Close-up of composite protea. Made from over three protea disassembled and redesigned as one bloom.

Bergerons was asked to provide the “Bouquet of the Day” for Macy’s for the Centennial Celebration of the Cherry Blossom Festival here in Washington, DC. The Metro Center Macy’s store is their flagship store for the Eastern Central states and Bergerons had the awesome opportunity to provide some beautiful arrangements over the past two weeks.

Andi (the Visual Director of the Metro Center Macy’s) and his design team designed a fantastic display throughout the store including live Cherry Blossom trees!

Essentially, the Bouquet of the Day at Macy’s was to provide two separate creative bouquets changed out every three days over the course of two weeks. Heather and I got up at the crack of dawn every three days and went into DC to change-out the design before store opening. It was fun and we had a great time!

Assorted glimpses of the first week's bouquets. We had three different renditions.

The second week's design!

Close-up of second week's design.

One of the designs in the home section.

Which are your favorites?

The words are lost when trying to describe what this new area will be like. The Workhouse has taken what used to be the Lorton prison’s cafeteria and transformed it into a gorgeous venue that will seat 500+ people. Exposed brick, windows to let in natural light and beams along the roof make this a to-die-for setting for weddings, corporate events, galas, etc.

We had the opportunity to do a mock set-up with R&R Catering in February so that the public to get a glimpse of what the possibilities are. The entire floor plan wasn’t finished, but they allowed a few tours to the venue to see what is in store!

We were able to provide some designs for the beautiful table settings R&R put together. A match made in heaven! Check out what both Bergerons and R&R Catering came up with. I’d love to have your feedback.

Perfect submerged orchids with wire accented this beautiful black and white setting with turquoise accents.

This double pilsner vase has a fabric base spilling over with hydrangea and calla lilies.

The top view of the this luxurious lime and purple table gives a great view and gives you an idea of the natural light that comes into the space.

And, I love the look of the pussy willow branches here accented with hanging votives for a dramatic effect.

Of course, we wouldn’t have these awesome photos without the help of Kristi Odom Photography! Thanks, Kristi, for taking the time to snap these fab photos. Her talent is unmistakable.

And a huge THANK YOU to R&R Catering for asking us to participate in the event as well.

This bridesmaids bouquet is a classic with white roses and pale blue delphinium. Photo by Rodney Bailey Photography.

Vivid blue anemones with fresh cotton, fragrant pale blue hyacinth and grape muscari make this bouquet sing! I loved creating the combination, especially including the raw cotton bolls in their natural form!

Another bouquet created with the majority of the these beauties….anemones with accents of white feathers. Perfection. Photo by Michelle Lindsay.

Bridesmaids bouquets designed in two different floral clusters. One has pale blue hydrangea and thistle with feathery white astilbe. The other, clustered blue delphinium accented with dusty miller. Both are accented on the handle with bullion wire. Photo by Michelle Lindsay.

This petite beauty is created with softly scented paperwhites with grape muscari. These blooms are in the height of their season in the winter months through April. Photo by Softbox Media Photography.

What are your favorites? I’d love to know…

We choose a deep turquoise fabric to cover the supplied arch at the harbor.

One of the best advantages of the ceremony site is the feel of the outdoors with a covering from the elements! Experience the breeze that comes through the space while sitting under the covered area.

We wanted to showcase one of the best new finds….enter….Original Runner! Bergerons is a vendor for them in the Washington DC area, so check-out the fun you can have by picking out a gorgeous aisle runner here. Call us and we will get it for you. You can choose the length and color you would like. Want to showcase your new monogram at the ceremony? They can even design a aisle runner just for you!

Need a great way to highlight the aisle without using flowers? We love using cylinder vases filled with tinted water and floating candles. Just a little candlelight to add the romance to the ceremony.

I wanted to show off the warm feeling of the room. Lisa and her crew had chosen a King Farm table to run down the middle of the room. So we decided to go with black and white accented with yellow. I love the addition of yellow to make the contemporary feel of black and white pop! We still wanted to keep a sophisticated feel, but add a splash chic to the table.

The table linens we picked were black bengaline linen and a white runner down the center of the table. Black napkins were added to the water glasses using deep purple chargers to accentuate the place settings.

My favorite design out of all of them was this mix of white tulips surrounded by a fluffy accent of mimosa acacia designed in a black ceramic urn. Beautiful!

Okay, I love anemones too, so here’s another favorite!

When planning for your floral/decor and overall vision for your wedding, there are a few things to remember:

~Relax, enjoy the process! There isn’t a wrong choice, just allow the florist to help you figure out the overall vision for your wedding.

~ It’s the details that bring out the personal taste for you and your groom. Don’t be afraid to share what makes you happy. The perfect florist for you should be able to realize the nuances of the ideas/designs you are choosing and help bring that to your wedding day.

~Sometimes it’s during the consultation with your florist that helps solidify all of your ideas coming together as one beautiful vision for a fantastic day.

Who to bring:

~Yourself! We would love to see you, but we know that sometimes this isn’t possible. As florists, seeing the bride helps us put a picture together of you in your wedding dress, holding your bouquet. It helps the vision come to life! Talking about the size, shape, color, and elements in your bouquet help the florist create the piece that the rest of the wedding is framed around. Don’t worry, if you can’t be there, the florist can work with your family and/or fiance to get as much information as possible. Heather and I have even skyped with brides to at least have that one-on-one conversation, especially when you are planning from another state or country.

~One to two other people. Nothing is worse than making a decision that 5 other people start to chime in on! It really starts to muddy the waters of finding the best solution for you, the bride, when a whole group of people are telling you their opinions of what you should be doing. A barrage of opinions can leave you wondering if you are making the right decision. Having key people to help you flesh out your ideas is wonderful, so I do recommend bringing your planner, mother, fiance, or best friend. Keep in mind that most florists don’t have a huge table to gather around, so this really makes it uncomfortable when decisions needs to be made.

What to bring:

~Swatches of colors. Colors that you are going to use and/or color palette that compliments the bridesmaids dresses. Don’t worry if you haven’t chosen a color palette, most florists will be able to help you complete the palette just from seeing the color you choose for the bridesmaids dress.

~Pictures and/or an idea board.   Pinterest.com anyone? We love seeing the boards created on pinterest. It’s opened up a new world for brides and florist to converse about and bring ideas together. If you don’t have a pinterest account, you can certainly bring in magazine clippings, pictures from the web, and elements that you want to incorporate. See some examples here at Project Wedding: Wedding Inspiration Board Pictures – Project Wedding.

~Special instructions. Does the ceremony or reception venue have information that we need to know? Perhaps the ceremony site doesn’t allow fresh petals to be scattered or the reception venue offers votive candles and mirror tables for each table. These items are great to know we you sit down with your florist to flesh out the details of your wedding day!

~An open mind. Allow yourself to dream! The florist is ready to help you create special elements that reflect you and your groom, so the best thing you can do for yourself is to be open to ideas that will help you and the florist achieve that.

We at Bergerons, want to give you the best experience when you come to meet with us. After all, you are considering entrusting us with the most important day of your life, so let’s figure out the best way to bring your vision together.

See you at the consultation!

There are several types to choose from:

Curly Willow-these are perfect for the most organic look as when fresh, they are pliable and give us the ability to make some great shapes! Often we will hang glass vials from them so that they will hold single flowers, i.e. roses, orchids, or even tealights.

Birch Branches-these very straight dried branches are a darker brown color or you can also use them in white, which we love to use as well.

Kiwi Vine-one of my personal favorites because the dried kiwi vine gives some of the most unusual looks and can be used to create beautiful artistic designs!

Manzanita Branches-boy, these really are fun! These beauties offer sturdy bases to work with and are wonderful to hang lighting or floral decor from the branches.

Mitsumata Branches-offering a clean beautiful straight line, contemporary design is beautifully accomplished using these branches. We spray them in many colors for dramatic effects too!

Blooming Branches-including Pussy Willow, Cherry Blossom, Quince, Dogwood. Perfect because the blooms give added impact.

Photos Courtesy of: David Madison Photography, L.H. Lindberg Photography, Kristi Odom Photography, Love Life Images, Julie Newman Photography.

Bergerons Flowers was across from a photo booth at the show. Photo booths have become a hot commodity at wedding receptions and really add an element of fun for your guests. Neil McKinnon owns Poshbooth Custom Photo-Booth Rental. Neil had brides and grooms donning feather boas, funky sunglasses and hats to capture some fun moments at the showcase.

Heather and I took a moment to step into the booth and snap a few photos too! What did we take? Flowers…of course!

Thanks for the memories, Neil!

If you are planning a wedding reception, contact Neil. You won’t be sorry. Come on, you know you want to add a little fun to your wedding day!

Cheers,

Christi

So after a busy weekend, Sunday night I took her concepts, colors, and ideas and produced a proposal to the planner and the family on Monday morning. A quick turnaround and by Tuesday morning the floral order was placed so that we would get the flowers in the following week in time to open and be perfect for the wedding day!

The week of the wedding, we managed to handle two other weddings along with Gayden and Mike’s wedding celebration! When the mother of the bride and the planner flew in on Thursday before the wedding, they came to the studio with Gayden so we could all meet for the first time! Gayden brought her grandmother’s tussie mussie for us to create the bridal bouquet nosegay and a family heirloom thimble for good luck to incorporate into her bouquet.

The church decor was simple and perfect for the historic Christ Church in Old Town Alexandria.

The Belle Haven Country Club provided a perfect backdrop for a night of celebration!

Most of all, I want to thank Eva Russo of Photo Lady Love for the fantastic photos! She captured the beauty of the day.

Congratulations Gayden and Mike! We felt honored to participate in their special day.

We just love the mercury glass and the white milk glass. Jan had been gathering lots of great decor items to add around the house, so we took a look at them and decided what would look best to complete the look for the winter theme!

Melanie and I worked on what white flowers would go well with her theme minus fragrance as she is allergic to some flowers. The mantle was adorned with a classic mix of hydrangeas and white roses. And the dining room table was graced with a collection down the middle of hydrangeas with maidenhair fern in the milk glass and the shorts of roses and miniature calla lilies. Her cocktail table in the living room had a perfect little julep of a single rose next to a mercury glass pedestal dish filled with white tulips. We couldn’t have been happier to help out with her last decor touches to add to the ambiance she was creating for her daughter. She has such great style and her home is truly something out of a magazine. Jan, we love your look!