Table Runners

Your venue probably offers basic linens, but A Garden Party has fun table runners to place on top of your linens. Check out these gorgeous blue table runners we used at a recent aquarium wedding (more pictures coming later, we promise).

We also love these burlap table runners; they are perfect for rustic weddings. (To see more adorable ideas from Rachael and Connery’s wedding, click here.)

 Lanterns

A Garden Party’s lanterns are a great way to decorate your ceremony or reception space, and they add a beautiful romantic glow. Here are just two ideas for using the lanterns. (They also look amazing with a floral ring as your centerpiece.)

 This is a beautiful way to dress up a dance floor or highlight a sweet heart table.

 This is perfect for a fall wedding. In addition to lanterns, we can incorporate seasonal items such as pumpkins or fresh produce.

Votives

Votives are  a great way to add extra light to your ceremony or reception. A Garden Party has several styles to choose from, and we can use them to decorate a variety of areas such as your cocktail tables, bar, head-table, ceremony area, etc. Here are just two styles available at A Garden Party. For more ideas, please check out our other blog posts as well as our Facebook page.

These pink mercury votives are so pretty. We also have other glassware that matches these votives.

If you want a slightly bigger candle, we  have a variety of glassware that holds floating candles. We can even add ribbon and accents to the containers to coordinate with your colors and theme.

A few other “extras” you should ask A Garden Party about include:

• chair sashes
• cake stands
• napkin treatments
• and anything else your little heart desires.

We’d love to know, what extra details do you plan on adding to your wedding?

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:

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:
[contact-form] [contact-field label="Hi! My name is..." type="name" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Let's chat! Email me back about my event here..." type="email" required="true" /] [contact-field label="The magical day is..." type="url" required="true" /] [contact-field label="We picked the perfect location at..." type="text" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Here is my cell phone #, just in case..." type="text" required="true" /] [/contact-form]

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.

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!

This is the box of chocolates that we will have available to be ordered for Valentine’s Day – isn’t it pretty!?!?

It holds 9 large HANDMADE chocolates…mostly milk and dark chocolate truffles, a few caramels and a peanut butter piece.

This is the machine that is used to temper the chocolate.  Sweet Mary’s blends all their own chocolate to come up with the perfect combination.

Joe invented this, it is a funnel that sits over a heat lamp so that it stays at the perfect temperature.  Then tempered chocolate is then added and this is used to put the chocolate into the molds. I always wondered how the fillings were put inside, thankfully Joe has now given me some peace of mind. The warmer molds are filled, shaken (to remove bubbles) and then placed in the mold warmer (picture below) for a minute or two. After slightly cooled, the molds are dumped, leaving a chocolate shell. After hardened, the shell is filled with some kind of delicious filling, then covered with another layer of heavenly chocolate. ALL done by hand!

Here are the molds in another invention of Joe’s….kind of like a warming drawer of sorts.  They had hundreds of these molds, it was an amazing sight.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffles….yum.  This is one of the chocolates featured in the box that we are selling with our flowers.

I loved these ones with their logo printed on them…it is amazing what they can do.

Mini chocolate wedding cakes!!!  PERFECT for a bridal shower or even a wedding favor!

I don’t remember what these where…but they looked delicious.

A chocolate rose…gorgeous and delicious.

They even make candy bars…milk or dark chocolate.  You could use these as a favor too and get your name and wedding date printed on the wrapper.

They had so many cute boxes to put the candy in.  This pink polka dot box would be adorable for a baby shower.

This pretty little box can be printed with the couples names and wedding date…in whatever color coordinates with their wedding.

Sweet Mary herself holding the classic gold box of chocolates. You know you want some…

Those little chocolate wedding cakes would look gorgeous in this clear box.

This fancy red box looks like an actual gift!

I had to end with this sign hanging in their kitchen….I couldn’t agree more!

 Thank you Joe and Mary for giving us such a fun tour of your kitchen.  We love networking with local businesses and learning how they got where they are today.  It is inspiring to us to see all these small businesses thriving…that is our dream for A Garden Party.  We are working on a flier and order form that will have all the info on ordering flowers, chocolates, wine from Auburn Road Vineyards, and Salon Nicole gift cards….stay tuned  

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:
[contact-form] [contact-field label="Name" type="name" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Email" type="email" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Cell Phone Number" type="url" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Date and Location of Event" type="textarea" required="true" /] [/contact-form]

This is the box of chocolates that we will have available to be ordered for Valentine’s Day – isn’t it pretty!?!?

It holds 9 large HANDMADE chocolates…mostly milk and dark chocolate truffles, a few caramels and a peanut butter piece.

This is the machine that is used to temper the chocolate.  Sweet Mary’s blends all their own chocolate to come up with the perfect combination.

Joe invented this, it is a funnel that sits over a heat lamp so that it stays at the perfect temperature.  Then tempered chocolate is then added and this is used to put the chocolate into the molds. I always wondered how the fillings were put inside, thankfully Joe has now given me some peace of mind. The warmer molds are filled, shaken (to remove bubbles) and then placed in the mold warmer (picture below) for a minute or two. After slightly cooled, the molds are dumped, leaving a chocolate shell. After hardened, the shell is filled with some kind of delicious filling, then covered with another layer of heavenly chocolate. ALL done by hand!

Here are the molds in another invention of Joe’s….kind of like a warming drawer of sorts.  They had hundreds of these molds, it was an amazing sight.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffles….yum.  This is one of the chocolates featured in the box that we are selling with our flowers.

I loved these ones with their logo printed on them…it is amazing what they can do.

Mini chocolate wedding cakes!!!  PERFECT for a bridal shower or even a wedding favor!

I don’t remember what these where…but they looked delicious.

A chocolate rose…gorgeous and delicious.

They even make candy bars…milk or dark chocolate.  You could use these as a favor too and get your name and wedding date printed on the wrapper.

They had so many cute boxes to put the candy in.  This pink polka dot box would be adorable for a baby shower.

This pretty little box can be printed with the couples names and wedding date…in whatever color coordinates with their wedding.

Sweet Mary herself holding the classic gold box of chocolates. You know you want some…

Those little chocolate wedding cakes would look gorgeous in this clear box.

This fancy red box looks like an actual gift!

I had to end with this sign hanging in their kitchen….I couldn’t agree more!

 Thank you Joe and Mary for giving us such a fun tour of your kitchen.  We love networking with local businesses and learning how they got where they are today.  It is inspiring to us to see all these small businesses thriving…that is our dream for A Garden Party.  We are working on a flier and order form that will have all the info on ordering flowers, chocolates, wine from Auburn Road Vineyards, and Salon Nicole gift cards….stay tuned  

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:
[contact-form] [contact-field label="Name" type="name" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Email" type="email" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Cell Phone Number" type="url" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Date and Location of Event" type="textarea" required="true" /] [/contact-form]

- DIY Parties at our design studio are perfect for weddings, baby / bridal showers, holiday events, a girls night out, bachelorette parties, church groups, birthday parties, etc. Basically whatever your event or need, we want to be able to help you make your vision come to life. We can also be guest lecturers at your own event too! Give us a call to check our schedule!
- For $250, you can invite up to 6 people to join the fun for a 4 hour DIY party hosted at our floral design studio.
- One expert designer would be available to assist the group in designing the wedding or event flowers.
- For an additional fee we can order and supply the flowers, containers, and any other supplies need (so we order the flowers/supplies at cost and then mark it up 25% to cover our time). If the bride chooses to bring in her own supplies or flowers, there will be no additional cost. All tools needed would be available at no additional cost.
- Workshops would be held one to two days prior to the event, in order to ensure that the florals would be at their prime for your event.
- Feel free to bring in your own snacks or drinks for your group. We will provide adorable vintage aprons so everyone looks fab while they work (a girl still needs to look cute while getting her hands dirty!)
- If you have your own space and want us to come to you, we can do that as well. We would be happy to work out a price for us to come to your home, church, rec hall, etc. to teach a DIY workshop.
- All flowers would be taken with you when the workshop is complete so you can start enjoying them right away. Cooler space can be rented if the florals need to be held a day or two if needed.
- Looking for a unique shower favor? Consider inviting us to your shower to teach your guests how to make a small floral design to take home with them. For example, a tea themed bridal shower would be the perfect opportunity for us to come in and teach your guests how to make a small teacup floral design. Who wouldn’t love that?!?!

Many brides are really creative, but feel they are held back because of budget issues or find the process of doing it themselves daunting. We are here to help you make your event truly fabulous. If you are interested in learning simple floral design techniques and want to take part in creating your own floral designs, shoot us an e-mail, Mary@gardenpartysisters or Dawn@gardenpartysisters.com or give Mary a call at 609-364-2529. We can’t wait to hear from you!

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:

[contact-form] [contact-field label="Hi! My name is..." type="name" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Let's chat! Email me back about my event here..." type="email" required="true" /] [contact-field label="The magical day is..." type="url" required="true" /] [contact-field label="We picked the perfect location at..." type="text" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Here is my cell phone #, just in case..." type="text" required="true" /] [/contact-form]

Anyway, back to the shower….Marguerite wanted to host an elegant shower for her dearest friend, with lots of personal touches, what a joy it was to be a part of! She just loved these antique hydrangea that I had in my cooler, so we incorporated them into the centerpieces (using Running Deer’s house vase trio).  She ordered all of these adorable personalized tags online, the staff at Running Deer was drooling over them! Of course the favors were 2 peas in a pod salt and pepper shakers to tie it all together.

She also ordered die cut butterflies that we attached to the rim of the glasses, just for a touch of whimsy.

In the chocolate room, she set up a miniature candy buffet that was a hit!

All of the candies had little tags on them saying "Jessica's Sweet Peas, Due August 2010, 2 Peas" etc etc, it was almost too pretty to eat!

Sorry for the bad picture, but she had these personalized shower games printed and even made the cartoon mom look like Jessica!

Our wishing tree (the perfect rental) with pink and blue crystals and the simple yet elegant hydrangea.

Personalized tags for the guests to write their motherly advice on.

Oh Marguerite, that was just too much fun! I had a great time brainstorming ideas with you, maybe I should follow your advice and branch out into party planning haha!  Best wishes to Jessica and here is my advice for her, “Pack away the dumbbells and get a refund on the gym membership, your babies will tone up those arms like you won’t believe! At least you save some money there! Oh and be thankful for every crazy day.” Thanks again Marguerite for letting me be a part of all the sweetness.

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:

[contact-form] [contact-field label="Hi! My name is..." type="name" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Let's chat! Email me back about my event here..." type="email" required="true" /] [contact-field label="The magical day is..." type="url" required="true" /] [contact-field label="We picked the perfect location at..." type="text" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Here is my cell phone #, just in case..." type="text" required="true" /] [/contact-form]

Our very popular rose "present" can be done in any color combo and the "gift tag" can be personalized to send warm wishes to any bride.

In Running Deer's Chocolate room, we added a coordinating centerpiece for the bride to take home after the shower. As if her car wasn't full enough hehe!

A simple colored glass cube with roses is affordable and chic!

We just did these lovely flower arrangements for our sweet Shannon who is just a month away from her July wedding. Her fiance sent these to her at the shower! Shannon is having a beautiful purple wedding with butterfly accents, so of course I had to order these phalaenopsis "butterfly" orchids.

Coordinating centerpieces sat on bistro tables, guests of the shower took these home as a sweet reminder.

Dawn and I loved making these!

I am doing this for a baby shower this weekend, it is a wishing tree! Guests write advice on little cards and hang them on the tree for everyone to admire, the bride or mother to be can take them home later and add them to her album. This would be a beautiful way to welcome guests!

Sweet little tags (these are from etsy) are the perfect size for a few words of advice. We did something similar at my baby shower, my favorite advice from a dear friend "Let your house be dirty, play with your children before they get too big."

I just got these cool vases in and I am excited to be booking them already! These are the perfect way to show off your engagement photos…2 4×6 photos can be placed inside the vase and fresh flowers can be placed in a smaller hidden vase. Guests will love to admire the special couple!

Ok, so we did this for a wedding, not a shower, but you could do this adorable umbrella/parasol for your shower!

   We are happy to share all of our party planning ideas and help out in any way, give me a call at 609-364-2529 to discuss the fun details of your bridal shower or baby shower today! Lots of our ideas are budget friendly and full of style and creativity to help you create a shower to be remembered. Have a great weekend ladies! Stalk your little hearts out… 

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:

[contact-form] [contact-field label="Hi! My name is..." type="name" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Let's chat! Email me back about my event here..." type="email" required="true" /] [contact-field label="The magical day is..." type="url" required="true" /] [contact-field label="We picked the perfect location at..." type="text" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Here is my cell phone #, just in case..." type="text" required="true" /] [/contact-form]

Our very popular rose "present" can be done in any color combo and the "gift tag" can be personalized to send warm wishes to any bride.

In Running Deer's Chocolate room, we added a coordinating centerpiece for the bride to take home after the shower. As if her car wasn't full enough hehe!

A simple colored glass cube with roses is affordable and chic!

We just did these lovely flower arrangements for our sweet Shannon who is just a month away from her July wedding. Her fiance sent these to her at the shower! Shannon is having a beautiful purple wedding with butterfly accents, so of course I had to order these phalaenopsis "butterfly" orchids.

Coordinating centerpieces sat on bistro tables, guests of the shower took these home as a sweet reminder.

Dawn and I loved making these!

I am doing this for a baby shower this weekend, it is a wishing tree! Guests write advice on little cards and hang them on the tree for everyone to admire, the bride or mother to be can take them home later and add them to her album. This would be a beautiful way to welcome guests!

Sweet little tags (these are from etsy) are the perfect size for a few words of advice. We did something similar at my baby shower, my favorite advice from a dear friend "Let your house be dirty, play with your children before they get too big."

I just got these cool vases in and I am excited to be booking them already! These are the perfect way to show off your engagement photos…2 4×6 photos can be placed inside the vase and fresh flowers can be placed in a smaller hidden vase. Guests will love to admire the special couple!

Ok, so we did this for a wedding, not a shower, but you could do this adorable umbrella/parasol for your shower!

   We are happy to share all of our party planning ideas and help out in any way, give me a call at 609-364-2529 to discuss the fun details of your bridal shower or baby shower today! Lots of our ideas are budget friendly and full of style and creativity to help you create a shower to be remembered. Have a great weekend ladies! Stalk your little hearts out… 

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:

[contact-form] [contact-field label="Hi! My name is..." type="name" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Let\'s chat! Email me back about my event here..." type="email" required="true" /] [contact-field label="The magical day is..." type="url" required="true" /] [contact-field label="We picked the perfect location at..." type="text" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Here is my cell phone #, just in case..." type="text" required="true" /] [/contact-form]