THAT WHICH WE CALL A ROSE 
THE CUSTOM FLORAL BLOG
5.17.09 The Wedding Night

Oh, get your mind out of the gutter, that's not what we're talking about here. What we are talking about are all those beautiful flowers, on which you spent your hard-earned dollars and many precious hours pouring over books and magazines, and conferring with our staff to select just the right blooms for your day of days. 
Remember those flowers? Good. Here's how to make sure you, and your bridesmaids and everyone who took centerpieces home, gets the most enjoyment from your wedding flowers after the big day is over.

Let's start with bouquets. If you and the gals ordered hand-tied bouquets, remember that there is no built-in water source for the  flowers. These babies should be out of water only long enough to get through the ceremony. Make sure you have vases of water ready at the reception to receive the bouquets. And if you'll be out taking pictures for any length of time, it would be wise to transport the flowers in their original delivery boxes (with water). 
After the reception, re-cut the stems about a half inch and prepare the flower food we gave you as directed on the package. Change the water and re-cut the stems every other day for maximum vase life.


If your bouquet is in a foam holder, it will remain moist for at least a day or two. You can place the holder under running water for a few minutes, but other than that you can't add water to it. 
For centerpieces and arrangements in floral foam, add water to the container every day, and fill it to the rim. In general, try to keep all flowers away from drafts, heat sources, and direct sunlight. Don't store them in a refrigerator with produce, as the ethylene gas produced by ripening fruit will accelerate the aging of your flowers. If you are interested in bouquet preservation, let us know and we will refer you to a specialist.

 

5.12.09 | 'Green' Weddings
These days, "going green" is more than a trend. It's a necessity. You don't have run out and by a Prius or slap solar panels on your roof. You don't have to grow your hair out and buy a new hemp wardrobe. You just have to do your part. If you're sporting an armload of canvas tote bags in the checkout line, we salute you. If you come home from your walk with a bag full of cast-away beer cans, kudos. Even if your idea of eco-friendly is shutting the water off while you brush your teeth, cheers. This planet's pretty awesome and it's the only one we've got. If we all put just a smidge of 'green' into each day, it'll go a long way.

And hey, why should your wedding day be any exception? We're meeting more and more couples who seek to proclaim their enduring love.....for the planet! And they want to show it in every aspect of their wedding. We're pleased as punch to provide these couples an outlet to "show their green" in the wedding designs we create for them.

Sure, you say. Of course flowers are "green". They're plants. True, but our flowers are not just plants. We're a little persnickety about our flowers. Whenever we can, we buy flowers that are grown locally. This supports the local economy and saves an awful lot of jet fuel (pollution). However, the vast majority of cut flowers sold in this country are imported. We just don't have the climate to grow enough flowers in this country, and particularly in New England. So it's inevitable that a lot of the flowers we use are imported from countries with socio-economic and environmental standards that just don't jive with our own.

That's why we're proud to offer Green Label flowers to our customers. The Green Label represents a network of growers throughout South America and Europe that have been certified as meeting stringent standards for farm workers' quality-of-life and fair wages, as well as meeting specific environmental guidelines for sustainable farming. For more information, check out the link on the right.

In addition to buying Green, Custom Floral recycles every bit of the considerable cardboard and paper packaging that arrives with our flowers. We also compost 100% of the plant matter (stems, leaves, etc.) that results from our designs. Give us a call and we'll show you how to Go Green on your big day.

~ On Saturday May 2nd, we participated in the first Eco-Chic Wedding & Home Show, sponsored by CT Green Scenes. We were delighted to meet dozens of Green-Minded couples and vendors from all over CT & NY. Please take a moment to read the write up in the Stamford Times.  and check out some of the pictures from the show!


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