Murphy Mondays: Glossary of My Noises

I love writing this blog for y’all every week. I have a lot of important information to share but, as you may have noticed, I’m not so good with words. Just be sure you remember that, just because we dogs don’t have the power of speech, doesn’t mean we don’t have a lot to say. If you perk up your ears and listen just a little closer than you probably have been up until now, you’ll find that your dog friends are telling you everything you need to know about them. Now, because I’m a dog on an executive level, I have a little bit more to say than the average dog. I am able to see a lot more than regular dogs get to see because I work at Bouquets of Austin. For instance, I get to meet lots of humans who are planning their weddings and see firsthand what kind of flowers they choose for their big day. It’s very exciting to be able to be in that position but it would be even better if you people could hear me. There’s so much assistance I can offer - like what kind of flowers would look best. If they would only listen to me, I would tell them that peonies would look better than roses for their bouquet and, why oh why did they go with that color? What are they thinking?

I know you can’t hear me but, I promise, if you are just the littlest bit patient and pay just the slightest bit more attention, you can and you will understand me. Now I’m a busy shop dog but I felt that it was important for me to take just a little time out of my schedule and put together something that I think will help my people - and the visitors to Bouquets of Austin - quite a lot. So here’s my glossary of noises so that you can brush up on the most important things about me. Take your time...study them...and soon you will have the keys to getting to know me better!

Harrumph....This is the noise I make most often when I lay down. Let’s not mince words...there’s a lot of me. You think it’s easy to take myself from standing to a prone position at a moment’s notice? So the noise you hear accompany this motion is well-justified. It can also very easily mean that I don’t want to lay down but you’re making me. And while, I’ll do it, I’ll also make sure you know how I feel about it.

Whine....I do this a lot and it’s meant to show my displeasure at my circumstances and general lack of attention you’re giving me. You need to look around and let the environment dictate what I’m currently unhappy about. Am I sitting on the cold floor and whining? I need my bed brought to me immediately. Am I behind a closed door? I need to be where you are (and where you are is where the food is). Am I staring at you intently? I need food and water. And also food.

Nose sigh....A big gust of wind coming from my nose signals that I am feeling left out. You’ve kept me out of the consultation room, you’ve not let me pet the visitors enough, and I’m underfoot in the design room. I have been ousted and I am bored. Feel bad for me.

Underground turkey noise....This is important so listen up. When I am resting, I need warmth and I need quiet. This disgruntled noise is telling you to STOP TALKING. You are disturbing me and, most especially, I am not a part of the conversation.

Thank you for taking the time to get to know some of my noises. I can assure you that these are not all of them but this is a very good start. Keep your ears open (like we do) and you’ll do just fine. Maybe you’ll even get a treat if you’re really good! Have a good week!

 
Murphy

It’s Booking Season Baby!

Tips for super efficient wedding planning.

It’s finally happened - you’re engaged! He liked it, he put a ring on it, and you’re happily ensconced in the details of planning your wedding (an event you’ve probably been secretly planning for years). The weeks flip past as you revel in the excitement and celebrations; and, before you know it, you’re back in your normal routine - working, the day-to-day of running a household, and the myriad activities that you do on a normal basis. Wow, you’re busy. How do people fit wedding planning into their...you know...life? There are so many details. So. Many. Details. “But that’s okay,” you think to yourself. “I have so many months. Months and months and months.”

Pretty Peonies

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how we come to meet those we refer to as LMBs - Last Minute Brides. How does this happen? How does an otherwise organized, go-getter find herself so far behind on her wedding planning? The short story is this - she thinks that she has plenty of time to book a, b, and c and, then, almost without her noticing, the months flip past and she’s scrambling to schedule vendor appointments.

You missed the booking season, lady!

Much like any other industry, the wedding industry rides a wave throughout the year during which business ebbs and flows. We have times of year that are traditionally busier than most - and that is certainly impacted by our location; while mid-summer weddings are quite popular in the Northeast, they are less-so here in Texas where the heat is more of a consideration. Conversely you’re less likely to see a surge in November outdoor weddings in the North, while here we’re taking advantage of our spectacular weather.

March through November are busy wedding months here in Austin and we’re fortunate to have such a long season. Wedding professionals across the board are out doing what they do best - putting together fabulous weddings for their brides and grooms. This means, of course, that we’re less available for meet with prospective couples. Don’t get us wrong, we offer a variety of weekly consultation times throughout the year, but our time is far more limited than when we’re in the full swing of wedding season; which can mean less convenient meeting times for those looking for evening or weekend appointments.

By process of elimination, of course, we are currently smack in the middle of booking season - December through February. Our wedding schedule is slower and we have much more flexibility when it comes to appointment options.

If you’ve just gotten engaged and you’re getting married in six months to a year, it may seem too early to start your planning, but now is actually the perfect time. Keep these tips in mind:

Early planning means more options. We all have a particular picture in mind when it comes to our weddings and we can very easily get married to those ideas - pun intended. If you have specifics that you just can’t live without - there is simply no way you can get married if you are not able to stand outside under that tree with that arbor and those flowers - then early planning is imperative. The longer you wait, the less likely that you will be able to coordinate every detail to your specifications.

Remember priority planning. We’ve talked about this before - wedding planning has a particular order to it. Book your wedding planners, venues, caterers, and photographers first - vendors that have more date limitations because of the number of events that they accept per day - and follow that up with florists, musicians, bakers, and more. When you book in this order, everything falls into place the way that it should. Think of the first four vendors as the foundation of a house; they provide the structure on which everything else is built and ultimately drive the overall design.

Consider the calendar. When it comes to scheduling time with wedding vendors, consider the time during which you’re requesting these appointments. If your expectation is to schedule Saturday appointments with wedding vendors in the middle of April or May, you’re likely going to be disappointed. We want to meet with you! We just ask that you understand the seasons and that you’re as flexible as possible when scheduling appointments. On the flip side, we won’t be meeting with prospective brides and grooms on your wedding day!

In the end, will we take a LMB? You bet! We realize there are many circumstances that can lead to delayed planning; and we’re always happy to meet with couples, no matter how close their wedding - if, of course, we’re available for their wedding date (if we can toot our own horn for a moment, we’re actually quite masterful at pulling off a last minute floral extravaganza!). However, if you have some time on your hands, do yourself - and your vendors - a favor and start your planning sooner rather than later. And, if you have some time right now, by all means, come see us and let’s get to work planning an amazing floral design for your wedding. We’re ready when you are!

Peonies...yes!

Thinking of spring.....

May's peonies

Peonies remain one of our most requested blooms! When in season, one of the most gorgeous blooms. Our bride's request was a full, fluffy bouquet of peonies--got it!

So beautiful--thanks to Vanessa for these gorgeous pro pics--always amazing!

The reception tables with some spectacular lighting and draping.

Thanks to Barbara for putting us all together!

Where do we get our flowers?

All the flowers featured in these photos originated from a different resource! We are frequently asked where we get our flowers-- the answer is long and intense but I'll give the short version. Our flowers are resourced from all over the world--we get get them through different brokers or wholesalers. Each week we use our local wholesalers, along with a California broker who primarily handles CA product and a Dutch vendor,who ships directly from the Aalsmeer auction. I have my own personal reasons for the wholesalers that I support-- our local wholesalers are very important to us because they also carry flowers from around the world, Columbia, Ecuador, Mexico, New Zealand, Italy to name a few and provide our hardgoods (think vases floral foam, etc.) so I feel like it my responsibility to support them and our local economy. It may not always be the cheapest option but cheapest is not always the best! Our California supplier is once again a company that I strongly believe in, after working in that market for more than 10 years, I know the care and handling that goes into the product they provide to us. They not only have a large group of domestic (US ) farms that they procure the product from, they also have the phenomenal LA flower market to choose from--they are where we go for those hard to find, unusual and fresh products. They have provided us with some awesome product and finally our Holland vendor-- no one does Dutch flowers like the Dutch! There is no comparison to their tulips, peony,freesia, orchids and I could go on--with todays global transportation it is effecient for us to ship directly from Holland--crazy, you know! At this time we do not have a reliable local resource, although we are asked about it all the time-- there are a few farms that produce some random products but overall not super reliable, but if you want a locally produced product you must be flexible and I mean very flexible! It is nothing short of amazing when I look down at a bouquet and see orchids from Holland, roses from Eucador, hydrangea from Columbia, dahlias from California-all nestled together harmoniously-- landing in the hands of a local Texan!

Angel Springs Event Center

 

We recently designed this arbor out at Angel Springs Event Center--the arch is one of the pieces from Alan over at Mancino Iron and the flowers were designers choice-- so we chose hydrangea, peonies, and ivory roses to go with the wedding palette of green/brown and ivory.

 

A super simple chair marker for the chairs on the aisle way --white hydrangea and brown ribbon--

I loved the program just hanging from the chair.

 

The inside featured both tall and low centerpieces--the dark fruitwood chivaris, white satin striped linens and brown favor boxes accented with cream,ivory and green flowers.  Once again, it was designers choice, we knew the bride had a love of hydrangea-- so of course hydrangeas, peonies, roses, lilies, green spider mums.

 

This is one of my favorite containers for low centerpieces- a glass square 8x8, it keeps the flowers low and conversational but has enough volume for a 10 person table- the sun added the perfect light for this shot! Thanks sun.

Bridal Extravaganza favorites

 

Always a favorite--it is a

POMANDER

 

Sounds like purple is going to be big in the fall and spring

 

The designer's favorite--coral charm peonies, 2 shades of pink roses,orange and green accents.

One of our weddings this weekend featured these flowers--can't wait to show you!

I'll be adding bridal extravaganza pictures all week-is there anything in particular you would like to see?

Let me know, I love to see comments !!

Grand glorious peonies

 

These are the weeks for peonies-- all of the pinks and creams, corals and reds-every variety available-

This is  a bridal bouquet awaiting its delivery and below the bridesmaids!

I'll share more of this wedding-- full of peonies and hydrangeas this week!

 

Spectacular centerpieces

 

Tall centerpieces can be one of the most dramatic additions to a reception-

A few things to keep in mind when choosing tall floral centerpieces,

make sure that they do not  block  the guests view across the table-

that is one of my biggest pet peeves!  

 

Adding elements on the table creates a very finished presentation-once the guests are seated they have something beautiful to look at-

 

Make sure the room can take the volume of the centerpiece-- your professional florist should be familiar with the venue and can give ideas for the space!

The peonies are here!

 

Peonies can be so unpredictable, when will they be here, will they be open?We were so excited to get a few white blooms for one of our brides this past weekend-- and lots of other white flowers, miniature calla lilies, stock,roses,tulips and ranunucla--the ribbons that are exposed will be used to tie in her grandparents wedding rings.

 

Just a few bouquets before they hit the delivery van--bridesmaids were wearing coral--one of our most challenging colors-not alot of flowers in that particular  color range-- we like to pair it with soft butter yellow- these gerbera daisies were perfect along with stock,hypericum berries, ambience roses, and apricot parrot tulips.  A nice spring collection and thank goodness the rain held off!

We are ready for Spring Weddings!

Spring is definitely at hand and we are ready! These pictures are from one of our favorite spring weddings from last year. It was all about pink — pink roses, pink lilies, pink peonies!

The reception was held at the beautiful Lakeway Resort and Spa, in the amazing Vistas Ballroom.

The hanging candles and pomanders were suspended over the dance floor and the impressive “Blingy tree” greeted guests as they entered the foyer.