Wow, I can not believe the fall has come and gone, even Christmas!

So, here is what has been happening at the store.

In October, I went to Minneapolis  and studied under Ardith Beveridge AAF,AIDF,CAFA, MSF. Then in November, I was in Vancouver to study with Hitomi Gillian AIDF. The art and mechanic of art that I have now learned is phenomenal! I have decided to further my education to achieving my CAFA and AIFD. What this means to me is having complete my formal education in the floral industry and many doors opening to keeping up with all the latest trends and techniques. To my customers, it means better designs, longer lasting flowers and more information available to you. Also, Classes!

Here is what I have learned so far in the wedding trends.

I have seen and made some wonderful designs. Hand tied bouquets have been with us for 10 years, they are now leaving. More artistic and creative bouquets are here. They complement the size and shape of the bride.Nosegays with waterfalls, or light cascading waterfalls are in.Try something different like a fingertip bouquet or a cuff bouquet for that modern look. The use of jewels or ribbons to match the gown are great accents.

For mothers and this years grads, personalize floral jewelry, all to complement your attire.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Pop into the store to see some samples. I have even made up some natural arrangements with armitures.

It is a great year for weddings . This year you have so many choices!

When booking your event, Please talk to your floral designer and allow them to help you express your emotions and theme of your event. Please don’t just go by what you have found on the internet. They have so much more available to them.

Wishing you a wonderful season. Keep warm

Dawn

Had a great surprise  this morning. A client walked in and said she needed a bouquet quickly, for she was running late. She was off to meet the queen! Yes one of my bouquets went to the queen! I quickly created a little nosegay of white daisies, yellow spray roses and green hypericum berries. It was beautiful. This young lady has been writing back and forth with her majesty for a while and now they get to meet.

As it ends, I gave her the flowers with my complements, in exchange for a photo. I will post to if it should arrive.

Cheers to you!

Dawn

The other night, I was in the city picking up supplies, my husband called to tell me I have to hurry back to help out a groom. What had happened was the groom and his bride bought their wedding flowers from a large grocery chain store. The groom asked that his boutonniere be different than his groomsmen. The grocery store put two loops of ribbon and a bow on it.

Knowing I would want to help him, he brought his parcel to me telling me I know you could do better. When I asked him why he would purchase his wedding flowers at a grocery store  he told me they had a budget and wanted them cheap.

Let me tell you folks, going to a grocery store known for being expensive, does not sell cheap wedding flowers. They just do them cheaply!

All of us have our own specialty. Mine is flowers. My husband is food. Grocery stores is …. groceries! Did you know that produce kills flowers? Yup, they give off  Ethylene gas that pre- ages  and kills flowers. Where do flowers go in a grocery store? Next to the produce. Want to ripen  a banana, place it in a bag with an apple.

So how did our groom make out? Well on Saturday, I came in an hour prior to opening the store  to meet him. I gave him a choice of  two beautiful boutonnieres. Then after a short chat I gave him both as a free gift, and  wished him a wonderful day.

My final thought to you… Please remember, your wedding flowers are in almost ALL of your photos. A good professional florist understands budgets, but also understands how to be creative with in that budget.

Wishing you blue skies.

Dawn

Well, Saturday was fun, exciting and very, very wet!

We were privileged to be a part of a beautiful wedding on Saturday at Rembrandts in Lockport. For the first time in a long time, I serviced a wedding.My day started with the delivery of the bride’s bouquets, then of f to Rembrandts in Lockport. There we set up  for the ceremony and waited for the bride and groom to arrive.

Next was to get them down the isle. No problem. After that the new couple went outside for a few photos.(really only a few, then the rain came back)Mean while, I was frantically putting finishing touches on the reception site.Would you like to see photos? Go to the wedding gallery. There is a wedding with feather, and hydrangea

With an absolute huge thank you to Chery from Bejeweled photography she has been absolutely wonderful in helping me show some of my floral work!She has come running to take photos of all styles and at all hours!These different photos will be up shortly, for now it is up to my dear husband who will be posting them.You will see some of our joined team work under all categories.

Well, it is now time to close. we unfortunately have some water damage to clean up.

May we have blue skies in the weeks ahead.

Hi my name is Dawn and I am the owner of Willow Lane. This is my first blog, so here we go…

A few years ago we saw this beautiful old house for sale and thought what a great place to move our flower shop.  Wow! What an adventure. From updating the house to commercial to being vandalized (not happy stuff). Then beautiful things would happen, we started meeting people who lived here.

One gentleman dated the house back to 1929, because he was born here. It has been wonderful creating arrangements for family functions( happy and sad) and I would hear stories about Mrs. Van Rysal and how she would welcome everyone into her home (That is the name of one of the original families).

Well I never realized it till now but, we are carrying on the tradition of welcoming everyone in. We love sharing this house with everyone.

So, my invite to you. If you ever need a little break or a get away, pop by and say hi. There is always something happening. Oliver always has something cooking in the kitchen, and I’m always looking for new ways to show my flowers.

I hope everyone has a wonderful happy weekend.
Will blog next week.
Dawn