Vintage Coral-Wow

Photos courtesy of Justin Meyers at www.justinsalemmeyer.com

Small Business Saturday

Saturday November 27th is Small Business Saturday. Have you heard about this. Even though As You Wish does not have a retail store front we are still a small business. Saturday is a day to support local small businesses. Small Business Saturday is a national movement to drive shoppers to local merchants across the U.S.

Not all floral delivery sites online are local florist. I urge you to use "Local Florist" who actually arrange and deliver flowers direct from their shops and studios. Unsure if someone you want to order flowers through is local? Check out their About Us page check out their address. Is there address local? Do they even show their address? If not, please find a shop that does.

A local business has a lot on the line. Their reputation in the community and neighborhood where they are established relies on there quality and service. They are more likely to go above and beyond to make sure you the customer are thrilled with your purchase.

Support Small Business Saturday and your local florist.

Inspiring Red

I love red. Several weeks ago one of my twin granddaughters asked me what my favorite color was. I replied that for right now it was red. Red is warm and dramatic while it is also big and makes a statement. Wine based reds are mysterious and exciting.

Look at these images above from Preston Baileys blog. When I saw these I could hardly take my eyes off of them. Especially the centerpieces. Preston is known for his over the top centerpieces and events and these are no exception. I love the red beaded pieces hanging down from the arrangement. If you look close or click on the image to enlarge it you will see that these are made from carnations that are strung with the beads and ribbon. Incredible, amazing. Can you tell I love this. And look at the container. More and more red and it really makes an impact and your eyes cannot look away from all of this red. This room must feel so dramatic and warm. Anything could happen in a room like that. Fantastic job Bailey team.

Yellow and Pool Blue

Yellow and Pool Blue were the colors for our August 2010 wedding. Yellow was the hot, hot, color this summer. This was our 4th yellow wedding and the colors were stunning. The brides family had spent quite a bit of time in Hawai and loved the tropical flowers in teh orchid family, add to that some calla lilies and the intense color of the blue hydrangea and you have an instant eye catching hit.

The flowers used in this lovely yellow and blue wedding were Yellow Calla Lilies, Orchids, Roses, Alstromeria Lilies, Blue Hydrangea, Button Mums, Eremeris, Blue Delphinium and Fugi Mums.

Lovely Yellow

Photos are courtesy of JPMains Photography in Ames. Beautiful !

Once in awhile, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale. -Author unknown

For this dreamy, sweet, mellow yellow wedding we used pink hydrangeas, yellow dahlias, cafe au lait dahlias, two tones of yellow roses and pink majolica spray roses, snap dragons and carnations. The morning that I picked up the flowers for Megans wedding the warehouse had just gotten in sweet peas. I couldn't resist. They really needed to go to a wedding and Megan was the perfect bride for these delicate blooms.

Congratulations Megan and John. I enjoyed working with you . I pray for many blessings on your life together and for a bright and shiny future as you move ahead in your life together.

Dancing the Night Away

White Rose Boutonniere

Red Rose Boutonniere with Blue Feather

Yellow Roses with Silver and Black Accent

White Roses with Tiffany Blue and Silver Ribbon

White Roses with Saphire and Silver Ribbon. In this corsage is a very small #24 made out of blue and silver wire. This was her dates football number. Fun idea for a keepsake.

Just a few of the corsages and boutonnieres that went to the Earlham and Adel Homecoming Dance last Saturday.

Photos belong to As You Wish Floral and Crystal Ruth

EHS 2010 Homecoming

This week was homecoming week for Earlham High School. It is a really fun week for the kids that is topped off with a parade, the crowning of the homecoming king and queen, a football game and then the homecoming dance.

This year we were contacted to provide the flowers for the homecoming court. We were excited to be a part of this event.

Congratulations to Earlham High Schools 2010 Homecoming 2010 king and queen, Derek Miner and Andrea Haus
Photo by Crystal Ruth

They Like Me, They Really Like Me

They like me, they really like me." That is what Sally Field said as she accepted the oscar in 1985 for her performance in Places in the Heart.

Those are the words I heard in my head the other day. For two consecutive weeks photos from two weddings that I had the opportunity to create the floral pieces for were featured on the Ubloom site.

Ubloom is a site were anyone involved in the flower industry can belong. There are blogs, articles, galleries where members can show their work, flower facts, instructional videos and forums where you can ask questions and get answers from a wide variety of wonderfully talented florist.

Fridays on the Ubloom blog are sometimes photo Fridays. Early in the summer I set a goal that I wanted some of my work to be chosen for photo Friday and last week on Friday I opened up the blog to see........you guessed it, there were the great photos (thank you Justin ) from Bo and Tims wedding in August. I really enjoyed this wedding. This wedding was challenging, had great colors that I had not worked with and the bride gave me the liberty to be creative. Lots of fun.

Then this week on Ublooms Facebook page they featured another of our weddings from the photo galleries section of Ubloom. Emily and Trent who were married last May. I had the privilege to do Emily's sisters wedding this summer. I saw the pro shots the other day and can't wait to share them. Really beautiful. But any way I am off track. Trent and Emily had a beautiful purple and green wedding. Again thank you to Justin of Justin Salem Meyer Photography for the pictures of both of these weddings.

So thank you Ubloom. You like me, you really like me.

Ashley and Nate

I also coordinated this wedding that was held at Willow Creek Babtist Church and one of the jobs of the coordinator is to lay the aisle carpet. The mother of the bride had monogramed this aisle carpet (it was spectacular DeAnn) and the monogram had to be in just the right spot so that the bride and groom were not standing on it but it was just behind them when they reached the bottom of the aisle. This is a picture the photographer took of my sister and I and the mother of the bride pinning it down. Just one of those things that goes on behind the scenes of a wedding.

White roses on black aluminum wire were submerged in 39 in. tall cylinder vases for the platform area. These vases are rental items of As You Wish Floral and have been a very popular item this summer. Its easy to see why. They are contemporary, have a clean look and striking. We floated a white rose on the top with two floating candles. You can never go wrong with candlelight for a wedding.

The photographer for Nate and Ashleys wedding was Catchlight Imaging http://www.catchlightimaging.net/. and they supplied us with all of these great photos. At the wedding they had cards for everyone with one of Nate and Ashleys engagment photos on it. It gave their information along with an approximate date that you could view the images from Nate and Ashleys wedding and instructions on how to get to the proofs from their website. I loved this idea and commend Catchlight Imaging for doing this. All of the photos were fabulous. I love their work and would highly reccomend them. Love the photos. Beautiful work Paul and Nicolle. Congratulations Nate and Ashley.

KICKING OFF JUNE WEDDINGS

June is typically a busy month for weddings especially in the midwest since the temperatures are usually moderate and sunshine is abundant. June for As You Wish is full of weddings. I can't wait to start showing off these beautiful brides and the gorgeous blooms that they chose to express their style.

The first wedding of June 2010 was held in Ames, Ia. The second of three for us in Ames this year. I think that I will never forget this couple and especially the brides family. They introduced us as family and I considered that a high compliment. First we delivered the personal flowers to the church and were there in plenty of time for pictures. The church they were married at was one of the older churches in Ames and had no air conditioning. Yikes. The bride and bridesmaids were in a room with just a fan but still the bride looked gorgeous. It takes a lot more than a little heat to bring a girl down on her wedding day.

My husband helped me to deliver the wedding and even helped the grandmother of the bride get her shoes on. What a guy.

The bride Rene only had one thing that she really wanted. An arm bouquet. The picture that she showed me was of large bloosomy flowers in bold colors of wine and rasberry with ivory. The picture that she showed me was all peonies. It is important to share with brides that often they can have the same look with different flowers. Peonies that don't have a water source will wilt quickly and they can easily shatter when not tucked in with other flowers to support it. So we used David Austin Garden roses. I loved the colors and the look. The garden rose will give you that same full romantic look like a peony.

After pinning on everyones boutonnierres and corsages and instructing the bridesmaids how to hold their bouquets (and helping grandma with her shoes, we are a full service florist :) we were off to set up the reception. Rene had wanted centerpieces that would be mixed between the shorter and taller sizes. We used 24 in tall cylinder vases with roped submerged roses and cubes with blue ice crystals, a submerged led and with a pink hydrangea floating. A picture is worth a thousand words and so I will let the pictures do the talking here. I love these colors, dark burgandy, rasberry, soft pink and cream. They made me swoon. Through in a little candle light and it was perfect.

Couldn't Forget the Guys

Wouldn't want to overlook all you guys. I love the opportunity to do some fun and unusual things for the guys. Here are just two of our bouts from this year.

Just a few prom photos

Fun, fun, fun. Prom is a great opportunity to have fun with your flowers. I loved the wire and feathers. Thank you to everyone that ordered their flowers for prom from As You Wish Floral.