Spend Less and Enjoy More-Honeymoon in France!

You've heard the old adage ,"and they lived happily ever after". How about taking a honeymoon where the countryside looks like the pages described in a storybook? The land is dotted with romantic castles and chateaus that you can actually stay in overnight! Look no further, consider a special honeymoon to the Loire Valley in France. Thanks to Fabrice at Chateaux De La Loire for this picture of Chateau de Chenonceau.

Take a close look at your wedding budget. Here are is a list of items to think about cutting costs on so that you can create the honeymoon that dreams are made of!

1.Wedding Rings
Why not purchase something cheaper for now then on down the road when you are well established and making more money for a special anniversary you could get each other a more expensive wedding ring.

2.Wedding Dress
Borrow, rent or buy a gently used dress that you could wear. Then add some accessories to make it a dress that feels like it is your style. (You can still look very nice and stylish without spending a lot and there is more money to go towards a once in a lifetime honeymoon!)

3. Wedding Invitations
Consider making your own wedding invitations. There are many easy options for making your own invitations.

4.Wedding Photography
Have a friend or family member use their photography talents and perhaps as their gift to you they could take digital pictures for you. Print them off on your computer and put one of these photos in with your invitations.

5. Wedding and Reception
Do it yourself! There are many wedding resources online and if you ask around friends and family would probably gladly help you come up with ways to decorate and create the wedding event to remember for a fraction of what it might cost you!

Recently while watching a travel show, I discovered the Loire Valley in France. There are so many fun things to do here while celebrating the fact that you are newly married! Visit some of the well known travel show online sites for tips on getting reasonable airfare and ideas for travel books that can save you time and money when planning your trip. Visit your local bookstore or library to find these books.

Checkout Chateaux De La Loire for a wealth of information about romantic Chateaus and gorgeous Castles to visit and spend the night in. (Click on the British Flag for the English translation.) You can lazily float down the Loire River on a boat then rent bicycles to tour the splendid picturesque countryside. Catch a tour bus or minivan for a look at the sites around this area. The train system in Europe is incredible so getting to and from destinations is great! As far as speaking the language, take along a guide book with survival French and many of the younger generation speak English.

Whatever fits your idea of site seeing and traveling to this part of France, plan it well and then go for it! Make sure you do your homework and research places to eat, stay, shop, and play. Also find ways to travel light like maybe only take a backpack with versatile clothes to mix and match and add a couple of accessories to dress an outfit up with. SHOES are your lifeline! They need to be comfortable and already broken in! Don't forget to get your passports. They take awhile so put this at the top of your to do list!

You can make this happen and have a honeymoon fit for a queen and king if you plan ahead and find ways to cut the cost of your wedding day. Perhaps you can "have your cake and eat it to". A simple yet elegant wedding day and then off to enjoy a memorable and romantic honeymoon in the Loire Valley in France.

Flower Cookies for any Event!

Sugar cookies are so versatile! Here is a recipe for cookie success with these flower shaped sugar cookies. Use them for a bridal shower or serve them as part of a cookie bar at your wedding reception!

Make your favorite sugar cookie recipe. Cut out cookies in the shape of a flower and bake. Let cool. Then frost with the following cookie glaze.

In a mixing bowl combine:

1/4 cup milk
4 cups sifted confectioner's sugar.

Add some more milk a little at a time until your glaze is ready to drizzle. Color the frosting glaze with your choice of food coloring. Put a piece of wax paper or parchment on a cookie sheet. Set a baking rack on the cookie sheet. Hold each cookie over the bowl of glaze and evenly smooth the glaze over the cookie until the top and sides are covered. Put a gummy candy or candy of your choice in the middle of each cookie flower. Then set each cookie on the the baking rack to let the glaze set.

Your cookies will turn out beautiful. If you want to use them as wedding decor or for a bridal or baby shower , stick a long sucker stick or a wooden dowel(you can purchase them for baking purposes) in the middle of the cookie before you bake it.

Glaze the cookies a variety of colors and set them in vases or in creative plant pots or containers. Fill your container with green paper basket grass and then arrange the cookies so they will stand up in the container. Tie a beautiful ribbon around your container. You could also make your flower cookies different sizes and shapes for visual appeal.

These would make cute favors to send home with guests at a party by packaging them in a small box with a ribbon tied around it and a flower tag attached to the top of the box. Or put it in a small see through bakery bag.

However you use these cute flower cookies, they are sure to delight your guests!

Macy's 'Spring Is In The Air"

Michael Daigian Design would like to remind everyone that Macy's Flower Show "Spring is In The Air" has begun. Michael Daigian Design will be unveiling the "Bouquet of the Day" on Tuesday, March 30th and we could not be more excited. Michael Daigian is also participating in a Macy's Flower Show lecture. Click through on the image for more information.

La Mar

This week Michael Daigian Design is featuring one of our favorite floral accounts. La Mar has a wonderful space that is both exciting and challenging for a designer. On top of that, La Mar requests the most cutting edge account design work and Michael Daigian Design loves the weekly innovation. Here are some images from recent La Mar account work.

Bride Courage

It's not often you see a bride wearing a cast on her wedding day. I came across these awesome photos taken by Jesse Chamberlin of Our Labor of Love Photography Studio and wanted to share them kind of a reminder to us all about what really counts on your wedding day.

Ok how many of us would reschedule or cancel that wedding because of the cosmetic look of the cast, the embarrassment, or the inconvenience? This beautiful bride took a negative thing and turned into a joyful memorable occasion in her life. This takes some bride courage! Apply this to all the downs we face in life. Take the high road and find someway to turn the negative into positive. Work it to your advantage!

Make your life happy and on your wedding day if things don't all turn out as planned take a deep breath, smile, and be flexible. It's all a part of your story and making it memorable! Laugh and "find the perfection"!

Dreamy Topiary

With Spring here my thoughts turn to green and bringing some of that green stuff inside. I found a great topiary "how to" over at Design Sponge. It doesn't take a green thumb or an expert to put this simple but beautiful topiary together.

You could change out the container or add a wide satin ribbon on wire in the corner of the base of the plant for a lovely wedding table decoration. Group several for an inviting display. Would look great next to wedding photos, bridal portrait , or family pictures on a table at your wedding reception or in your new home. You could make some small ones and give as gifts to wedding attendants.

It takes only a few supplies:

muhlenbekia or angel vine (love angel vine!) plant
container of your choice
potting soil
wire hanger
clippers

Take a look at this great tutorial from Design Sponge and take some time to do it yourself!

Elegant Lemon & Cherry Parfait Dessert for Parties or Bridal Showers

Here is an elegant and tasty dessert you can fix to impress your guests or to serve at a wedding shower. You will need several Meyer lemons. These are different then regular lemons. They are thought to be a cross between a lemon and a tangerine.

Cut off a small slice at the end of the lemon so it will stand up. Then slice off the top of the lemon (enough that you can fill it with the parfait filling.) Hollow out the inside and juice the lemon. (I put the juice and the "flesh" of the lemon in glass jar to save for a lemon pie later and put it in the fridge or you could make some lemonade with it.)

Next I let the lemons sit out on a tray in a sunny place for a day to kind of dry out a bit. You will need the following to fill the lemons with the parfait mixture:

* Crushed Shortbread Cookies
* Cherry Pie filling
* Lemon Curd
* Real Whipping Cream whipped

Remember these are very small portions. Put some crushed Shortbread cookies in the bottom of the lemon. Next put a small portion of cherry pie filling. Top that with some lemon curd then a little whipped cream. Put a little bit of cherry pie filling on top or the cream and finish with a dollop of whipped cream. Sprinkle more crushed cookies for garnish.

They have a festive party look to them and the taste is delicious and fruity! You don't have to be a gourmet cook to impress your guests with such an elegant parfait dessert!

Quaint and Romantic Reception on the Farm

If you're looking for a beautiful, cozy, and romantic place for a wedding event, take a close look at Wadley Farms in Lindon, Utah. Surrounded by orchards, gardens, and a backdrop of the gorgeous rocky mountains makes for a breathtaking setting perfect for indoor or outdoor wedding events.

You can go rustic elegance with the Historic Barn at Wadley Farms. They offer a turn of the century setting in the Railroad Hall featuring hardwood floors, wraparound porch, and white bead board walls. Or stay outdoors under a canopy of tall trees and a wisteria covered gazebo in a peaceful beautifully landscaped garden setting. What an excellent choice for your special event that will have guests and family talking for years about their magical visit to Wadley Farms.

Not only do you have a choice of buildings on the farm to host your special wedding event, they offer some charming amenities. An old fashioned black carriage can hold your wedding gifts. It makes a darling display! As guests walk about the place, they will notice rock walls, welcoming flower beds, old world doors, and a rock covered tower, archways, and a three tiered fountain.

To say that it is a great place for wedding photos is an understatement! You can get very creative with the ambiance that the buildings and garden area portray. If you think outside the wedding box, Wadley Farms
can also host luncheons, dinners, anniversary celebrations, business meetings, etc...

Whichever site you choose, be it The Barn, The Railroad Hall, or the pristine Garden, you won't be disappointed. It will be a romantic setting reminiscent of something straight out of a fairytale!

"Storybook" Pantry Bridal Shower

Last night was very busy as the shower I helped plan for my friend's daughter took place. We had a sort of "Alice in Wonderville" type theme. The table was set with a collectible doll to represent Alice. The "white rabbit" was displayed on the top of a garden container.

A silk flower bouquet was in the center of the table designed in red, orange, and yellow with a red and white fabric toile wrap around the stems. Red and yellow candies were displayed in glass goblets and fun flower shaped cookies were displayed on both sides of the fun display.

Teacups were stacked and a pomade of handmade paper roses sat on top of them. We served salads, rolls, cookies, and parfaits layered in Meyer lemons with cherry filling, lemon, curd, and cream whipped. Crushed shortbread cookies were on the bottom and sprinkled on the top.

It was very festive looking (sorry my photos don't do it justice.) The gifts were items the bride could put in her pantry along with recipes. I took a small guest signing book and dressed up the pages with scrapbooking paper, paper roses, leaves, ribbon roses, ribbon, buttons, etc... On one page I put a picture of the bride and groom along with their names which I used from their wedding invitation. Then as guests arrived they were invited to eat and mingle and write in the guest book. They could write words of advice, a fun date night idea, or good wishes to the bride and groom.

It was a "storybook" evening and we had a lot of fun! You could put your own decorating touch on a similar shower. Keep the evening simple and your guests can entertain themselves by talking with each other and enjoying each other's company not to mention making the bride feel important at this special time in her life!

The Role of Flowers in Weddings

Hundreds of colors and thousands of choices. Flowers may be simply be made up of carpels and stamens but last thing in the mind of a woman in preparing for her wedding day is simple. When the budget is available, an esteemed florist is attached to the decorating army not only for the chapel and the reception area but becomes key in adorning the bridal entourage, from the flower girl and ring bearer up to the bride and groom themselves.

In nine out of ten weddings floral arrangements are table centerpieces and more often than not that these are complimentary to the bridal bouquet itself. Choosing the right flower is not always easy as its availability differs from country to country and is almost always season dependent.

During the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans, the bride and groom wore garland on their necks to symbolize new life, hope and fertility. Women on the other hand, also carried bouquets but both of these were actually made not of flowers but of aromatic bunches of herbs and spices to ward off evil spirits. But during the momentous wedding of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert, these herbs and spices were mostly replaced with flowers, particularly Marigolds. Some herbs and spices were retained to fill the bouquet since were believed to increase sexual desire.

During these times flowers soon became the secret language of lovers and each flower began having its own meanings. Historians even believe that in 17th century Turkey that lovers illicitly began using this "flower language" to convey actual messages. Soon enough this language was formally called of Florigraphy, which literally translates to the language of flowers. The type, color and shade including the combination of these were much like deliberate words used in a sentence. All this richly ensured the taking into tradition of the current use of flowers in the nuptial rites.

Although modern women select their flowers for mostly their appealing color and shape to suit their specific personality and style, wedding flowers are still held as a symbol of grace and elegance at weddings. For westerners, the most popular flowers is use today are Roses, orchids and Calla Lily followed by Tulips, Gardenia, Hydrangeas, Lilac, Lily of the Valley, Stephanotis and the Ranunculus. Roses still symbolize love and passion, but its colors means purity (white), friendship (yellow), and desire/enthusiasm (orange) among others.

Tulips symbolize fame at the same time also means "perfect lover but even the simple Daisy signifies loyal love, while the prized chrysanthemums are used are wedding anniversary gifts. Carnations represent pride and beauty and Daffodils means chivalry.

In summary, the role of flowers in Weddings can be expanded from a mere decorative element to an additional carrier of a message from groom to the bride and the bride to her guests. Its visual appeal and at times its natural fragrance lift the height and drama of the event. Its symbolism, language and history at weddings continue to hold a promising flavor to the festivity from the sacramental, spiritual and to the social. Not only can most florists design centerpieces, floral accessories and bouquets but be also be consulted for the overall design theme of the event. Even if not locally available, experienced florists can actually import or find access to specialized flower producers and suppliers.

Timothy Spencer is a creative writer and editor in the Island Rose blog. Here, he writes informative articles to help people better enjoy sending flowers and gifts to their loved ones using the Island Rose Flower Delivery Philippines service. For more articles like this, visit

http://www.islandrose.net or the Flowers Philippines website. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Timothy_Spencer

The Uniqueness of Blue Wedding Flowers

When it comes to choosing a unique flower for your wedding, blue wedding flowers can very well take the cake. You will find that there are a number of flowers that can be used for blue floral arrangements and if the color motif for your wedding is blue, you can very well make your choice from some of these flowers.

Included in the list of blue colored flowers that you can use for your wedding's floral arrangements are pansies, anemones, hyacinths, muscari, hydrangea, alliums and clematises. These blue flowers will go very well with purple flowers, white flowers and lavender flowers. You can also choose to use these blue wedding flowers with red or yellow flowers to create a contrasting arrangement.

How you arrange these flowers and what other colors you combine with them can often depend on the kind of floral arrangement you decide upon. For example, if you are thinking of going modern, you might just use one type of blue flower for the whole wedding. If you are looking to create romantic floral arrangement for your reception and for the church, you might want to consider a combination made with blue, purple and pink flowers like lilacs, orchids, hydrangea, calla lilies and roses.

If you want your blue wedding flowers to look classic and old fashioned, you may want to consider having floral centrepieces and decorations made with the use of muscari and runculus. Add to the classic feel of these flowers by using old fashioned fluted urns in white for the centrepieces and these same urns or taller versions of it placed on top of Roman pillars all around the reception area. Another classic blue flower arrangement that uses the color white to help set off the color blue in these flowers is one that uses white calla lilies and blue muscari in tall bouquets that are placed in tall, fluted crystal vases with a blue ribbon tied near the base.

Learn more about blue wedding flowers, please visit http://www.gsyywz.com/general/analysis-of-blue-wedding-flowers/.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stanley_Hardin

The Many Different Colors of Fall Wedding Flowers

Having your wedding in the season when leaves begin to fall means that you will have your pick of the lovely flowers of fall to choose from for your wedding arrangements and bouquet. Fall wedding flowers often come in a huge variety of shades that show off the bright and vibrant colors of the season. These types of floral arrangements and bouquets often come in color combinations that include bright orange, peach, red, yellow and brown with some green mixed in for contrast.

Most of the fall wedding flowers you will find in these arrangements include such popular blooms like roses, the hydrangea and the calla lily. You can also find other flowers that are popularly used for weddings in this seasonal arrangement choice due to their bright and vibrant colors that are easily associated with this season and these include peonies, orchids, sunflowers, gerber daisies and poppies.

Some of the color combinations that most brides and wedding planners choose for these special occasions include rather unique pairings that suggest a more modern twist in the fall wedding flowers arena. The most common color combinations you will find when it comes to these kinds of floral arrangements based on this season include the yellow and orange combo. This is often done with the use of different flowers in different shades of orange and yellow. Sometimes you will find autumn leaves added to these floral arrangements to make the fall flower idea really come to life.

The unique color combinations used for floral arrangements that focus on the colors of autumn include blue and purple, purple and burgundy, red and fuchsia, peach and pink and a hodge-podge of the many colors of autumn that include green, brown, red, orange and yellow. You may even find some of these floral arrangements accompanied by berries, vines and even fruits in these same colors that are also connected with the autumn season.

Learn more about fall wedding flowers, please visit http://www.gsyywz.com/general/choosing-the-right-fall-wedding-flowers/.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stanley_Hardin

How to Use Wholesale Cut Flowers to Build Your Retail Florist Business

Most florists place their largest orders of wholesale cut flowers in anticipation of the Valentine's Day, followed closely by Mother's Day. On these days the shops get more walk-in customers than ever. Yet two high-selling days a year are not enough to sustain and grow a floral business. It is possible to have sales volume and revenue akin to these holidays every day of the year. However, in order to do so, the main business of the florist must come from wedding planners and other special event organizers. In order to secure repeat business and referrals from these professionals, a florist must look at her own business through the eyes of these high-volume clients. When looking for flower vendors, event planners and coordinators search for the following things:

Quality of available flowers - Are the flowers fresh, with vivid colors? How long the flowers stay fresh also referred to as vase life, is determined in large part by how fresh they were when delivered to the floral shop. Using a wholesale flowers supplier that delivers quickly and has proper facilities to maintain freshness and vase life of cut flowers means you will be able to offer longer lasting arrangements to your clients.

Attractiveness of display arrangements - It goes without saying that unattractive arrangements of flowers that are past their prime will be a huge turn-off for anyone. When it comes to event planners, their professional reputation depends in large part on how dazzling an event they can put together. To help you with creating attractive arrangements, choose a wholesale cut flowers supplier that offers bouquet assembly and chance to place custom orders.

Trendiness of display arrangements - For many brides wedding planning starts with checking out bridal magazines and websites for the latest trends in gowns and flowers. While red roses are always in demand, if the season's trend is using Birds of Paradise in bridal bouquets, then one needs to have a wholesale flowers supplier who can meet this need. As many varieties of flowers should be offered by the wholesale cut flowers supplier as possible. A wide variety of colors, from common to exotic ones, are a great asset.

Flexibility and willingness to work with the event planner's or bride's ideas and wishes - The event planner is there to make a beautiful event according to theirs and their clients' vision. They will appreciate suggestions, but they have envisioned their event and want to execute it that way. For a florist it means finding a wholesale flowers supplier that delivers exotic flowers and colors, offers a wide selection of flowers, and has the freshest flowers available even out of season.

In short, a successful wholesale flowers supplier will, after impressing a few event planners, gain the coveted and priceless word of mouth advertising. If you buy quality wholesale cut flowers, you will find that in time the success of your business will be measured by the wedding and event planners you impress.

Do you need to know where to find the best quality wholesale flowers? Bloomsxpress.com has top quality fresh cut flowers for all occasions at low prices.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_Harp