Hi everyone, recently I ran a promotion on Facebook – offering 50% off setup and delivery for people who become fans and book their 2009 wedding with us. Duh – I should have posted it on my blog too. Sooooo, Become a Fan on Facebook!

When you book your 2009 wedding with us, you will get 50% off your setup and delivery charges. This only applies to weddings in 2009 – so if you are one of those brides who is waiting until the last minute to book, now is the time! We added about 50 new fans in a week and have been scheduling new consultations daily.

I am still accepting weddings for September through December (and into 2010!), so call us today at 714-632-6885 for your consultation before the dates get filled. Just a note – the e collection has been really popular this fall, so check it out for very reasonably priced florals that will reflect your color scheme and bring just the right floral touch to your wedding at just the right price. Its a fantastic value for this tough economic time!

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Congratulations to Angela and Thomas who got married just this past Thursday at Rancho Las Lomas. The bride wore three different dresses throughout the course of the evening, and the ceremony was infused with Indian traditions. For the flowers, we used shades of reds, golds, and oranges, featuring roses, spray roses, pincushion protea, safari sunset, tulips, marigolds, cymbidium orchids and james story orchids.

A special thank you to Jason Young from Garner Films for this fabulous highlight video, and I should be getting another one of just the flowers soon. I love the attention to detail!

And speaking of details, a special thanks to Kerrie Underhill from Platinum Weddings by Kerrie for coordinating all of those beautiful details!

Watch the video here

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Hello everyone! I am officially back to the blog – I am so embarassed that I haven’t blogged in so long, and I actually forgot my login password. That is way too long. Life has just been a crazy whirlwind for all of March and April. I’m glad its May now and wedding season is ramping up, and all of the work I’ve been doing behind the scenes for FlowerDIYvas over the last several weeks has ALMOST come to fruition. Stay tuned for more in the upcoming weeks for huge news and stuff!

I’m also going to be introducing a fan page on Facebook, where I will be uploading photos and updates as I do flowers for wedding this summer. You will actually get a glimpse behind the scenes at the flower market, in the design studio, and at weddings this summer – as they happen! I will let you all know when I get the Facebook fan page started so you can join.

To quickly recap the Green Weddings book signing event, it was a huge success! We had about 60 or so people show up to hear the expert panel talk about green weddings, and many people picked up Mia’s book and had her sign it for them. If you missed our event, Mia will be back in Southern California in May, visit her website for dates and locations.

I was also hugely pleased to present the winner of the Say I Do With A Big Do Contest, Bihn Phan! Learn more about her amazing story here.

So I wanted you to be able to enjoy some photos of the Green Weddings Event – but apparently I am also behind in Wordpress updates and such because I can’t upload pictures. I must confer with my IT support (my husband Darrell) and revisit that issue. Please check back soon because I promise to be a better blogger, and there are some great things ahead at The Spiraled Stem!

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Join us on Sunday, March 15 from 2-4pm for an exciting afternoon learning about Green Weddings from the experts. Mireya Navarro, author of Green Wedding: Planning Your Eco-Friendly Celebration will be discussing green weddings with a panel of experts, including a floral designer (me!), a green lifestyle authority, an eco-chic wedding planner, and a bride who had a green wedding in 2008. This book is a MUST HAVE in any wedding professional’s library, and serves as a practical and inspirational guide to brides and grooms who are trying to do right by the planet during their wedding.

Please click on our Green Wedding Panel Discussion and Book Signing Event page for profiles of the panelists and all of our fabulous sponsors. You can also register to attend this FREE event here!

Yummy refreshments and beverages will be served, come and enjoy a relaxing and inspiring afternoon with us!

View an article on the TODAYSHOW.com website with Mia here!

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This Friday and Saturday February 27-28, the Brides Against Breast Cancer Nationwide Tour of Gowns stops in Anaheim! For two days only, brides can shop from a huge selection of wedding dresses in all sizes and with prices at 25-75% below retail. These beautiful wedding dresses have been donated by past brides, designers, salons, and manufacturers so that proceeds from the sales go to benefit Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation, a non-profit organization which grants end of live wishes for terminally ill metastatic stage IV breast cancer patients.

Power Hours
Making Memories will host special morning hours of operation to offer brides a “sneak peak” and first pick of the thousands of gowns available for her one special day. “Power Hours” are on Friday, February 27, 2009, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm – admission is $20, advanced registration is required, and space is limited. Visit: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/275961408 for Power Hours registration.

Here are the details on the Brides Against Breast Cancer Wedding Dress Sale:

Location
Anaheim Marriott Suites Hotel
12015 Harbor Blvd
Garden Grove, CA

Hours
Power Hours:
Friday, February 27, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Gown Sale:
Friday, February 27, 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Saturday, February 28, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Registration
Power Hour: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/275961408
Brides: http://www.makingmemories.org
Volunteers: http://www.bridesagainstbreastcancer.org

Payment
Cash and credit cards are welcome. General admission is FREE.

BONUS!

A coupon worth $50 off any gown over $500 or $25 off any gown from $250 to $499 will be printed in the Orange County Register and the LA Times – Orange County Edition on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for additional savings! Brides must present the coupon clipped from the newspaper to redeem the discount.

View the Brides Against Breast Cancer Dress Sale Press Release.

View the Brides Against Breast Cancer Dress Sale Flier.

View the Brides Against Breast Cancer Dress Sale Coupon (you must bring in printed newspaper coupon to redeem!)

The Spiraled Stem Floral Design is honored to be the volunteer local coordinator for the Brides Against Breast Cancer wedding dress sale, so we will be on site for the entire sale. We are still taking volunteers so please contact me at christine@thespiraledstem.com if you are interested!

I learned about BABC last year as part of The Green Event Studio launch, and we were happy to host the launch as a Pink Envelope Project event. I also pledged to donate my wedding gown in support of BABC, and that is just what I did last year.

My dress professionally cleaned and boxed had been sitting in my closet for 5 years.

My dress ready to join the thousands of others waiting for a new owner.

Me with my dress before we part ways.

Yes I had to try it on just one last time.

No it didn’t still fit! Be careful girls, this can happen to you too!

If you are a recent bride who would like to donate your dress, you can bring it to the sale and we will accept donations, just like how I did last year. For dresses that are really damaged or are non-sellable for any reason, there is still hope! Brides Against Breast Cancer will still accept the donation, but they use the fabric for quilters to make fabulous quilts that are worth thousands of dollars, and the proceeds of their sale go to Making Memories, just like the dresses!

For all the brides who are still shopping for a dress, or for past brides who want to donate their dress to a good cause, we look forward to seeing you this weekend!

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I hope you had a great Valentine’s Day!

Our V-Day at The Spiraled Stem was very special because my very good friend since the 7th grade, Carly, got married to her Valentine DJ. We were honored to have done the flowers and to be part of such a special night. Here’s a picture of Darrell and I after all the work was finished and we were dressed up for the reception (and our Valentine’s date – two in one!).

Carly and DJ chose a beautiful location in Del Mar (San Diego area) called the Powerhouse, which is right on the beach! We were a little nervous on Friday because it was POURING, but the forecast called for clear skies on Saturday, and while it was chilly, the rain stayed away and it was a beautiful day!

Here is a picture of me just after I finished making the Maid of Honor bouquet on Friday.

Darrell and I started setting up the reception in the afternoon. Carly chose the beautiful and very popular submerged orchid in the tall glass vase centerpiece, with a floating candle on top. I have a lot of brides doing this centerpiece in 2009, and I can tell you since I was at the wedding that all of the guests loved it. Its classy and elegant, without being overdone and you still get the height of a tall centerpiece at a much lower cost than the big arrangement on top. We used two different colors of orchids, brown and burgundy, to reflect the African safari theme of their honeymoon destination.

Here are some more ambiance pictures from the reception. Since it was Valentine’s Day, they had a candy bar with all kinds of tasty treats!

It was a special treat for me too to see my friends Ali (since 1st grade), Elizabeth (since 7th grade), and Carly’s friend Shea – who were all Spiraled Stem brides! Well actually, Elizabeth and myself both got married before The Spiraled Stem was officially in existence, but it still counts since I did the flowers. So here are all of the wives – welcome Carly as the newest to the club! I also dug up pictures from each of our weddings, but luckily pre-2003 isn’t digital so I’m not going to dig those junior high school prints out!

Elizabeth – August 2002

Christine – September 2003

Shea – August 2005

Ali – September 2005

Carly and DJ – Married 2-14-09!

I don’t have any pictures of the couple from the wedding day because I snapped all of these pictures before i realized the camera had no memory card… I’m a florist not a photographer! So I pulled this from the archives. I hope to add some wedding pictures of them soon when I get them from the  real photographer. In the meantime, congratulations to Carly and DJ and have a fantastic honeymoon!

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That’s right, less than a week until Valentine’s Day, are you ready?  

It falls on a Saturday this year, so send beautiful, earth-friendly VeriFlora-Certified sustainably grown roses to your sweetheart at home or the office on Friday the 13th, and you have all weekend to reap the benefits. It’s the Valentine’s gift that keeps on giving without taking too much from the earth.
 
One-dozen long stem red/pink/white roses arranged in a vase (as pictured): 

$75 plus $12 local delivery and tax

 A half-dozen long stem red/pink/white roses arranged in a vase: 

$50 plus $12 delivery and tax

Non-premium colors are available for a $10 discount. Custom, upgraded, and mixed arrangements are also available, just call and ask for details! We accept cash, checks, paypal, mastercard, Visa, and American Express.

The Spiraled Stem is currently taking orders for deliveries on Friday the 13th in north/central Orange, western Riverside, and southern Los Angeles counties. Call us at 714-632-6885 or email us to place your order today! We are not delivering on Saturday, we will be doing the flowers for a wedding in San Diego that day – congrats Carly and DJ – and Darrell and I will be having a little Valentine’s love of our own.

Get your office buddies together and place three or more orders for delivery to the same location and we will waive the delivery fee for all of you! This way you can take roses home with you Friday night and be a hero without fighting the crowds at the stores and flower shops.
 
Want to send roses to a sweetheart out of this area? Click here to order online through Organic Bouquet. 

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 PSA from The Spiraled Stem:

Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Orange County is hosting a “BIG” night on Thursday January 22, 2009 from 6-8:30pm at the Oakley Headquarters in Lake Forest.  It’s a fun, no-pressure opportunity to learn more about becoming a Big, meet current Big Brothers and Big Sisters and grab some delicious (and absolutely free) food and drinks.  This is your chance to check out Oakley’s unique facility and even get a behind-the-scenes tour of the Oakley factory.  And that’s not all – the evening will feature a talk with Pro Skateboarder and X-Games winner Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins.

I’ve been a Big Sister for 8 years (has it really been that long!) and its a great program to be involved in to mentor a young child. This could be a great way to respond to Obama’s call to service! BTW I was glued to the inauguration coverage all day today. Please go to the event if you can, or contact them directly for more information at www.bigbrooc.org

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FlowerDIYvas is hosting a FREE Seminar on how to do your own wedding flowers at our Anaheim location on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 from 6:30pm-8:00pm. Visit our website at www.FlowerDIYvas.com to register and for directions.

Please help us out by Taking Our Survey and we will mail you a free copy of Serendipity Magazine!

At the FREE seminar, you will see demonstrations on some of the items you will learn and practice making at the FlowerDIYvas workshops.

Attendees to the FREE Seminar will receive a VERY SPECIAL introductory rate on their Spring 2009 FlowerDIYvas workshop registration.

This is a very limited time offer available to brides who come to the FREE seminar. This price is an excellent deal and won’t last forever – take advantage of our introductory rate and you will be on your way to saving HUNDREDS by doing your own wedding flowers.

email at info@FlowerDIYvas.com or call us at 714-632-6885 for more details or to register!

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