Hello everyone! I am officially back to the blog – I am so embarassed that I haven’t blogged in so long, and I actually forgot my login password. That is way too long. Life has just been a crazy whirlwind for all of March and April. I’m glad its May now and wedding season is ramping up, and all of the work I’ve been doing behind the scenes for FlowerDIYvas over the last several weeks has ALMOST come to fruition. Stay tuned for more in the upcoming weeks for huge news and stuff!

I’m also going to be introducing a fan page on Facebook, where I will be uploading photos and updates as I do flowers for wedding this summer. You will actually get a glimpse behind the scenes at the flower market, in the design studio, and at weddings this summer – as they happen! I will let you all know when I get the Facebook fan page started so you can join.

To quickly recap the Green Weddings book signing event, it was a huge success! We had about 60 or so people show up to hear the expert panel talk about green weddings, and many people picked up Mia’s book and had her sign it for them. If you missed our event, Mia will be back in Southern California in May, visit her website for dates and locations.

I was also hugely pleased to present the winner of the Say I Do With A Big Do Contest, Bihn Phan! Learn more about her amazing story here.

So I wanted you to be able to enjoy some photos of the Green Weddings Event – but apparently I am also behind in Wordpress updates and such because I can’t upload pictures. I must confer with my IT support (my husband Darrell) and revisit that issue. Please check back soon because I promise to be a better blogger, and there are some great things ahead at The Spiraled Stem!

Join us on Sunday, March 15 from 2-4pm for an exciting afternoon learning about Green Weddings from the experts. Mireya Navarro, author of Green Wedding: Planning Your Eco-Friendly Celebration will be discussing green weddings with a panel of experts, including a floral designer (me!), a green lifestyle authority, an eco-chic wedding planner, and a bride who had a green wedding in 2008. This book is a MUST HAVE in any wedding professional’s library, and serves as a practical and inspirational guide to brides and grooms who are trying to do right by the planet during their wedding.

Please click on our Green Wedding Panel Discussion and Book Signing Event page for profiles of the panelists and all of our fabulous sponsors. You can also register to attend this FREE event here!

Yummy refreshments and beverages will be served, come and enjoy a relaxing and inspiring afternoon with us!

View an article on the TODAYSHOW.com website with Mia here!

This Friday and Saturday February 27-28, the Brides Against Breast Cancer Nationwide Tour of Gowns stops in Anaheim! For two days only, brides can shop from a huge selection of wedding dresses in all sizes and with prices at 25-75% below retail. These beautiful wedding dresses have been donated by past brides, designers, salons, and manufacturers so that proceeds from the sales go to benefit Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation, a non-profit organization which grants end of live wishes for terminally ill metastatic stage IV breast cancer patients.

Power Hours
Making Memories will host special morning hours of operation to offer brides a “sneak peak” and first pick of the thousands of gowns available for her one special day. “Power Hours” are on Friday, February 27, 2009, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm – admission is $20, advanced registration is required, and space is limited. Visit: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/275961408 for Power Hours registration.

Here are the details on the Brides Against Breast Cancer Wedding Dress Sale:

Location
Anaheim Marriott Suites Hotel
12015 Harbor Blvd
Garden Grove, CA

Hours
Power Hours:
Friday, February 27, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Gown Sale:
Friday, February 27, 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Saturday, February 28, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Registration
Power Hour: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/275961408
Brides: http://www.makingmemories.org
Volunteers: http://www.bridesagainstbreastcancer.org

Payment
Cash and credit cards are welcome. General admission is FREE.

BONUS!

A coupon worth $50 off any gown over $500 or $25 off any gown from $250 to $499 will be printed in the Orange County Register and the LA Times – Orange County Edition on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for additional savings! Brides must present the coupon clipped from the newspaper to redeem the discount.

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View the [download#6#nohits] (you must bring in printed newspaper coupon to redeem!)

The Spiraled Stem Floral Design is honored to be the volunteer local coordinator for the Brides Against Breast Cancer wedding dress sale, so we will be on site for the entire sale. We are still taking volunteers so please contact me at christine@thespiraledstem.com if you are interested!

I learned about BABC last year as part of The Green Event Studio launch, and we were happy to host the launch as a Pink Envelope Project event. I also pledged to donate my wedding gown in support of BABC, and that is just what I did last year.

My dress professionally cleaned and boxed had been sitting in my closet for 5 years.

My dress ready to join the thousands of others waiting for a new owner.

Me with my dress before we part ways.

Yes I had to try it on just one last time.

No it didn’t still fit! Be careful girls, this can happen to you too!

If you are a recent bride who would like to donate your dress, you can bring it to the sale and we will accept donations, just like how I did last year. For dresses that are really damaged or are non-sellable for any reason, there is still hope! Brides Against Breast Cancer will still accept the donation, but they use the fabric for quilters to make fabulous quilts that are worth thousands of dollars, and the proceeds of their sale go to Making Memories, just like the dresses!

For all the brides who are still shopping for a dress, or for past brides who want to donate their dress to a good cause, we look forward to seeing you this weekend!

I hope you had a great Valentine’s Day!

Our V-Day at The Spiraled Stem was very special because my very good friend since the 7th grade, Carly, got married to her Valentine DJ. We were honored to have done the flowers and to be part of such a special night. Here’s a picture of Darrell and I after all the work was finished and we were dressed up for the reception (and our Valentine’s date – two in one!).

Carly and DJ chose a beautiful location in Del Mar (San Diego area) called the Powerhouse, which is right on the beach! We were a little nervous on Friday because it was POURING, but the forecast called for clear skies on Saturday, and while it was chilly, the rain stayed away and it was a beautiful day!

Here is a picture of me just after I finished making the Maid of Honor bouquet on Friday.

Darrell and I started setting up the reception in the afternoon. Carly chose the beautiful and very popular submerged orchid in the tall glass vase centerpiece, with a floating candle on top. I have a lot of brides doing this centerpiece in 2009, and I can tell you since I was at the wedding that all of the guests loved it. Its classy and elegant, without being overdone and you still get the height of a tall centerpiece at a much lower cost than the big arrangement on top. We used two different colors of orchids, brown and burgundy, to reflect the African safari theme of their honeymoon destination.

Here are some more ambiance pictures from the reception. Since it was Valentine’s Day, they had a candy bar with all kinds of tasty treats!

It was a special treat for me too to see my friends Ali (since 1st grade), Elizabeth (since 7th grade), and Carly’s friend Shea – who were all Spiraled Stem brides! Well actually, Elizabeth and myself both got married before The Spiraled Stem was officially in existence, but it still counts since I did the flowers. So here are all of the wives – welcome Carly as the newest to the club! I also dug up pictures from each of our weddings, but luckily pre-2003 isn’t digital so I’m not going to dig those junior high school prints out!

Elizabeth – August 2002

Christine – September 2003

Shea – August 2005

Ali – September 2005

Carly and DJ – Married 2-14-09!

I don’t have any pictures of the couple from the wedding day because I snapped all of these pictures before i realized the camera had no memory card… I’m a florist not a photographer! So I pulled this from the archives. I hope to add some wedding pictures of them soon when I get them from the  real photographer. In the meantime, congratulations to Carly and DJ and have a fantastic honeymoon!

That’s right, less than a week until Valentine’s Day, are you ready?  

It falls on a Saturday this year, so send beautiful, earth-friendly VeriFlora-Certified sustainably grown roses to your sweetheart at home or the office on Friday the 13th, and you have all weekend to reap the benefits. It’s the Valentine’s gift that keeps on giving without taking too much from the earth.
 
One-dozen long stem red/pink/white roses arranged in a vase (as pictured): 

$75 plus $12 local delivery and tax

 A half-dozen long stem red/pink/white roses arranged in a vase: 

$50 plus $12 delivery and tax

Non-premium colors are available for a $10 discount. Custom, upgraded, and mixed arrangements are also available, just call and ask for details! We accept cash, checks, paypal, mastercard, Visa, and American Express.

The Spiraled Stem is currently taking orders for deliveries on Friday the 13th in north/central Orange, western Riverside, and southern Los Angeles counties. Call us at 714-632-6885 or email us to place your order today! We are not delivering on Saturday, we will be doing the flowers for a wedding in San Diego that day – congrats Carly and DJ – and Darrell and I will be having a little Valentine’s love of our own.

Get your office buddies together and place three or more orders for delivery to the same location and we will waive the delivery fee for all of you! This way you can take roses home with you Friday night and be a hero without fighting the crowds at the stores and flower shops.
 
Want to send roses to a sweetheart out of this area? Click here to order online through Organic Bouquet. 

 PSA from The Spiraled Stem:

Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Orange County is hosting a “BIG” night on Thursday January 22, 2009 from 6-8:30pm at the Oakley Headquarters in Lake Forest.  It’s a fun, no-pressure opportunity to learn more about becoming a Big, meet current Big Brothers and Big Sisters and grab some delicious (and absolutely free) food and drinks.  This is your chance to check out Oakley’s unique facility and even get a behind-the-scenes tour of the Oakley factory.  And that’s not all – the evening will feature a talk with Pro Skateboarder and X-Games winner Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins.

I’ve been a Big Sister for 8 years (has it really been that long!) and its a great program to be involved in to mentor a young child. This could be a great way to respond to Obama’s call to service! BTW I was glued to the inauguration coverage all day today. Please go to the event if you can, or contact them directly for more information at www.bigbrooc.org

FlowerDIYvas is hosting a FREE Seminar on how to do your own wedding flowers at our Anaheim location on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 from 6:30pm-8:00pm. Visit our website at www.FlowerDIYvas.com to register and for directions.

Please help us out by Taking Our Survey and we will mail you a free copy of Serendipity Magazine!

At the FREE seminar, you will see demonstrations on some of the items you will learn and practice making at the FlowerDIYvas workshops.

Attendees to the FREE Seminar will receive a VERY SPECIAL introductory rate on their Spring 2009 FlowerDIYvas workshop registration.

This is a very limited time offer available to brides who come to the FREE seminar. This price is an excellent deal and won’t last forever – take advantage of our introductory rate and you will be on your way to saving HUNDREDS by doing your own wedding flowers.

email at info@FlowerDIYvas.com or call us at 714-632-6885 for more details or to register!

2009 is already off to a crazy busy start, and I am dying to share with you what I have been feverishly working on for the last few weeks. Two major announcements: both are designed to help brides who are struggling with their budgets but still want beautiful, quality flowers for their weddings. In addition to our full service and reasonably priced custom wedding flowers where we create your vision together and you leave all of the work to the professionals, we are now offering our brides two additional options:

Announcement One: FlowerDIYvas!

I have partnered with Dawn Hansen from Lavender Hill to offer FlowerDIYvas, DIY wedding floral design workshops for brides who are considering doing their own flowers. I did my own flowers back in 2003, and even with the experience of 7 years in the floral business and having done several weddings, there were things that I did/didn’t do that made my life a lot more difficult than it had to be during those days surrounding our wedding. I’ll tell you the full story some other time. In the meantime, brides who are thinking about doing their own flowers to save money can learn from our years of experience – we will help you have a gorgeous, polished, and reduced stress wedding for less! Visit www.FlowerDIYvas.com for all of the details and to register!

If through the workshop experience a bride realizes that she will be in over her head and that DIY flowers are not for her, she can apply a portion of her workshop fees to full service wedding flowers. Or for brides who know they don’t want to do their own flowers but are still looking for a great low price for their flowers, The Spiraled Stem is now offering a lower priced collection. This leads me to… 

Announcement Two: the e collection!

Wedding flower collections that are easy on the environment and your budget.

I designed the e collection for the bride who is looking for uncomplicated design, a personalized touch, and a great value for her wedding flowers. The bride chooses her color scheme and preferred accent flower, and our designers do the rest – we select the freshest VeriFlora-certified sustainably grown flowers available and create a perfectly coordinated collection for the bride’s special day.

All collections feature VeriFlora-certified roses with the bride’s choice of accent flower and color scheme. Standard accent flowers are spray roses, tulips, freesia or rununculus (as seasonally available); premium accent flowers are mini callas, cymbidium orchids, or dahlias (as seasonally available). Prices are the same for standard vs. premium accent flowers, there are just less of the premium accent flowers in the arrangements.

All collections range between $1900 to $2300 and are based on four attendants for each the bride and groom and ten reception tables (100 guests). Choose from three options for the ceremony setup – a gazebo, an arch, or two pedestal pieces – and three price points for the centerpiece – $30, $40, or $50. Visit the e collection page on our website for all of the details!

With both FlowerDIYvas and the e collection, brides with all ranges in budgets will be able to have The Spiraled Stem touch on their wedding flowers. Please help us spread the news by posting about FlowerDIYvas and the e collection on your blog or website, and Contact us today for a consultation!

Happy New Year! I hope that your 2009 is off to a fabulous start. There are some exciting things going on here at The Spiraled Stem Floral Design, and I will be sharing them with everyone in the next few days. My new years resolution is to blog more consistently, so lets see how far I can go before falling off the wagon. And I need my readers to keep me accountable, bug me for new blog posts!

First on the list are new publications… The Spiraled Stem is featured in the premiere issue of Serendipity Magazine, Inspirations for the Asian Bride, and the gorgeous hard-bound, full color book Green Wedding, Planning Your Eco-Friendly Celebration. Lets start with the details on Green Wedding.

Green Wedding, Planning Your Eco-Friendly Celebration, is written my Mireya Navarro, New York Times Style Correspondent. The book is available at all major booksellers (I got mine at Borders for $35) in the wedding section, or you can go to Mia’s website www.mireyanavarro.com to order online and view excerpts. It is a beautiful and classy book on how to have a green wedding without sacrificing style, and has tips on everything from food, flowers, decor, attire, invitations, registry, honeymoons, and living a green lifestyle after the wedding.

I was honored to have been interviewed by Mia for the book last January, a whole year ago, and to have contributed photos to the book as well. They printed 15 images of my flowers! Its also way cool that my name is indexed - that’s right - you’ll find me under S on page 206, just below Sasawashi (a sustainable fabric) and just above Arnold Schwarzenegger, our environmental crusader governor who gets scolded for commuting to Sacramento from LA by private plane. Spiraled Stem Floral Design is indexed too! Mia also included me in the acknowledgments as one of the “several pioneers in the green market” who offered invaluable guidance and “are as much educators as they are business people”. Its a privlege to be in that company!

I was also able to point Mia towards one of my green wedding brides from 2008, Katie Malouf. Her wedding has been featured on the blog here and also in our photo gallery here. Katie is featured in Chapter 6: The Decor, Natives or Jet-Setters? and Mia shares how Katie wanted to use grass for her centerpieces before she knew there were eco-friendly, VeriFlora-certified flowers available through me. Be sure to turn right to Page 94 for the story!

I am working on scheduling a book signing with the author to take place here at the studio in the next couple of months, so stay tuned for that! You can pick up a copy and have her sign it here for you. Books would also be on sale at the signing, but don’t wait until then.

As a bonus, I am offering one free book to the first person to comment on this blog post with the names of the two varieties of VeriFlora Certified roses that were featured in Katie’s wedding.

The next new publication The Spiraled Stem is featured in is the premiere issue of Serendipity Magazine: Inspiration for Asian Brides. In 2008 I had the opportunity to work a lot with Caroline Chang from Serenity Events. She was working on launching a new magazine that catered to an underserved market, the Asian bride. This resulted in a beautiful new glossy magazine that will publish twice a year. Several of our favorite bouquets are featured in the Beautiful Florals article on page 38.

They are not currently available in bookstores, so please email me at christine@thespiraledstem.com with your name and current mailing address, and I will get a copy in the mail to you as a gift from me!

We are honored to have been featured in these fabulous publications, what a great start to 2009!