Flower Fridays - The Lily

Flower Fridays are back!  Thanks to Kathy for requesting lilies, and with Easter only a week away, it's perfect timing. There are several types of lilies: Asiatic (shown above), Longiflorum (aka the Easter Lily shown below), and Oriental (shown at bottom of the page).  Lilies come in a range of colors, and are known for their strong smell.  If you want lilies in your wedding bouquet, ask your florist to remove the stamens, as they shed pollen that stains EVERYTHING!  Lilies can have up to 7 blooms per stem, and have a relatively long vase life!

Asiatic - These are the most affordable and attainable option; the blooms are also the smallest of the 3 types.  They are available year round, and come in a variety of colors, such as orange, yellow, pink and white.

Longiflorum or Easter Lily - This lily is only available for a short period of time around the Easter holiday.  The trumpet shaped white blooms face outward from the center, rather than upward like Asiatic.  This lily has strong religious ties - tradition has it that the beautiful white lilies sprung up where drops of Christ’s sweat fell to the ground in his final hours of sorrow and deep distress. Churches continue this tradition at Easter time by banking their altars and surrounding their crosses with masses of Easter Lilies, to commemorate His resurrection and hope of life everlasting.  The Easter Lily also has associations with the Virgin Mary.

Oriental - Oriental lilies have fewer blooms and are more expensive than Asiatic, but the blooms are bigger, so less is needed to make a big impact.  The white Casablanca lily is most commonly requested by brides.

Mother's Day Weekend Open House Event

I am very excited to tell you about our Mother's Day Weekend Open House Event!  On Saturday, May 7th, between 11AM - 2PM, Allison Phalen Floral Design is hosting an event with Brooke Allison Photography and Better Off Baby Showers.  The event is open to all, and will showcase design samples from APFD's 2011 weddings, as well as offer an opportunity to meet with one of CT's and Boston's top wedding photographers!  There will also be flowers to purchase, just in time for Mother's Day!  One third of the proceeds will be donated to Better Off Baby Showers to benefit expecting mother's in need. 

Please bring a pack of diapers to be entered into our raffle for a beautiful floral arrangement valued at $100!!

All the details can be found on our website @ http://allisonphalenfloraldesign.com/Open_House_Event.html

A little about our vendors...

Brooke Allison Photography
I met Brooke at Bentley College (who knew there were so many creative people at a business school!) and have always thought of her as an energetic, positive, fun person to be around.  She is so talented at what she does, and I think her personality definitely comes through in her work.  I am a loyal follower of her blog, and who wouldn't be with pictures like this?!

Did I also mention she takes amazing pictures of babies and kids?  Like this one of Emma, one of our favorite little girls :)

Better Off Baby Showers
I was fortunate enough to meet Suzi, founder of Better Off Baby Showers, through my sister-in-law, Jaime.  Suzi is such a sweet girl, and I think it's obvious through her work what a kind and giving person she is.  When I read on her website that 1 in 20 American moms struggling with diaper need have cleaned out and reused a wet or soiled disposable diaper, I wanted to help any way I could.  Please help support this great cause!

We hope to see you at our event!!

Flower Fridays - Tulips

When I was growing up, the first sign of spring was always when the tulips my parents had planted around the yard would start to sprout.  To me they signify the end of a cold miserable winter, and the beginning of warmer weather!  There are multiple types of tulips: Dutch, Parrot, and French; the most common and most affordable ($) being Dutch.  Tulips come in a variety of colors including pink, red, purple, yellow, white, and orange.  Tulip's season is typically November through May, but are really available any time of the year.

Tulips are a fun flower for wedding centerpieces.  They are great for submerged designs due to their soft and bendy stems.  An interesting fact about tulips: Fresh cup tulips will continue to grow after being put in water! 

Like something you see?  Stay tuned for more info on placing orders for Easter and Mother's Day!!

Flower Fridays - The Peony

I chose the peony as the first featured flower because it is probably one of the most favored and least available flowers.  Peonies are available from late spring to early summer, and can sometimes be imported in the fall or winter.  What this means ladies is if you've always wanted a wedding overflowing with lush beautiful fragrant peonies, get married in May or June!  Peonies are relatively expensive ($$$), but their full fluffy blooms can take up a good amount of space once fully opened, so less stems may be needed for your centerpiece or bouquet.  They come in a variety of colors, including white, cream, peach, pink, and my personal favorite, blush.  If you are not getting married in May or June but still want the look of soft romantic fluffy flowers, some great substitutes are garden roses, roses, ranunculus, hydrangea, and dahlias.

All photos courtesy of http://www.theknot.com/.

Flower Fridays

I realized after meeting with several 2011 brides, that with all the bridal magazines, reality TV shows, and websites out there, there is still a lack of detailed flower information.  There are pictures of centerpieces and bouquets out there, but they don't always tell you what types of flowers were used, or the cost and availability of the flowers used.  This is why I am starting Flower Fridays!  Each Friday I will talk about one type of flower and give you all the juicy details you need to know!  Because exact prices can change, look for $ - $$$ on each post to portray the cost of each flower; $ being inexpensive to $$$ being expensive. If you have a flower you'd like to see featured, send me an email and I'll be sure to add it to the list!

A Very Special Baby Shower

This weekend I had 2 projects: flowers and cupcakes, for a very special baby shower.  The shower was for my sister-in-law, Jaime, who is due in February!  Jaime and Chris are two of my favorite people and I couldn't be more happy and excited for them!  They are going to be such amazing parents!  Thanks again to Liz for hosting a great shower! 

Of course I was happy to make a few baby-inspired arrangements...

  

...but the biggest challenge was the cupcakes! 

It's amazing what a cupcake, a donut hole, a marshmallow, and a whole lot of frosting can become!

Can't wait to meet my little niece or nephew :)

Celebrating an Amazing Year!

I can't believe how fast this year went by and how many exciting things happened during 2010.  It was a crazy year full of weddings, engagements, babies, new houses and more!  I want to thank everyone that helped and supported me throughout the year, and wish you all a Happy New Year!!

Here (FINALLY!) are the professional pictures of my wedding flowers that I have been dying to post! 

All pictures were taken by Jessica Fineran Photography.