Flower Power: Yves Piaget garden roses

Nico Here! I want to introduce you to my all time favorite garden rose EVER, The Yves Piaget. The Knot Magazine just voted this the hot new up and coming flower for Bridal Bouquets!!! I Friggin' Love these fluffy, hot pink, ruffly, gorgeous, fabulous blooms. I wish I could make a bed of these roses, and then lay on down and die happy. Enjoy!

I'M IN LOVE by jasmine schoch

Marriage Proposal Dos and Don'ts

So here is an article that I thought would be helpful to anyone getting ready to pop the big question. Although this article may seem like it only pertains to guys, I think that anyone getting ready to propose, whether guy or girl, could use a few pointers to make this wonderful experience a bit less nerve racking ;-)

So here are the dos and don'ts of marriage proposals:

Do:

1.Do Test the Waters
Before you propose, the two of you should talk about the possibility of getting married. Make sure it's something that you both want, and agree on major issues such as children. You don't want her to be taken completely off guard, as such a proposal is almost certainly guaranteed to elicit only a hesitating yes, if not a, "I'll have to think about it."

2.Do Make it a Surprise
Even though you have discussed getting married, the marriage proposal itself should still be a surprise. Find a moment and a way that she won't be suspecting.

3.Do Be Prepared
Saying, "Will you marry me?" is a huge deal, and one that leaves many proposers completely tongue-tied. So practice! It might feel silly, but say the words out loud a few times. You might also write down exactly what you're going to say, to make sure you come off as smooth and confident.

4.Do Find The Right Engagement Ring
Since wearing an engagement ring is a lifetime commitment, make sure it's the right style. You might find an opportunity to window shop for rings when you are walking past a store, or bring it up in conversation. You can also ask her mother or best friend to help choose the ring.

5.Do Know if She Wants to Pick the Engagement Ring
Most brides want their proposal to include an engagement ring, but others are very particular about their jewelry, and want to be part of the buying/designing process.

6.Do Talk to Her Parents
We've come a long way from when women were property who needed their father's permission, yet, there is still something nice and respectful about asking for the parents' blessing.

7.Do Pick a Personal Spot
Think about your favorite romantic places -- choose a meaningful spot to pop the question. It could be as simple as in your living room, or as complicated as whisking her away for a weekend in Paris. Just don't ask her in a supermarket aisle!

8.Do Be Creative
Incorporate your personality, favorite things, foods etc. into the proposal. Make it memorable rather than a cookie cutter proposal.

9.Do Drop to One Knee
It's not 1950, but there is something so charming and romantic about a man on one knee asking the love of his life to marry him. Even if you're not a traditional guy, it will add to the seriousness and lovingness of the proposal.

10.Do Tell Her Why You Want to Marry Her
Don't just utter those 4 little words, tell her why she's the one for you, what marriage means to you, and what your hopes for the future are. You might say something like "My life has never and could never be the same after I met you. You've made me more joyful, more stable, and more inspired. I can't picture the rest of my life without you by my side. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

11.Do Share the News
Take a moment to reflect on your engagement, but bring along a cell phone or calling card for sharing the good news.

Don't:

1.Don't Make it Public
If script-writers are to be believed, every wedding proposal takes place in front of a thousand people. But unless she's said she wants a splashy proposal, make it intimate and personal thing. Most brides would prefer to have that magical moment be just the two of you – after all, you've got the rest of your lives to tell other people about your marriage but you've only got one engagement moment.

2.Don't Hide the Engagement Ring in Food
I hate to say it, (as I'm sure there are some readers who were planning to do just this) but hiding the engagement ring in food is a tired idea. It's been in a thousand movies and TV shows, and you won't win any points for creativity. Even worse, you may end your romantic proposal with a trip to the emergency room or the dentist.

3.Don't Propose at a Sports Game
Games are loud and chaotic events. Even if she is the biggest sports fan you ever knew, the arena doesn't allow you to have any of the reflection and focus that making such a momentous decision deserves.

4.Don't Do it in Front of Her Family
While your families will merge with your wedding, it is not their decision to do so. Proposals in front of family have an added level of stress that you don't need. Take this moment to be just the two of you; don't worry, you can call everyone immediately afterward.

5.Don't Make it Too Complicated
While it's good to be creative with your proposal, it is important to keep the focus on what's important: the proposal itself. If you are worrying about whether or not the limousine will get to the balloon ride in time, you're worrying about the wrong thing.

6.Don't Propose Too Early in the Relationship
When you're in the first flush of love, it's hard not to do impetuous and foolish things. Yet waiting until your relationship is stable will only strengthen your marriage. Make sure you really know each other, and before you commit to it for the rest of your lives.

7.Don't Expect Her to Say Yes Immediately
You're asking someone to spend the rest of their life with you – an extremely important decision. Just because you've asked, doesn't mean she is ready to say yes. If your sweetheart says maybe, take it in stride and give her some time to consider the proposal. After all, you wouldn’t want this amazing person to marry every Tom, Dick and Harry who asked her, would you?

Source:
http://weddings.about.com/od/gettingstarted/a/proposaltips.htm

http://www.shoppingblog.com/pics/shaystephens_proposal.gif

http://www.asdfing.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/unique_marriage_proposals.jpg

Ugly dress? What about ugly flowers?

So it has become a cliche, the ugly bridesmaid's dress forced upon young women as there recently engaged friends and family suddenly loose all sense of taste and fashion in the excitement of planning their wedding.

You hear about it all the time. The fluffy peach chiffon, the slinky aqua satin, the mint green number with puffed sleeves. There is even a website devoted to the ugliest of the ugly: http://www.uglydress.com/

But what about the horrible flowers some bridesmaids are forced to carry. In the effort to save money, to make everything match, to force flowers into styles and colors which are not natural, brides can really choose some awful things for their bridesmaids. Maybe it is just because I work for a florist, but I could probably suck it up and wear an ugly dress to be a good friend. HOWEVER, when it comes to the flowers I would just have to say, " sorry, not going to be seen holding THAT!"

Some of the worst I have found:

Personally, I am not a fan of calla lilies, however, a single flower can be beautiful. But it just looks cheap if you try to bulk it with leaves AND rhinestones AND an enormous amount of baby blue ribbon.

Some people really just aren't into flowers, which is fine. I know feathers and crystals are popular alternatives, but you can do it classy or tacky. There is a very fine line!

And sometimes people just try much to hard, like this beauty. Kale is going to almost always going to be a bad idea for a bouquet, you can't get around that, but the pearl pins in the button mums are the detail that really brings this over to the dark side. Who thought that was a good idea?







But this one is the worst of all. oh the horror! Why would someone think that this was attractive?

photos from: http://www.sarahsflowers.co.uk/, http://www.weddingfavors.com/, http://www.wedding-flowers-and-reception-ideas.com, http://www.flower-arrangement-advisor.com/

More Jeannie and John

here are more photos.. I would like to thank www.Mibelleinc.com and www.Jessicalewisphotography.com for all there amazing shots of this wedding!!!

JEANNIE AND JOHN!!!!!

NICO HERE!! I am so excited to share Jeannie and John's wedding with you. These are some of my most favorite shots. ( there will be more to come) It was a very hot palm springs day at The EPIC Parker Hotel. These kinds of days STRESS me and my flowers out!! After hours of babying my precious blooms, everything was a successful KNOCK out. (The flowers were fine Im just over dramatic.. he he) I had so much fun with this wedding. Jeannie and John were cool, hip and open to awesome crazy "Nico" ideas. Visual properities such as gold bird cages, authentic vintage milk glass (from the 50's), carnation garlands, gold birds, cut limes, gold branches, and rhynstone buckles were some of the few eye catchers. Flowers used were, coral and blush peony, pale yellow and pink tulips, orange ranunculous, pale pink hydrangea, and orange cymbidium orchids. WE HAD A BLAST!!!

Flower Power: Fair Bianca Garden Roses

Nico Here! Well I am so excited to announce that Garden rose season is amongst us!! We slowly have to start saying our bye bye's to Peony and hello to all the great stuff that grows in the summer; Dahlias,millets, bells of Ireland, sunflowers, tropicals, amaranthus,chocolate cosmos, and GARDEN ROSES (just to name a few). I'll be paying tribute to all the different varieties of garden roses over the next several weeks, and I want to start with my absolute FAVORITE, The Fair Bianca. This feathery , glorious, creamy, rose with a very light fragrance has become an all time favorite amongst Brides to be. Its resemblance to the famous and popular peony is erie and a great substitute, if you are summer bride. YAY Summer is HERE! (almost)

GIRLY MONDAYS by jasmine schoch

Do you know what you're putting on your skin?

For my GIRLY MONDAYS blog post this week, I want to cover the basics of skin care and make up. Although a lot of ladies are unaware of it, there are actually two different grades of skin care and make up available on the beauty market today: cosmetic grade and pharmaceutical grade.

Cosmetic quality is what department, drug and grocery stores sell. These include the big and expensive brands and the cheaper ones. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows cosmetic grade products to contain up to 30% bacteria. This means that ingredients may only be 70% pure. It is a large breeding ground for bacteria, which can lead to contact dermatitis, an itchy red rash. This is why makeup packaging tells us to throw away any unused product every 90-180 days. And 95% of the skincare industry is cosmetic quality and unregulated by the FDA. Cosmetic companies are not required to register their products with the FDA, while cosmetic products are subjective and do not reflect or require scientific testing.

Pharmaceutical grade skin care products are FDA regulated. The FDA requires that pharmaceutical grade products be 99.9% pure ingredients. Products must contain 0.1%, or less, of bacteria. Only 5% of the skin care industry is under the regulation established by the FDA and considered pharmaceutical grade skin care products.

So now that you know all this fantastic new info, be sure to check your products before applying them to your face and I will definitely have more makeup and skin care tips to follow next week :-)

Source:

Phillips, Lisa. "Pharmaceutical vs. Cosmetic Grade Makeup." 2007. 1 June 2009 http://www.skincareful.com/content/skin_care_articles/pharmaceutical_cosmetic.html

http://http://www.weddingcelebrations.com/directory/beauty.html

http://http://www.kathleenhagan.com/contact.htm