral budget, I advise them to really stop and think about their guests. Where will they spend the majority of their time? Where will their eyes be focused most?

The ceremony is obviously extremely important - you have 200, 300, or even 500 people all seated there in rows for half an hour or more waiting... they need something really gorgeous and interesting to look at - something that sets the tone for the whole celebration.

Another very important place from the guest's perspective is the dinner table. Your guests will be seated looking at your centerpiece for 4-5 hours, so that's extremely important.

You want your guests to know that you really thought about what their experience at your wedding would be like, and you planned for their time to be very special.

That way you can look back at your wedding day as being your biggest gift to each person that's special in your life. This lovely thank you card one bride made for each place setting really summed it up:

The Dad Conspiracy

Today I got a top secret phone call from the father of the bride - her floral consultation is tomorrow. "Don't tell her I called, but..."

He wanted me to convince her to use carnations & baby's breath.(No, I am not making this up, I swear!)

It took me a good half an hour to convince him that carnations would actually be a price INCREASE over what she had already told me she wanted - roses & hydrangea.

He had worked in a floral shop before and was convinced that the carnations & baby's breath was the cheapest route.

I explained to him that because I buy directly from the farms - and I buy in quantity (by the box instead of by the bunch from local wholesalers), roses & hydrangea are the more economical choice - even though at the average florist shop they are among the most expensive.

I just kept repeating the same thing over & over - "OK - but this will mean a price INCREASE if she agrees - Carnations are MORE EXPENSIVE than roses & hydrangea." Firmly, consistently, hoping it would sink in.

He finally believed me - and was baffled, but pleased...

Latest Bouquets - from my phone!

Oh, this is fun - I've finally figured out how to post to my blog from my blackberry - welcome to the 90's Maureen! Now we just need to work on the photo quality...

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Trunk Show at Demetrios

What fun - I got to participate in a trunk show at Brides by Demetrios in Bellevue. Wow what gorgeous gowns! Wonderful people - they were all so gracious, welcoming and helpful. They "ooh'ed and ahh'ed" over my flowers and made such a fuss.