Sam David made his debut just about two weeks ago now on January 13th at 11:58pm.  He squeaked in on Friday the 13th with a mere two minutes to spare!  Mary did awesome, not only did she deliver on her due date, but she also had him in under an hour from the time she got to the hospital (LUCKY girl – I am soooo jealous!).  Tina stopped by to visit Mary once she got home and caught so many amazing, perfect pictures of baby Sam that this proud aunt couldn’t resist dedicating a blog post to him.  Lee got his own blog post, a few years ago, so it is only fair that Sam have his moment in the spotlight!  I also wanted to take a minute to talk about our newborn photo class that Ryan and Colleen at RHM Photography are holding this weekend.  Sam is one of the 3 models and there are still spots open for anyone looking to learn how to use their DSLR camera or interested in newborn photography.  You can see some more info about the class here.  The class will be held in Elmer on Saturday, February 4th at 10am.  Please contact me ASAP if you would like to participate, Dawn@agardenpartyllc.com.  These two do an amazing job and I am super excited to hear all their tips for me.  I am one of those people that owns a DSLR camera…with the best of intents to use it…and yet hardly ever use it because it overwhelms me.  Yes folks, I can handle close to 100 weddings in a year, but a DSLR camera overwhelms me.  Hey – we can’t all be good at everything!  Anyways, check out these photos that Tina caught; pictures of tiny new babies are always the best!

Little Sam all bundled up like a baby burrito <3

Here he is peeking at Tina!

I have this conflict now everyday when I am work…how am I supposed to focus on work and not just hold this sweet little baby all day long??? Advice???

The trifecta kiss!

Lee is an amazing big brother!

I don’t think Mary will ever have a shortage of hugs!

Thanks to all of our brides for their kind words after Mary had the baby.  You girls are the sweetest!  Mary has been back in the office off and on (I knew she wouldn’t be able to stay out long!) but for the time being I am handling most of the e-mails, phone calls, etc.  Thank you all for your patience!

Well the big major news here at A Garden Party is that baby Sam has arrive!!!  Mary and baby are doing wonderful and I am loving getting to snuggle him up everyday.  Look at how sweet he is! (PS – thanks for the photo Tina!)

I also wanted to show off these photos from a wedding that we did last spring at Trump National of Pine Hill.  Megan wanted a tall centerpiece with a lot of impact, but was looking for something very natural and gardeny. We came up with the idea of using our tall bell vase with a maidenhair fern planted into the top.

I was obsessed with how striking and different these centerpieces turned out to be.  It doesn’t always have to involve flowers (well as a florist I think it usually does, but in this case, the ferns were awesome all on their own!).

In the base of the vase we used a crystal sphere with natural birch branches standing up in the vase.  We added that little bit of bling, but kept the natural element that Megan was looking for.

I kind of loved how you could see the dirt and the roots through the clear vase.

 Now I know today’s blog was super short and super quick….but there will be more to come!  I have lots of weddings waiting in the wings to be featured on the blog so keep checking back!

If you are interested in our floral design services in South Jersey, the greater Philadelphia area or Northern Delaware please contact us by filling out the form below:

Last week Mary and I sat down and kind of caught our breath from the craziness that was the holidays.  We decided we wanted to set some goals for 2012 and also to check and see how we made out on our 2011 goals.  It was so rewarding reflecting back on the year and realizing that not only did we accomplish our goals, but we blew some of them right of the water!  In 2011 we did 99 events…no small feat for these two sisters!  We were published on several blogs, including Style Me Pretty, Glamour and Grace, and The Wedding Chicks.  We were also awarded The Knot Best of 2011 and Wedding Wire’s 2011 Brides Choice.  While we love seeing our work published and recognized, what really makes us happiest is the feedback we get from our brides.  Seeing their faces on their wedding days, getting their thank you cards, and developing friendships with them is what makes this all worthwhile for us.  Mary insisted we set some 2012 goals, which I kind of chuckled about (I kind of hate New Year’s Resolutions)…but thinking about it later I think this is one of the reasons Mary and I work so well together.  I tend to concentrate on the work that needs to be done now, the wedding that this weekend, and the brides that are calling today; while Mary is our go-getter.  She sets our goals and has this vision of what we can be in the future.  I keep us grounded in today and she sets us up for success in the future.  Today though, I want to take a look back on 2011 and highlight one wedding from each month.  I hope you all have enjoyed reading our blog this past year and watching our business grow.  We can’t thank our brides and our customers enough…you guys are what this is all about!

January began with Sarah and Simon’s Wedding.  This was the first wedding we got to use our luminaries for…love it!

Our very own April was married in February.  I was obsessed with all the lilacs we got to play with for her wedding!

March brought Lindsey’s wedding.  Lindsey was a dream to work with, gotta love a bride with so much style that she made it on to Say Yes to the Dress!

April kicked off with Danielle’s charming cobalt blue wedding.

May was full of weddings. One of my favorites was Anya’s.  I LOVED putting together her bouquet.

In June we did Brynn and Drew’s gorgeous green and pink wedding at Scotland Run.

In July things really heated up with Sarah and Rob’s gorgeous wedding at The Southern Mansion.

In August we partnered up with Art+Life Photography and Salon Nicole for our Rock the Dress photo shoot.

September kicked off the busy fall wedding season.  Jocelyn’s wedding has remained one of my favorites for the year!

Bridget’s shore wedding in October was another one of my favs.  I love doing something different, and everything about this wedding was unique!

In November we hosted a DIY party for Jaime, truly one of the sweetest brides we have ever met.

We ended the year with some gorgeous December weddings….but those photos are yet to come.  Stay tuned for everything to come in 2012, we are so excited about the upcoming year!

If you are interested in our floral design services in South Jersey, the greater Philadelphia area or Northern Delaware please contact us by filling out the form below:

A few months ago, I introduced you to a great website Mary and Dawn discovered called Pinterest. Since then, Dawn and Mary have become obsessed with this website that lets you create virtual inspiration boards. (I’m in love with it too!) We all use it for personal inspiration; for instance, Mary has a board of nursery ideas for her second baby she is expecting in January, Dawn has a board of recipes she wants to try and I have a board of crafts I want to make, but the best part of Pinterest is all the wedding ideas.

Dawn and  Mary both create boards for wedding ideas they love. They also are willing to create boards for bride’s who need some inspiration. If you want Dawn and Mary to love you forever, create a wedding board before or after your floral consultation and share it with them. Don’t include just flowers. They want to see all your wedding details including dress ideas, cake ideas and favor ideas. (In case you haven’t noticed, Dawn and Mary love everything about weddings. Seeing all the details helps them get a better sense of your overall theme and style, so they create flowers that coordinate.)

For a little inspiration, check out these boards Dawn and Mary have already created.

Baby’s Breath Inspiration

These ideas are so simple, inexpensive and beautiful.

Fall Wedding Ideas

I love the idea of lining the aisle with pumpkins.

Fab Bouquets

If I got married again, I would totally carry this.

Winter Wedding Inspiration

I am obsessed with this cake!

Pine Cone Decor Ideas

This would be beautiful at a winter wedding.

Ali and Sean Wedding Ideas

I love this bouquet!

We would love to see your wedding inspiration boards!

One of the best parts of being a wedding florist is seeing how excited the bride is when she sees her wedding flowers for the first time. That experience is even more exciting when you get to watch the bride and her bridesmaids create the flowers themselves. Some people might be scared of doing a DIY party because they fear that the flowers won’t look as good as those done by the “professionals,” but these pictures from Jaime and Justin’s wedding at the The Bradford Estate prove that DIY flowers can be just as beautiful.

Jaime and her bridesmaids made these beautiful bouquets at the DIY party hosted at the Garden Party Studio. The bouquets consisted of pink hydrangea and garden roses.  Gorgeous girls!!!

The girls wrapped the bouquets with pewter satin ribbon to match the gowns, and they used rhinestone pins to accent.

Jaime made her father’s boutonniere at the DIY party, which makes this moment even more memorable.

This amazing boutonniere was also made at the DIY party.

Jaime and Justin both look amazing. Plus, the lace wrapped around her bouquet matches the bottom of her dress perfectly.

The church is decorated with the arrangments made at the DIY party. The girls used hydrangea, stock, and garden roses in tin pails that Jaime purchased to create this beautiful look.  The aisle was lined with pale pink hydrangea tied to the pews with pewter satin ribbon.

The lace accents on the vases are gorgeous! It coordinated perfectly with the other wedding details.  The girls made the centerpieces in a trio of cylinders using roses, hydrangea, and stock.

Even the cake has stunning lace details.

She was thrilled to catch the toss bouquet. Maybe it is because she knew it was made by the bride and her bridesmaids.

Unfortunately, Jaime didn’t have too many pictures of the centerpieces because the venue lost power right before the bride and groom arrived. (Yes, you read that right. Their wedding took place during a power outage.) But as you can tell from the other floral arrangements, Jaime and her girls did a great job putting together the wedding flowers.

If you are interested in booking a DIY party, check out the DIY page on our website. (On the page, you’ll find pictures of Jaime and her bridesmaids arranging her flowers. They looked adorable in the flower aprons!)

If you are interested in our floral design services in South Jersey, the greater Philadelphia area or Northern Delaware please contact us by filling out the form below:

Everyone has been anticipating Bella and Edward’s wedding, and the Breaking Dawn nuptials didn’t disappoint. Although the movie has been receiving mixed reviews, we give the wedding details five stars. Here are a few ideas you can steal from the lovely Alice Cullen who planned Bella and Edward’s big day.

An Elegant, Long-sleeved Dress

Bella looked beautiful as she walked down the aisle in a long-sleeved, lace -back dress designed by Carolina Herrera. Alfred Angelo has designed a replica of the gown that only costs $799. The long sleeves and cut-out lace back are elegant, classic and beautiful. This gown would be perfect for a fall, winter or church wedding.

Host the Wedding at Home

The ceremony and reception took place at the Cullen home. The setting made the wedding personal and unique. This is a simple idea that anyone can use and personalize. Consider your parents’ homes, family members’ homes or even close friends’ homes. Some fun possibilities include beach houses, lake view homes and family farms.

Use Tons of Flowers

The most breath-taking part of the Breaking Dawn wedding was the flowers. According to Blooming Envy LLC, the ceremony took place under 160,000 white wisteria that cascaded down from trees, and the aisle was lined with arrangements consisting of delphiniums, sweet pea, viburnum, ranunculus, Australian ferns and moss. The ceremony flowers also featured cherry blossoms and white lavender. The flowers set the tone of the wedding and provide a beautiful backdrop for the ceremony.

Decorate the Cake with Flowers

At the reception, Bella and Edward’s cake was decorated with roses, viburnum and sweet pea. The flowers make a simple cake extravagant.

We’d love to know, what did you think of the Twilight wedding? Are there any ideas you are dying to steal?

If you have ever met Dawn and Mary, you know they are all about the details. Before your wedding, they ask for pictures of your dress, the bridesmaid colors and any other fun information you’ll share with them. All of this information allows Dawn and Mary to create flowers that perfectly coordinate with the rest of your wedding. When it comes to wedding planning, details matter.

Click the photo to see Dawn’s Fall Wedding Inspiration Board

Dawn and Mary recently discovered their newest passion: Pinterest. This awesome website lets you create inspiration boards for everything from weddings to home decorating to vacation planning. It is so much easier than clipping and printing pictures and stashing them in a folder. Once you are registered, you will have a new tool on your browser screen that allows you to “pin” ideas from any website.

Click to see Dawn’s Fab Bouquets Board.

What does this mean for A Garden Party?

Before, or even after, you meet with Dawn and Mary, you can create a wedding board to showcase all of your ideas and/or plans. This will help Dawn and Mary create designs that complement your style and vision. You can also ask Dawn and Mary to create a board of ideas for you. (They would love an excuse to spend more time on this website.)

One last board: Click through to see this board of amazing baby’s breath ideas!

On Pinterest, you can also follow friends and businesses. This allows you to get inspiration from other brides and professionals in the wedding industry.

To sign up, visit http://pinterest.com

Your wedding cake is one of the central points of the reception and is highly anticipated by your guests. It should be as beautiful as your décor and should match the feel and tone of your wedding. An easy way to do this is to add fresh flowers that coordinate with your centerpieces and bouquets. A Garden Party can add fresh flowers to your cake, starting at $30. Since you might not order your cake before your flowers, this is a common add-on for brides. Please meet with your bakery first to design your cake and then send A Garden Party the cake sketch along with the cake delivery time line.

You can use flowers in a variety of ways on your cake, here are some examples of varying styles that the sisters have done. 

You can place flowers on top and down the layers of your cake like Alison and Fred.

You can place flowers, gerbers in this case, sporadically around the cake like Brynn and Drew.

You can do a pretty diagonal line across the entire cake like Tina and Jeremy.

You can put flowers in between the layers.

You can scatter petals around the bottom of the cake, as you can see here around Dominique and Glenn’s cake.

For more cake ideas, check out our “Wedding Cake” album on Facebook.

Cake Decorating Tips:

·         Design your cake with flowers in mind. You don’t want the flowers to look like an afterthought. Send a cake sketch to your florist to keep them in the loop! A nice inspirational photo never hurt anyone

·         White or cream-colored icing looks great any color flowers, but don’t be afraid to experiment with other colors. Let your baker do their thing; dare to be different!

·         Choose flowers that coordinate with the flowers used in your centerpieces and bouquets. You want everything to work together seamlessly.

·         Prepping and storing flowers can be challenging. You may want to let your florist handle this task. We have had experiences where the bakery is in charge of getting coordinating flowers, and that NEVER goes well. If the baker wants to decorate the cake, just let us know what time to have the loose flowers at the venue. 

So we want to know, do you plan on using fresh flowers to decorate your cake?

If you are interested in our floral design services in South Jersey, the greater Philadelphia area or Northern Delaware please contact Mary by filling out the form below:
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Anyone who has any experience planning a wedding, or special event, knows that flowers can be expensive. By the time you order centerpieces and bouquets and toss petals and any other flowers your heart desires (after all, it is your special day), you have probably spent a good chunk of your budget. Recently we have had a few requests from family members and friends of the couple, about possibly paying for certain aspects of a couple’s dream wedding, specifically their flowers.

It is becoming common for couples to request unusual shower gifts, such as money towards the honeymoon or a donation to charity. Enter A Garden Party Florist’s idea —A Garden Party Florist Gift Cards. You can purchase a gift card for any amount and give it to the bride as a gift. Best of all, Dawn and Mary can attach it to a flower and make sure it is as adorable as all of their other work. (Translation: No boring gift card in a plan white envelope.)

The gift card can be used towards any Garden Party Florist purchase, including those expensive orchids you fell in love with even though they were a little more expensive than your original plan.  All you bridesmaids out there that aren’t sure what to give the bride at her bridal shower…how about a gift card towards her wedding flowers!

These gift cards are also a great idea for anyone who needs or wants flowers.  After all, brides aren’t the only people who love flowers!

If you’re a bride, feel free to pass this exciting news on to anyone who might need a good gift idea. (Not everyone wants to buy you towels and spatulas.) If you know a bride who would love this idea, contact Dawn or Mary at 609-364-2529 or mary@gardenpartysisters.com to purchase a gift card.

This week I had the pleasure of talking to Maria Carr, the owner of Designed By M.E. Stationery. Before talking to Maria, I didn’t realize the vast potential for beautiful wedding stationery. I had only seen two types of wedding invitations, DIY and mass produced. Both can be beautiful, but they lack the quality and individuality that custom, handmade invitations, such as those by Designed By M.E. Stationery, can offer. The invitation is the first impression of your wedding, so it makes sense to choose stationery that finds your style and vision. Intrigued? Keep reading to find out more about Designed By M.E. Stationery.

Why should engaged couples choose your services?

I truly love what I do, and I like to think it shows in my work and in the way I treat my customers. I understand that most of my brides have never planned a wedding before, and the stationery stage can be overwhelming. I’m here to help with design, wording and walking them through etiquette guidelines (which I’m not really a stickler for). I’m passionate about weddings and design, and I’m a bit obsessed with keeping up with the latest trends in weddings and stationery, which means fresh new designs and ideas will be popping up all the time!

What makes your business stand out?

I don’t know if I design “better” than my competition, but I like to think that I have my own style and my customers share that style with me. I only use high quality materials, and I have an outstanding customer service track record. I custom design, hand-cut and hand-assemble every element of every piece of stationery.  I believe this puts me in a class above the DIY kits you’ll find at your local craft store or the invitations mass produced by a machine.

Why did you want to enter the wedding industry?

Weddings are a time to celebrate, and I’ve always loved the romance of it all. I love the colors, the flowers, the music, the dresses and the happy, beautiful photos.

What is your favorite part of being involved in weddings?

When we were planning our wedding, I remember how emotional and thrilling it was for my husband and me to hear that our guests loved their invitations and couldn’t wait to attend. Now, I get that feedback from brides, and I just love it. I get to put smiles on the bride’s and groom’s faces with something I created with my own two hands. How cool is that?

Is this a family owned business?

I guess you could say so! I am the sole owner, and I don’t have any employees yet. However, my husband offers moral support beyond words. He’s pretty good at tying bows too!

What advice would you offer to engaged couples looking for a vendor who provides your services?

Make sure your stationer’s style fits in with yours and that they understand your visions. Also, look at their past work, reviews and testimonials to ensure they are providing the quality of service and product that you are looking for.

Also, try to give your stationer enough time; you should order custom, handmade invitations about six months prior to your big day and wedding day stationery no later than 2 months prior.

What general advice would you offer engaged couples?

Do a little bit of research before you contact your vendors. It helps to have a general idea of the style you are looking for and a realistic budget. There are plenty of wedding blogs and websites that offer ideas and assistance, including mine! Also, try to enjoy every second of planning- it goes by so fast!!

What are your short and long term goals?

Short term goals: Currently, I’m struggling with balancing my business and every other aspect of my life, so I’d love to have some kind of system down by fall.  Long term goals: I am working towards growing my business so I can afford a few dedicated employees and a cute little studio where customers can stop by to browse, chat and create.

A Garden Party Florist had the pleasure of working with Designed By M.E. Stationery for Irene and Nick’s wedding. Check out the adorable stationery that perfectly matches the couple’s style.

The beautiful bride. Flowers by A Garden Party.

To view more pictures from Irene and Nick’s wedding, click here. Also, check out Maria’s blog and website.  Maria just did the invitations and thank you cards for Mary’s sons 2nd birthday just a few weeks ago.  Check out the adorable design she came up with here.

We’d love to know, where are you getting your wedding stationery? Share your stories, questions, and advice with us by leaving a comment!