Including "Special Items"

We just finished Laina's 16 x 20" wall dome.  Isn't it gorgeous?  Laina had us include her garter (camo and bright ribbon...unique!) and invitation, in addition to her hand-tied rose bouquet and her husband's boutonniere.  Congratulations to Laina and Chris.  Our best wishes for a happy future together!

Wedding show this weekend!

We'll be at the Autumn Wedding Show at Emerald Downs this weekend!

We're so excited to be a part of this new opportunity.  They've done a great job of posting it on most of the wedding related internet sites such as the Knot, My Seattle Wedding, etc.

The best part is that it is totally FREE to attendees...that's FREE parking and FREE admission!  Can't beat that deal!

For more information, you can check out this link: http://weddingshow.auburntourism.org/

Grooms are sentimental, too!

Today Leah picked up her encasement and told us that her husband, Chris, was just deployed to Afganistan, and wouldn't be able to see it until he got back.  In all the hustle and bustle of preparing for his deployment, they hadn't found the time to pick the shadowbox up before he left.  The sad thing is, in this scenario, Chris was the one who really wanted the shadowbox arranged with the flowers and the wedding items that were included.  To quote Leah, "he's the scrapbooky one in our family".  Had we known that Chris was being deployed, we would have made an extra effort to remind them about picking it up.  Chris and Leah are an awesome couple, and we wish Chris safety during his time serving our country.

We had another sweet groom come in with his bride to pick their encasement, which was also a shadowbox.  Emily was doing the consultation, and the couple were discussing using fabric from their wedding as a background for their flowers.  The groom asked if Emily could "puddle" the fabric behind the flowers, so that it appeared that the bouquet had been tossed onto satin sheets.  Now how's THAT for romantic!

Balance

Balance is important to keep you centered. 
Both Emily and I balance home, church, work, and volunteerism in our lives.  Sometimes it becomes a real juggling act...but juggling doesn't work without balance!

Creating a good display also involves balance. 

When the bouquet is basically centered in the middle of a display, balance is acheived automatically. 

Often, though, the bouquet is slanted to one side, and other objects are added to the display.  We move these other items around until the display feels balanced and pleasing to the eye. 

Balance in life and balance in art are both important.  Wouldn't you agree?   ~ Gail ~

Taking the time to say hello

Doesn't it feel good when someone pops into your life unexpectedly just to say, "hello".  I had that experience today.  I do some substitute teaching in Federal Way, Washington.  Today, I was teaching at a middle school, and a student popped into my classroom that I knew from a different school last year. He wasn't in my class, but he had seen me standing by the door earlier in the day, and went out of his way at lunch time to come and say hi.  It was a total surprise, as the two schools are literally miles apart.  But it made my day!

Sometimes its the little things that can put a smile on someone's face.  That's why we try to put extra special touches into the encasements we complete.  Sometimes it is something as simple as colored cording around the bottom of a table dome to give it a little extra splash of color.  Our goal is to make each finished product as unique as the customer it was made for, and in the end, we try to make your day!

Cute Display

Young's Flowers in Enumclaw asked us to bring them a display.  We created this one out of a variety of dried flowers that we had on hand.  There is a little bit of everthing in this 5 x 7 table dome:  Callas, roses, carnations, status, larkspur, and a couple of orchids.  As these are commonly used flowers in bridal bouquets, customers will be able to get an idea of how beautiful the dried flowers are.  We try to let local florists know that we offer this service, and we are always happy to equip them with a display!

Looking back at the 70's

I recently sent my own wedding dress (circa 1976) to have it preserved.  When it was returned I started thinking how different the style was from today's dresses.  It has a high neck and long sleeves.  Was that just me?  So some research found this site among others: http://buyvintageweddingdress.com/1960-1970   It appears that I was actually in fashion!  High necklines and long sleeves were not just the modest fashion that I prefered, but the going trend at the time. 

We have been representing the Wedding Gown Preservation Company since January of this year.  I was pleased to see the care they took to put tissue in the sleeves and have my veil showing at the top. (All standard procedure for WGPC).  If you look up in the top right-hand corner, you can also see acid-free tissue paper there, enfolding other parts of the dress that are tucked underneath.  If I had chose a Celebrity upgrade, muslin would have been used in place of the tissue.

I was also amazed that my dress was preserved and returned so quickly.  (4 weeks from the time it left here until it was returned to me.)  The company tells you up front that it could take up to 10 weeks during the height of wedding season. 

Tacoma Wedding Expo

I spent the weekend working our booth at the Tacoma Wedding Expo.  I met a lot of great brides-to-be and their families.  I also had the chance to visit with many other wonderful vendors.  What a great opportunity!  Can't wait for the next wedding shows....Emerald Downs the first weekend in October....Tacoma Dome and Seattle Convention Center in January.

Variety

It's amazing the variety of wedding bouquets and items that we get to work with.  We just finished a shadowbox that contained hand-tied white roses and included an invitation, photo, guest book pen, and serving flatware. We're almost finished with a large domed wall frame that consists of hand-tied fuschia roses, an invitation, a boutonniere and a very unique garter.  We'll post photos after they are picked up by the customers. Today, I have been working on arranging a bouquet that was mostly greenery, with red calla lilies, orange and yellow freesias, and white anthurium.  It will also be in a large domed frame, but the flowers will be featured by themselves.  That bride also chose to frame her mother's wristlet coursage in a small frame as a gift.  Sometimes simple is just wonderful! ~Gail~

Rush

It's so interesting how things ebb and flow.  Things were a little slow through "wedding season" and now things are picking up.  In the last few days we've had a few bouquets come in...and some dresses.  It's so fun to see the different styles come in.  We may have a mother and daughter each bring there gowns in...one from a recent wedding, and one from a couple decades ago.  It will be so fun to see them come in and be preserved together.

September already?

As we turned the calendar over to September today, the realization hit that Summer is coming to an end.  Emily sent her kids back to school today and headed to the office to get this new blog up and going, as well as working on some existing floral preservation projects.  We've been working on a shadow box including the unity candle and cake service.  We've also got a nice 16x20 frame that mimics the style of one of our displays.  Even though some clients choose similar styles to one another, it's always fun to see how each one is unique and personal.