Murphy Mondays: Sharing the Love

As an Executive Labrador Retriever, I am called upon to manage many tasks at Bouquets of Austin. Of course, one of my most important roles is to protect the shop; I am, after all, a large dog and so I suspect my humans look to me for a certain level of protection. As I am more likely to lick someone to death than to pose any sort of canine threat, I really only act as "protector" in name only; but I keep that to myself. If, however, you need some food protected, I'm your dog.

As we've also discussed before, my role also includes greeter. That's my favorite part because I get to meet new people and show them what a great guy I am. I call this sharing the love; and when you work in a wedding flower shop, sharing the love is what it's all about. The people who come to meet us are happy and in love; they are there to plan the biggest day of their life and we're all happy to be a part of it! But sometimes even the happiest of occasions can cause strife between families and we see even the smallest piece of that in the consultation room at Bouquets of Austin. As an easygoing dog, I like to keep the peace; so here is my easy-to-follow tips on spreading the love when it comes to your flower meeting with us:

*Be respectful. It seems like a simple thing but boy can this get out of hand sometimes. I may really run Bouquets of Austin, but I still have to respect my humans and they are always respectful of me. So we like to make sure that everyone who comes to a meeting with us is respectful of each other. A lot of times brides and grooms bring along several members of their family to their meetings. That's always fun because it is, after all, a happy celebration. But fighting in that meeting...not so happy. Keep it loving and respectful.

*On that note, spread the love by keeping the bride and groom as the focus of the meeting. It is their wedding and, therefore, it should be their voices that are heard when it comes to the wedding flowers. Yes, everyone involved in the meeting will certainly have their opinions, but during the meeting may not be the best time to express those opinions if it causes conflict or derails the purpose of the meeting.

*Be open. The role of my humans at Bouquets of Austin is to make sure that our couples get gorgeous flowers on their wedding day. They are really good at what they do. So they always appreciate when couples - and their families - allow them to make suggestions based on their experience. When you're open to ideas, you may be pleasantly surprised by something you may not have thought of when it comes to your wedding flowers.

*Finally, spread the love by spreading the food. Please don't forget your host at Bouquets of Austin - ME. Gratuities are appreciated and I'll take whatever you've got (although bones are best).

Have a great week!

Murphy

Murphy Mondays: Good Behavior Gets You Treats

Hi humans! Today I'm on my soapbox (or whatever the dog equivalent of a soapbox is). I want to talk about good behavior. For me, it's pretty easy. Well, it's not easy to follow but it is pretty simple to understand. I can't go in the consultation room because I'm not supposed to interrupt the appointments and also because some people are allergic to dogs. I'm not supposed to leave the shop without permission. I'm not supposed to eat things out of Dara's trashcan. And I'm not supposed to eat the flowers (bummer). When I'm well-behaved - which is, let's face it, most of the time - I expect treats. I don't think that's unreasonable. Do you?

Me. Without treats. Just sayin'.

 For you humans, the expectations for good behavior are a lot different. And for my humans, in particular, the good behavior they need from the brides and grooms that they meet with is pretty specific. I've been around long enough to know what counts for good behavior in a meeting...and here it is!

1. Share the details of your flower budget. My people don't need to know how much your overall wedding will cost. But they DO need to know how much your wedding flower budget is; so don't keep it to yourself. If you have a number in mind then, by all means, share it please! It only helps my people to help YOU.

2. Understand that sometimes a price is what it is. My humans will always do their best to give you the best that they can within your budget. But you wouldn't believe how many people are offended because they can't get everything they want for the money they have to spend. Flowers cost what they cost - and the time of year affects that a lot. Everyone here will do their best to make your wedding dreams come true but sometimes a compromise is in order.

3. A crowd is fine but too many chefs in the kitchen...not so much. My people love meeting with brides and grooms and their families. The more the merrier they always say! Sometimes couples bring everyone from their parents to their wedding parties to their meetings. That's totally cool with us; as long as we don't have to face the dreaded "decision by committee." If every single person in the room has to weigh in on each and every flower, then it's going to be a loooooong meeting and probably a frustrating one for the bride and groom. Bring your peeps! But give them limited veto power!

These are just a couple of my good behavior tips for you humans. Make sure you follow them and maybe you'll get a treat. And, if you do, maybe you could share??

Have a good week!

Murphy

Texas Wildflowers...Not

Did we mention it is booking season? Lots and lots of inquiries have been headed in our direction and we absolutely love it! Wedding flowers are our thing, but the best part of designing wedding flowers is that we get to tell a story - and that story begins with meeting the bride and groom and getting to know them. This is the creative part of the process and, honestly, a good part of the fun for us. We really enjoy getting to meet so many fun, awesome couples. This is what really gets us excited about making their wedding flowers something truly special!

Unfortunately, however, not everything about this process is picture perfect. We love when brides/grooms have a vision, but hate it when we have to squash their dream. This is especially true when we're talking about expectation to budget ratio. At least in this case, we can work with couples to help them create the wedding of their dreams but in a way that works within their budget. Some things, however, we just can't do anything about and that includes making particular flowers materialize.

We are in Texas and people here love their Texas wildflowers. We totally get it. We love them too. But guess what? Real Texas wildflowers don't exist for commercial use; they are simply not commercially grown. You should see the faces of the brides and grooms who have their hearts set on Texas wildflowers and are forced to hear this sad news.

So here's the deal...Texas wildflowers don't survive for long when they are cut; they are completely dependent upon the weather and they are not meant to be wedding flowers. So when brides and grooms ask us about bluebonnets, we have to say no. But what we can suggest is giving bluebonnet seed packets as favors or incorporating the essence of bluebonnets into the wedding in other ways, such as using a beautiful bluebonnet broach/pin for the handle of the bride's bouquet. One of our bride's mother even handmade gorgeous napkins out of wildlflower printed fabric. We can also mimic the look of wildflowers, by making loosely gathered, casual bouquets with pops of color.

Beyond Texas wildflowers, here are some other flowers that fall into the "no" category...

Magnolia. Most photos of magnolia bouquets are actually silk/artificial. I was lucky enough that my grandmother, like many others in the south, had a gorgeous magnolia tree in her front yard. The blooms were beautiful on the tree, but as many times as I tried I was never able to get a bloom to last for more than a few minutes once it was cut.

Wisteria. Sorry Twilight fans! I know that the use of wisteria in the wedding of Edward and Bella caused quite a stir and we have since been asked many, many times about using wisteria. And we have to say no. Wisteria, like wildflowers and magnolia, is meant to be enjoyed in its natural state and environment. Once it is cut from this natural state, it just doesn't make it.

Luckily, even though these few flowers are not available, we have tons of gorgeous varieties that are available and we're happy to help you make the best selections for you!