La Petite Fleur Blog

Being lovely, lovely ladies of the full-time floral art world we often get asked what we do during the winter months and if we are ready for “Wedding Season” to begin in the spring. While May-November are our busiest months, we do keep very busy all year round with consultations, corporate events, holiday designing, home installations, daily orders {all about the metro}, sympathy designing, outdoor planters for all seasons, as well as the ever glorious wedding designing for those rebels whom choose to get hitched outside of the designated “Season.”

This year, we completed the most winter weddings in all of La Petite history and we LOVED it! We give a lot of this credit to the evolution of the wedding industry, which has proved that there is no “right” or “wrong” time to get married. As we are gearing up for 2012’s “season,” we have appreciated the minor slow down throughout our “off-season” {if we can really even call it that!} and are tending to our goosebumps of excitement that we have for all we have planned for our wonderful couples this year!

If you are reading this and have been contemplating booking a consult with us–do it. We are marvelous and would love to meet with you and be a part of your special day!

If you are reading this and have all ready booked with us for this year–congratulations!!! Your wedding is going to be dazzling and you can be sure that we are on the edge of our seats in anticipation for your day, just as much as you are!!!

If you are reading this and you are one of those people who have asked us about our “off-season,” we would like to share a few things that have been going on in the studio as of late.

~Daily Floral Designing

~2012 Wedding Consults

~Computer Work {a.k.a “accounting”}

~Blog Updates

~2012 Wedding Consults

~Welcoming New Studio Dog “Modoc” {Moe-Dock} Into Our Family!

~Computer Work {a.k.a “eye-ball exercises”}

~Uploading Current Work To Facebook

~Eating Cheese

~Cleaning The Rental Items

~Organizing The Rental Items

~Counting Candles

~Going For Walks {a.k.a “scouting out hot spots for our woodland needs for the year”}

~2012 Wedding Consults

~Computer Work {a.k.a “yelling questions and comments at each other from office to office}

~Getting Published! {check us out…we’ve been around….}

~Guest Blogging For National Industry Blogs

~Working Our Way Through The Entire Rusty Taco Menu {throughout the winter–we have tried them all. 1st place–Shrimp Taco, 2nd Place, Grilled Fish Taco}

~Cleaning The Studio

~Going To Market {a.k.a “buying lots and lots of amazing new rental items for this year!}

~Inventory {a.k.a “math is hard”}

~Consults, Consults, Consults……

~Computer Work, Computer Work, Computer Work……

~Cheese, Cheese, Cheese………

Ok, ok, ok….I think you get the idea–we are busy ladies and loving every minute of it! We thank you all for your love, support, and business throughout the year and would like to say, hold on to your seats folks–it’s going to be a great year!!

Jessica<>Carra

In honor of everyone back at work today after a marvelous weekend of sunshine and higher temperatures, I present to you a lovely event at the quaint Manitou Station to soften the blow of being back indoors after such a wonderful Minnesota weekend. Snowstorms one week, higher temps the next, and rain to follow–we Minnesotans just never know what to expect sometimes.

At La Petite Headquarters, we are definitely not complaining about the mild winter, our flowers are happy and deliveries and events have gone off with perfect precision this winter. This monochromatic wedding seemed like a dream to us. Since we are generally preparing for longer delivery commutes, extra wrapping for our fragile pretties, stocking hats, and the occasional need for long underpants–light jacket weather made us quite literally jump for joy!

Red was the obvious focus for this event, with pops of green tied into the bouquets with a little architectural veiling. The bouquets also donned a style we love to execute–signature flowers for all the bridesmaids. Each maid had a basing of red roses accented with their very own feature flower, while the bride held a collection of all the blooms used throughout the designs. This diversity is nothing short of a delightful visual snack for guests, and nothing pleases us more than creating wonderful conversation starters.

The reception was on the second level of Manitou Station, which is perfectly sized for an intimate reception where guests can mix, mingle, and celebrate the union of a loved couple. We fell in love with the bold red color scheme set against the white tables–lovely, lovely!

Not at all a bad way to start a day–Happy Monday!!!

La Petite Fleur Easter Table Bouquet Workshop

Springtime is about fresh beginnings and seeing color sprout into our generally frigid, Minnesota world again.  Join us for an evening full of bright, happy colors that will infuse your mind and body with the hope and welcoming of spring.

This workshop will be focusing on the how and why of color. Alongside your workshop patrons, you will create a table centerpiece to take home paired  with a new and fresh outlook on color, hues, tints, and tones.

Includes:

*All fresh supplies and hard goods (i.e. ribbon, wire, foam, tools, etc.)

*A hands-on demonstration and instruction on creating a table centerpiece along with a guiding knowledge of the color wheel and color selections important to floral design.

*A mini-color wheel guide for each participant.

*An evening snack, beverages, good music, and fun!

*Most important–you get to take home your design at the end of the workshop!

Workshop Date:  Thursday, April 5th from 6:30pm-9:00pm

Workshop Cost:  

$100 per person. Sign up yourself or a group today–a payment will secure your space in the workshop. Hurry–space is limited!

What you need to bring:

*Yourself-we also are encouraging you to dress in your favorite color/colors; Let’s have fun and light up the studio!

* Your camera if you would like to photograph your piece and/or the process, but you know we are also photo buffs and will most likely be shooting too!

We look forward to sharing the spirit of spring with you! Call or email to sign up today!

Jessica- jessica@lapetitefleurmn.com  612-578-2213

Carra- carra@lapetitefleurmn.com        651-402-3798

What a wonderful experience this wedding was to be a part of–from start to finish, I adored it. I opened my first email from Jane {bride} and was greeted by a very long list of “research” she had done on flowers and their meaning and/or significance. Colors, blooms, species….it was all there waiting for me and I must say, I was very intrigued to set up a consult with her.

First meetings can often be somewhat of an “interview of attitudes” and it was unclear to me, upon later reflection, just how long we had strayed from the wedding questionnaire to dive into a friendly competition of who had seen the 2005 version of the film “Pride and Prejudice” the most.  Pretty soon we found our selves talking about our favorite scenes, outfits, music, similarities to the book…………..

Jane wanted her wedding gown to mimic that of Mr. Bingley’s sister at the “White Ball” {which….it very much did….} and we sat there listening to the soundtrack, jointly deciding which tune would be best to walk down the aisle to. It was also important to Jane that her flowers “mean” something to her day. She wanted blooms that had significance and weight to them–basically, she wanted blooms that had a backbone to be historically significant.

We ended up using quite a few blooms off of her chosen list and adding a few blooms upon my suggestion as well. In the end we chose:

Myrtle–meaning Love, Mirth, and Joy. This foliage also holds importance to Mordechai’s {groom’s} Jewish heritage.

Orange Ranunculus–meaning Radiant

White Hydrangea–meaning Understanding

Yellow Tulip–meaning Hopelessly in love

Star of Bethlehem–meaning Purity

Mini-Pineapple–meaning Hospitality

Hellebore–Protection

Privat Berry–meaning a little more than one word. Privat Berry, historically, is said to increase the bodies “Yin”–yes, as in “Yin and Yang.” Or, I could also describe Yin and Yang as the idea of balance–without one, neither can exist {and hey…..in marriage…that sounds pretty much right where you want to be}

Jane and I ended our consult scouring her home for tiny vessels that would line the head table with candles to create a simple, elegant, and very “pride and prejudicey” look to the gorgeous Nicollet Island Inn’s decor.

The ceremony took place at the Sunken Garden at the lovely Como Park Conservatory, with a reception supper at the Nicollet Island Inn. Again, what a great experience. Looking at these blooms, knowing that each was selected because of importance really makes me love my job all that much more–we truly did accomplish “Pretty and Significant.”

Enjoy the blooms!

There is something about a winter wedding that makes me melt every time. It makes me think of hot cocoa, sparkling snow, and candlelight. This wedding was so wonderful to be a part of. We utilized many of the bride’s own elements, such as the birch rounds, and the decorative lanterns. Looking at these photo’s makes me wonder why more people do not opt for a winter betrothal–they are so romantic and magical! Enjoy this snow and nature inspired event!

How did you ring in the new year? I love NYE weddings–nothing like ringing in the new year right with all of those that are close to you. There were so many cute details integrated into this wedding; a whimsical 2012 photo booth, a collection of milk glass provided by the bride, personalized coasters, among many more wonderful things–including great florals, by us!

There are so many drop-dead fantastic venues in Minnesota but this one tears at my heart strings every time I step foot into this building. The James J. Hill Library is built in the Italian Renaissance style and was one of the last desires of Mr. Hill himself. The giant columns, made of Kettle River sandstone, add a masculine touch to the Great Reading Room–which I LOVE to pieces!!!!! If you are looking for a historically romantic venue–J.J Hill is where it’s at folks.

Said, Kettle River sandstone columns frame this room perfectly–uplighting is always a great choice in the Library.

To mimic the columns, we utilized Manzanita Branches in this centerpiece along with white stone and moss. Accented by hanging votives filled with wedding blooms. I also love the book table numbers–cute!

Manzanita altar pieces framed the wedding party and altar.

The lovely head table–antique bottles added a historical touch to the table centerpieces. Mixing the clear and brown bottles tied in the colors of the books that framed the Great Room.

The head table–romantic candlelight, antique bottles filled with wedding blooms, accented by a horizontal Manzanita branch. Also note the gorgeous leather bound chairs…how comfortable would you be if you could sit in those all night long? Ok, ok…..I’m a little more than enamored with this venue…..love!

Lovely bridesmaids bouquets were placed on the head table as well, along with the antique bottles. I love tablescapes–talk about creating a massive impact with simple and classy designs. Oh, James. J. Hill, you are wonderful.

What happens when you take 50 flats of wheat grass and the Landmark Center and put them together? One amazing wedding!

This wedding was elegant, whimsical, earthy, and above all–detailed. I think I see something new every time I look through this album and I love it! Take note of all the details and you will love it too!

Sometimes, when our clients are teeter-tottering between our wedding Tear-Down option we will bring this wedding up as an example. Just take a look at the amount of glassware used in this event–filled with water, mind you. In some eyes (mine), a tear down like this could be one of the best workouts one can have. When 3am finally rolled around and the cars were loaded down with the remainder of this product, two very tired ladies (us) headed back to the studio only to have to unload and clean every inch. Ahhhhh memories!

All joking aside, we absolutely love our job and would change nothing about it. And when the end product looks like this–why would you?! Enjoy!

Wufta! What an amazing year 2011 has been for La Petite Fleur Artistic Floral Design! We have had an amazing year, full of wonderful clients and amazing flowers. We cannot express the joy we feel each and every day we walk into the studio and get to work with beautiful product. Hopefully your year has been just as wonderful and full of amazing memories of family, friends, and of course flowers!

We would like to thank all of you for your support throughout 2011 and wish you many cheers from all of us at La Petite for a wonderful 2012!!

Thank you 2011 for all of the wonderful blessings–and HELLOOOOOO 2012–we are eager to begin designing for this year’s festivities!

Many thanks to all of you!

XOXO Carra and Jessica

We are so happy that we were asked to be guest bloggers for the wonderful Midwest wedding blog “A Northwoods Wedding”

Check out our guest post at this wedding infused site at www.anorthwoodswedding.com where we talk about the six top elements we love working into our fabulous weddings. While your there, browse the previous five days of Christmas and keep a lookout for the remaining day posts–we love this blog!

Thank you again to A Northwoods Wedding for asking us to be a part of your holiday special!

Much Love!

Jessica&Carra