January 18th, 2010
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Blum featured on Champagne NW's blog!

I'm so excited to be featured on Champagne NW's Blog! I've worked with Mandi and Rachelle numerous times and they're fantastic. Check out the entry as well as Champagne's sight to see how they can help you!

January 16th, 2010
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Ahna and Kyle featured in the Oregonian's Special Wedding Edition!

We're so excited that Ahna and Kyle's wedding was featured on the cover of the Oregonian's special wedding issue!

Kyle and Ahna were married in September of 2009 at the First Congregational Church with a GORGEOUS reception immediately following at the Portland Art Museum.

Images taken by Artistique Photography

Flowers by Blum!

January 14th, 2010
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Oregon Bride Best Of Ballots!

Last year we were honored to win the award for Best Florist in Portland as voted by Oregon Bride Magazine readers. We'd LOVE to repeat that excitement again this year!!

Online voting is taking place now until February 15th. Enter your ballot today!

Best of Bride Ballot. Click and vote for Blum here!!

November 2nd, 2009
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Mollie and Ryan's Wedding at Garden Vineyards!

Mollie and Ryan were married August 8th, 2009 at Garden Vineyards in Helvetia, Oregon. They wanted their wedding and reception to have a relaxed, elegant feel much like the setting itself. For the flowers we chose a classic combination of garden roses, calla lilies, hydrangea, dahlias and sweet peas with a few unexpected elements like blueberries, rosemary, mint and scented geranium in shades of white, cream, ivory, palest peach and green. Candlelight also played a key part at the outdoor venue. I love watching the candles begin to glow as the sun sets and Mollie and Ryan made sure to have the timing work at the perfect moment... just as dinner was served.

Congratulations to a wonderful couple! We wish you all the best!

All of the images here were taken and generously donated to us by the incredibly talented team at Valls Photographic. To learn more about their services visit their website at www.vallsphotographic.com.

The cake was made and provided by the brilliant Judy Reese at Dreamcakes.... SO DELICIOUS! www.judyreesedreamcakes.com

Also visit the Garden Vineyards website to learn more about one of my very favorite Portland venues! www.gardenvineyards.com

October 20th, 2009
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Kris and Kerry's Wedding!!

Kris and Kerry were married on August 23rd, 2009 in Abigail's Garden at the Abernathy Center in Oregon City. For the flowers they wanted a fairly modern, clean look that incorporated local and seasonal flowers. Dahlias, black baccara roses, burgundy calla lilies and green cymbidium orchids were made you unique by the incorporation of fresh blackberries.

Congrats to Kerry and Kris! We wish you all the best and thank you for allowing us to be a part of your day!

Molli Barss at Soiree coordinated the event and added the extra details and organization that pulled the day together seamlessly.

All of the images here were taken and generously given to us by the talented Jonathan Michael.

September 14th, 2009
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Tera and Michael's Wedding Pics!

Tera and Michael were married on August 8th, 2009 at the classic St. Patrick's Cathedral with a reception immediately following at the Portland Art Museum. There were so many beautiful details incorporated that made for a truly special and memorable day.

For the flowers Tera wanted a gardeny look in an unexpected color scheme of oranges, terra cotta, and peach with touches of green and blue. Garden roses, sweet peas, hydrangea, herbs and fresh blueberries were incorporated throughout the decor. The couple wanted a warm, inviting and elegant look and feel for the day. We think they achieved it! Congratulations and thank you to a fantastic couple. We wish you all the best!

These images were taken and provided for us by the incredibly talented Eric Cable. Check out more of his work at www.ericcable.com.

August 9th, 2009
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Fenway Dream Wedding!!

As any of my friends and family will tell you I am a DIE HARD Boston Red Sox fan! I was a Sox fan (albeit from Oregon) and when I was 22 I moved to Boston to work for Winston's Flowers. That was in 2004 and I moved in the thick of the American League Championships when the Sox came back from behind, beat the Yankees, won the World Series and did away with the Curse of the Bambino. It was amazing and although I was definitely a fan beforehand that is officially when I added the DIE HARD to my description.

Well, this morning I went over to redsox.com to check stats from last night's game to see that 4 lucky couples will be married at Fenway Park (the red sox stadium) on September 27th. I think this is awesome AND hilarious! Every Red Sox fan's dream! Can you imagine the bride's surprising their fiancee's with an on-the-mound ceremony? LOVE IT!!

Check it out!!

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/ticketing/bridal_festival.jsp

August 6th, 2009
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Vendor Alert!- Jessica Hill Photography

Clients often ask me for recommendations on local photographers to shoot their weddings. Choosing a photographer is obviously a very important piece of the wedding... both in terms of the photography itself as well as the financial investment. Now, not to brag ;-) , but since I see the images from 90% of the weddings I provide flowers for, I feel like I'm a bit of an expert on the subject of wedding photography! With that said, I've decided there are four imperative components in selecting your photographer. The first is the quality of the images themselves. The quality of the equipment and talent of the photographer in terms of editing and even more so timing are huge. The second is the style of photography. Photo-journalistic (spontaneous) or a more traditional approach (with more posed shots.) The third, and sometimes overlooked aspect, is your ability to "jive" with the personality of your photographer. Does a energetic, slightly over the top type bug you or encourage you to smile? Do you prefer someone who is on the quiet side, will give minimal instruction and let you take the lead? It's obviously much easier to look beautiful when your smile is sincere and not forced. The final component is cost. Unfortunately for you, I'm clueless in this regard. My apologies!

Now, let me introduce you to one of my favorite photographers in Portland (actually just on the other side of the tracks from my studio!) who I personally would love to have at my own wedding given my very important requirements listed above!!

I first met Jessica Hill about a year ago when I was setting up flowers and she was prepping for a photo shoot at Fada Salon. A short time later I learned we would be working together on a wedding in January of this year. The images from Tamara's wedding at the Chinese Garden and Olea Restaurant, as well as the lengthy photo shoot beforehand, were INCREDIBLE! I was completely impressed!

Jessica's been photographing weddings for over 9 years in Portland, Alaska and Michigan, with a degree in Photography from the University of Michigan. Since her move to Portland her work has been featured in elegant Bride, Portland Bride and Groom, Oregon Bride (check out the image of a red bouquet listed above my "Best" listing!) and PDX Magazine (also with my flowers. woohoo!)

To learn about her biz and to check out more of her images click over to her website www.jessicahillphotography.com!

Cheers!

August 3rd, 2009
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Gretchen and Jason's Wedding!

Gretchen and Jason were married June 20th, 2009 at the GORGEOUS outdoor cereomny site at the Grotto in NE Portland. Gretchen chose to keep the wedding party flowers clean and classic with all red roses for herself and white calla lilies for the bridesmaids while the adorable flower girl carried a pomander (flower covered ball) of pale blue hydrangea from a loop of deep red dupioni silk ribbon.

Traditional, upright arrangement of white casablanca lilies deep red roses, blue hydrangea and blue delphinium were placed on either side of the altar.

For the reception flowers Gretchen chose a unique color scheme of red, burgundy, pale plue and ivory. She and Jason sat at a "sweetheart" table for just the two of them with a petite centerpiece of their own.

Congratulations Gretchen and Jason! We wish you all the best!

All of these fantastic images were taken and generously donated to us by Paul Rich at Paul Rich Photography. Paul's an awesome guy with a great talent for taking natural, spur of the moment shots. I can honestly tell you I'm always excited to see him at an event or wedding. Check out his site for more information!!

July 17th, 2009
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tips from the experts!

I just ran across this article about Great Britain's longest married couple!

According to Frank and Anita Mitford, married for over 81 years, the secret to a lasting marriage is "to iron out your arguments before bedtime and share a kiss and a cuddle every night before bed."

PRECIOUS!!

July 10th, 2009
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BEST IN OREGON!!!

Last night we were named the "Best Florist in Portland" by Oregon Bride Magazine! A special thank you to all our past and present clients, everyone who voted and those who have supported us along the way! In particular, thank you for allowing and encouraging us to do what we love.

For the full list of winners visit the Oregon Bride Website or pick up a copy of the most recent Oregon Bride Magazine! woohoo!

www.oregonbridemagazine.com

July 7th, 2009
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Dancing Moon Farm!

For years clients and friends have asked me about the availability of organic flowers for their weddings and events. It's an honorable request that I, until recently, had to unfortunately say was nearly impossible and if it was possible would be SO expensive that it would hardly be worth it. I also believed the flowers would be of a lesser quality given that organic growing techniques in the cut flower trade are so undeveloped. Well, I'm thrilled to announce that I can no longer say that is true!

Dancing Moon Farm is a small, family owned farm just an hour outside of Portland in Hood River. They deliver both to my door as well as to the main wholesale flower market where I purchase most of the flowers for the company. It's been so fantastic to see their product at the market because I can see the flowers are consistently GORGEOUS, healthy and a good value! So much so, that I am now regularly incorporating them into my arrangements even when organic flowers are not specifically requested.

Check out their website for more information! www.dancingmoonfarm.com

June 24th, 2009
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Style Me Pretty's Little Black Book

I've been a Style Me Pretty wedding blog fan for quite awhile now. The first time I came across it I was SO excited to have a new source for creative, beautiful, and sometime quirky details that was different from Martha Stewart (no worries Martha, you'll always be my #1!) The best part is that, as a blog, it turns information over so quickly that you're highly likely to find ideas and looks that you love! Not to mention, that if it's turning over that quickly it's less likely that everyone else has seen it too!

Well, the people at Style Me Pretty recently contacted me about listing in their "Little Black Book" of preferred vendors. They told me I'd been hand picked to be in the book from other referrals and images they've received. At first I was a little dubious as it sounded like a great way for them to earn a buck off of me by telling me a cheesy line but after looking through the other vendors listed I have to tell you I'M IMPRESSED! For example, the photographers listed are all companies that I've worked with and often refer to my own clients! With that in mind I gladly sent them my info and am now up and running!

So, thank you to whoever referred me and if you haven't already, be sure to check out Style Me Pretty!!

To find the Portland vendors click on Little Black Book, followed by Oregon and then Portland. We're listed under "Floral and Event Design."

Have fun exploring!

June 23rd, 2009
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Kate and Jimmy's Wedding in Portland Bride and Groom

Kate and Jimmy were married August 9th, 2008 at the Classical Chinese Garden in downtown Portland. I always get so excited when one of my couples' weddings is featured in a magazine that I just had to share it with you! All of the beautiful images were taken by Erin Grace. Congrats Jimmy and Kate! I hope the first year of marriage has been amazing!

Check out their page on the Portland Bride and Groom website!

June 18th, 2009
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Movies and Vino at Garden Vineyards this weekend!

One of my absolute FAVORITE venues, Garden Vineyards, is hosting a weekend of movies and wine. I think it sounds incredible! Cheers!

Click here for a link to more info!