“Spring Ahead” this Sunday, March 10th!!

Mar7

Since I have to set 3 clocks, and write myself at least 3 additional notes, I thought I would remind all of our friends that this is the weekend that we “spring ahead” one hour.  So, don’t forget to turn the clock forward before you got to bed on Saturday night, or you will be late for church or brunch on Sunday morning.

“Springing  Ahead” in the month just a little, I should also remind everyone that St. Patrick’s Day is on Sunday, March 17th, and one of the largest parades in the country happens right here in Pittsburgh on Saturday — March 16th.  We all can be Irish for one day.  Don’t forget your green carnation for your lapel.  That makes you truly Irish!

Of Course, Spring is really arriving in style as usual on March 21st.

Just a few weeks  from now  is Palm  Sunday, March 24 and of course,  Easter Sunday on March 31.  Wow….the month is truly wizzing by!!

Easter is a few weeks earlier than we have had it in the past few years.  We are all  hoping that the snow has all but become a long faded memory, and that  spring is truly here when the Easter Bunny hops our way.

Don’t forget, cut tulips and Daffodils are arriving and in stock daily now.  Take a small bunch of Spring home to brighten your table today.

So, in keeping with St, Patrick, and a wonderful blessing from a long-forgotten poet:  “May the roads rise up to meet you;  May the Winds be always at your back; May the sun shine warm upon your face.  And Until we meet again…………

Bride Show this weekend!

Jan23

If you are planning a wedding in 2013 or 2014, then the Wyndham Grand Hotel is the place to be this weekend!

Come & see us at the Cavnanaugh Brideshow on Saturday or Sunday, between the hours of 11 am and 4 pm.

Your senses with go into overload!  The wonderful food tastes, bites of cakes, terrific floral scents, and great music help to make this a wonderful event.  Over 150 vendors will be in residence for two days — all eager to help make your day the most special day that it can be!

New photos in the galleries!

Jan23

Just wanted to let you know, we have finally finished editing all the photos from the last 4 months of 2012.  All the bouquets, centerpieces, etc are posted in the galleries here in our Blog.

We hope you enjoy looking, and getting inspired for your own event this year!

Cavanaugh Bride Show

Jul23

Hope you all had a chance to visit with us at the Cavanaugh Bride Show yesterday.  In case you missed the show or did not get to speak with us, here are some of the designs we featured. We are now booking wedding dates for 2013.  Hope to visit with you soon!

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Some of our 2012 Brides and their flowers

Jul12

While we are servicing a wedding,  we always try to stay out-of-the-way of the professional photographer.  Often that means that we only get to capture pictures of the bouquets — no people!  We have managed to capture a few of our beautiful brides with their flowers, and thought you might enjoy seeing them.

Lynn and her maids at St Barbara’s  Church ; Bridgeville, Pa.

While Lynn chose to carry all while, her bridesmaids carried an assortment of bright-colored flowers to compliment their dresses.

This was our Gerber daisy girl…..she just loved them!  Her bouquet consisted of at least 6 colors of  Gerberas + white.  Each girl carried a separate color of Gerber in her bouquet.  (A rainbow wedding, if you will, borrowed from the 1960′s).

Our next bride was worried about the heat of a bright June day, and a mid-afternoon outdoor garden wedding.  Her very practical solution was to have us do all the bridal bouquets in silk (artificial)   flowers.  Our bride had to actually touch them to make sure that they were not real!

Lauren was our bride who loved the smell of her bouquet.  Her flowers that day were very fragrant….

 Sometimes our bride just wanted everything to match….as much as possible.  We try to do that, but often suggest just a little midge  of contrast to establish a little lighter color or colors in the same hue or family to give a little separation in photographs, as seen below. 

 

Purple is a popular color in 2011 & 2012!

Jul12

We did not realize the trend we have been experiencing  until we started to review some pictures yesterday.  Purple — in all different shades and hues — has been a very popular color this year and last year.

We have featured it all alone — with its many shades — and also combined it with a number of other colors like green, white or pink.    Deep Red and Deep purple also also combinations that we have found delightful.  We thought you might enjoy seeing how each bride’s vision can be  similar — and yet totally totally different!

Enjoy!!

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Memorial Day Flowers for Veterans

Jun20

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First thing on Memorial Day, 2012, I headed to the Korean War Memorial, located on Pittsburgh’s north shore.  We placed a wreath at the Memorial from the Starkist Company honoring all who served in the Korean War.  Earlier in the week, we Had prepared the Memorial Wreath presented by the Pittsburgh Korean War Veterans.  This wreath generally is placed near the American flag at the Korean War Memorial.

Then, We were off to a day of adventure and excitement.

We  had the pleasure of visiting the  National Cemetary of the Alleghenys – located right here in Western Pennsylvania, just south of Bridegville, Pa.  This national cemetery is one of the newest — opened in 2005.  Already over 7,000 veterans or spouses of veterans have been buried here.

We came to help families that came to visit their loved ones on Memorial Day, by giving away roses…..2 per family.

Flower farms from Ecuador and California donated all the roses that we gave away.  Logistics were provided to get the roses to us free of charge by a national inporter/broker.   We  willingly gave of our time to pass out the roses.

This program began at Arlington National Cenetery in 2011.  This year, At Arlington, over 100,000 roses were distributed or placed on graves.

Over 100 florists from all across the USA distributed roses at 100 local  cemeteries.  No monetary donations were accepted.  No cost to any family member was involved.(and many people offered us donations through-out the day).

We did this in grateful remembrance of those who have served our country to keep us  safe and free from harm.  We did this in memory of so many family members who have answered the call to duty in wars gone by.  We did this because we wanted to honor all of those who came before us, and are no longer with us today….family members, friends,  loved ones and some that  we only know by name.

Because the cemetary of the Alleghenies is a very vast place, we found it better to operate out of  our minivan, and do a “drive-up” service.  (sort of like going thru the drive thru at McDonald’s!!)  The pictures attached tell our story better than I can.

Thanks to me friend, Alexandra, for helping me on Monday.  We gave away 500 roses in about 5 hours.  We will return next year, I promise.

And….thanks to all the families for all your kindness during our day with you.  We really, really appreciate it!  Your notes that were mailed to us afterward brought us to tears in lots of cases.  Thank you for being the families of True Heroes.