Beautiful Blooms by Jen

11-5-11 Weekend Wedding Preview!

2011-11-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

Krista's wedding flowers! Very fall!

Red roses and hypericum berries.

Sunflowers!

White hydrangea for Aimee Portala. Simple elegant!

White roses.

10-29-11 Weekend Wedding Preview!

2011-10-26T11:22:00.000-07:00

Wedding 1 for Emily at St. Joan of Arc and Brandywine Country Club.

Wedding 2 at Hope Lutheran Church and Toledo Hilton.

This is my first wedding that wants a bouquet inspired by Princess Katharine. Love this white campanula and freesia!

10/21/11 & 10/22/11 Wedding Weekend Preview

2011-10-19T12:13:00.000-07:00

We're so excited for our five weddings for this weekend. It's so great that even at the end of October we still have five weddings, and more weddings over the next couple of weeks!

Here's a preview of our weddings for this Friday and Saturday!

Wedding #1 is Jennifer's on Saturday

Check out the gorgeous shades of ivory and white roses

More ivory and white roses

White hydrangea and white spray roses

White lisianthus

White dendrobium orchids for centerpieces

Wedding #2 for Kate on Saturday

Lots of green hypericum berries

White roses, spray roses, and hydrangea for bouquets and bear grass for centerpieces..

Wedding #3 is Katie's on Friday

Burgundy roses and burgundy hypericum

More burgundy roses, white roses, white waxflower and burgundy waxflower

Wedding #4 is for Nicole on Friday

Blue delphinium, purple statice, lavender roses, and blue iris

White hydrangea and white roses

Wedding #5 is Samantha's for Saturday

Cranberry roses and cranberry gerber daisies

Cranberry mini callas for wedding #5 and wedding #2

Cranberry roses, cranberry gerber daisies and white roses

So excited to put everything together for this weekend. We're going to be busy little florists, creating beautiful arrangements for these weddings!

Fall Festival!

2011-10-17T18:15:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the Fall Festival Parade on Sunday! We were so glad that the rain stopped for a bit. Thanks to my girls who brought their boyfriends to help! I really appreciate you guys giving up your Sunday to promote Beautiful Blooms by Jen.

Holiday Classes!

2011-10-13T16:39:00.000-07:00

We're filling up fast! If you have a group of 6-8 who all want to come together give us a call and we can arrange a special time and day just for you!

Decorating for Fall

2011-10-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

I went and visited my friend Lauren out at Creque's Pumpkin Stand on Tuesday!

She says you better get your pumpkin soon because they're going fast!

Check out these snake gourds!

Love all the mini ones I can put in flower arrangements!

My car was packed!

We're all decorated for fall now!

If you want to go visit Lauren's stand, the address is 9555 Sylvania Ave. and it's right past Timberstone Junior High across the street from Creque's Greenhouse.

Beautiful Blooms by Jen teaches Delta Kappa Gamma

2011-10-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

I had a great time talking to the ladies of Delta Kappa Gamma today. The organization is a national fraternity of teachers. I'm retired now too with my five years of teaching : ) I had a great time teaching them the basics of floral design, answering their questions and raffling off the pieces I made.

If you want Jen to come talk to your group, please call 419-517-8821 to book a date!

10-15-11 Wedding Weekend Preview!

2011-10-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

Pink roses, asters and yellow mums for wedding 1.

Sunflowers for wedding #1 at St. Joe's Maumee.

Curly willow for up at the alter of Wedding #2 at the Secor Center.

White dendrobium orchids for wedding #2.

Gorgeous white hydrangea for wedding #2.

This isn't everything but here is a sneak peek for everyone!

9-10-11 Wedding Weekend Sneak Peak

2011-10-05T16:59:00.000-07:00

Aren't these super fun?

The lime green glows! And aren't the apples so cute for her table numbers?

Wedding 2 was our first fall wedding of the year! Loved the change of pace!

Memory vase for up at the alter all ready for pickup!

Can't wait to see the pictures from Noelle Ann Photography and Esque Photography!

10/7-10/8 Wedding Weekend Preview!

2011-10-05T16:44:00.000-07:00

Wedding 1: October 7th. Nicole has a gorgeous shades of pink and coral wedding!

Gorgeous coral roses!

Hot pink gerbs.

Wedding 2: October 8th, Amy. An orange and white lily and dahlia wedding.

Amazing white dahlias for Amy and beautiful purple ones for Wedding 4 Tiffany.

Love these orange dahlias!

Come on orange lilies! Open up for Amy : )

Wedding 3: October 8th- Michelle. A colorful pickup wedding.

Add caption

Wedding #4: October 8th, Tiffany. Check out these awesome Kale!

The whole shop smells like this amazing freesia!

Love the bi colored mini callas!

It's going to be a busy week but we're ready! I LOVE weddings!

10-1-11 Weekend Wedding Preview!

2011-09-29T10:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry this preview is late! Crazy busy! Here is a preview for Heather's wedding this weekend at Olivet and Sylvania Country Club.

More for Heather.

Sunflowers and zinnias for Heather.

We already started working on Kim's wedding before I took a picture but her wedding is white roses, white callas, orange callas, orange roses and gorgeous seeded euc!

Black magic roses and green hypericum for Janae.

Gorgeous yellow dahlias and orange celosia.

9-24/9-25-11 Wedding Weekend Preview!

2011-09-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

A bright wedding at Perrysburg St. Rose with a reception at Carranor Club!

Bright gerbs!

Orange, yellow and white mini callas.

Wedding 2 on the 25th is a reception at Crowne Plaza.

Gorgeous white dahlias!

Gorgeous cream roses!

Jen and Kyle's Personal Wedding Flowers!

2011-09-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

I decided on hot pink and red flowers for my wedding. I wanted something that I had never done for one of my brides.

Kyle had a pink phaleonopsis boutonniere.

The dads had red spray roses and pink dendrobium orchid boutonnieres.

The corsages were made of pink dendrobium orchids.

Look how cute Kyle is!

Loved this hot pink rose color! The girl's bouquets were hot pink roses, red roses, pink hydrangea, nerine lilies and pink and red magic roses which look tie dyed.

My bouquet : ) A little large, but gorgeous!

Pictures by Blue Martini Photography.

Jen and Kyle's Wedding Ceremony

2011-09-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who helped dry off chairs!

The Aisle

The arch- now available to rent from Beautiful Blooms!

For those of you who haven't heard... It was a gorgeous day in the morning of my wedding day. About 3:30, right in the middle of bridal party pictures it decided to start pouring... It didn't stop until 5:30 which was when I was supposed to walk down the aisle. When I looked at the radar I could see there was going to be a break in the storms and I was holding out for that little amount of time! We told everyone to hang out in their cars and as soon as it stopped raining we were able to walk down the aisle! As soon as the ceremony was over and we got inside, it started to sprinkle and turned into a downpour again. Thankfully most guests were in their car by that point! I am so happy that we were able to have the ceremony I had dreamed about OUTSIDE, but we were so close to moving it in! Thank you so much to everyone who toughed it out and came and to everyone who helped with last minute flowers and drying off chairs!

My advice to outdoor brides: Make sure you have a back up plan! Advice I heard yesterday at Bridal 101 at the Pinnacle from Brooke from Bee for the Day is put a phone number on your invite for in case of inclement weather. You can make a message for the day that says "it's beautiful see you at ____, or "change of plans, we are going to be ____ at ____ time." Great idea! My guests had no clue what the back up plan was!

All photos above are from the fabulous Christin Berry at Blue Martini Photography.

Labor Day Weekend Sneak Peak

2011-09-15T15:39:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from 2 weeks ago. Sorry about the cell phone pictures. Meghan forgot a camera! Thanks to Angie, our bride with the lime green, pink and purple who already sent us the third picture!

9-16 and 9-17 Wedding Preview

2011-09-14T17:26:00.000-07:00

It's officially fall! Three of our weddings are fall weddings and then one that I forgot to take pictures of is all white and classic! Love all the flowers I haven't worked with in a while. Sorry I missed a few because they were already in the cooler. Can't wait to start playing tomorrow!

New Reviews Please! Earn a T-shirt!

2011-09-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

So much has happened in the last year! We moved in behind Bumble, hired our first full time employee, became a full service florist instead of just doing weddings, bought a house in downtown Sylvania, moved into the new house, and now Jen retired from teaching and is working full time as well! We could not have done it without every one of you who support us! Thank you so much!

We are currently working on a new website and would love to update our accolades page. If you get a chance would you mind reviewing Beautiful Blooms by Jen please? For every site you review us on we will enter you in a drawing to win a $100 gift card from Beautiful Blooms by Jen. If you review us on 3 sites please email us with your t-shirt size and address and we will get you a free t-shirt! Again, thank you so much! We wouldn't be here without each and every one of you!

Brides:
The Knot, Wedding Wire, Wedding Tips

Everyone:
Facebook, Yelp, Merchant Circle, Insider Pages, LinkedIN, Super Pages, Yellow Bot

Thank you so much!

9-10-11 Wedding Weekend Preview

2011-09-07T13:29:00.000-07:00

Our first fall wedding! YEAH! Wedding 1 is in her parent's backyard with a reception at the Toledo Zoo.

Santini mums and solidago for wedding 1.

Wedding two is in Bloomville, OH and the reception is in Tiffin. Gorgeous lavender and light orange roses! They will be arranged with these spray mums and purple stock!

Purple and green dendrobium orchids for centerpieces for wedding 2.

Burnt orange and white roses for wedding 3! This orange is going to look awesome against navy blue dresses!

Busy weekend! Just a reminder this isn't everything we got in so please don't think we're missing something. We aren't : )

Labor Day Weekend Wedding Preview!

2011-08-31T10:54:00.000-07:00

Wedding 1- Michelle Scott at Wildwood! I'm crossing my fingers for gorgeous weather!

Green and pink hydrangeas and roses.

Wedding 2- Sunday wedding for Angie Sugg. Hot pink mini gerbs, hypericum and purple lizy. It's going to look great with hot pink roses and green hydrangea!

Wedding 3: Clare Hamner on Sunday! Gorgeous white roses, white lizy that's going to open up and purple iris (not pictured because it's in the window getting some sun light : ) )

This lavender smells so good! It's going to look great with the roses and iris!

Didn't take pictures of everything but everything looks great and I can't wait to start putting everything together!

Rental Items

2011-08-30T10:49:00.000-07:00

So here's something I've been pondering lately: Many places in town provide "free" centerpieces for you to use.

Pros:
1. They are free.
2. You can DIY.

Cons:
1. Your centerpieces will look just like everyone else who gets married at that venue
- Unless we enhance them, you get what you pay for. Free centerpieces.
2. The vases are hardly ever ready- or the right amount.
- When we show up at a venue we usually end up disagreeing with the venue on what is set out. Either they don't have enough vases out, or the wrong ones out, etc. You are paying me to service your wedding so I take care of this, but sometimes the venue is not very happy because they think they are right.
3. The vases are dirty.
- Most venues don't clean the vases each time so when we show up to design in the vases they still have glitter, goo, etc. stuck in the bottom. This is a major problem because when we show up we do not have anything to clean with. We are there to use those containers, make our arrangements and place them. Therefore you are not getting the perfect centerpiece that you could be getting if Beautiful Blooms by Jen provided everything.

Beautiful Blooms by Jen offers many one of a kind rental items that no other place in town offers. We rent them so then you aren't stuck with 25 of the same container after your wedding. Mom's always tell me oh I bought these 20 vases and all my daughters are going to use them when they get married. That is so limiting and not fun! Your daughters are not the same person and don't have the same style! (Usually) In renting, you are able to get a $60 vase for $5 or $10! You get a huge look for a little price.

Please brides, don't limit yourself just because your venue offers "free" centerpieces. There are so many cost effective options out there and I am happy to help you figure those out! Or utilize some of the free ones to free up some of your budget so we can do really fun centerpieces. Or if you decide to use a friend's containers, that is great. but only if you REALLY like them!

If you rented the candelabra and did colored candles this centerpiece would only be $45!

Love these vases with submerged wire, orchids and a submerged pink light. They would only be $40 each! Talk about a wow centerpiece! We also rent the wheat grass containers!

Check out these new fun wax squares. They rent for $5 each and can be filled with flowers or candles!

Thank you Blue Martini Photography for the pictures!

Jen's Wedding Centerpieces

2011-08-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

My brides have been asking to get a peak at what my flowers looked like for my wedding day! Here are some pictures for you! I'll work on getting more posted as the week goes on.

Gorgeous candelabras! These would add a huge impact at any wedding just with candles! We will be renting these for $45 dollars each with any color candle.

Loved the branch arrangements! The pink square had a diamond rim around it too!

These are wax squares and look great filled with flowers or with a candle inside so it glows red!

Love how we can get colored floating candles now!

Thank you Blue Martini Photography for the beautiful pictures!

8-20-11 Weekend Sneak Peak!

2011-08-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

Wedding 1

Bridesmaid's Bouquets

Bridal Bouquet

Wedding 2- Love the phaleonopsis orchids!

New Feature! 11-20-11 Megan Glinka and Ronnie Spangler

2011-08-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

This was a very fun fall wedding! It was the bride's idea to do the green and red and I think it turned out pretty and not Christmasy at all : ) To view more check out our Feature page!

Photographer: Everlasting Images
Flowers: Beautiful Blooms by Jen

8-20/8-21 Weekend Wedding Preview

2011-08-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

Wedding 1 at Central Park West on Saturday.

Gorgeous dendrobs for centerpieces at Wedding 1and mini callas for Wedding 2 and 3.

Freesia for bouquets for Wedding 1.

Yellow dendrobs for centerpieces.

White Phaleonopsis orchids for Wedding 2.

White hydrangea for Wedding 2.

Blue hydrangea for Wedding 3 at Maumee Bay.

Busy busy! Sorry I didn't take a picture of everything! But here's the sneak peak : )

8-13-11 Wedding Sneak Peak!

2011-08-17T13:20:00.000-07:00

Maid of Honor Bouquet of 'purple' gerbera daisies and lavender fujis.

Bridesmaid's bouquets of 'purple' gerbera daisies and lavender fuji mums.

Flower girl bouquet of 3 gerbs.

Look how cute these centerpieces are that the bride made herself with vases rented from Beautiful Blooms by Jen!

Love pomander on the ends of chairs. The purple really pops on the white chairs!

Venue: Maumee Bay
Florist: Beautiful Blooms by Jen
Photographer: Grand Lubell Photography
Cake: Estons

8-13-11 Weekend Wedding Preview

2011-08-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

"Purple and Lavender" Gerbera daisies.- per bride's request

White roses and lavender fujis.

Can't wait to work with Grand Lubell again this weekend!

Sneak Peak! 8-6-11 Ashley Prybelski and Steve Mitrick

2011-08-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

The bride made these centerpieces herself. Aren't they cute?

Three cylinder vases, 2 swirled with bear grass, one with green dendrobium orchids submerged and all with a floating candle on top. I love the table numbers that the bride made!

Bridal bouquet and 4 bridesmaid's bouquets of delphinium.

Love the bridal bouquet of blue hydrangea, green cymbidium orchids, blue delphinium and peacock feathers!

Reception: Toledo Zoo
Photographer: Wellspring Photography- Visit Tabitha's blog for her sneak peak!
Flowers: Beautiful Blooms by Jen

8-6-11 Anne Hinkson and Chris Roster Wedding

2011-08-09T19:51:00.000-07:00

Love it when brides bring us a picture and challenge us to make it!

I love our colored floating candles!

Pink pomanders with limes in the base.

Pink garden arrangements.

Had a great time at Toledo Country Club!
Photography: Chris Schooler Photography
Event Coordinator: Eventology Events
Flowers: Beautiful Blooms by Jen!

8-5 Sneak Peak!

2011-08-06T07:01:00.000-07:00

The bridal bouquet.

Bridesmaids.

Love this!

8-5/8-6 Weekend Wedding Preview!

2011-08-05T07:25:00.000-07:00

Wedding 1 is today at Tamaron Country Club. These roses will become petals for the aisle in a couple hours!

Centerpiece dendrobium orchids.

Cake flowers for today.

Wedding 2 at Grace United Methodist Church in Maumee on Saturday.

All different shades of pink and green. This reception is at Toledo Country Club. We love it there!

Gorgeous green mums and magenta stock.

Wedding 3 has their reception at Toledo Zoo! Another one of our favorites!

Love the lime green cymbidium orchids and gorgeous blue hydrangea and delphinium together! And we're adding peacock feathers!

8-2-11 New Items!!!

2011-08-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

We've acquired some new rental and retail items for the shop and had the opportunity to use some in weddings already!

These silver pots are great for altar pieces or for the entryway at your reception

We embellished these hot pink vases with rhinestone collars, as you can see, we used them with branches, crystals, and tons of flowers for Jen's wedding.

These wax squares are great! They can be used as vases like we did for Jen's wedding, or you can use candles inside of them to create a beautiful glow.

These two curved pillars are different heights but would look great for altar pieces of as a rental for a sympathy arrangement.

We got these candelabras from Accent Decor and they were my favorite piece from Jen's wedding, whether they're embellished with a garland of flowers or just colored taper candles, they make a huge impact.

This white piece is fantastic and would provide a statement for a place card table.

Check out this new candle hanger, I think I would like the look of this in the middle of the place card table or on the gift table with candles and a pomander of flowers in the center.

These sticks are great! Might be my new favorite retail product, they come in a variety of colors and can turn a traditional arrangement into something more modern.

The sticks also come in a swirled style. And these giant gerber daisies are so much fun! Just one in a vase would look great in any home.

These crystal votive hangers are something new that we've just gotten a chance to work with and I think they look gorgeous hanging from the 26"cylinder vases but they would also be really pretty suspended from branches.

We did this table for Jen's place card table. We can rent the top, the vases, and the wheat grass boxes. Not only did the vase/legs have phaleonopsis orchids in them but we also added submersible lights, and wire accents.

You can see all of our new items in the shop and don't forget to mention them for your wedding consultation!

- Meghan

Meghan and Tom Errington Sneak Peak 7-30-11

2011-07-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

We got to a do a very fun, colorful wedding this weekend for Meghan and Tom Errington.
The ceremony was held at Rosary Cathedral with the reception at Valleywood Golf Course in Swanton.

This is the Bridal bouquet, how cool are all of the different colors

These are the Bridesmaids bouquets, a smaller version of the Bridal bouquet. And they really compliment the Peacock Blue of the girls' dresses.

Meghan asked us to incorporate a picture of her Grandma and Grandpa from their wedding day, her mom even had it made into a pin!

Meghan chose two different centerpeice option, these trio vases had teal wire, purple orchids, crystals, and floating candles. And instead of rose petals, Meghan wanted to use the puple orchids around the vases.

These tall pieces have our new votive hangers and crystal votive cups that we paired with teal wire, crystals, and purple orchids.

The case was done by Eston's and we decorated it with flowers from Meghan's bouquet.

Looking forward to pictures from Shutter Love Photography

Jen and Kyle's Wedding Flower Preview!

2011-07-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

A total of 2000 roses!

These hydrangea will be pink : )

These will be pink too : )


We're taking a Uhaul down on Friday...

Meghan hasn't slept in weeks....

New Feature! 9-17-10 and 11-6-10

2011-07-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much to Cortney and Kim for sending me pictures of their wedding!

Loved the fun fall bouquet!

Beautiful!

Kim's wedding was super fun! I loved the bright yellow!

Double duty for the garland from the bridge at Nazareth Hall. It became the decoration for the head table!

Thank you so much to Decisive Moment's for the beautiful pictures at Cortney's wedding and Capture Photography for the gorgeous ones of Kim. Thanks to both brides for sharing! Check out more of their pictures on the Beautiful Blooms by Jen site!

You're Invited!

2011-07-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wonder what your florist would do for her wedding if she was getting married? You're in luck! Jen is getting married this Saturday at Stone Ridge Golf Course and YOU are invited to come check out her reception flowers from 3pm-5pm. Just stop on in!

For the invite click here.

Don't worry there will be flowers all over this! And many other fabulous ideas!

7-16-11 Weekend Wedding Preview

2011-07-14T07:18:00.000-07:00

As we gear up for my wedding weekend, we only took on one wedding for this weekend. We never want to take on more than we are able to handle because we want to make sure every single wedding we do is the best we can possibly do! Here are the flowers for this week!

Magenta stock, purple lisianthus, and gorgeous roses!

Limonium, white stock and magenta stock.

Roses

White and purple lisianthus.

7-9-11 Weekend Wedding Preview!

2011-07-07T10:56:00.000-07:00

Assorted green flowers.

Assorted white with a splash of pink.

Love these ones!

More white with a splash of pink.

Wedding two is white, yellow, green and orange with hot pink dresses!

Love all these roses for petals around the bride's centerpieces.

Wedding 1 is a natural, earthy wedding in whites and greens with a splash of pink. Wedding 2 the bridesmaids are wearing hot pink dresses with yellow, orange and green flowers. Love it!

Let me know if you want to know what any of the flowers are up above. There are a lot of fun ones!

New Feature! 11-6-10 Brittany Sharp and James Goldsmith

2011-06-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

This wedding can best be described as simple and beautiful! I loved how the bouquet pops from the white dress and when you check out the feature on our website you can see how the bridesmaids bouquets pop off the red dresses. Loved!

Ceremony: First Presbyterian- Maumee
Reception: Ward Pavillion
Cake: Cake Arts
Photographer: Everlasting Images
Flowers: Beautiful Blooms by Jen

New Ideas for Mom's!

2011-06-29T08:13:00.000-07:00

Miniature bouquets otherwise known as nosegays are the new thing!

This is so fun! It's a handmade wrist corsage and it's hard to tell by the picture but the bottom part is all gemstones and is soooo sparkly! LOVE!

On the left is an over the shoulder corsage.

Love these new ideas from our shows the last few weeks. What do you think?

A Floral Tribute to the Toledo Museum of Art

2011-06-27T11:04:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a chance to make it out to the Toledo Botanical Gardens for the Art Festival last weekend. We could not have asked for a better weekend! My school, The Natural Science Technology Center was on hand to provide parking and I could not believe the turn out!

The Garden Club Forum or the Toledo District asked Beautiful Blooms by Jen to create a Floral Tribute to the Toledo Museum of Art and we chose the Glass Pavilion. Here was our design that was on display in the Conference Center. We hope you had a chance to check it out!

The whole thing : )

The fire piece features an arrangement of carnations, miniature gerbera daisies, birds of paradise, freesia and miniature carnations. It is meant to represent the fire that molds the lump glass into an outstanding piece of artwork meant to capture and reflect light.

The water piece features an arrangement of carnations, luna carnations, blue delphinium, green trichelium, purple limonium and miniature carnations. The soothing cool tone colors and the splash or iridescence are meant to represent the water used to cool and set the final glass shape.

Meghan and her mom made these at the Toledo Botanical Gardens!

New Ideas for Flower Girls and Ring Bearers

2011-06-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

We went up to Detroit last week to see Sharon McGukin, AIFD, AAF, PFCI. She is a fabulous designer who is known for her fabulous wedding designs. I have to say, I wanted to completely change the ideas I had for my wedding after this show! Check out these fun ideas for flower girls and ring bearers!

I can't stress enough that Beautiful Blooms by Jen is the only florist from Northwest Ohio when we go to these shows and we learn so much! Please call today to order flowers from the only Ohio Certified Florist in Northwest Ohio. 419-517-8821

This is a great way to make the traditional ring bearer pillow super fun and get your colors on there!

I can just imagine the little boys swinging this around and having so much fun as they walk down the aisle! Especially perfect for outdoor weddings!

Cute little flower girl basket.

Love this little hydrangea pomander.

To the right is a fun little pomander/purse fun thing for a flower girl to carry. And it's a great way to get that perfect blue in your wedding!

6-24 and 6-25 Wedding Preview

2011-06-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

Wedding 1

Wedding 2- Super fun! The bride is doing all magenta flowers and the BM are doing all white!

Love this amazing hot pink rose!

Sneak Peak for 5-28-11

2011-06-20T13:25:00.000-07:00

I've been so good lately at getting up previews, but keep forgetting to post the sneak peaks so everyone can see what we made! Here is the link to the preview for this week. And then here is what we created!

Bride

Bridesmaids

6-17 and 6-18-11 Wedding Preview!

2011-06-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

These gorgeous bi-color roses are for Jessica's bouquets and the hot pink carns are for a really cool idea Jess came up with for black banners with their initials!

Gorgeous pink callas also for Jessica.

Ranunculus for Sarah!

Gorgeous yellow and pink tulips for Sarah.

White roses and yellow freesia for Sarah.

White hydrangea and spray roses for Sarah.

Green fujis for Kate!

Green mums for Kate's outdoor wedding at Schedel Gardens!

Can't wait to start working with everything! Three completely different looks for three completely different weddings : ) And they will all be BEAUTIFUL!

New Feature! 10-23-10 Mackenzie and Jefferson Dooley

2011-06-14T17:09:00.000-07:00

New Feature is up on the website! Make sure to check out all of these gorgeous pictures by JLK Photography. I think Mackenzie's hair is my favorite of a bride so far. The one mokara orchid was the perfect addition! So beautiful!

Ceremony: St. Catherine's- Toledo
Reception: Cambridge Place
Photographer: JLK Photography
Flowers: Beautiful Blooms by Jen

It was great working with you both! Thanks for sharing your pictures! Please check out more beautiful pictures at toledoweddingflowers.com

6-12-11 Wedding Preview!

2011-06-10T11:04:00.000-07:00

Katie's Bridal Bouquet with be purple hydrangea, white roses and lavender.

Bridesmaid's bouquets of white hydrangea and gorgeous, huge lisianthus.

Snapshot of the buckets of flowers. Purple lizy, white roses and white spray roses.

It's going to be beautiful on Sunday!

June 11th Wedding Preveiws!

2011-06-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

Don't worry Katie, your flowers are coming in on Friday for your Sunday June 12th wedding : )

These gorgeous green hydrangea are for a wedding with a reception at the Valentine! So excited!

And these fun green and white cymbidium orchids, dendrobium orchids, hypericum berries and ti leaves as well!

This wedding is at the Catawba Island Club! Super excited!

White hydrangea and pink is coming tomorrow : )

Pink and white dendrobium orchids for centerpieces.

Magenta anemone that will be open by Sat.

Pink and white peonies.

Pink and white mini callas and white ranunculus. Everything looks beautiful!

Can't wait to start playing and for everyone to see what we create!

JEN'S WEDDING VENDORS: )

2011-06-07T19:27:00.000-07:00

I have so many vendor friends now that it was so hard to choose who to ask to do my wedding! There are so many fabulous vendors that would have done a great job. People have been asking, so here it is! The biggest question I get is who is going to do your flowers? Beautiful Blooms by Jen of course! Meghan and Molly will be helping, along with other florist friends who have been gracious enough to offer their help! It's going to take a team that is for sure!

Flowers: Beautiful Blooms by Jen

So excited for these brand new candelabras! And PINK candles! (They will be the right size for the wedding I promise)

These were a favorite out of mine in California and I'm bringing them to Ohio! They are made of wax and work great as a vase or with a candle inside it glows! There is one more that is taller than these two as well. They come in any color!

Love these bright pink cubes. All of the above will be available for rent AFTER my wedding : )

Venue: Stone Ridge Golf Course.

I did this gorgeous wedding at Stone Ridge in May 2010 and fell in love!

Concept Design and Stationary: Elite Events

Save the Dates.

Loved my mood board! We've moved away from the light pink, but it still helped so much!

Our invites.

Photography: JP Photography and Blue Martini Photography- It was so hard to narrow down there are so many great photographers in town!

One of my favorites from JP Photography.

One of my favorites from Blue Martini Photography.

Videographer: Fordham Footage

DJ: Decorative Sound

Floor Decal: Upper Case Designs

Linens: I Do Chair Covers

Cake: Cherry Lane Cakes

This is my inspiration... but not so big.

Dress: Atlas Bridal- Sorry not showing a picture yet!

Chairs for the Ceremony: Meredith Party Rentals

Thanks Sarah J Photography!

Hair and Makeup: Attitudes- Heatherdowns

Photo Booth: Red Eye Photo Booth- There are so many fun interactive photo booths now! I wish I would have known but I'm sure this will be great.

OOOOOK! I think that is everyone! If I missed someone I am sorry! Doing this made me think about how I really need to get to finalizing with everyone and get details worked out. If anyone has any suggestions or advice for me please let me know! Thanks!

What Makes BBBJ The Best?

2011-06-02T18:01:00.000-07:00

Brides often ask us what makes us different than other florists? One of the reasons is that Beautiful Blooms by Jen fully services their weddings! What does that mean you ask?

We deliver the flowers and make sure our product is the best it could possibly be. We set up everything you ordered, pin on corsages and boutonnieres and problem solve. Although we are not wedding coordinators, we do coordinate with your photographer to make sure we are there in plenty of time for them to take as many pictures of the flowers as they want. We also coordinate with the cake and reception venue and set up accordingly. This helps you because it is one less thing for you to worry about!

JP Photography

Here are some examples of things you may need BBBJ to do. Just a few weeks ago I had a bride who ordered 5 groomsmen boutonnieres. When the boys showed up there were 6. I was able to pin the ring bearer's boutonniere on a groomsmen, run back to my car, make a new one real fast and was back in my spot before the ring bearer arrived. The bride never knew there was an issue. I've even had brides who actually had extra tables at the reception when I arrive. How silly would it look if those were left without anything? And earlier in the spring a hem of a groomsmen's pant leg was coming out. We fixed it. Sometimes church coordinators think it's helpful to me to help pin on corsages and boutonnieres.... When they break the flower heads off, we are there to fix them : ) And we're also the ones with the scissors to cut hanger straps out of your dress, the ones with the tide to go pen and hairspray.

We can even add flowers to the dog's collar! Sarah J Photography

It may save you some money to pick up the flowers yourself, but it makes me so sad when I see wedding pictures when I see boutonnieres that are sideways or all floppy on jackets. Or the pins are showing! That is not the way you want what you paid for to look! If BBBJ is there, the flowers will look exactly the way they should.

Captured With Love Photography

You hired your photographer to photograph. You don't want them pinning on corsages and boutonnieres even though they know how. They also shouldn't be chasing groomsmen around and telling them to go get dressed. If you have a wedding coordinator you hire them to coordinate the wedding, you hire BBBJ to coordinate the flowers which are a major decoration. Please let us make your flowers the best they can possibly be. We are trained professionals in FLOWERS! The only Certified Florist in Northwest Ohio! We don't dabble in a lot of random things. We excel in one! Look how happy you could be!

Thanks Sarah J for capturing this awesome moment!

And it makes us happy when you're happy! Sarah J Photography

New Feature! 7-31-10 Lauren Gibson and Tom Creque

2011-06-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

I love this shot!

The groom's boutonniere.

Kyle and I were guests too!

Lauren and Tom are some of my best friends! I was so honored when they chose me to be their florist! Lauren's favorite flower is the gerbera daisy so I knew they were going to be a major element, along with her favorite color green. Everything could not have been prettier since their ceremony was at Four Star Greenhouse in their gardens. Then we moved to Holland Gardens and the centerpieces were really fun! Hope you all love it! Please check out more at our wedding site!

Thanks so much to TJ Irwin Photography who did a fabulous job with the pictures! Can't wait to work together again soon!

They knew to buy their cut flowers at Beautiful Blooms by Jen! If you need flowers for your garden, please visit Lauren and Tom at Creque's Greenhouse! Their veggie stand should be ready soon and hopefully strawberries too! : )

6-4-11 Weekend Wedding Preview

2011-06-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

Here you go Katie! Can't wait to start designing your white and green wedding! Above is larkspur, stock and hypericum berries.

White dendrobium orchids and beautiful white roses all for Katie!

These gorgeous white callas are for Krista. They are going to be combined with purpley/blue iris and make a gorgeous bouquet!

Beautiful white roses also for Krista. They are for her boutonnieres so they are a smaller variety than usual. They'll be perfect!

Love these Yellow roses with orangey tips! The orange lilies will be gorgeous for Sat too!

Yellow fuji mums, orange hypericum berries, craspedia and yellow alstro will be amazing textures!

Can't wait to start playing in the next few days! I love my job!

Memorial Day Weekend Wedding Flower Preview

2011-05-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

Love the pink and white!

This one is going to be super fun! And orange celosia is coming in Friday! Can't wait!

Check Out My Student's Work!

2011-05-25T07:51:00.000-07:00

My students have been amazing this year and I just wanted to show everyone what fabulous designers they have become! This was the first time I have had the whole class design a funeral shape before. They picked their own flowers, shape and designed everything themselves. What do you think? I'll pass along your comments : )

For anyone who doesn't already know, I teach floral design and greenhouse for Toledo Public Schools. I have juniors and seniors from all of the different high schools every morning for the entire year. Our school is called the Natural Science Technology Center and it is right next to Toledo Botanical Gardens.

Here you go!

Here are 5 out of my 7 students in our greenhouse right before our plant sale.

For more information about the Natural Science Technology Center please call 419-537-1198 or email penny.miller@tps.org . Please call 419-517-8821 to add your name to the list if you are interested in floral design classes at Beautiful Blooms by Jen. When we get 5 or 6 people available we will schedule one! Thanks!

5-21-11 Weekend Wedding Preview

2011-05-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

Love the light blue hydrangea, hot pink roses, green hypericum berries and purple limonium for an outdoor wedding!

Check out these gorgeous orange roses for a beautiful wedding at Maumee Bay this weekend!

Lavender roses and green hypericum berries will pair with purple hydrangea for an outdoor wedding in the gorgeous Brandywine Country Club gardens!

Excited to work with Jennifer Mott Photography, Bee For the Day, and Lindsay Marie Photography!

5-17-11 Wholesale House Show

2011-05-17T19:53:00.000-07:00

Bottom left, a floral crown. How cool would that be for a prom!

Super fun submerged flowers.

Multiple centerpieces all connected in the middle of your table. Bonus- they can be your favor! Each couple gets to take one home!

I'm not sure what the plan was with this one. It was really pretty but I never make centerpieces this height because you wouldn't be able to see the person across from you.

This is his interpretation on a muff. It won't keep your hands warm, but it's pretty!

Wouldn't this parasol be fun in pictures?

I loved the green on the left. It was a bouquet on a green wire armature with flowers glued in. I fun way for a bride on a budget to make a statement. The blue on the right is an orb with flowers and again, something fun for bridesmaids to carry.

Tonight Meghan and I went to Detroit for a "Wedding Extravaganza" show by Derek Woodruff, AIFD, CFD, CF. It was a long drive in the rain but we are glad we went! We always try to go to every show in order to stay up on the latest trends and techniques. As always, we were the only florists from Northwest Ohio.

Just a reminder- Jen is the only Certified Florist (CF) in Northwest Ohio. Order from the best : )

New Feature! 9-25-10 Megan Reynolds and Richard Lair

2011-05-15T18:44:00.000-07:00

Isn't Megan gorgeous?

Her friend Sara Recker recommended Beautiful Blooms by Jen because we did her wedding last year! She owns The Dress Bridal Boutique in Medina, OH- check it out!

Love this pic!

Thank you to Jenny from Captured with Love Photography! Check out more pictures of the beautiful wedding on our feature site!

Ceremony Site: Holy Trinity
Photography: Captured With Love Photography
Flowers: Beautiful Blooms by Jen

5-13 and 5-14 Weekend Wedding Sneak Peak

2011-05-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

Loved this bridal bouquet!

This bride didn't forget one single detail! Everything looked perfect! She hunted for months for all of the milk glass and it turned out great!

My favorite wedding at Nazareth Hall yet! Love these!

And these...

And this in the entry way...

And these! Loved the all black and white!

And these ones were gorgeous as well once they were all put together!

SOOoo this was quite the wedding weekend! We had one Friday, and 4 Saturday! We had two originally booked and then took on a Bumble bride, and then another one called and just wanted bouquets. It was quite the busy day but everything went fabulous! I have the best team! I could not have done it without them!

We had two white wedding, white, red and purple wedding, white, and a pink and purple wedding. We had so much fun creating these four different looks! Thank you to everyone who helped and to the brides and grooms who trusted us with their special day!

Our First Class!

2011-05-10T16:55:00.000-07:00

When Denise called to see if we could host the ladies group she is a part of I thought what a fabulous way to integrate my love of flowers with my education degree! I had a fabulous time and think they did too! Look at how great their arrangements turned out! I hope to continue the relationship we began today to help them with all their future floral endeavors!

If anyone else is interested in a floral class, please let us know! Please call 419-517-8821 or email me.

5-7-11 Weekend Wedding and Mother's Day Preview!

2011-05-04T18:28:00.000-07:00

These are the most amazing things I have ever seen! Phaleonopsis orchids!

Pink dendrobium orchids for the centerpieces : )

White oriental lilies for the wedding!

White hydrangea and white and pink lisianthus for the bouquets.

Gorgeous pink lilies and roses for the centerpieces and bouquets.

Roses are on special this week... 1 dozen for $12.95!

A gorgeous assortment of flowers that mom will love! Peonies, roses, lisianthus, kangaroo paw, freesia, astilbe and I'm sure more that I'm missing.

Hydrangea, daffodils, tulips and peonies!

Gorgeous lilies!

Delphinium, daisies and assorted colors of hydrangea!

Larspur, viburnum, spray roses, stock and freesia.

Wow! Check out all this amazing product that we got in today for Mother's Day! Can't wait to make your mom something special! Call 419-517-8821 or order online. Don't forget!

Mother's Day at Beautiful Blooms by Jen

2011-05-03T16:48:00.000-07:00

These are dry erase! Add whatever message you want! They can be attached to vases or bough by themselves.

These mugs can be bought with a flower arrangement inside or individually. The matching tin comes free!

Mini garden set. They are the perfect gift with a plant inside! Only 1 left!

Miniature orchids!

These are super cute! One says I love you and one says I'm thankful for you mom.

Bromeliad

Fun dish gardens.

An example of a mug arrangement.

Love the cute pot!

Hydrangea!

We have all kinds of ideas to help you find the perfect Mother's Day gift! Fresh flowers, plants and special items for your mom to remember the day by like a mug or plaque! Call 419-517-8821 to place your order today or order online.

Elite Events Visit

2011-04-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

So on spring break last week I finally had a chance to meet up with Nikki from Elite Events who is helping me with my own wedding design concept and invitations. I had such a fabulous time and am so excited for the big day to be here now! I could not have figured everything out without her. Since I had been to her studio she had completely updated things and look what I found! Beautiful Blooms by Jen was ALL over!

We made this gorgeous centerpiece for a bridal show back in January and let them use it as a display now. These great vases can be used for a variety of looks and we rent them to our customers.

This is another centerpiece idea that Elite Events came up with, we made and then they are using as display.

Here is the bouquet that matches the centerpiece.

And the other bouquet that matches the red and teal centerpiece.

This picture was taken by our friends at JP Photography during a fun concept design shoot at Toledo Botanical Gardens.

This was a fun one we did together 2 years ago!

We love our friends at Elite Events! Call Nikki at 419-690-8300 to set up a complimentary consultation about wedding coordination, concept design and/or graphic design.

4-30-11 Weekend Wedding Preview!

2011-04-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe wedding season is finally here! We've done a couple so far this year, but even though I'm getting married in July we had to do my bridal shower last weekend since we are booked every weekend until my wedding! LOVE MY JOB!

This bride is the daughter of a lady who worked out at the gym I used to work at and Cathy became a great friend because of our love of flowers! We did the flowers for Cathy's son last year in Columbus and we can't wait to be a part of her daughter Amy's wedding as well!

Rasberry gerbera daisies.

Assorted shades of pink roses and all white for the bride : )

New Feature! 8-7-11 Gwen Higgins and James Sieja

2011-04-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

This wedding was so fun and different for us! Loved the peach! Check out more on our feature site!

Ceremony: Wolcott House
Reception: Wildwood Ward Pavillion
Photographer: Shutter Love Studio
Florist: Beautiful Blooms by Jen

New Feature! 9-5-10 Michelle Wright and Paul Fletcher

2011-04-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

These are the reactions that make our job amazing! Michelle started crying because she was so happy when I walked in with her flowers!

She was so excited she had Sarah take a picture of us together!


They turned out so fabulous! By far one of my favorite weddings of the year!

Check out more pictures of this gorgeous wedding at our wedding website!

Flowers by Beautiful Blooms by Jen
Photography by Sarah J Photography
Ceremony Location: Toledo Botanical Gardens
Reception Location: Central Park West

BBBJ is Blooming!

2011-03-29T17:36:00.000-07:00

Isn't this orchid gorgeous! And I love the new containers we have in for spring! We can fill them with cut flowers or plants!

Close up of the beautiful phalaenopsis orchids.

Why send a traditional basket of green plants when Beautiful Blooms by Jen can do a dish garden with blooming plants that is fun like this!

Succulents are one of Meghan's favorites! They are slow growing and you hardly ever have to water them. I think they make an awesome centerpiece for your patio furniture!

Gorgeous peace lily! Again, no basket. We love modern!

Bromeliads are one of my favorite tropicals. Love the variegated foliage on this one!

Another fun dish garden.

A 6 inch bromeliad. Check out the amazing double flowers coming out! And it already had a baby! You can divide the baby and give it to a friend!


Don't forget about violets! Our plant truck comes in every Monday afternoon so if you ever need anything special just let us know. They also have gardenias, mandavillas, kalanchoes, cyclamen, and bulb gardens right now. Blooming plants are a fabulous idea for cost effective centerpieces for an event, for a gift, or just to help yourself think spring! To see more plant ideas, check out of our website and search "plant" or call 419-517-8821 to see what we have available.

Great Lakes Floral Expo- Event Show

2011-03-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't these be gorgeous on taller stands up at your altar?

Love the accents around the bottom of the tree!

This is gorgeous!

A crystal tree with hanging petals!

They called this look the fire look. So pretty!

These were the accents around the bottom of the above fire look.

The top of the fire piece.

Limonium with some sparkle added. Love it for winter weddings!

These vases are great!

Don't have it in the budget for a big bouquet? Let us create something for you with this fun wire collar and just a couple of flowers!

Or like this! It's only 3 flowers! But a very creative look!

Well everyone, that's the last of our pictures from the Expo! We had so much fun and have been loving implementing the new things we learned while we were in Grand Rapids. As a florist, trends are always changing and it is so important to continue our education. It just amazes me every year that I am the only one from Northwest Ohio at these events! Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Exploring the Past, Present and Future of Wedding Design- Great Lakes Floral Expo

2011-03-21T18:26:00.000-07:00

Check out all of the wire accents! And cascades are definitely in this year!

Instead of carrying 5 gerbs down the aisle because you're on a budget, let us create this awesome wire armature and glue in some gorgeous phaleonopsis orchids or another flower of your choice!

Love these phaleonopsis orchids!

Little bit of ribbon anyone?

Baby's breath boa?

Love the delicate pearls and wire accents!

Is teal one of your colors? This gorgeous wire comes in the perfect color and we can make it in to any shape!

Flower shawl? They suggested brides wear one for their grand entrance into the reception!

This is one of my favorites! Should I do something similar for my wedding?

Flower umbrella?

This was our favorite show by far because weddings have a special place in our heart! I hope you enjoy the pictures! We are happy to create anything similar for your wedding or help you come up with even more fun ideas!

Place Settings at the Michigan Floral Expo

2011-03-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

Love how these are connected! Such a high impact piece!

A lot going on, but lots of fun ideas.

These are just wristlets added to votives! Super fun!

Look at the little hypericum berries added on the wire coming out of the napkin!

The table number is inside made from our fun wire that comes in tons of colors!

This year, designers who are AIFD (American Institute of Floral Design) certified were asked to create a tablescape for display. Check out some of the fun looks we saw.

Great Lakes Floral Expo- Funeral Show

2011-03-17T13:54:00.000-07:00

A gorgeous casket cover in all whites. Love the groupings of flowers, the gray foliages and the orchid lei hanging down.

How fun is this! This wool ribbon is a new product we learned about at the show. It comes in all different fun colors! The top is an ivy topiary that can be taken out and enjoyed by the family for years to come. Just a couple of flowers are added and the awesome vase another family can take home!

Check out this gorgeous container! J suggests that florists rent containers like this to funerals because they are such a huge impact! Can you picture how cool it would look to have one of these on either side of the casket? And then the florist just picks up the vase after the funeral and the family takes home the flowers.

Want to save some money? Order a scarf for the casket instead of something big. Made of all foliages it is still a very high impact piece but very cost effective.

This piece would be for a closed casket. How pretty!

We have all different shapes we can design in. This one is an open circle and I think the ribbon tucked through adds a lot.

This is another open circle but would be sat flat on the table like it is, and then the urn could be placed in the middle.

Little baby heart that can be placed inside the casket. Maybe from the grandchildren or great grandchildren?

Very fun new product that is waterproof! Add some flowers and you're set!

This is the top from the silver vase. Way more impact in the silver vase right?

This is an open heart. Again, the urn can be placed inside of it, it can sit on the table, or it can be hung on an easel.

We had the pleasure of attending a funeral workshop by J. Schwanke, AAF, AIFD, PFCI. We learned there that there are so many new and innovative ways we can help you share in the celebration of someones life! Since we've been doing weddings and events for the last three years and we just recently because full service we are having a lot of fun designing for different events in your life as well. Funerals can be really depressing. Why not celebrate their life and express your feelings in flowers?!

For a funeral we prefer if you call and set up an appointment because we feel that a funeral is a very important event in your life and we want to make sure we have time to sit down with you and give you the attention it deserves. Please call 419-517-8821 to set up an appointment. We have books and pictures and can share with you more about what new ideas we learned.

Express your feelings with flowers and send something that everyone else will wish they sent!

New Feature! 8-28-11 Ashley Brandeberry and David Black

2011-03-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

Ashley was a gorgeous bride and I absolutely love the orange underneath her dress! LOVE IT! Wish I would have found a dress where that would have worked for me now! Check out these fun bouquets of dahlias, tulips and mokara orchids!

To check out more gorgeous pictures from Wellspring Photography of this wedding please check out the FEATURE section on our site!

Ceremony and Reception Site: Hilton Toledo
Photography: Wellspring Photography
Flowers: Beautiful Blooms by Jen
Cake: Estons

Hurry Up Summer- Downtown Perrysburg Florist

2011-03-13T06:05:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Blooms by Jen had such a fun time donating the flower to Downtown Perrysburg's Hurry Up Summer Event last night. Taking place at the gorgeous Carranor Polo and Hunt Club, it was fun to spend some time there instead of just decorating for a wedding! The food was fabulous and I hope the event raised tons of money for Downtown Perrysburg, Inc, the people who bring First Fridays, Rock the Docks, The Classic Car Show and much much more! Even though I am from Sylvania, I love to go visit Perrysburg for these fun events and I look forward to helping Sylvania continue to grow and have such great events too!

We had a lot of fun hanging out with Joe and Carli from ShutterLove Studio, Liz and Stephen from Eventology and running into our brides!

How fun is this entryway piece in our iron stand with hanging wine bottles!?

In addition to doing a corsage for prom, why not do a hairpiece?

Or do a necklace instead?

Jen and Meghan

Kyle and Jen

Great Lakes Floral Expo- Flower Shop Tours

2011-03-08T16:58:00.000-08:00

On Friday night we had the privilege of touring four different flower shops in the Grand Rapids area. We had a lot of fun getting new ideas and we're so excited to start implementing them. The last shop we toured was our absolute favorite. It is definitely something we would like to do in the future when we grow big enough! It reminded me so much of the studio I worked at in San Diego. Check out some pictures from our tour Eastern Floral.

Do you think something like this in Toledo would work? They have multiple locations all across Grand Rapids and then also have this amazing location that used to be a furniture factory that they turned into a production facility for all of their shops, call center for all their shops and a reception hall! It would be so great to just walk across the room to set up a great reception! What do you think of the industrial feel?

Meghan was super pumped their boss let them buy peonies. I am so mean that I won't buy her buy peonies when they are out of season and customers don't want to spend $20 a stem in Toledo! : )

Flowers DO Make a Difference!

2011-03-07T11:18:00.000-08:00

Flowers Make You Happy

Nature provides us with a simple way to improve emotional health – flowers.

The presence of flowers triggers happy emotions, heightens feelings of life satisfaction and affects social behavior in a positive manner far beyond what is normally believed.

“What’s most exciting about these studies is that they challenge established scientific beliefs about how people can manage their day-to-day moods in a healthy and natural way,” said Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Rutgers and lead researchers on one of the studies.

Living with Flowers Strengthens Feelings of Compassion

A behavioral research study conducted by Nancy Etcoff, Ph.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, reveals that people feel more compassionate toward others, have less worry and anxiety, and feel less depressed when fresh cut flowers are present in the home or office.

Study participants who lived with fresh cut flowers for less than a week felt an increase in feelings of compassion and kindness for others.

Flowers chase away anxieties, worries and the blues.

Living with flowers can provide a boost of energy, happiness and enthusiasm at work.

Having flowers at home can have a positive carry-over impact on our mood at work, too. The study found that people were more likely to feel happier and have more enthusiasm and energy at work when flowers were in their home living environments.

Flowers Improve Emotional Health

A team of researchers explored the link between flowers and life satisfaction in a 10-month study of participants’ behavioral and emotional responses to receiving flowers. The results show that flowers are a natural and healthful moderator of moods.

1. Flowers have an immediate impact on happiness. All study participants expressed “true” or “excited” smiles upon receiving flowers, demonstrating extraordinary delight and gratitude. This reaction was universal, occurring in all age groups.

2. Flowers have a long-term positive effect on moods. Specifically, study participants reported feeling less depressed, anxious and agitated after receiving flowers, and demonstrated a higher sense of enjoyment and life satisfaction.

3. Flowers make intimate connections. The presence of flowers led to increased contact with family and friends.

“Common sense tells us that flowers make us happy,” said Dr. Haviland-Jones. “Now, science shows that not only do flowers make us happier than we know, they have strong positive effects on our emotional well being.”

“What I find interesting is that by starting the day in a more positive mood, you are likely to transfer those happier feelings to others – it’s what is called mood contagion,” says Etcoff. “And, the kitchen is the place where families tend to gather in the morning – imagine how big a difference a better morning mood can make.”

Flowers Promote Innovation in the Workplace

In an eight-month study, the Texas A&M University research team explored the link between flowers and plants and workplace productivity. Participants performed creative problem solving tasks in a variety of common office environments, or conditions. The conditions included a workplace with flowers and plants, a setting with sculpture and an environment with no decorative embellishments.

During the study, both women and men demonstrated more innovative thinking, generating more ideas and original solutions to problems in the office environment that included flowers and plants. In these surroundings, men who participated in the study generated 15% more ideas. And, while males generated a greater abundance of ideas, females generated more creative, flexible solutions to problems when flowers and plants were present.

"Our research shows that a change as simple as adding flowers and plants can be important in the most meaningful way to businesses in the modern economy," said Dr. Roger Ulrich, lead researcher on the project. "People's productivity, in the form of innovation and creative problem solving, improved - which in certain circumstances could mean the difference between mild and great business success."

Flower Givers Percieved as Successful & Caring

Rutgers University researcher Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., director of the university’s Human Emotions Lab, explored what the gifts we choose say about who we are and whether they affect how we are perceived. The research reveals that those who send flowers, in comparison to other gifts, are viewed as successful, caring and emotionally intelligent people. More specific findings include:

Both men and women who give flowers are perceived as happy, achieving, strong, capable and courageous people;

Men and women come across as more emotionally intelligent; they give the impression they can effectively express their feelings and take time to understand the feelings of others;

and Female floral gifters are viewed as more appreciative of beauty and nature.

“Our findings show that you can influence and change what people think of you in a significant way through the gifts you give,” says Haviland-Jones. “That news is particularly important to those interested in enhancing friendships and romances, even business relationships.”

Discovering the scientific power of flowers is not new to Haviland-Jones. Previous Rutgers University research conducted by her team found that flowers create instant delight and happiness, and increase enjoyment and life satisfaction. Specifically, upon receiving a gift of flowers, the female study participants responded with true smiles and reported positive moods that lasted for days. The presence of flowers also led to increased contact with family and friends.

“Flowers have evolved to activate positive emotional responses from people,” says Haviland-Jones. “Each bloom has the potential to put a smile on our face and sway our opinion of a friend, colleague or loved one. That’s powerful.”

According to Ryan, a simple call to the florist can make a big impact beyond conventional gifting occasions. Some of her favorite, unexpected gifting opportunities include surprise recognition for a job well done; an “I miss you” gift for an out-of-town family member; and an advance “thanks for hosting us” gesture before visiting a friend’s house.

“A successful person is not necessarily someone with a lot of money and material goods, but rather someone who is in tune with people and knows how to touch their hearts,” says Ryan. “I can think of no other item besides flowers that evokes such positive feelings and perceptions for both the giver and the recipient.”

Article and Research Courtesy of http://www.foreverhealthyandyoung.com/

New Feature! 8-14-10 Molly Sullivan and Justin Weldon

2011-02-27T12:18:00.000-08:00

Love it when the bride carries color and the bridesmaids carry white! The colors just pop!

Gorgeous pictures by Serendipity Photography.

Check out more pictures from Molly and Justin's wedding on our website!