All Grown up....

...at least she thinks she is. Today is Abbey's 5th Birthday, and oh is she sassy.
Friday night we went to dinner and Abbey insisted on paying for her own dinner. She asked the waitress for her own bill. When it was time to pay she spent the $10 Aunt Bobbie gave her for her birthday last year. She had been holding on to this $10 bill for a whole year. When the change was brought back to her she gave the waitress a dollar tip, plus a handful of change out of her purse. How funny is she. Today she is telling everyone that it is her real birthday, because yesterday (the day of her party) was her fake birthday.

Spicy- Colors!

Had a little time today to play around with Publisher. I am trying to come up with a new way to present some of the blog entries. So, here is another look at Martina & Ryan from last fall.
Here are some of the professional pics from k-gallery.
Thanks to Melissa from Masterpiece Weddings for some pointers.

Husband Years????

Husband years, is a new term I have come up with. It is similar to Dog Years. Terry and I were just talking about it this morning, and he defined it as 10 to 1. (Interesting how things are perceived differently.) So for every actual year, he thinks of it as 10 years. For example.....If I were to say we have been married for 7 years, my husband would say it feels like 70 years. Depending upon the topic of conversation husband years could be either good or bad. Does anyone have any good examples of Husband Years?

Kristin & Taylor Part: 3

Reception details:

For the cocktail tables we used square vases, with roses, fuji mums & curly willow.

To add a little teal to the reception, we used led lights in the bottom of the vases. Some overall views of the Spanish Court. Notice the fabric hanging. Once again Susan's idea, but up to me to figure out how to hang it.
A gorgeous cake from Kathy at KB Kake Kreations.
This wedding was truly a labor of love and worth every minute of it.

Kristin & Taylor Part: 2

Here are some of the details from their wedding....

We lined the aisle with kissing balls made of carnations, button mums, ivy, wax flower & green amaranthus. After the ceremony the kissing balls were moved to the outside cocktail area.

Here is a close up:The ceremony was held outside under the oak tree at The Thomas Center. Susan had a vision to hang fabric from the tree.....guess who got to do the hanging and climb in the tree....yeah me, with a little help from one of the wedding guests. The fluid movement of the fabric was an incredible back drop.

Kristin & Taylor: Part I

I had the honor of providing flowers for Kristin & Taylor's wedding in March of this year. This wedding was special to me for many reasons....Kristin is the daughter of my friends Susan & Stewart.......Taylor was one of the photographers at my wedding.....and I was given creative license. We based everything off Kristin's personality and the dress that Kristin had created. What colors go with Teal? Well in this case burgundy & lime green. I know it sounds odd. Many people looked at me funny when I would describe it, but I think it truly turn out wonderful.

Kristin's bouquet was made of roses, spray roses, green amaranthus, wine Calla lily, James Storey orchids, kangaroo paws & some beading.

Ceremony: Thomas Center
Reception: Thomas Center
Photographer: Tony Munoz & Powers Photography
Florist: Us
Caterer: Stewart's Catering
Cake: KB Kake Kreations

Natasha & John

Natasha & John were wed in June at Trinity United Methodist in the glass chapel. Their colors were burnt orange, red & brown. The bride's bouquet was made of lilies, gerbera daisy, rose & spray rose. The bridesmaids were made of red & orange gerbera daisy.

The centerpieces was a mix of flowers in a 6" bubble bowl and mosaic candle holders we rented to the bride.
This piece was for the center of the buffet.

Ceremony: Trinity United Methodist
Reception: Paramount Plaza Hotel
Photographer: Scott Paris
Florist: Us

Believe it or Not!

Just saw this online and thought I'd share....
Bride's bouquet brings down plane
The wedding tradition of throwing a bride's bouquet for luck proved to be unlucky at one Italian wedding when the bride's bouquet caused a plane to explode and crash in Montioni Park in Suvereto, Tuscany.
According to a report by the BBC, the bride and groom hired a small plane to fly over the wedding reception and throw the bouquet to the female guests. But instead of falling to the ground, the bouquet was sucked into the plane's engine, causing it to catch fire and explode, the story said. Then the plane crashed into a hostel, where about 50 people escaped unharmed, as did the pilot.
Isidoro Pensieri, 44, who had the job of throwing the bouquet from the plane, was reportedly the only person hurt in the incident. She suffered fractures and a head injury and was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Grosseto, the story said.

Amanda & Joe

Amanda & Joe had a picture perfect wedding at Bay Laurel, in historic Micanopy. It was my first trip to Bay Laurel and it was breath taking. No one was dressed yet when I arrived, so I only took a few quick shots of the aisle markers.

Kathy at KB Kakes sent me this stunning picture of the cake she created for Amanda & Joe.

Ceremony & Reception: Bay Laurel
Photographer: Footstone Photography
Florist: Us
Caterer:
Cake: KB Kake Kreations
Planner: A'vie

Expecting Moms

Here are some super cute imptintable invitation we recetly ordered from Daisy Princess Paperie.

Flowers & Fruit

A great way to add some interest to your flowers arrangements is to add fruit. Over the years we have worked with lemons, limes, apples, cranberries, oranges and others. For Morgan & Roberts wedding we used limes & green apples. Which were perfect with their wedding colors of Ivory & Green. For their afternoon wedding at The Herlong Mansion we used Calla Lilies & Hydrangea for their centerpieces. The Groom's mom sent me a wonderful message:

Betsy- just a short note to say "everything was beautiful." There were many compliments on the floral arrangements, centerpieces and everything flowery. And I'm eating green apples and having plenty of limes for my sweet tea.

Thanks for all of your help to make a memorable day for Morgan and Robert and their family and friends...

Vickie

Ceremony & Reception: Herlong Mansion in Micanopy
Photographer: LiveEye
Florist: Us
Caterer: Custom Caterers
Cake: Leila Dylla

July 4th

Wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July.

Birthday wishes to my father-in-law, Russell.

We are glad to have him back for a few weeks before he ends his second Tour of Duty in Iraq.

Eavan & Abbey

Eavan spent the night this past weekend. Saturday night they went down to the Duck pond at NFR. Here is how they dressed to feed the ducks. Notice that Rascal had to join in the pic.

10 Years!!!!

June 28th, 1999 was my first day as owner of The Plant Shoppe. It has been 10 fun, long, aggravating, exciting and wonderful years. I would like to thank everyone who has supported me in the venture, especially my family, friends & customers. I have had many adventures over the years and I look forward to many more.

Brittany & Ross

Brittany & Ross were wed a few weeks ago. Pink & Ivory were the colors of the day. I decided to do a picture collage, with a little help from Sarah. I love the cakes that Ms. Debbie created, and they smelled SOOOO good. I guess we are lucky that Abbey wasn't there to take a bite. I received this nice note from Brittany's Mom the day after the wedding.....
Betsy ----- The flowers for Brittany's wedding were incredible!!! The church was lovely, the girls' bouquets were exquisite and there aren't enough adjectives to describe the reception flowers!! Thank you for making Brittany's wedding flowers the picture of perfection!! ---Cindy

Ceremony: 1st United Methodist of Gainesville
Reception: Haile Plantation Golf & Country Club
Photographer: Jamie Smith
Florist: Us
Caterer: Haile Plantation Golf & Country Club
Cake: Ms. Debbie

We are "OPEN"

So, after being in our location for over a year now, I finally purchased and put up an "OPEN" sign. Aren't you proud of me??? I know I am. Now we just have to remember to change it to closed, when we are gone.

Dash for the Dress

Brittany a Bridal Consultant at Solutions Bridal wanted me to let you know about a really exciting event they are having June 27th, 2009 from 8am-Noon. It is the 1st Annual Dash for the Dress. It is a huge Charity Bridal Sample Sale they are having at Solutions. Designer dresses will be anywhere from $99-$699 (valued up to $5000)! They will also have some bridesmaids and mother of the bride dresses on sale as well. It will be cash only and they are encouraging brides to get there early because dressing rooms will be limited. And that is not the only exciting part...A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation!

Abbey's First Recital

Abbey participated in her first dance Recital last weekend. She did ballet as well as a cheer leading routine. Here she is in her fancy costumes:

How about that high jump.

Happy Blogiversary!!!

Happy Blogiversary to me. I have made it a whole year and only had a few gaps in the blog. I am very excited that I was able to share so much with my viewers. Thank you for checking us out.

I just got done delivering the personal flowers to my bride today, and I have to share what happened. I was a little starstruck in the elevator at the hotel. I shared my elevator ride with Joakim Noah. Wow is he tall. We chatted a little about flowers and wished my bride good luck. For those of you who are not FLORIDA GATOR BASKETBALL fans, he was on the National Championship teams, and currently plays for the CHICAGO BULLS. Too bad, I didn't have a marker, I could have had an autographed bouquet to present to the bride.

BLUEBERRY Picking

Last weekend we went drove out to Earlton to pick blueberries, with some friends of ours. 14lbs and a million mosquito bites later we went home. Here is Abbey & Alison.

Rachel worked on the middle sections of the bushes.

PS. Happy 39th Anniversary to my parents Bill & Becky.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Just wanted to wish my hubby a HAPPY BIRTHDAY today.

The Landscaping

By popular demand....Here is the finished landscaping for Emily & Paul. A big shout out goes to the landscaping crew for all their help. What a difference a few plants make. Just goes to show you curb appeal really works. Let's just hope they keep it watered.

Along with this area we also planted in a few other areas. Here is the crew:

Summer Photocards

If you click the image you will see a larger version.

Check them out

http://www.theplantshoppe.cceasy.com/

Abbey as Flower Girl

Here she is, when we first got her dressed. Doesn't she know she looks cute.
Here she is, going down the aisle. Notice the kissing ball and halo, both requested by the flower girl.As part of the Dynamic Duo, here is Abbey and Emma singing to the guests with their version of Twinkle, Twinkle little star, and All The Single Ladies, by Beyonce. Where is the video camera when you need it?

Em & Paul: Part 2

Here are a few of the detail from their wedding. Instead of traditional favors, a candy bar was set up as the centerpiece in the main room. We provided a stunning floral piece to sit on the mantel as the backdrop for the candy. All the kids (especially the big ones) loved the candy. I know Abbey filled up three bags. Em & Paul used one of their engagement pictures as a sticker to put on the outside of the bag.

The cake was made by Aunt Laura, out of a family recipe. Chocolate cake, with a chocolate coffee icing. A small one was made for the "cutting" additional ones were cut in the kitchen and served to the guests.

Here is our Arbor, with flower pockets dangling with flowing ribbon.

Here is a close up of the pockets. Smaller pockets were put on Sheppard's hooks and used to line the aisle.

Em & Paul's Day

First I thought I would share a shot of Em helping me make some of her flowers. She along with Teri, Mike, Sarah, my mom & my dad put together all of her flowers.

Here she is with her Uncle Matt on rehearsal day. (Don't you love the practice bouquet I put together for her.)

Here they are walking down the steps toward Paul.

Here is everyone standing under the arbor during the ceremony. Can you tell that Abbey has heard enough? Last time she was a flower girl she sat down during the ceremony, before joining me in a pew. This time she stayed up there, but she played with everything.....Em's dress, her kissing ball, and the flowers on the arbor. At one time she flung the kissing ball over she shoulder. I guess we were lucky it stayed together so nicely.
Not a cloud in the sky. What a perfect day for a perfect couple.
Paul sported a bout of stephanotis. Emily carried a bouquet of stephanotis, roses, spray roses, antique green hydrangea, hypericum berries with a few salal leaves. The stems were wrapped in antique white ribbon, and pinned with an antique brooch we picked up one weekend.

Ceremony & Reception: Phillippi Estate Park
Photographer: Dawn McKinstry
Florist: Us
Caterer: Michael's on East
Cake: Aunt Laura, with a favorite family recipe

Abbey's Graduation!!

No she isn't old enough to be graduating from High School, she only acts like it. In the middle of our weekend away in Sarasota, Terry and Abbey drove back up, so Abbey could participate in her graduation from VPK (Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten.) Don't worry they made it back in time for her to walk down the aisle as flower girl.