Wedding Flower Preservation

Is Wedding Flower Preservation worth the cost?

My son in law, Brian, is currently cleaning the carpets at my home, which is also the office of Evergreen Dreams Preservation.  I will own up to the stains...I have a dog and grandchildren who frequent my house.  But what amazes me is the layer of dust that just seems to accumulate all by itself...even though the vacuuming is done on a regular basis.  

We keep an extra piece of carpet just inside the doggy-door.  When we move it, the actual color of the carpet is revealed.  That protected area of the main carpet is clean and bright! 

When most reputable companies contract with you for wedding flower preservation, your beautifully dried and preserved flowers are completely sealed in the encasement of your choice. This keeps the every-day dust and air pollutants off your flowers...the same film that causes the need for carpet cleaning.  Sealing also prevents moisture from entering the encasement...which eventually would cause degradation. Depending on the company, those choices may be table domes, acrylic boxes, domed wall frames, shadow boxes, jewelry boxes, or other sealable containers.

With the exception of table domes (which are blown glass), all of the encasement options provided by Suspended In Time(r) franchises (such as Evergreen Dreams) also provide UV protection.

Hanging your bouquet upside down, or letting it dry out in a bouquet box may seem like the affordable option.  But if you really want to maintain the look of your bouquet over time, contacting a wedding flower preservation company is really your best bet.

Classy Art for the Home

Want to add some class to your home? 

A table top floral art piece may be just the answer.

It's really not very hard.  Choose a display that fits your decor, then pick a flower combination that reflects your taste and color scheme.  Maybe you want something simple, sleek, and classic.  Are you more "Modern" or "Victorian".
 Do you lean toward distressed wood, sleek finishes, or metalics?  Do you need to fill a display niche in your bookcase, or do you want a "wow" factor on your entry table?

For more ideas, check out our gallery of table top designs.

Giving Back ~ Our Favorite Charity

Emily was given a gift almost nine years ago...an awesome bundle of joy who had started life in the roughest way possible...addicted to drugs through no fault of her own.

After two years of foster care, Emily and her husband were granted the right to adopt Addie, who had touched their lives and the lives of so many around them.

This year, for her ninth birthday, Addie asked that people donate needed items or monetary donations to the Pediatric Interim Care Center (PICC) in Kent, Washington, instead of buying her birthday presents.   It was the loving and knowledgible nurses, doctors, and volunteer staff at PICC that enabled Addie to overcome the amphetemines that had been in her system at birth.

 

Strange for a nine year old?   Nope...loving, giving, that's Addie, in a nutshell. 

Addie extended her invitation to all those around her, not just her playmates, and now donations are coming from near and far.  In the spirit of Addie's request, Evergreen Dreams will now be donating 5% of all our profits to PICC.

It's only right that we pay it forward.  Wouldn't you agree?

Donations can be made directly to PICC: www.PICC.net

Dare to Compare Pricing for Preservation

As I cruised the web today, as I do on a regular basis, I was able to do some recent price comparison with nationally advertised floral preservation companies.

I still stand firmly with the statement on our pricing page: http://www.evergreen-dreams.com/floralpreservation/pricing.html.  We are still 8-15% lower than their prices.  In fact, on some items we are 30% lower! Yet our QUALITY is just as good, if not better!  If you are AWESOME and read all the way to the bottom, you can actually see some of our pricing!  So now, why can we set lower prices?

• Shipping your flowers to them is part of their pricing structure.  Stay local. Don't worry about the shipping!  We may even be able to pick up your flowers...at no extra charge.  We do this because we value customer service!  And we know that fresher flowers lead to more beautiful preservation.
• Our overhead is lower.  We work out of a home rather than a storefront...that saves a bundle. 
• Our utility costs are less.  We use the Suspended In Time (r) method to preserve our flowers.  Our machinery uses 300 times LESS electricity than freeze drying machines. 
• Our suppliers shop the best deals for shadowboxes, wall domes, and table domes.  Those lower costs are passed on to you.
• Our pricing is all inclusive.  We don't charge extra for "bouquet resemblance" (why wouldn't you want your bouquet to look like it did?), "tussie mussie" design (this is hand-held, folks. We do this all the time!), non floral items (we'll add whatever you want...no charge!), nameplates (we call them engravings...also included!).

Are we trying to hide our pricing?  NOPE.  Here's how it works.  You come in, or call, and let us know what style, size, and frame type you want.  We'll look it up on our chart, and quote you a price.  Nothing more.  No double price structure like some companies (they charge you to dry and then charge you for the encasement, then add on charges for all the extras that make it unique).

Why not print it on our website? We have 14 sizes of wall frames at three different pricing structures, depending on the frame style and type of finish.  We have 17 sizes of shadow boxes in a multitude of frame styles, depths, and finishes.  You can order from 14 different sizes of table domes, 5 jewelry boxes, 33 different acrylic or glass boxes with varying bases.  We want you to come in, see, touch, tell us your dreams, and help us design.  We want it to be perfect for you!

So I promised you some pricing.  Here are some price ranges.  You'll still have to contact us for specifics.

Shadowboxes: $260-$700.  If you want one large enough to hold an invitation and photo as well, plan on the $350-$450 range.
Domed Wall Frames: $136-$445  The $445 is for our 16 x 20. That's almost $200 less than some of our competitors.
Table Domes: $40-$415 Our most popular sizes run $200-$300
Jewelry Boxes: $180-$330
Glass or Acrylic Boxes $65-$425 (small cube to large hexagon or rectangle)

Be savvy.  Shop around.  Look at their photos.  Look at our photos.  Check their testimonials.  Check our testimonials.  See a huge difference?  The only real difference is YOUR bottom line! Happy Shopping!  And, by the way, if you want to do the comparison yourself, google "floral preservation" and click on the companies that are paying for top billing on the web page...another overhead item!

A Lesson Learned from Cooper the Dog

I was sitting on the couch last night, after a long, busy day.  Suddenly my dog, Cooper, jumped up on the couch.  He started a couple of feet away, then slowly inched closer.  I figured he wanted his back scratched.  But he kept moving over until his face was literally in mine. And he wouldn't move it! When he knew he had my full attention, he stuck his tongue out. 

That's Cooper talk for "feed me".

I suddenly realized that I had fed him very little for breakfast, nothing the rest of the day, and now it was bedtime.  I asked him if he was hungry, and he happily jumped out of my face, off the couch, and planted himself next to his food and water bowls.  Both of which were empty!

So what does this have to do with floral or gown preservation?

Sometimes all of us have the best intentions, but procrastination kicks in.  Other items start prioritizing themselves to the top of the list, and the the day's "to do" list remains "undone".

It's not unusual for me to get a phone call from someone whose gown is still hanging in the closet, two years after the wedding, repleat with stains on the bodice and road grime stuck to the hem.  And I once had a bride who had kept her flowers in the refrigerator for a full month before finally deciding she couldn't part with them and called for preservation (we ended up replacing most of the flowers and replicating the bouquet).

Unlike Cooper, inanimate objects can't jump in your face and remind you they need to be done!

Kindly remember to add bouquet preservation and gown preservation to your wedding checklist.  Thank you!

Planning Ahead For Floral Preservation

Have you ever had one of those days where the phone keeps ringing and your plans keep changing?  It can be very frustrating, that's for sure.  Needless to say, in order for priorities to get taken care of, some "future planning" is essential.  For instance:

• Items that need completion by a deadline date
• Appointments (obviously!)
• Bookings...the best contractors are busy...call soon!
• Travel

The list could go on and on.   Many companies, websites, and vendors offer wedding planning checklists.  Unfortunately, most of these don't included planning for your floral preservation!

Although we are so happy to receive last-minute, after-the-fact bouquets to preserve, it's much easier on the bride and on us if your floral preservation is planned in advance.  The advantages?

• We can discuss the flowers that preserve the best, saving us time and you money!
• We can coordinate best practices with your florist.
• You can see our wide variety of framing and encasement choices in person.
• You have time to change your mind on the color or style if needed!
• We can special order that perfect item for you, and it will be ready when we receive your flowers.
• It may be possible that we can pick your flowers up from your reception (the fresher the flowers, the better they preserve!)
• You can work on referring other people so your costs are lowered by referral bonuses.
• You can spread payments out to fit your budget

Add a consultation for floral preservation to your "to do" list.  There is no obligation involved with a free inititial visit.  You may be totally surprised at the wide variety of affordable options we provide.

Do it...do it....do it....

Thank You, Aubrianne!

Aubrianne's Floral Preservation

Today I picked up a wedding gown for preservation from our good friend, Aubrianne Schneiderman.  Aubrianne is a floral preservation customer who spreads the word about us wherever she goes.  She's moving soon to Virginia, and we will miss her!  When we dried Aubrianne's flowers, we hadn't yet started the gown preservation end of Evergreen Dreams.

Aubrianne's flower encasement was unique, as she asked that her flowers be free-formed rather than in a traditional bouquet shape.  As her new last name would begin with an "S", we formed the flowers in an "S" shape, and added other items literally over, under, around, and through! 

Her domed wall frame has a proud place  in her present home, and today we talked about the best way for her to make sure it stays beautiful during her move.

Thank you so much, Aubrianne!  We surely value your friendship, and wish you the best with your upcoming adventures!

It's been a busy week!

It's been a busy week at Evergreen Dreams!

 Business is picking up thanks to the wedding season being in full swing. 
We are seeing new customers, drying flowers, arranging encasements, and getting referrals from those who have used our floral preservation services in the past.  We've also sent in a couple of wedding gowns for gown preservation. 

We've also been doing some networking and connecting through Facebook and social media.  We've joined up with Kathy DalPra and The Online Close attending their two week long telesummit to learn how to more effectively market our services across the internet.  We want customers who want to preserve their bouquet or wedding gown to more easily find us!

And...happy news...we were able to finally obtain the www.evergreendreams.com domain name and merge it with our existing www.evergreen-dreams.com domain.  Either one will now get you to our website...even if you forget the dash!

We've also got updated business cards ordered through www.overnightprints.com.  They should be here soon!

I'd much rather be working on a bouquet preservation than sitting at the computer tweeking my search words over and over.  Hopefully I'll get it honed soon.

We've been running a special this week...$30 off a preserved bouquet and encasement or $30 off gown preservation.  But this special only lasts until Saturday July 16th.  So if you know someone...even if if the wedding gown was worn 50 years ago...let's get it preserved this week!  Visit our specials page, and let's get you booked!

Revamped Website and blog.

We've been working hard all weekend to give our website and blog a new look and feel.  We're proud of the results, and hope that our past, present, and future customers, as well as our friends a family will love it as much as we do!

Check it out!  www.evergreen-dreams.com

Jewelry Boxes Aren't Always For Jewelry!

There are so many ways to show off your beautifully dried flowers.   A "jewelry box" is perfect for keeping items associated with special occasions.

Try preserving the flowers from a graduation, and keeping the program, tassel, photos, even a report card inside. 

Or how about using the jewelry box to store a christening gown or baby's first blanket, topped by preserved flowers received at the birth?

What about your little girl's first dance recital? Preserve her roses, and keep her ballet shoes inside the box. 

Wedding bouquets are beautiful atop a jewelry box...and inside...invitation, program, photos, tiara, garter, veil....whatever made the day special!

We have several styles and sizes available to suit just about any purpose.  Please feel free to comment with your ideas.

Floral Preservation CAN be affordable!

We just completed floral preservation projects for two different brides.  In each case we were asked to preserve only a handful of flowers.

Jackie's table dome

Jackie's bouquet was a beautiful combination of yellow roses, yellow gerbera daisies, white daisies, and pale yellow miniature roses.  By combining one perfect yellow rose, a large yellow gerbera daisy, a couple of white daisies, and a small rose, along with a photo, a crystal shoe from her bridal shower, and some ribbon, a unique keepsake was created that is truly one-of-a-kind. 

Kristina's Ornament

Kristina brought her flowers back from a California wedding.  Her purple calla lilies, orchids, and astralmerias were lovingly arranged with some bear grass loops and ribbon into an ornament that will grace her apartment.

Whether the finished product is big or small, we make sure it's the perfect piece to show off your dream wedding.  So don't let "budget" become an issue.  You can trust us to keep your wedding dreams alive!

Winner Announce from Highline Show

The winners of the $100 gift certificate are Amesheer L. and Vincent J. from Kent, Washington.  Congratulations!  Please visit our revamped website to review possible ideas for your bouquet preservation.

Shadow Box Completed

We finished up the shadow box for Melinda and Jared Royce.  It was a large 16 x 20" with a "mocha" finish.

Melinda and Jared chose to add some of their wedding decorations and favors, along with three favorite photographs which were backed with a matching color pallette.  And of course the bouquet and boutonniere, which had been "Suspended In Time(r)", are the stars of the show!

We made sure to send several progress photos back and forth, so the finished product would be to their liking.

Jared picked up the shadow box today, and is sure that Melinda will love it!

Wall Dome or Table Dome?

Two of our recently completed projects each had its own kind of  "dome". 

Table domes sit on a table and have a blown glass dome that fits on top of a base.  Most brides prefer to include only a bouquet, but sometimes, as with Charity's dome show here, other items are included with the encasement.  We work with each customer to make sure the final product is what they were envisioning.  In Charity's case, several prototypes were emailed back and forth before a final configuration was chosen.

Wall domes consist of a frame with a UV protected Acrilic bubble surrounding the flowers and other items.  The majority of brides chose an oval shape, but they are also available in rectangle, heart, circle, and cathedral shapes.  Toni chose to include the engraved pen that had been used to sign the guest book, as well as two black and white photos in her 11" x 17" frame.  She and her husband brought in the photos and pen after the flowers had been arrange.  The design was then styled and completed.

Other items that are often included in larger frames are garters, invitations, cake toppers, cake servers, hankies, tiaras, and favors.  There are never any additional charges for inclusion of extra items when using our services.

Evergreen Dreams Granted Award by Wedding Wire

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, is thrilled to announce Evergreen Dreams has been selected to receive the prestigious annual WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 for Unique Services (Floral and Gown preservation).

Recognition for the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Our past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in the nation.

Evergreen Dreams stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community,” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud Evergreen Dreams for their professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year.”

We are happy to announce that Evergreen Dreams is among the very best Unique Service within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for nominating us to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/evergreen-dreams-suspended-in-timeauburn-auburn/1e31d55bd6bfd3cc.html..

For more information on the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

About WeddingWire, Inc.

WeddingWire.com, the nation's leading technology company serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 local wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers to wedding cakes. WeddingWire also offers an online community and a suite of cutting-edge planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire provides free online management tools creating the only market opportunity that gives local businesses control over their clients, reviews, leads and performance. Businesses that join the WeddingWire Network appear on WeddingWire.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), ProjectWedding.com and Weddingbee.com (both part of eHarmony), and Celebrations.com (part of the 1-800-Flowers family of brands, NASDAQ: FLWS).

We Had a Spring Wedding!

Emily, the younger, more modern half of  the Evergreen Dreams partnership, was married to the love of her life, Brian, on March 24th.

  

 She had a beautiful Spring Wedding using yellows, oranges, and greens as her theme colors.  Yellow daffodils, calla lilies, tulips, and astralmerias along with orange ranunculas, mini-gerberas and spray roses, were accented using fresh wispy greens including brunia and bear grass. 

 

Emily's fiance (now husband), Brian, asked a good family friend, Wendy Jones, to arrange the bridal bouquet and two nosegays for Emily's daughters, Addie and Eunice.  She did an amazing job!  The rest of the 400+ flowers were put into large vases at the reception tables, which were topped by awesome table toppers also lovingly sewn by Wendy. 

Emily and Brian chose cupcakes rather than a large wedding cake for their open-house type reception. Christina Goff, owner of 4 Kids Cakes supplied the tastiest, moist cupcakes, and a groom's cake with small edible posies on top.

One of the highlights of the reception was a photo booth, supplied by Aura Photo Booths.  Their large booths allow for family or friend groups to pose together in the booth.  Each person gets a copy of the 4-photo strip, and additional one is used to put into a scrapbook.  EVERYONE loved this...from kids to seniors.  A definite hit!  The photo booth at the reception carried through the theme of photo booth pics that Emily and Brian used on their invitations.

Of course, she is going to preserve her bouquet.  Her choice of encasement?  "Definitely a rectangle picture-frame type display with a domed front."  She hasn't yet decided which of the 20+ frames styles or wide range of finishes will best match her home decor.

Shadowbox Star of the Show

We had so much fun at the Seattle Wedding Show this last weekend!  There were brides, grooms, their friends and parents galore.  Long days, but well worth it!

We'd like to give special thanks to Melissa for "lending" us her completed shadowbox to use as a display. Every bride has her own taste, and Melissa's combination of "wine" and "zombies" (with a touch of Star Wars) made this encasement of her wedding bouquet truly unique!

There is also a growing trend in the industry for shadowboxes that have a front mat which frames one or more pictures, and a "window" that highlights the flowers.  Those couples looking for "clean and simple" were attracted to this type of encasement.

Our goal is to make each encasement as unique as the bride who uses our services.