Murphy Mondays: Bowls, and Bottles, Vases, and More!

Hi y'all! I hope you're enjoying your summer as much as I am! I can tell by the humans who come in to visit us that they are definitely enjoying their summer planning their weddings. How fun!

One of the things that couples discuss when they come in to talk to my people is rental pieces. Yes, we make gorgeous wedding flowers (and by we, I mean them) but the flowers have to go in something, right? That's where our vases and other pieces come in - we have a huge supply of vases of all shapes and sizes, bottles, jars, bowls, and everything else you can imagine to make your wedding beautiful. In fact, those pieces really help people to set the tone for the kind of wedding that they want whether it's rustic, vintage, classic, or modern.

Here are some things to consider:

*Don't underestimate how much these rentals pieces can really add to your wedding. They are the "frame" for beautiful wedding flowers. My bowls just hold my food and water - those bowls make your wedding come to life! My people will talk about these pieces when they talk about your flowers.

*The rental pieces are typically folded in to the price of your wedding flowers. Can you bring your own pieces for us to fill with wedding flowers? Definitely! Just know that this won't really save you much when it comes to pricing because our rental fees are so nominal. If you do decide that you want to use your special pieces, make sure they come to us completely clean, sticker-free and ready to use.

*If you decide that you want us to deliver your wedding flowers, we will also pick up the rental pieces at the end of your reception. So you don't have to worry about where all those bowls and vases go or making sure you get them back to us. We take care of everything!

Here, you can see that a very creative guy at one of our weddings found something else to do with our vases (don't try this at home)!!

So make sure you consider vases and all the rest when you come in to talk to us! Have a great week!

Murphy

Wedding Faves: A Splash of Orange

Winter can truly be a spectacular season for weddings here in Austin and this one was no exception. I absolutely loved this winter bridal bouquet (January, 2012) which featured a combination of seasonal winter flowers with a collar of dusty miller. This particular foliage has become a favorite for its soft gray/green color and its velvety texture. And because it's become so well loved, we have found ways to incorporate it into every season this year.

Sweet navy blue bridemaids dresses served as great backdrops for cream flowers with splashes of blue and orange. I love the texture that the thistles bring to the composition.

Orange ranunucla for the groom - I love how the gray shirt and peach tie coordinate with the flower selections. Sometimes this is well planned and other times it just happens :)

The color theme continued all the way through the event down to the last layer of cake.

Ceremony: The Smith Family Chapel at Riverbend Church
Reception: Mansion at Judges' Hill
Photographer: Photography By Shea

Murphy Mondays: Beating The Heat

It's hot. Like hot, hot. You think you're hot? Trying wearing a fur coat in this weather. They don't call these the "dog days of summer" for nothing; and Texas summers are no joke. Still, there are plenty of brides and grooms who come to Bouquets of Austin to plan their summer wedding. And some of those weddings are...outside. Now, I don't get that but, hey, whatever floats your wedding boat.

Truth be told, summer outdoor weddings can still be gorgeous - and so are the wedding flowers - but brides and grooms sometimes need to get creative to help beat the heat at their summer weddings. Luckily, there are a lot of awesome ideas out there for humans (certainly not for us dogs, short of shaving us bald - and the answer to that is no) to keep cool at summer weddings. Here are some of the things that brides and grooms have done:

*Tent the ceremony/reception areas - Temperatures are one thing - the sun beating down on you is another (I should know). If you're going to have an outdoor wedding ceremony or daytime reception, think about tenting the areas or at least offering some sort of coverage to protect guests from the sun. That can increase comfort levels considerably. At the very least, provide pretty umbrellas that guests can use to keep out of the sun. Or consider hosting your ceremony at sunset and your reception when the sun has gone down.

*Offer fans for guests during the wedding ceremony - There are some adorable fan options to offer your wedding guests - paper, bamboo, and everything in between. Consider making your wedding programs into fans so that guests can keep cool and have a memento to take home at the end of the evening.

*Have bottled waters available for guests at the entrance to your ceremony - You can even think about making personalized labels for the water bottles and displaying them in fun, decorated coolers or have attendants pass them out to guests.

*Keep cocktails and appetizers cool and refreshing - Create a cool signature cocktail or refreshing appetizers that can be shared with your guests immediately following your ceremony. Keep it light, keep it simple, and keep it delicious.

*Limit the participation of your furry friends - This is a shout out for all my animal peers. It's totally cool to include pets in your ceremony (we love that; make sure you give us some pretty wedding flowers) but once that ceremony is over, get us inside with a responsible party, air conditioning, and a treat for our good work.

Summer weddings can be wonderful. Do what you can to make it as comfortable as possible for you and your guests and get ready to party!

Have a great week!

Murphy

Wedding Faves: Oh Juliette!

At Bouquets of Austin, we sure do love our pretty pictures. This is one of our favorites - a beautiful moment captured against a sweeping background. The lawn at the Mansion at Judges' hill is always a stunning backdrop for some equally spectacular wedding photos.

I absolutely loved this monochromatic color palette of cream and peach - featuring another one of the up and coming favorite garden roses, Juliette. Thanks to the grower, David Austin, garden roses are rapidly rising in popularity and - thankfully - availability!

What's wrong with this picture?  The bride provided these candles and the planner (from out of town) displayed these on the table without glass covers - not a good idea. This was a Spring wedding a few years ago before our recent string of fires. However, whether there's a burn ban or not, it is never a good idea to put candles on tables without covers. In this case, the linens were all but ruined from the running wax. The flowers looked awesome but these candles make me grimace every time I see this photo! Moral of the story? Cover those candles!

Photography: Jeff Loftin Photography

Murphy Mondays: Rainy Days and Mondays

It's a rainy Monday here in Austin and while that may not be news in other parts of the country, that's BIG news here! We are, after all, in the middle of summer and that means it's hot, hot, hot. It also means it's dry, dry, dry. We need rain in a big way. But, for Austin weddings (and dogs), rain can make things much more complicated. For dogs like myself rain means having to go outside and step in...wetness. Think about it. You wouldn't like it so much either. For brides and grooms planning on having their ceremony and/or reception outside, rain can throw a real dog bone into the event. So what can you do to make sure that your wedding runs without a hitch - even in the face of bad weather? Here are some tips:

*Have a backup plan. That may seem like a given, but you wouldn't believe how many people fail to plan for rain - even when they are having an outdoor wedding! Especially here in Austin where rain isn't the norm. Work with your venue - and your vendors - to make sure that there is a plan in place for rain.

*Make sure your venue can accommodate your guests inside as well as outside. Yes, you can certainly fit more people in an outdoor space than an indoor space. So brides and grooms will plan for a certain number of people outside even if those same number of people won't comfortably fit inside the venue. Bad idea. It's like trying to fit three dogs in a dog house.  You don't want to compromise your guests' experience by having them squeeze inside an uncomfortable space if rain does happen. Choose your venue - both the outside and the inside - based on the number of guests that you are inviting - NOT how many you think will come. It's Austin...they will come.

*Hire a planner. Nothing will help you navigate a rainy wedding day like having a professional planner in your corner. A wedding planner will help you put together a contingency plan and, best of all, they will manage your vendors accordingly.

For us here at Bouquets of Austin, we've had to manage many rainy day weddings. My people are used to it. They know how to turn a beautiful outdoor ceremony into a beautiful indoor ceremony at the drop of a hat. And, luckily, wedding flowers look great no matter what the weather!

Enjoy the rain and have a great week!

Murphy

Friday Photo Spotlight: Rustic Elegance

There are some wedding gowns that we just can't get out of our heads and this is one of them. Could this gown be any more spectacular? Or this bride any more gorgeous? This is one of our favorite weddings - a rustic, yet elegant, affair at Vista West Ranch (with bouquets to match!).

Wedding Planner: Barbara's Brides

Murphy Mondays: Quality Control at Your Service!

Hey there people - long time, no talk! Sorry I've been quiet for awhile but boy have I been busy! First of all, I've still been swimming every Thursday and I am pooped! Second, it's summer and I have lots of things to do around the shop and at home. Let's face it, my work is never done. Recently, I added a new job to my list of many, many responsibilities. I think it's a good one and for sure something that will help me a lot at Bouquets of Austin. What's the job? Quality Control Specialist!

My humans at Bouquets of Austin definitely know a LOT about quality control. After all, they make sure that all the wedding flowers that leave our shop are perfect for our brides and grooms. So I've gotten to see real quality control at work every day. But I can't say that I've had to worry too much about it in my job at the shop. I'm mostly responsible for greeting clients and, of course, picking up any loose food crumbs if they find their way to the floor.

But recently, my cousin Jennifer took me to PetSmart. You know PetSmart, right? It's a store just for us pets. Anyway, I don't know if you know this or not but they have an entire aisle for treats. AN ENTIRE AISLE!! FOR TREATS!! I didn't know which way to turn first. But I did my duty as the executive Labrador that I am and I did my best to INSPECT each of the treats. QUALITY CONTROL PEOPLE!!! Consider it an internship. And I rocked it hard.

Here are the things that I learned in my time as a Quality Control Specialist:

1. There are WAY more treats than I ever knew existed. Apparently, my people have been holding out on me. I'll have to address that.

2. Not every treat is the same as the other. There are many varieties of treats - just like flowers - and some are awesome and some not so awesome (I would never say "bad" because NO treat could ever be bad).

3. I realize how important quality control is now. My people sure do have their work cut out for them and now I know they are even more awesome than I thought because they really do care that all the flowers that come out of Bouquets of Austin are just perfect.

Now I also know that I can be much more helpful around the shop. Now that I can sniff out the good stuff I can certainly help with sniffing around the flowers. Maybe there will even be some more treats in it for me. It's the least I deserve, right??

Have a good week!

Murphy