We are so excited to be participating in the Washingtonian Bride & Groom Unveiled Bridal Event on Sunday, January 22^nd.  Trying to come up with a creative item to contribute to the attendees' gift bags was easy...making 450 of them was a bit more challenging!   We called in the troops and got to work. << MORE >>

     Last Wednesday's tasting at The Sunset Room at National Harbor was a wonderful evening of delicious food, lovely company, and a breathtaking sunset. I am always happy to receive an invitation from Anne at R & R Catering to join them for an event that will involve trying out their amazing fare. They serve a wide variety of food from appetizers through dessert. The way I see it, you can never go wrong when there is a Crepe Station involved!


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    Imagine, fifty guests gather on May 28, 2011 at 11:30 am at the Reston Town Center Pavillion for your wedding ceremony, with a reception to follow at the amazing Il Fornaio Restaurant.

Oh, and it is FREE!
  
     For a two girls who are not athletic (an enormous understatement), Theresa and I have been joining some great teams lately!  In our latest adventure, we have teamed up with a fantastic group of wedding professionals lead by the wedding planners at A Splash of Elegance to give away A Fantasy Wedding.   One lucky couple will win a full wedding...including planning services, ceremony, reception, attire, flowers, entertainment, photographer, and more! We are going to preserve the happy couple's wedding flowers and frame them with a photo from their magical day.

    Brides can register until February 13, 2011 at any Reston Town Center participating merchant for the chance to win. Can't make it to Reston between now and Sunday?  You can register online, and you don't have to be present to win.    Drawing will be held at the Pavilion Ice Rink at Reston Town Center on Sunday, February 13 at 2:00 p.m.
 

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  When Brandy Jones returned from her destination wedding in Nantucket this summer, she gathered some of her favorite "wedding things" and brought them to me along with her stunning bouquet. One of my favorite things is working with brides to come up with unique and creative designs for their floral art. When presented with the fabric swatches, sea urchins, ribbon, pins, a wax seal from the invitation, and the items seen here...

         

Theresa created this:


Brandy was thrilled with the stunning floral arrangements provided by Dawn Kelly at Soiree Floral. It always brings us great joy to preserve a bride's flowers so that she may enjoy them well beyond her wedding day. If you are considering a destination wedding in Nantucket, call on Diane Whelden of Unique Nantucket to plan your special day.

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    Do you have plans for Sunday, September 12th?  We would love for you to be our guest at The Washington Bridal Showcase in Chantilly, Virginia.We have two tickets for the first 5 people who request them.   Just contact me  and I will send them right out to you. Come see pressed floral art samples, learn about our unique method of preservation, and get ideas of what can be created with your wedding bouquet. For a sneak peak, visit our website. 

    You will find our booth alongside our fellow members of Hunt Country Celebrations. Together, we create a "show within a show" where you can find the experienced wedding professionals you need to make your day complete. Check out a few of the members who will be joining us~

• Celebrations Catering  will be offering delicious samples of their gourmet fare.
• For dessert visit Market Salamander  or Capitol Chocolate Fountains ... or both!  
• Need a beautiful venue to host your wedding?  You will have a tough time choosing between The Black Horse Inn, Stonewall Golf & Country Club, and The Briar Patch Bed & Breakfast.
• To set the mood at your celebration, Capital Party Rentals has everything from linens to tents and Shelley's Floral can add the finishing touches with her amazing bouquets and arrangements.
• Jake of Dream Day DJs  knows how to get everyone on the dance floor.
• Hunt Country Jewelers  will clean your engagement ring while you peruse their stunning designs for wedding bands.
• Saskia Paulussen Photography  can help you remember the beauty of your day forever
• Not sure where to start, or want some help along the way? Celebrations Made Simple  will live up to it's name.

    Whether you are just starting your planning, finishing up the details (like floral preservation!), or anywhere in between, you will find the wedding professionals who can make your special day complete. We hope to see you there!

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    The old saying that "necessity is the mother of invention" is very true in this case.  Frustrated by the sites available when planning her own wedding, Kristen Hall felt that there had to be something better out there to help brides and grooms navigate the wedding planning process.  When she couldn't find the perfect site, she and her husband, Aaron, set out to create it.

    Weddzilla.com is now live and it is amazing!  We are honored to be a Launch Partner for this fantastic new site that will help make the wedding planning process a fun one!  Here are just a couple of the features of this innovative site:

    WEDDMARK:  Stop clipping magazines and start getting smart. The Weddmark is revolutionizing the way you visually plan your wedding. You can get access to your Weddmark in your profile and use it with any browser. When you find an image you like on a website, just click and voilà! It magically strips all the text off of the page, only showing you the images. You select the image you want to collect, fill in some details, and it’s instantly added to your Collection for you to view later or share.

   YOUR COLLECTION:  Every Nearlywed starts the planning process by searching for inspiration, but keeping all those great ideas organized is tough. Your Collection allows you to not only organize your inspiration but share it too. Think of it as your virtual binder where you keep all of your best ideas.

    VENDORS GALORE:  Browse an extensive, and ever growing, network of wedding professionals in your local area.   Check out our listing  in the Unique Services category.


    Click here to take a tour of the site and check it out for yourself!

        Memorial Day only happens once a year, but we honor our clients who serve our country all year long!  Just let us know that you are an active member of the United States Armed Services and you will receive 25% off the pressing fee for your flowers.  

        Our first bride to enjoy this discount (and was part of our inspiration for it) is shown here.  She had two big events in Annapolis last May ~ her (then) fiance graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and the following week they were married there.  Her red rose, white mat, blue ribbon, and gold framed floral art is a perfect keepsake from her wedding.  Happy anniversary Morgan and Patrick!

 

        

    
    

    

     We just signed on to participate in this innovative bridal show event to take place this Sunday, March 28th from 4 pm - 9 pm!  (It was originally planned for early February, but the big blizzard caused a rescheduling and now we can join in the fun.)   Mary Beth will be showing samples of our floral art at The Willard Intercontinental Hotel, so start there and have Reston Limo take you to the other locations!  All tickets must be purchased in advance...click here to find out more and order your tickets today! 

  

• Begin your tour at any hotel listed above - see bridal fashion, stay as long as you like to visit vendors, sip champagne, taste fabulous foods, have an engagement portrait taken, let make-up and hair artists work their magic, ooh and aah, and dance to the music!
• Reston Limo buses will be stationed in front of each property to shuttle guests to each location all evening - at 30 minute intervals.  No worries about parking!
• Win a fabulous array of prizes (7 luxury honeymoons, a pair of Christian Louboutin high heels, a $500 Cartier gift certificate, a $300 J. Crew gift certificate PLUS a private shopping trip to the Georgetown store!)
• The first 300 guests will receive a fabulous goodie bag!

PLUS...

Receive the "Love Pass" and the cost of admission ($65) will be rebated to attendees when they use the services of any of the vendors*!  Use several vendors, the savings multiply!  (*Some exceptions apply.  See show catalogue upon arrival for more details.)

 Don't delay....purchase your tickets and mark your calender!  Engaged! in Washington will be a bridal event like no other!

     The Weddzilla Rock the Launch Party was a huge success!  The National Museum of Women in the Arts was filled to capacity with people ready to celebrate the introduction of the innovative wedding planning website Weddzilla.com.  In addition to incredible food, decor, and company, the evening also included a Silent Auction to benefit Childrens National Medical Center.  


       
Mary Beth and the evening's emcee, Steve Kemble.       The silent auction table with our floral art.

    


The auction raised over $5400 for Children's National Medical Center.  

    Congratulations to Todd D. of Alexandria, Virginia!  He was the highest bidder for the auction package that included an 8x10 work of floral art donated by All Seasons Floral Preservation.  He and his fiance will use it to preserve flowers from their upcoming October wedding. Thank you for supporting Children's National Medical Center!

     For more photos of the Rock the Launch Party, check out our Facebook Fan Page!

                                                          
              Who knew what excitement would come from being a Launch Partner for Weddzilla.com?  As part of the festivities leading up to Weddzilla's Rock the Launch Party on February 25th, the amazing folks at Weddzilla are planning a flash mob.  It will take place  in a well-known public place in Washington, DC during a busy time of day.  Our celebrity Flash Mob leader Steve Kemble (America's Sasiest Lifestyle Guru, Us Weekly Magazine Top Cop, TLC's "Battle of the Wedding Planners" winner, and Golden Globe Awards correspondent) will begin the dance and then our mobbers will join in!  

                 Not sure what a Flash Mob is?  Check out my favorite one with Julie Andrews singing in a train station---see it here.  Now you have an opportunity to join in the fun!  It is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, February 24th and all the details are here.  My two left feet will be participating...hope to see you there!                                                            

    The Washington Bridal Showcase is the first of SIX wedding events in which I will be participating this winter/spring!  It was a huge success, and with over 1100 registered brides and 3000+ attendees we were busy all day. My sister, Margaret, came from New Jersey to help me handle the crowds and  I was thrilled to have her in the booth with me.  She is so enthusiastic about our floral art that  that I often find myself wanting to step aside and let her do all the talking!   Our displays were seen in two areas of the show...one booth in the Green Bride Pavilion and another (shown here) in the Hunt Country Celebrations exhibit area. 

                                         

      Hunt Country Celebrations is a premier group of wedding and special events professionals dedicated to providing unparalleled services to their clients.  We created our own "show within a show" at the Washington Bridal Showcase.  Our Bridal Bingo game was a huge hit and we gave away thousands of dollars worth of gift certificates to the brides who participated.  

                                    
    In this photo, Jake Ritchie of Dream Day DJs and Norm Weaver our Bagpiper extraordinaire are showing how its done!  Hunt Country Cebrations will be hosting our own Bridal and Event Expo on April 10th at West Belmont Place at the National Conference Center in Leesburg, Virginia.  Click here for more info about the show, many of the smiling faces in the photo below will be there.   

                          

     Since Theresa and I started All Seasons Floral Preservation in 2005, we have focused our efforts on providing each client with outstanding customer service and, of course, beautiful custom-designed floral art. In addition to our brides (and their friends & families), we have met many professionals who play a part in making the wedding day a success.

      In 2009, we were awarded the Wedding Wire Bride's Choice Award based on the great reviews our brides have written on that website. Recently, it was a thrill to learn that we have been selected by Washingtonian's Bride & Groom magazine as one of the top florists in DC. (There is no category for "floral preservation" but we are among good company with our florist friends!)

                                                                         .
        We are well aware that our hard work only goes so far...it is the enthusiastic response from our brides and other wedding professionals that has gotten us where we are today. Thank you so much to everyone who has shared their love for their floral art with a friend, family member, colleague, etc. << MORE >>

     As much as we enjoy creating floral art for our brides, it is a special treat to create artwork for people who aren't expecting it!  Recently we have had brides who asked that we make additional pieces of floral art to be given as Christmas presents for their parents, sisters who surprised the bride with her preserved flowers, and a mother who surprised her daughter (the bride) with her flowers framed with a photo and her invitation. Here are just a few of the photos of what these families found under the tree on Christmas morning!

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    I received a phone call Sunday evening from Maggie M. inquiring as to how she should go about sending me the flowers from a wedding she had just attended.  I emailed her the packing and shipping instructions, then I began the agonizing wait to see how they would look after their journey.

    Well, if there was a Perfect Packing and Shipping Award, I think we would declare Maggie this year's winner!  I know it is only October, but I dare say her technique won't be surpassed in the remaining months of 2009!  A picture is worth a thousand words, and I am thinking of sending these photos, rather than written instructions, to people who are shipping their flowers.


                 
Instructions for the package handlers    Top layer of tissue packing                 The bouquet and boutonniere wrapped in tissue
  
                                                       
            Bouquet wrapped in tissue in "newspaper nest"                   Calla lily bouquet--safe & sound in Sterling, VA

    I hope this helps our "out of town" brides who are anxious about getting their flowers to us in good enough condition for pressing.  And, a BIG THANKS to Maggie for doing such a great job in spreading the word about us (this is the 3rd bride she has referred in a month!)  and for getting the flowers to us in great shape!

     I first met Erin at the Washington Bridal Showcase last February.  She was taken with our floral art and knew then she wanted to preserve her wedding flowers.  By late June, she had confirmed the flowers that DaVinci Florist would be using at her wedding so we sat down to select the background mat, frame, and layout for her floral art.  Everything was falling into place beautifully and with time to spare.  Until 10 days before her wedding!  Erin was tying up loose ends in her wedding planning and realized that will all of the guests and festivities taking place in D.C., she didn't have anyone to bring the flowers to me in Sterling after her wedding.  She called with a very creative solution---her family was hosting a post-wedding brunch at The Mayflower Hotel in D.C. and she asked if I was available to come and pick up the flowers and, in return, she would treat me and a guest to brunch!  We had gotten to know one another well over the past few months, so clearly she picked up on my desire to give outstanding customer service and love of great food!

    My husband and I enjoyed a delicious brunch at the hotel and got to see the glowing bride after her wedding...and, of course, we picked up the flowers!  The event was undocumented since I forgot my camera, but here are photos of the flowers I took when I returned home.  


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     On Tuesday, September 15th I enjoyed an evening at The Sunset Room at The National Harbor...what a view!  R & R Catering hosted a Bridal Tasting and it gave brides a chance to see The Sunset Room all decked out! DaVinci Florist provided the beautiful centerpieces and lighting that enhanced the room.  With the tables all set using R & R's linens, chairs, and tableware the room looked like all it was missing were the bride & groom!  Actually, there were lots of brides and grooms in attendance, but they are in the planning stage of their weddings.

    Several times each year, R & R Catering joins together with a wedding venue to host a Bridal Tasting.   Included in the evening are some of their "preferred vendors."   This allows the brides to see the venue, taste the food, and visit with some of the areas top wedding professionals.  By inviting only one vendor in each category (ie. florist, cakes, photographer, planner, etc.), the brides are able to enjoy the pleasant, calm atmosphere while visiting with each vendor.   Our floral art is often something they have never seen before, so it gives me the opportunity to display samples of our artwork and explain how our process works.  

    Keep an eye on our website's "Upcoming Events" page to see when the next tasting will take place.

                                                
Diana Skenderovic, the Wedding Department Manager at DaVinci Florist, visited with me at my display table.  We love working with the brides from DaVinci's---they always have such beautiful, fresh flowers! 

                              

The centerpiece was created with a variety of flowers and colors.  The buffet table had tall vases with orchids---simple yet elegant.

                     

Pamela Hutzell from Celebration Cakes treated us to a delicious desert and it was a pleasure to meet Kim and Angel Thompson of Serendipity Special Events.  Like Theresa and I, Kim and Angel are sisters in business together.  

    Many thanks to R & R Catering for including me in this fabulous evening.  The food was outstanding and the company even better.  My family was thrilled that Pam even sent me home with some extra cake!

     Sunday, September 13th was a big day at the Washington Bridal Showcase at The Dulles Expo Center.  The event had over 250 exhibitors and nearly 900 registered brides!  Along with my fellow members of Hunt Country Celebrations, we created our own "show within a show" with 14 wedding professionals exhibiting their finest offerings.  Even after 6 hours of standing, we are still able to smile knowing that we reached so many brides in just one day!

                                                                   
                                                            Mary Beth hamming it up for the camera!

    Well, all you ever wanted to know about pressing flowers can be seen on our "How to Press Flowers" video on Monkeysee.com.  We want to give a special "Thanks!" to everyone behind the scenes who helped make it all happen.  In the nearly 4 years since Theresa and I started All Seasons Floral Preservation, we are continually amazed at the support we are given by our families and friends.  That support comes in many forms...

• the ladies at my scrapbooking weekend giving us ideas on how put our pressed flowers to use
• our sister providing the perfect baby picture (of a perfect baby!) for the scrapbooking segment
• our friend (and bookkeeper extraordinnaire) bringing us lunch during the video shoot
• my husband making the children "silent & invisible" enabling us to prepare & film the video 

     Without the help of these people, and many others, we wouldn't be able to do what we do.  We are blessed to have them on our team!

Use these links to view some of the clips:

      Video Introduction                           Scrapbooking             Pressed Flower Bookmarks    
                                              
                   

   

    Plenty of brides call before their weddings anticipating that they will want to keep their bouquets.  It seems even more people call after the wedding (on behalf of the bride) and want to arrange preservation of a bouquet.   This weekend we had an All Seasons Floral Preservation first...we received a call during the wedding celebration!

     The call came on Saturday evening from one of our favorite brides---Becky Cordell Thompson.  Now she is a bridesmaid who knows how to get the job done!  She called me and made arrangements for the flowers to be dropped off the following morning.  In the past 2 years, we have preserved wedding flowers for Becky, her sister Amanda, and a friend from Michigan (Becky brought that bouquet back on the plane!).   Having our brides refer their friends and family members is the highest compliment we can receive.   

                         This is a "Bride's Eye View" of this bouquet. 

 Imagine gazing down on these stunning flowers on your wedding day.                     

 

                      



           This bouquet is going to make an amazing work of floral art.

                     

   

    Several weeks ago Knowlera Media (owners of the website Monkeysee.com) contacted us and requested our help in creating a "how to" video on pressing flowers.  In spite of our reluctance to be on camera, Theresa and I decided that it would be a great way to show people how we do what we do.  Once we met our cameraman, Derek Campbell, we were immediately reassured that we would live through the filming...and actually have some laughs along the way!   


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      When Jennifer Storck ordered her own floral art to be created with her wedding bouquet, she knew her mother would love one too.  Featuring her wedding flowers with her beautiful invitation, we were able to create a unique Mother's Day gift.  
      While planning her wedding, Jennifer worked with Christina Barbour at Paperzest to design the invitations.  She was torn when ordering her bouquet reproduction (seen on the right)...she wanted to have the bouquet with the handle, but there woud be no room for her invitation too.  Christina created a "mini-version" of the invitation on a small card that could be included with the bouquet.  
    
                                                

      Here is our happy bride with both works of art...she asked us to keep her remaining flowers handy because she may want to order another piece!

    When Deirdre & Randy Parry were married last November, they made the last minute decision to preserve their wedding flowers.  Lynn at Weddingscapes in Abingdon, MD not only provided them with stunning wedding flowers, but she also passed along our phone number!  Deirdre wanted to feature a wedding photo along with the flowers from her bouquet.  Here are the photos of her bouquet when we received it, and he floral art that Theresa created with the pressed flowers.


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     The year 2009 seems high time to enter the 21st century and start the All Seasons Floral Preservation Blog!  In my defense, the company started in 2005, so I am not a full 9 years behind on my technology.  We want to share the exciting tidbits that happen, as they happen.  Sometimes they are just too good to wait for a newsletter!  

    We want to be sure that we share infomation that you'll find interesting.  Your comments are welcome---it is much more fun when we know someone is enjoying what we wrote.