Happy Holidays!!!

I know I'm super late but I wanted to share my holiday arrangement before 2014 arrives. Believe it or not, a dozen of these arrangements were specifically created for a baby shower, yes I said baby shower.  Not your average color palette of blue and pink but  seasonal hues of gold, burgundy, white, and green. I found this really gorgeous burgundy and gold  naked seeded eucalyptus and knew that it would add the seasonal touch that I was looking for. This arrangement was especially fun creating because I got to design with colors that I might not normally combine. I get to challenge myself and improve my eye for color and design. Enjoy!!!

Lately...A Revelation

Lately my schedule has been filled with two types of days. The extremely busy day, and the extremely empty day. I honestly don't know how it happens but as a result, my multitasking skills have tremendously improved. I can't always predict when business will come, but I can be ready once it arrives. Like the day I had a big wedding and a potential client who wanted to meet with me on that same morning for a consultation. My body was screaming "NO!" but that little voice in the back of my head said "YOU CAN HANDLE IT" and that I did. Or most recently, when I was requested to design some pieces for a dinner party and set up for a wedding on the same day. Somehow, (Lord willing only) I made it work. Here's a sneak peek of some work from that day.

Baby's Breath All Grown Up

I was just playing around with some baby's breath filler and decided to make a bouquet. I didn't think that it would really leave an impression on me but I have to say that I'm really liking the simplicity of it. I looks really  modern, elegant and lush. It would go really good in a tall vase on a wedding reception table. I don't know,

Dhalias, Oh my!

I must start off this post of "Friday Flowers" by showcasing these stunning peach dhalias. They are my DIVAS and the backbone for all the designs in the centerpieces and bouquets for this wedding. Each event I look forward to using a bloom I've never used in previous weddings. This dhalia is my newest fav, and now I want to use it more often. Of course more professional pics will come, but I just wanted to share some that I took on my camera.

"Reaping the Fruits of Networking" with Asheris Events Planning and Design

When I decided that I wanted to run a small floral business, I knew networking was gong to be one of my biggest challenges. I'm so used to being shy and reserved that stepping out of my box and meeting other small business owners was out of the question. But somehow, looking at my current small business owning friends, I have managed to do just that. I met Euryka Fon Ndumu of Asheris Events Planning and Design about a year and a half ago. She was planning a "Twin Fever" 25th birthday party for 2 of my friends. Unfortunately I never made it to the birthday party, but when I saw the pics, I wished that I had. I wanted to compliment her of her work, so I sent her a message letting her know that I was an upcoming florists specializing in weddings. She messaged me back with warm words of encouragement and we became Facebook friends. Here we are a year and a half later, and I am her preferred florist. Working with her and her team is an incredible experience. She plans EVERYTHING!!! And I do mean EVERYTHING!!! Her work has been showcased all around the globe from California, to Canada, to Cameroon, to Michigan, and then back here to the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. She specializes in of course weddings and vow renewals, birthday parties for all ages,  pamper parties, galas and soirees, and last but not least her signature baby showers. Here are a couple of pics from some of my favorite events.

Eury with my friends at their 25th birthday

Dr. Seuss themed birthday party

I just had to share some pics from a birthday party I recently attended. No, it has nothing to do with flowers but everything to do CREATIVITY, which is right up my alley. My childhood best friend who I hadn't seen in years, threw her son a Dr. Seuss themed soiree for his 1st birthday.Every detail was carefully planned from the "1 FISH, 2 FISH, RED FISH, BLUE FISH" label on the tin for the Goldfish snacks, to the "Thing 1, Thing 2" photo shoot. I couldn't help but take out my camera and snap pics of everything and everyone. I loved the way she picked a theme and incorporated it in every aspect of the party. Even the birthday boy

Stone Manor

As I continue on my journey as a small business owner, I'm always looking to learn new design techniques. Oftentimes, I work with my floral mentor Petals and Promises LLC.  The images below display her creative designs and some of my most loved work. The wedding took place on an unusually warm weekend in April at Stone Manor in Frederick MD. The colors included different hues of purple, green, and white; very appropriate for April I must say.

 I'm only sharing a couple of photos from my mentor's portfolio since this is her baby. Though the pictures won't show, this day was full of lots of manual labor, sweat, as well as time. I vividly remember being EXHAUSTED at the end of the day but it was completely worth my time learning new skills and trends in the wedding industry. To sum it up, I LOVED every moment of the preparation. Enjoy the pics!!!

Purple and Red Wedding at BWI Airport Marriott

This weekend's wedding was my biggest yet. I teamed up with Asheris Events to create wedding decor for a 400+ person reception at the BWI Airport Marriott. The venue was modern and spacious. Since we had 40 tables, we used 5 different table designs. At the end of the day we had fun but were equally exhausted. Enjoy the photos from that wedding.

Coral, White, and Dusty Shale Wedding

I'm so excited to share these pictures of the flowers from a wedding I did a couple of weeks ago. The wedding took place on a beautiful Sunday and the weather was just right. I met the bride Clare through a mutual friend of ours and she stated that her color palette was coral and white contrasting against dusty shale bridesmaids dresses( J. Crew color).  I must admit that using the color coral made me very nervous since everyone has their own definition of the hue. The coral peonys I used were more pinkish, and the coral roses wanted to be more orange but in the end I used both, and was satisfied with the results. The photographer, Annamarie Akins Photography captured their day in such a romantic way. In some of these pictures, you can see how Chris, her husband absolutely adores Clare. It was such a gorgeous wedding and I enjoyed every bit of it.

HaPpy FriDaY!!

Happy Friday!!! Just wanted to share a couple of flowers that make me smile every time I look at them. I don't know why, but they just look HAPPY. Which in turn is making me HAPPY. Anyways, enjoy!!! I hope they have the same effect on you.

SN - Maybe my happiness also has to do with my WEDDING ANNIVERSARY being today! :)

All in the month of June

I can't believe it's been three weeks since my last post. There has been SO much going on in the last three weeks and this post would be so long if I sat and wrote about it all. So I'm just going to highlight a couple of important things.  Besides my household being sick from pink eye, cold/flu, and the stomach flu, my laptop cord was destroyed by a certain beagle pup(whose name I won't reveal to protect his privacy) which makes uploading pics from my personal camera nonexistent. I've had a couple of weddings(pics coming soon), end of school picnics, created my Wedding Wire account for Violet Gardens Floral Designs, and have officially launched my website. Click here to view the website or check it out at www.violetgardens.net I'm still in the
process of uploading more pics to the website. But in the meantime, I did the flowers for a beautiful wedding of Coral and White that contrasted beautifully against Dusty Shale bridesmaids dresses. This bride really used a beautiful color palette. I don't want to reveal the true pics until the photographer sends me a couple, but here are some pics that I took with my camera.

Church alter arrangement

Hydrangeas from Japan

Happy Saturday!!! It's a new day, new month, and for the past couple of days where I live feels like a whole new season. :) I'm blessed to be alive to witness it. Just wanted to share my cousin's awesome photography while taking pictures of hydrangeas in Japan... Enjoy!!!

A Little Faith

As Violet Gardens Floral Designs grows I'm learning to build the foundation of my business on faith alone. And the reason I say this is because it's the only thing that pushes me through when bookings get slow, when uncertainty creeps up, or when I'm eager for everything to happen all at once because I see everyone moving

Old Friends

This prom corsage is the inspiration around my blog entry. It was created for a prom date for one of my bestie's younger brother's prom date(that's a mouthful right?). And it's the reason my Friday was one for the record. Too often do we get busy in our everyday lives and aren't able to spend time with our friends and family. Sometimes we just need a reminder that these friendships are precious and time sensitive. This was

Bring on the Glads

So I'm just now learning that my much loved Glads(short for Gladiolus) don't have such a good reputation in the wedding industry. Most soon to be brides won't say "I'd like Gladiolus in my bouquet or included in my decor." And I guess who can blame them. When I mentioned the flower to my colleagues, I got the response of  "Isn't that the funeral flower?" My reaction being "IT IS NOT!!!" And sure enough when I did the research I found that the flower is often used in funeral arrangements. But then again so are roses. Well I did more research and also found that there are very

For Mothers and Daughters

Though Mother's Day is next week I just had to share pics of this past weekend from a Mother Daughter breakfast that I attended of course with my mother, one of  best friends, her mother, her grandmother, and her 2 daughters. WOW that's four generations of women at one table and you couldn't tell us nothing!!! We laughed, joked, and just had a ball celebrating womanhood. Below are the corsages that I made for the event from pink roses and stock that I thought were dying and had no choice to use them but turned out pretty good after a little sprucing.

Friday Bouquets & Boutonnieres

I want to first start out this post by showing these stunning red PEONYS. Someone's bouquet will be absolutely ravishing this weekend.

Some Fridays I work with my floral teacher(Lisa Somers of Petals and Promises LLC) in her studio to learn some designing techniques. These bouquets and boutonnieres are for her weddings this weekend. I enjoy

Planting Seeds

OK, so almost a year ago while at my mentor's wedding, I had an epiphany about something BIG missing from my life. Now don't get me wrong, I'm very content and grateful for everything. I have a loving husband who is literally my better half, a handsome and intelligent growing son, great relationships with my family and friends, a great paying job and most of I am a child of GOD and could want for nothing. But, as I was
attending this  wedding I was completely struck with the desire of being included in the planning process of the most important day of a person's life. Now I'm also keeping in mind I had this feeling a couple of years ago and decided that I wanted to become a wedding planner, but mid-way through planning my very first