How To Set A Beautiful Thanksgiving Table With Flowers

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The Holiday Season is almost here!  While this is always a very busy time for us, so there will still not be weekly blogs, I did want to post some holiday planning tips before it got too busy, so your tables can be beautiful and enjoyed by everyone!

Everyone knows the basics for a Thanksgiving Dinner table: turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing and sweet potato pie, maybe spiced hot apple cider or a family recipe for roasted green beans or grandma's special macaroni and cheese!  But what about a beautiful, colorful centerpiece as a final, finishing touch to go with all of your hard work preparing such a wonderful feast?  Or if you are a guest, what about a table-ready design for your host or hostess instead of just store-bought plastic-wrapped flowers or a bottle of wine? (Tip: We actually make designs incorporating bottles of wine so you can have the best of both worlds!).

Centerpieces are always beautiful additions to any table, and simple or elegant flowers can be a beautiful touch to complement a beautifully prepared meal.  They are easy to make but with everything going on for the holidays, why not get a piece ready for the table, or have something custom-made for you? 

Grocery store flowers can be beautiful, but the stems need to be cut and the flowers need to be gotten into a vase.  Also, they are so tall they can end up interrupting conversation and being a distraction on the table, instead of adding to the beautiful setting everyone should be enjoying, not being annoyed by! 

Florists are specially trained to know what flowers will look the best in different designs, and can help to work out a custom piece to fit your table, and can even match the existing decor in your house (or in the house of the person you are visiting for Thanksgiving).  Not sure of the color scheme or the design of the room you are going to?  A good designer can work with you to put together a beautifully neutral Fall-themed piece that can be incorporated into any Thanksgiving table.

And, I really do make custom designs of flowers and wine, so your host's table can be set, and the guests can enjoy a glass while the turkey finishes roasting to a golden perfection!  No matter what, a Thanksgiving table holds a little extra special magic when there are beautiful flowers accenting the meal!

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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Designs by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children.  When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy).  While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!

'Tis (Almost!) The Season!

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I can't believe it is already Fall and with that the Holidays are right around the corner!!

With so much to prepare in a Flower Shop for the Holidays, the blog will be updated closer to the end of the year as we get ready for some very exciting things!

Stay tuned to the Flower Design By Bridget Facebook Page and Twitter and Google+ for latest news!

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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Designs by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children.  When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy).  While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!

Fall Foliage Decor Ideas

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Fall is a beautiful time of year and it is really simple to bring some of that beauty into your home for lovely seasonal decorations - bright reds and yellows and hues of orange with splashes of green and touches of gold can make for wonderful accent pieces and decorations.

The easiest is always to order fresh flowers for a centerpiece or to send as a gift.  The bright colors will be professionally selected and guaranteed. 

You can also find lots of ways to use items like pine cones, and if you live in an area where you are lucky enough to get fall foliage, you can always use what you have right outside!  Rinsing off colorful leaves from your yard, letting them dry and using them to accent a coffee table or bookshelf or dining table is one simple way!  You can also take small branches with a few leaves still on them and place them in a glass vase for a simple but beautiful pop of color in your home.

Small pumpkins and gourds start to go on sale this time of year as well.  As do things like walnuts and pecans.  There are tons of great craft ideas using these items.  Or you can keep it simple and just use the pumpkins and gourds as they are for simple accents.  Or you can place them on top of some of the leaves you collected earlier!  And a little bit of gold spray paint or even regular gold or bronze-colored paint can be used to give them a nice shimmer or glow.  If placing them on a table you can add some glass votive candles to add extra sparkle.

If you are like me, and you live in an area of the world where fall items exist only in retail stores, you can always check out places like a dollar store and pick up some nice fall-colored items to use in your own centerpieces.  You also can always add some fall-colored or scented candles.  Spices like cinnamon and apple and of course pumpkin are always nice!  

No matter what, you can always order flowers or other centerpieces to your liking and have something nice to enjoy the warm tones of Fall!

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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Designs by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children.  When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy).  While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!

How To Choose Which Flowers To Send

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Flowers are a popular gift - for a birthday, for a congratulations, for sympathy, to cheer up someone who isn't feeling well, to tell someone we love them, to thank them or any other number of reasons!

There are tons of options and lots of flowers can even mean different things, here are some simple tips for choosing the best type flower arrangement!

For birthdays, "thank you"s, congratulations or to cheer someone up. these are typically more bold, bright colors, often times with bows, in fun vases.  You can often ask your florist to add in things like a small gift or a balloon.  Most florists keep lots of optional floral containers in stock for all sorts of celebrations!  You can ask them to use flowers like bright gerber daises or yellow and pink roses, snap dragons or birds of paradise to send to someone you care about as an arrangement.  And some can make a cake shaped out of flowers!

For sympathy, these are usually softer colors, white roses, a peace lily plant, or orchids.  There are specific flowers you can send for various meanings for a funeral.  And as well, most florists can make a shape such as a heart or a cross or a star our of flowers to send at a time of loss.

Just remember that you know the person receiving the flowers better than your florist does!  Some people loves red roses, others prefer something more simple, like daises, or more rustic like tea roses and amaranths. A cake shaped of white roses might make one person's day while a bouquet of bright yellow tulips might be exactly what someone sick in bed all week needs for a smile.  And your florist can always let you know what is popular, if you need some direction.

Some people prefer cut flowers in a vase, others like to receive wrapped flowers and place them in their own vase at home, and some people prefer potted plants they can enjoy all year.

You can always flip through a website for ideas or set a budget, give some basic notes and let the designer make you something wonderful, or call your local florist and ask where to start!

No matter what, more flowers shared among people will always create more happiness in the world! 

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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Designs by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children.  When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy).  While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!

10 Cute Animals Reminding Us Why Summertime Is The Best

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1. Because watermelon!

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2. Though staying cool is important!

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3. Just remember to be careful around swimming pools!

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4. Actually, staying cool can be fun too!

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5. It is a great time of year to start exercising 

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6. And again, watermelon...

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7. Did I mention ice cream?

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8.And don't forget all the outdoor sports!

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9. And farm fresh veggies are always on sale!

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10. And oh yes...watermelon!

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Have a great summer everyone!

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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Designs by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children.  When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy).  While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!

Planning Your Wedding Flowers

Flowers by Flower Design by Bridget

As your wedding planning gets into the full throes of a cross between your dream, your mom's dream, and your budget, it is easy to lose sight of the things that really are important in the planning process.

The most important thing is always, above anything, that you are marrying your best friend and soulmate and get to spend the rest of your life with this person.  That itself is really what the focus should be on!

Beyond that, family drama, guest lists, who to have as a bride's maid and what style of dress to wear are all things that have their own list of solutions depending on your situation.

But choosing flowers is, wonderfully, quite simple!

If you have an idea of what style you would like, what colors you like or what types of flowers you like, that is always a great place to start.  But a good florist can also give you ideas and fill in the blanks if you are not a creative-type DIY bride.

Remember that different flowers grow in different parts of the world, in different growing conditions and are complex or simple to ship, depending on how easy they are to package and how long they can last after they are cut.  Blooms like an orchid take special packaging and only so many stems fit in a box, whereas roses actually ship over twice as many stems per package.

Deciding on a local flower with simple growing and shipping requirements usually allows for more blooms for your budget.

A more exotic flower usually has a heftier price tag and will limit how many blooms you can have when trying to stay within your price range.

There are ways to get around a higher priced flower eating up your whole budget - using lots of greens creatively, having a sleek, modern approach and using actual blooms sparingly, using decorative items for centerpieces and fresh flowers only for things like bouquets and boutonnieres, etc.  And you can always fill in some less expensive flowers that fit with your style in a way that keeps the whole design looking like a million dollars, even you didn't spend anything anywhere near that.

A good florist will be able to work with you, and with your budget, and can give you realistic expectations for the amount of flowers you can get within the budget you have set, and help you figure out how to best balance your dreams with reality.

Keep that in mind as you start looking into florists for your big day.  And remember that at Flower Design by Bridget our goal is customer satisfaction and bringing dreams to life.  So for your free consultation with us, balancing budget and dreams is the focus - followed by doing everything we can to bring your dreams to life!

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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Designs by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children.  When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy).  While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!

Flower Design by Bridget Featured in Creative Business Maven!

This week's blog is to announce that we have been featured in Creative Business Maven Magazine as the Featured Interview for this month's issue!

Super excited to be joining the likes of Makelight and Wild Remedies as some of the other amazing businesses interviewed this month!

You can read the full interview here and if you would like, you can subscribe to the magazine for free here.

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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Designs by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children.  When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy).  While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!

How To Make a Flower Wreath In 6 Easy Steps

It is summer time and one of the best ways to enjoy it is with flowers!

This week, here is how to make a simple, DIY flower wreath for your home or for a gift.

1. Gather Supplies

You will need:

Clean counter or table space to work

Hot glue gun

Hot glue

Flowers (these are fabric flowers.  You can use real flowers but the steps and materials are a little different if you want it to last)

1 wreath (this one was bought pre-made out of woven branches)

Ribbon or trim (this is beige colored synthetic raffia)

Ensure all the materials are to hand and plug in your hot glue so that it is ready when you need it.

2. Prepare Your Flowers

For this wreath, pull the flower tops off the plastic stems so that you have all your pieces in a pile ready to go!

3. Work Out Your Design

While sometimes once you get going you decide to go in a different direction, it is good to at least work out the basic of what you would like to do before you glue things down!  Try different patterns and arrangements to see the best way to have your flowers once you are ready to glue!

4. Glue On Your Flowers

Put a little bit of hot glue on the end of the flower piece and tuck it into the wreath.  Then move on to the next piece and glue that one down.  

You might need to glue a little into the wreath, or glue down a petal or leaf to get it to stay exactly how you would like.  

5. Secure The Flowers With Extra Glue

Make sure the glue has dried enough to hold the flowers, and carefully turn your wreath over to secure the pieces with extra glue from the back.

6. Finish Off Your Wreath 

Once you are all set with your flowers, you can add on a bow or other ornamental piece.  Here I used a raffia bow and wove the end pieces around the branches, and secured it with hot glue.

Enjoy!

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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Designs by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children.  When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy).  While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!

5 Reasons to Keep Fresh Flowers in Your Home & Office

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The holidays, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Birthdays - we all know that those time periods mean fresh flowers all around!

But did you know that there are actually health benefits to be had for keeping fresh flowers in your home?  This has even been the subject of research done by Nancy Etcoff, Ph.D. of Harvard and another study earlier done by Rutgers University.

1. Fresh Flowers Brighten Morning Moods

People who see fresh flowers in the morning tend to be in a better mood during the day.  All the more reason to plant that flower garden or keep some fresh flowers in your kitchen!  The kitchen is where families tend to be in the morning, but you can also have fresh flowers by your bed, or in your bathroom.  

2. Flowers are helpful as we age

Flowers have been shown to improve social interaction and memory in adults over 55 years of age.  So much so that in a study done on more than 100 seniors, 72% scored higher on memory tests.  While it might not be a holiday, sending Grandma and Grandpa fresh flowers helps more than just general disposition!

3. Flowers can help smooth interoffice relations

Another study concluded that having personal touches such as fresh flowers in your cubicle at work can contribute to a healthy work environment.  If you needed another reason, go ahead and get yourself that bouquet of flowers for your desk! 

4. Flowers chase away the blues

The Home Ecology of Flowers Study at Harvard found that people just simply felt less negative when being around flowers for extended periods of time.  People who live with flowers have less episodes of depression over-all as compared to people who do not.  All the more reason to keep a fresh cut bouquet on your dresser! 

5. Ordering fresh flowers means you can have all the benefits delivered to your door

If time is not something you have an abundance of, ordering from a local florist means you can have quality, artisan fresh designs brought right to you, fresh weekly if you so chose!  You will be supporting local business, and knowing that you are getting quality flowers that will last and help keep you happy and motivated during your busy week!

With that, send someone you love some fresh flowers to brighten their day!  You can even send them a blooming dish garden for long lasting flowers!

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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Designs by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children.  When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy).  While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!

5 Pieces of Advice to Aspiring Small Business Owners

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There are a lot of small businesses out there, and there is a lot of advice that can help you out.  Here are 5 tips for every small business to help you along your way!

1. Have a Business Plan

This can be very simple, or very detailed.  But it must make sure to take into account your projected expenses in materials and overhead (office space rent, utilities, pay roll for employees and yourself, and basic legal fees/permits you need to have, etc).  It is very important to set up the pricing on your services in such a way so that your business is making enough money to pay the bills, pay your staff (and yourself!), keep up inventory and have some extra to invest back into the business so it can grow!

2. Run at a Profit

While a lot of businesses start out at a loss, this is not the way you want to run your business forever.  As part of your plan, make sure to work out what you will need to do to be running in the black.  Set small goals for yourself to get up to that point so you don't get overwhelmed along the way.  Remember to celebrate the small victories and keep revising your plan as needed to get to where you are operating at a profit!

3. Set Realistic Goals

It is very easy to look at all the tasks at hand and feel like there is no way to get them all done.  Be sure to list out things you need to do on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis, and spread them out so you aren't thinking about them all every single day!  Focus on what you need to get done that day and do those things, then focus on the next set of tasks when it is time to do those.

4. Keep Track of Your Finances

While paperwork and filing can seem like the worst chore, it is so very important to keep all your records in order.  Maybe your business plan needs to include a very part-time assistant to help keep track of your paperwork.  Or your task lists need to include an hour or more each week to keep filing up to date.  But staying on top of things like this during the year means that at times like tax season or when you need to do any kind of business review, you have all the information you need documented and ready to go.

5. Remember Your Dream

Sometimes the mundane every day details of running a business can seem extremely mundane.  And sometimes the effort to go through all the little details can seem to be too much.  Or the glamour can fade once the hard work becomes clear.  Remember the dream you had that started you on this path and focus on that!  There isn't a worthy goal in the world that can be achieved without having to try at least a little.  Remember what got you going in the beginning and use that to get you out of bed each day and through all the less exciting tasks that will eventually get you to the successful business you have dreamed of!

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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Designs by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children.  When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy).  While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!

Why Every Small Business Should Have a Little Helper

Six months ago I opened my own flower shop here in Clearwater, FL.  Flowers have always had a huge part of my life, but what has been important to me now is also passing that on to my daughter.  She has been wonderful, helping a little bit around the shop on busy days like Mother's Day and for a few hours here and there after school.

I love getting to spend the extra time with her, though in addition to that, it enables me to pass on the art that I have learned, and the knowledge and experience of working in a business that all young adults should encounter and learn first-hand while growing up.  While I want her to learn and study the field she wants to become a professional in, it is good to learn lots of trades, and there are the basics to running a small business that are pretty much the same shop to shop.

There is something important about going to school or otherwise studying for a trade or a craft.  But there is a lot that goes into maintaining inventory, dealing with customers and using creativity in a professional way, just to mention some things, and the best way to really get an understanding of all of that is to be there and do it hands-on.

I think this is especially important for girls who are growing up in a world that is just now starting to crack glass ceilings and challenge wage inequality and beginning to really disregard gender role designated career paths.  There are so many opportunities out there for young women, and being educated and experienced puts them a step ahead and shows them that they have options.  Being able to give that to my daughter is extremely important. 

But it is also important for all young people who will be growing up and eventually running the small businesses and corporations of the world.  As has been said, it is important to teach your children well, but it is important to teach all children well.  

So while I love having my daughter with me in my shop helping out, and more importantly, learning, I wanted to take this week's blog to reflect on that.

Do you have a Little Helper?  Or are you where you are today because you were able to help out and learn when you were younger?  Let me know in the comments below!  I'm interested in hearing your story.

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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Designs by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children.  When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy).  While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!

Cute Animals Help With Party Planning

Planning a party doesn't have to be stressful! Here's a little cuteness to help you through at least the flower-planning part.

Planning a party starts off exciting, but sometimes can get a bit...

...but flowers are lovely! And this is supposed to be fun!

Come back! I said this was going to be fun!

No, not like this!

Flower planning should not be stressful!

A good florist can help you through. :)

And flower planning can be fun and relaxing so that you can enjoy your party!

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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Designs by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children.  When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy).  While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!

Upcycled Wedding Design Floral Ideas

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We all love to do our part to recycle and help save the environment.  Here are some fantastic ideas to incorporate sentimental upcycling into your wedding day to help reduce waste, cut down on your carbon footprint, and include personal touches that make your day even more special!

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1. Instead of a ribbon-wrapped bouquet, use strips of cloth from a piece of meaningful clothing.

We all have that one shirt we held on to from a departed loved one, or a dress that we were wearing the day we met that is now threadbare or otherwise never going to be worn again, or a special blanket or even a pair of socks with sentimental value.  You can ask your florist to cut the fabric into strips to use for ribbon and can even ask for flowers to be designed around the color palate of the fabric!

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2. Instead of ribbon for centerpiece accents, use either more upcycled fabric from the same piece, or use other articles of clothing or significant fabric to accent your reception tables and ceremony decorations.  You can also work with your wedding designer to use pieces as placemats or table runners in place of using new fabric for these things.

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3. For his boutonniere, instead of a fresh flower that will be crushed by the end of the day from countless hugging, look into making a fabric boutonniere from upcycled clothing of sentimental value.  A beautiful piece could be put together from an old blouse of a grandmother or mother or child.

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4.To make your bouquet extra-special, use old pieces of jewelry either from the time you were dating, or from a relative.  The pieces can be real or or even old costume jewelry.  And as many pieces are flower design based or floral influenced, you can even bring them in while determining the design for your day with your florist - a good florist will work with your vision to create the day of your dreams and can use pieces like this to come up with the perfect fresh flowers to use for your perfect day!

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5. While this isn't directly related to your flowers, it can still help to take one thing off your mind for your big day: that last detail of "something blue!"  Again, you can use an old piece of jewelry or fabric from a sentimental clothing item or blanket - and turn it into an accent on your garter, or a piece for your hair.  And again, your florist should be more than happy to incorporate a small item or token as a charm on your bouquet as a more subtle touch of blue!

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Bridget is the proud Owner of Flower Designs by Bridget, bringing European Certification and 20 years experience to Pinellas County, Florida, where she lives with her husband (Air Force, Ret.) and two children.  When she is not in her shop, you will find her enjoying a cup of Roiboos tea with her family and several cats and dogs (including one named Daisy).  While the holiday greens and decorations of December are her favorite, she looks forward to bringing you sunshine and smiles through flowers all year round!