FLORISTS' REVIEW APRIL 2012 - Honorable Mention

You know when you really love something and think its great, you think everyone else should feel the same way? Then they do feel that way and its awesome! Well, that is exactly how all of the girls of Lisa Foster Floral Design felt about Hannah Roberts Manning wedding on April 9, 2011. To preface the story a little we need to tell you about the wedding and the bride. Hannah didn't want much in the way of flowers or decorations for her Country Chic wedding. In fact it was her dad that wanted to add more flowers to the wedding! Her color scheme was pretty simple; yellow, white, navy and gray. It might sound simple but it made a big impact. We just can't get over the color combo!
Every year we enter a contest for the Florists' Review Magazine Picture Perfect Weddings. In 2011 we won best bouquet with Kelly Kohlbusch Huddleston's bridal bouquet.  For 2012 we may not have won a big door prize or gotten on the cover, Hannah's wedding did receive honorable mention! The article reads;

     It has been several years since we've had a wedding of honorable mention in the 
    "Picture-Perfect Weddings" contest, but we couldn't let this one go unpublished. 
    With its perfectly executed details and 
    simple country elegance, this is the event we all wish we could have attended. 
    And perhaps most interesting is how it came together to fulfill the desired look 
    of the minimalist bride, who at first "really didn't want any flowers at her wedding," 
    florist Lisa Foster reports.

Along with Hannah's wedding we submitted two other 2011 weddings for consideration for the contest. Though they didn't win any awards they did place in other areas of the magazine! Thank you Julie Roberts Solon and Emily Williams Baker for your beautiful and unique ideas that let our creative juices flow! Here are the pages from the magazine, please enjoy them!

It's Not Fair Pinterest, It's Just Not Fair!

Recently we have had an increase of brides wanting flowers in teal/turquoise. Now if you are a Pinterest addict like most of us at Lisa Foster Floral Design then you know Pinterest is the Pandoras box of craft ideas, flower inspiration, food know-how and anything else anyone could ever need to know. The downfall with Pinterest is that sometimes it is hard to figure out what is real and what is not. 
We love and hate it for many reasons. Pinterest helps our brides organize their ideas, get inspiration and learn about what flowers could be available to them for their wedding. We hate Pinterest because sometimes the photos have been altered, flowers have been painted or they are fake. The popularity of the color teal has caused some heartache for brides. Since Lisa likes to say, "God doesn't make teal flowers".  Now where does that leave us? 
Well, unlike the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland we can't paint the roses red...or teal. There is a special paint for flowers but not all flowers look good painted (see calla lilies below). In all honestly, we don't like to do it! Painted flowers look unnatural in most cases. The one flower that does well with floral paint are hydrangeas. They are the only flowers we will tint when the real ones are not available.  The colors that we typically use are soft pink, blue and green. Since Hydrangeas come in those colors naturally then most of the time you can't tell the difference. 
Another way to color flowers is to let them drink colored water... this works with carnations and regular daisies. We normally suggest for girls looking to use the teal/turquoise color to use it in the wrap of the bouquets. It helps to tie in the color without being too much of a good thing. Also, we tell them to keep in mind is that if you have a teal dress you want the flowers to pop, not blend in.  

Example of the colors blending into the dresses photo via Pinterest  

Artificial teal flowers.

Sandals Resort - Grande St. Lucian - St. Lucia

Lisa was in need of some much deserved rest and relaxation so she and her husband Sam headed down to Sandals Grande St. Lucian Resort in St. Lucia. They spent 7 days and 6 nights soaking up the sun! Here are a some details with photos of all the great things you can do at Sandals!

ROOM - concierge service room 24hr room service in all rooms at the Grande St. Lucian
ate breakfast out on the balcony every morning, over looking the Caribbean ocean and swimming pool.
included french toast, bananas, eggs, omelets, fresh juice, fresh coffee, hot chocolate in a pot. every night you put your breakfast request hung on the door and in the morning it arrives promptly.

FOOD - The food was fantastic and you could have anything you wanted whenever you wanted!
Candle light dinner on the beach for Sam and Lisa's early anniversary celebration. There were tiki torches with flower arrangements, the waiter had white gloves and there were waves almost touching the table legs. 5 coarse meal.  Crepe shop! any kind you want. cheese, fruit, chocolate... you name it.

ACTIVITIES - For Lisa's birthday they enjoyed a couples 50 minute massage! She says it was amazing and recommends it for honeymooning (or any) couples! They headed to the pool to enjoy the sun, breeze and get some good reading done for the majority of the trip. The beach is just as you see in the photos white sand and blue water... Lisa wanted to go snorkeling but Sam wouldn't go which is one of the free activities at the Grande St. Lucian. The main pool has a water fall that looks out over the pool bar! Swim up and have your favorite beverage. During dinner there is always entertainment if you decide to eat outside you can really hear the music. Lisa and Sam even got the chance to be guests for a wedding on the beach!!

SERVICE - felt like king and queen all week with the service they don't want you to do anything.

The four poster bed with curtains are huge, soft and comfortable! Amazing views no matter what window you look out of in your room. Wonderful facilities that are clean and well maintained.
The weather was perfect other than a few light sprinkles here and there. Make sure to pack extra sunscreen...

Remember Lisa is a Certified Sandals Representative and can help you plan you perfecto honeymoon or vacation getaway!

JOPHOTO - Lydia Dorsey's Bleak House Wedding 3/16/2012

Talk about quick turn around for photos! JOPHOTO already has posted photos from last weekends Friday wedding at the Bleak House.  The colors are very fresh and spring-ish. The bride's bouquet was all yellow and white where we used; white and yellow daisies, yellow daffodils and white ranunculus. For the bridesmaids we used plum alstroemeria lilies, yellow and white tulips and yellow daffodils. It looks like the torential down-pour held off a little but there were a few sprinkles. Isn't rain on a wedding day lucky? If not getting married on St. Patrick's Eve is sure to bring the bride and groom luck for years to come! Anyway, please enjoy the photos and let us know your thoughts!

Expressive Moments Photography - Wedding Row Open House

In true photography fashion, the very talented girls of Expressive Moments Photography captured the moments of our Wedding Row Open house February 16, 2012. Take a look at the photos... it makes us want to sit at the tables, smell the flowers, try on the dresses and eat the food all over again! For all of the photos visit our Facebook page! If you need any information about any of the vendors just give us a call and we'll help you get connected.