Tuesday, July 27, 2010

New Feature/Giveaway

I've been running up against a lot of misconceptions about how much wedding flowers cost these days. Keep in mind that I have been told by clients over and over again that I am underpriced. Still, even I have a hard time fitting everything a bride wants into her budget sometimes. So, just for fun, I've decided to add a new feature to my blog called "Guess The Price!"

Here's how it works:
1) I will post a photo of an arrangement out of a magazine
2) You, dear readers, will leave a comment with your guess as to how much that centerpiece would cost
3) The first comment to hit the right answer, or to come closest without going over (price is right rules!) in one week wins a prize!

Fun, right? OK, so here is your first shot:

This is a centerpiece from Martha Stewart Weddings. It's all carnations. Those who know me know I'm not a huge fan of carnations, except en masse like this. This look has been quite popular the past couple of years. In fact, I just did centerpieces like this for a wedding last weekend!



So, what's your guess for the price of this centerpiece *NOT* including the white container it's in?

This week's Prize: A bag of salted carmel from Sweet Necessities!

Monday, July 19, 2010

The Appendectomy


So, I bet you're curious to know how a wedding florist goes about getting an emergency appendectomy during wedding season. Well, lucky you, I just happen to have a first-hand account of that very scenario!

Wednesday night: Don't sleep all night because you have a strange pain in your stomach. Debate going to the emergency room. Decide they will probably just tell you you have a stomach bug, and it would be a waste of money. Get up and run an inconclusive symptom checker through WebMD. Go back to bed and try to sleep.

Thursday Morning: Finally wake Husband up at 5 & tell him you're not feeling so hot. Convince him to wait for nearest Urgent Care to open at 7 to avoid going to the ER and paying too much money. Load up baby and head to Doctor. Wait. See Nurse. Wait... and wait... See Doctor. Get labs run. Wait. Wonder how Husband is getting along taking care of baby in the lobby. Get inconclusive lab results & instructions to drink nasty orange liquid and have an CT scan in 4 hours. Insist on being sent home while waiting for CT scan.

Thursday Late Morning: Drop baby off at grandparent's house. Send Husband to work. Head out to flower shop and put together bride's bouquet, bridesmaid's bouquets, and samples of boutonnieres, corsages, and centerpieces for assistant to copy.

Thursday Afternoon: Get picked up by brother in law and driven back to Urgent Care. Wait. Have CT scan (weird experience!). Wait. See nurse again. Wait. See Doctor. Find out appendicitis is the culprit and an emergency appendectomy the only cure. Insist on being sent to Enumclaw Regional Hospital to be close at hand should any flower questions arise. Run home one more time to meet assistant and go over everything. Leave baby with Gram. Head to hospital with Husband.

Thursday Evening: Have appendix removed. Wake up in worse pain than before. Have visits from awesome family and friends. Try not to stress to much. Take pain meds. Stay overnight in hospital. Get woken up approximately every 5 minutes to have vitals taken.

Friday Morning: Insist on being sent home as early as possible. Hobble in pain out to flower shop to inspect everything (which looks fabulous, by the way- great work, Kylie) then hobble inside and lay down. Go over delivery details with assistant and mom (thanks again, you two, for your help). Wait anxiously.

Friday Afternoon: Receive positive report and glowing reviews about wedding flowers. Breathe a sigh of relief, say a prayer of thanks, and try not to stress about next weekend's weddings!

As you may have gathered, it's been a little more nuts than usual this wedding season! Although, the same was true last season with the arrival of our sweet baby boy. Here's hoping this doesn't become the norm! A HUGE thank-you to everyone who pitched in, prayed, cooked, babysat, made me an awesome banner that says "boo appendix," brought me coffee, and generally encouraged me through the ridiculousness that was a wedding florist's wedding season appendectomy!