Tropical Inspiration

As day one of our vacation comes to a close I couldn't help but feel guilty that it's taken so long to take time away with my husband.  It was so wonderful just sitting on the beach listening to the waves while enjoying the occasional cat nap and then off to dinner to my favorite restaurant Roy's.  If you've never eaten at Roy's, it's definitely a MUST and make sure you order the butter fish!  Unfortunately the closest one to us is Chicago but who doesn't love a quick trip to chi-town!   

Driving home from the beach today I couldn't help but notice all the incredible flowers and rich foliage that grow so abundantly here.  I'm always amazed when I see Bird of Paradise growing in the front yard of someones home or business.  I absolutely love tropical flowers.   Their colors are so incredibly vibrant, its appearance often unusual and intriguing and most importantly I admire their amazing strength.  Typically tropical flowers travel all the way from Hawaii and Thailand, shipped in a box, where they make a quick stop at customs and arrive on our doorstep just two days later...AMAZING I KNOW!  

As wedding season quickly approaches I thought it only fitting to showcase one of our bouquets which featured my all time favorite tropical flower,  the Pincushion Protea.  I absolutely love the texture and unexpected element it brings to the bouquet. Although tropicals are not for everyone I would encourage you to dare to be different.  

Well, it's time for me to kick Dave's butt in cards and then off to bed...big day tomorrow!  :)   Have a wonderful Tuesday and I look forward to continuing tropical inspiration on Wednesday.  

Corona and Sunshine baby!

So I absolutely hate when people rub it in when they go on vacation so let me apologize right now for pouring salt in an open wound.   This momma is off to the beach, with my new iPhone in hand, plenty of wedding magazines and Mr. Wonderful,  we're heading to Naples, Florida.  This vacation is definitely long overdue!  While I'm gone I promise to do my best to blog, facebook and tweet.  I will also refrain from the typical "how's the weather" question that just infuriates the pour peeps stuck in yucky, cold weather...at least the sun shines occasionally! :)

I look forward to clearing my head and having time to create new aspiring floral designs.  I'm hoping to find blog inspiration and if you have any ideas on great reads I would love the suggestions.   It's like they say,  if you don't take good care of yourself how can you take care of others.

Have an incredible Easter everyone, enjoy time with family and I'll be in touch!

photo credit goes to Mr. Wonderful!

The Most Gorgeous Ring Bearer Pillow on Earth...

Do you ever stumble upon something that is so scrumptious that you feel like you just hit the jackpot? Well, when I found Anna Whitford's Wedding Ring Pillows the first thing that came to my mind was, "How the HECK did I not hear about these before!?!"

Seriously guys, these are beyond beautiful. Anna is a designer from the UK and creates each delectable pillow completely BY HAND. I'm gonna just take a wild guess on this, but judging from the picture-perfect end result, I am quite positive Anna puts an extreme amount of care into each creation she makes. 

During my email communication with Anna she shared what inspired her to create these beauties.  She originally started by creating hand sculpted, floral accessories in 2005, and in early 2008 Anna was asked to design a wedding ring pillow in her signature floral style....and as they say, "the rest is history."  

When ordering the pillows most clients email Anna with a chosen flower style and color, she simply forwards a paypal invoice and begins the process of creating a one of a kind masterpiece.  The pillows take on average 7 business days to create once payment is received along with a 7-10 day delivery time.  Each pillow is 8x8 feather filled, silk dupion base with a flower made of either soft faux suede, metallic leather or suede/felt underlay petals.

I couldn't agree with Anna more when she says, "They are truly works of floral ART!" Well put, sister!

Find Your Wedding Style! Take the Quiz!!!

{Photo: Courtesy of Cherie Foto Blog}

Every time I meet with a new bride, like clockwork, my very first intention is to find her style. Some brides know every detail ... they want "this linen" with "that centerpiece", and "this color flower" with "that candle collection". However, more often than not, I hear "I really don't know what I like!"

Ladies, if you've ever felt this way ...you are not alone, TRUST me! And it is for this very reason that I absolutely love (I mean, LOVE) Susie Coelho's book "Style Your Dream Wedding". In fact, it's probably one of my top 5 favorite wedding books of all time. This book not only gets you pointed in the right direction stylistically, but on the path to achieving a well-connected, overall look for your big day, from all the major decor aspects a to z!

{Photos: Courtesy of Perfect Bound Blog}

Now, I know what you are wondering, and the answer is NO ...the book doesn't just leave you on your own to figure out your style by simply browsing through the photos (which are amazing, by the way, I could stare at them for hours!) Susie has actually supplied the quick help you need by including a fantastic quiz you can take that boosts you right up into a specific style category. Nice, right? But the best part is that after playing around online, I have come to find out that this quiz is actually posted online! I am geeked! Seriously, now you are just a click away from wedding style clarity!

{Photo: Courtesy of Susie Coelho}

I want brides and anyone in the field of weddings to take this quiz, it only takes a couple minutes and it's sheer genius! Really. It is so helpful, not to mention fun! Also, if you have an extra couple minutes, take a browse on site to see the inside of the book ...absolute loveliness.

So what is YOUR dream wedding style?!!!!! Take the quiz here!

BIRTH FLOWER OF THE MONTH: April..."The Daisy"

The Daisy...

{Photo: Courtesy of Photographic Impressions}

Symbolism of the Daisy...
The daisy represents INNOCENCE, MODESTY, STABILITY, and CHEERFULNESS. I don't know how on earth a flower that comes in so many bright colors is considered modest, but hey, whatever they say ...we're gonna roll with it.



Color Variety...
Daisies come in literally DOZENS of colors (one of their best attributes!) You are most likely to see white, pink, red, yellow, and purple. I seriously love stocking our cooler up with gerbs because of the bright, GORGEOUS colors they add in my studio!

{Photo: Courtesy of KGCPhoto} {Photo: Courtesy of Cache Gifts}

Fun Fact...
OK, hold onto your seats because we actually got TWO fun facts for you this month! (Come on, admit it, you secretly love knowing random, useless information like this!)

1. Gerbera daisies actually are from South Africa orginally. That is quite a hike. Thank you kindly for somehow making your way all the way over here!

2. The word "daisy" comes from the phrase "day's eye". Daisies actually tend to open up more as the sun rises, and then when the sun sets, they close up more and stay that way during the night (much like our eyes do, you catching on now?) So I guess you can say as we drift off to dream land, so do they.

So there you go, you learn something new everyday!

Happy Birthday April babies!
(PS. Your alternate birth flower is the SWEET PEA! They are called that because of their sweet fragrance! Mmmmm, lovely!)

PRESENTING OUR BRAND NEW WEBSITE!

I am thrilled, THRILLED, to say after tireless hours of working and SLAVING over this new website, it is finally complete! I am literally jumping around with excitement right now!

I just want to point out a few great features....

First of all, the galleries are bigger and better than ever before! We hope you feel invited to browse for a long while (I don't know about you, but there is nothing I love better than going on a site that provides plenty of eye candy!) When it comes to spending hours on website galleries - I am guilty as charged! We have TEN jam packed galleries full of loveliness, so sit back, relax, and browse a while!

Our new, special "wedding-to-go" packages are extremely budget-friendly and I am very happy to offer this to our fabulous brides. Every girl deserves beautiful, fresh blooms for her "big day" so be sure to check it out the details, we've included all the info on the site!

The last thing is a wonderful highlight on our staff. In order to understand what we are capable of at MDF, you need to know each of us on a individual basis. I will say this, we work hard but laugh a LOT!

...So that is just an intro to some things, but scope out the rest for yourself! I have been waiting a long time to share this with you, so today is a HAPPY DAY!

ENJOY!

Drumrolls please.... Round 2!

As if the unveiling of our out-of-this-world, new business venture, A Modern Event, wasn't enough.... we have another exciting announcement!

We have been working around the clock (seriously, I'm talkin' HOURS upon HOURS of work) to roll out a brand spankin' new WEBSITE! Right now you can always visit our Modern Day Floral site, but in just 24 to 72 hours ... the new MDFEvent site will be up and running!!! We hope the transition of the new site going up is as smooth as possible, but we all know how technology goes! (Hey, I didn't write the rules... I just sit back and enjoy the fact that I am not the tech support person trying to figure it all out!)

Anyway, a lot of fabulous new features have been added into our new site, so sit tight and you'll be the first to know when it's up! Can't wait!!!!!!!!