The Bloomie Award Goes to…….Amanda and Jesse’s Wedding at Onteora Mountain House.

They were such a great couple to work with, and I am delighted to present them with their $100 prize, as well as a charitable donation in the same amount to their charity of choice, which is: The Capital District Community Gardens.  This is a wonderful charity, and I am so happy that Amanda and Jesse opened my eyes to it!   This organization is responsible for planting gardens and trees, coordinating veggie trucks, and food drives in under served areas.  To visit their website please go to http://www.cdcg.org

There were so many wonderfully beautiful weddings this year, but in the end this wedding received the most comments, especially on our Facebook page.  Please look for the same contest next year, which may include a few new categories.  It was such a pleasure working with all of our couples this year!  Thank you to all who participated!!!!

~Heather

It’s official, A Night in Bloom is moving on to a new, bigger and better studio space!!!!!!!  We will no longer be a home-based operation, however we will continue to work from a studio to keep our rates affordable.

The new location is at 77 Cornell Street inside the Shirt Factory, Kingston’s only community of creative space artist’s lofts.  This building is located directly across from the Kingston Post Office.  I have been shopping for the ideal studio space for so long, and when I saw this space on the ground floor, I knew I had found the right location!  For those of you who have never been inside this historic building, it is fabulous!  There is no way you can overlook the exposed brick walls, hardwood floors and 14 foot ceilings.  If you would like further information about this property or other similar properties check out: http://www.artistworkspace.com.

There are a host of talented artists, musicians and photographers here, in fact directly across from my suite is Keith Ferris Photo, who does beautiful wedding work!  Check out his work at http://www.keithferrisphoto.com.  As if this weren’t good enough, there is also a large light filled studio for rent by the day, right down the hallway from my suite (and super affordable!).  This space may be rented for rehearsal dinners, showers and just about any other type of function you can think of.  Although I haven’t had a chance to meet all of my neighbors in this community I see that there are businesses such as a yoga studio, craftsmen, stained glass artists, performing artists, and so many, many others.  Talk about an inspiring work space!!  I could not be happier with this location!

Now that we finally have more space we will be offering a few new services; among them will be DIY hours, by the bunch flowers, workshops, lectures, parties, and our rental offerings will continue to expand.  Please stay tuned for even more in the months and year to come.  If you are not already on our e-mail list, Facebook, or Twitter pages now would be a good time to get in touch if you would like to be kept up to date on our most exclusive deals and events.

We hope to be up and running by January 1st.  Pictures will be coming as soon as the renovations are completed!  I can’t even begin to say thank you enough to those of you who have encouraged me and continue to help me to realize my dreams.  There are no words….

After a very long wedding season, I finally gave birth to my baby girl, Violet Grace on 10/20/10, weighing 8 lbs. 13 ozs. and measuring 20 inches.  And yes, of course I named my daughter after a flower!  It was between naming her Charlotte (after the red rose with the same name) and Violet through my entire pregnancy.  I think the name really suits her sweet “go with the flow” personality.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Violet flowers, they are some of the sweetest you will find.  Not only are they delightfully feminine and petite, they are also used to adorn cakes and pastries and for making violet syrup.  Violets are used in many French candies, for wine making, and medicinal purposes.

Violets have been cultivated since 500 B.C. or earlier. The Ancient Greeks considered these flowers to be symbols of fertility and love, and used them to concoct love potions.

Violet flowers are considered a symbol of modesty.  Both Greek and Roman Mythology tell the tale of one of the Goddess Diana’s nymph friends being chased unrelentingly by Diana’s twin brother Apollo.  The nymphs had all sworn to stay maidens, so Diana turned the nymph into a Violet flower to protect her.  There are plenty of other myths out there associated with Violets, but I think this one is my favorite.

Violets have religious significance as well.  They are associated with Mary and modesty, the religious name Viola Odorata is our Lady’s Modesty.  Violets denote spiritual wisdom, humility and faithfulness.  These meanings make Violets the ideal flower to give for a 50th Wedding Anniversary.

It is said that when one dreams of Violets, this is a sign of success and moving ahead in life.

HUGE THANKS to everyone for all the encouraging e-mails, thoughtful gifts, and cards through my pregnancy and for our sweet girl’s arrival!!!!

David and Michelle were such a great couple!  I think these two were even busier than I was in the year leading up to their wedding.  However Michelle always made me smile with her funny e-mails throughout the sometimes stressful planning process. For sentimental reasons they opted to “tweak” the all-inclusive package to include only purple and white flowers, which I was more than happy to do for them.  I loved working with these purple hued Carnations and the bright apple green accents of the Bupleurem and Hypericum berries!  Congratulations David and Michelle, may you have nothing but the best in the years to come!