A Fall Affair...

Simply put... Exquisite.

Stephanie and Nick were wed in an outdoor ceremony at Rotary Park. Their reception followed at the Best Western in Brookfield.

I was thrilled with the way the flowers turned out. Then we delivered them, and I was utterly speechless. Stephanie and Nick didn't overlook a single detail. Bails of hay and pumpkins flanked the aisle way, twinkle lights were strewn from the ceiling, the fireplace was embellished with curly willow designs, and Stephanie's dad even brought fall leaves in to grace the pavilion floor.

On a personal note, this was about the 3rd or 4th wedding that Nell and I have had the privilege to work on together. We have hit the ground running as a new floral design force and are quite excited for the new things to come... Stay tuned for some really awesome stuff...

Bright and Sassy...

Corrine and Shane were wed at Milwaukee's own Saint Hedwig Church on the corner of Brady and Humboldt. Their reception was at the Humphrey Scottish Right Center.

Corrine wore a lovely cream dress and chose to carry a cream bouquet crafted from lilies and roses.

Corrine chose blue chiffon dresses for her girls and opted for lime green and fuchsia flowers.. The flowers included green hydrangea, fuchsia spray roses, and lime green cymbidium orchids.

The guys wore single cymbidium boutonnieres and moms and grand moms wore spray roses and green hydrangea.

The church pews were adorned with three luxe roses and satin ribbon.

Samples For Soumya

Soumya is just lovely... she is one of our 2009 brides. The ceremony and reception will be a wonderful blend of Indian and American traditions hosted at the Über modern Milwaukee Art Museum.

From the start, Soumya made it clear that this was not to be a typical Indian wedding in tones of golds and reds with flowers everywhere. Instead, Soumya explained that she wanted a vibrant and highly stylized setting with minimal flower embellishments.

Her color palette (OMG, I LOVE IT) is Turquoise and Orange. We are going to custom design a Mandap for the ceremony. Again, keeping with the minimalist perspective, the Mandap will likely not be adorned with flowers, instead, we will use fabric that is interesting by itself and craft unique embellishments with fabric... Stay tuned for The Making Of...

Following the traditional ceremony, the Milwaukee Art Museum will be transformed into a vibrant reception facility that will hold some 300+ guests.

Soumya is a visual person, like myself, and I offered to craft a few samples for her to see what options are available. This is what I came up with. Enjoy...

An Under-Glass design composed of natural birch branches, white river rocks, and tangerine Asiatic lilies staged in a 26" x 6" glass cylinder vase.

Top View

Side Close Up

Full Profile

Natural Birch Branches and Orange Eufloria Ballade Roses arranged in a glass cylinder vase embellished with glass marbles. To add more color to the branches, I adhered rose petals to the birch branches.

Full view

Close-Up of roses

Flowertini - Orange Asiatic Lilies, and Allegra Spray Roses were among the mix for this design. To embellish the vase, rose petals, and faux Chinese lantern flowers filled the stem of a glass martini vase.

Heidi and Todd... Dreams Really Do Come True

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Heidi, Todd, or Roy (Heidi's Father).

I was excited to see Heidi and Todd Begin their life together, but saddened to see the event come and go, as we no longer would have design elements to bounce around.

Heidi is indescribable. Intelligent, Witty, a visionary... she fluttered into my shop with Todd and a breath of fresh air followed her. She knew exactly what she wanted, yet I could sense trepidation as she explained her vision...

It was only after we established a rapport that I learned other florists weren't understanding her vision... it was too out-of-the-box for them to get their heads around... Instead of finding unique ways to orchestrate it, they were trying to manipulate her ideas into things they were comfortable creating...

I was just blown away, I was starry-eyed at how forward-thinking and stunning the whole concept was. I was immediately captivated by the wonderful juxtapositions Heidi desired.
Luxurious flowers like cymbidiums, lady slipper orchids, and stephanotis, paired with woven bear grass and crinkly bullion wire... ingenious... I was happy to oblige.

Roy accompanied Heidi to our final 'fitting' to sample the flowers. We spent about 3 hours tweaking the details and I couldn't' have had more fun....

I don't claim to be a religious person, but I do jokingly pray to the 'flower gods' when we need a hail mary in the 4th quarter. Heidi really really wanted Lady Slipper orchids in her bouquet... This was tricky b/c we were nearing the end of their prominent season. In the 9th hour, 3 gorgeous Lady Slipper Orchids arrived from a supplier in Chicago... I chalk this success up to good Karma :)

Here is a sampling of pictures (professional ones to follow) as well as the wonderful thank you Heidi sent me...

"We just got home from Milwaukee and are about to veg out on the couch but I just had to write and say thank you so very much!!! I didn't get your email until today so I didn't realize that you weren't coming back and I kept looking for you!!! I was ready to kiss you!!! Everything looked perfect and it was even better than my wildest dreams!!! If you EVER need a reference you send them my way!!! :c) I am waiting to see all of my pictures and if I have some nice ones of the room I'm going to submit them somewhere, as long as that's okay with you. I think that everyone should get to see how wonderful of a job you did. Everything was absolutely perfect!!! So I just wanted to say thank you very much for a job well done and I will send pics when I get them. I'm sure that I will be in touch again and thank you so very much!!!
Love,
Heidi and Todd Schmidt"

Heidi's Bouquet - stephanotis, lady slipper orchids, white mini calla lilies, bear grass, and bullion wire

The Ceremony Design - and archway adorned with ivy, dendrobium orchids, wire, crystal, and fabric The floral designs flanking the archway - crafted from green goddess calla lilies, white dendrobium orchids, and ivy

The place card table, linens by BBJ, graced with three rectangular vases with sculptural black forest calla lilies

1/2 of the table centers were graced by two tall cylinder vases adorned with full stems of cymbidium orchids, bullion wire, LEDs and crystals. The other half had 6 vases of varying height with callas, orchids, and stephanotis blooms.

The head table was embellished with a plethora of vases of varying sizes. Each vase contained 1 of 3 designs, they either had dendrobium orchids floating beneath a candle, flax leaves segmented and embellished with a floating candle, or miniature cymbidium orchids adorned with bullion wire. For heightened drama, we added copious amounts of votive candles... my take on candles... either forgo them, or use enough that it really has an impact. We opted for the latter.

A sampling of one of the designs on the head table

La Piece De Resistance - The Cake Table...

Whoa nelly... I have nothing more to say... I cannot take credit for the concept... just creating the product. Heidi found this in a magazine... 5 vases of varied heights supporting 5 cakes of varied diameter. Each vase housed LEDs, wire, crystals, and orchids, orchids, orchids... YUM!

Hollywood via The Intercontinental

Kari-Lynn and Bill chose to marry their diverse to create one glamorously contemporary affair.
Calling upon Bill's love of Asian color and design and Kari's lust for all things glam, the event was rich with texture and color.

Among the flower selections, Roses, anthurium, and orchids. Embellishments included feathers, and crystals.

The ceremony was held at the art gallery int he Intercontinental, with cocktails to follow in the Zen Den. Finally, the party moved upstairs to Kilawat for many courses of fine dining Kari-Lynn and Bill Style.

Here are some pictures of the event, professional pictures from A and A to follow.

Themmes Wedding

Sneak Peek at the Jen and Warren's wedding. More photos to follow...

They were married outside the Milwaukee County Park System's Miller Room with their reception to following inside.

They chose a unique palette of Green, Black, and White. The flowers included hydrangea, roses, miniature roses, and hypericum berries.

Launch Party at Miss Ruby Boutique

This past week was insanely busy. Starting with the launch party at Miss Ruby Boutique, showcasing Delanie Couture's new line of Party and Bridesmaid Dresses.

Muscari donated the flowers. Erin and Delanie had a romantic vision for the event so we crafted a number of pieces. Below are some highlights, including green carnation orbs and single miniature cymbidium blooms.

Catherine & Jesse - A Fall Affair

This event definitely places in my top 5. Catherine and Jesse really wanted to keep the impact of their event to a minimum, yet still create a warm and inviting atmosphere for their guests.

The ceremony was held at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center with a reception to follow at The Radisson North Shore.


For their flowers, they selected seasonal varieties including rover mums, sunflowers, mint sprigs, green garden variety hydrangea, red and orange roses, gerbera daisies, asiatic lilies (orange, yellow and red), celosia, chocolate cosmos, yellow zinnias, curly willow, button yarrow, and viking pom poms.

Catherine chose items that could be purchased locally or from California that were grown in a responsible and sustainable fashion.

Catherine also opted to rent vases from Muscari furthering increasing the events Eco-Friendly elements. Finally, we even used flowers from Catharine's family farm. They harvested Green hydrangea, lambs ear, and mint for the event.


Here are a few pictures from the wedding... A wonderful bevy of autumnal beauty and texture.
Enjoy...

Lambries Update

As promised, the professional pictures from Tanya and Andrew's wedding have arrived. Here are a few that I especially enjoyed.

To view the original blog entry, click here

Tanya and Andy waiting out a brief shower

The bridal party in front of the amazing Greek Orthodox Church

Tanya's Bouquet - Clutch style crafted from cymbidium orchids, roses, and wax flower

The table centers - Simple and fun a floating candle accented with decorative wire and rose petals

Cake by -

Kuchnia Update!

Morgan was kind enough to share some of the professional pics with us...

Enjoy....

The whole crew!

'Love Sweet Love' Their Candy Table

Montegue Event - Sunday Brunch

The Montegue's had reason to celebrate this fine Sunday morning. Natalie and her family traveled all the way from Arkansas to Christen their daughter in the presence of family here in Milwaukee.

They followed the ceremony with a wonderful brunch at Milwaukee's own Roots Restaurant. Here are a few pics from the event.

For the floral selections, white hydrangea, cymbidium orchids, seeded eucalyptus, white roses and heather.

Don't forget, if you have a special event, large or small, we are happy to design custom floral designs for you.

Creating a Wedding (or event) Budget

This has become such a taboo subject it seems. It's just money. It is what it is, and I highly recommend not getting worked up about it. If you approach it in a logical manner, it isn't the hideous monster that most make it out to be.

The benefits to crafting a detailed budget are innumerable. Your budget will keep you organized, provide clarity when it is time to make hard and fast decisions, it will also help your vendors guide you to get the most bang for your buck. That being said, there are certainly better ways to approach crafting an event budget than others.

For starters, have a heart to heart with those involved with the planning process/paying for the event (significant other, your parents, your in-laws -to-be); talk specifics. How much money is everyone contributing? What elements are really important to you and your partner? Are there any special elements the parents would like you to consider incorporating?

This can be an awkward discussion, but necessary none-the-less. To facilitate the process, be sure to express your sincere appreciation of every one's desire to contribute to your special day. This is also a good time to set boundaries for how much input will be needed (read tolerated) from parents as far as design/planning ideas are concerned...(next blog topic?, I think so)

If your meeting was successful, you will have a round number in terms of overall monies available for the event and clear boundaries/roles will have been set for all concerned parties.

With this little chit chat out of the way, you and your partner should discuss your list of priorities. Here's a good starting point...

___Attire/Formal wear
___Baker
___Caterer
___Florist
___Invitations
___Lighting Firm
___Linens
___Music
___Number of Guests Invited
___Planning Help
___Photographer
___Reception Venue

By no means all-inclusive, this list serves to set you on the right path. Replicate the list, adding any elements you wish to consider. Once your list is complete, take time to assign a numeric value to each aspect of your event to denote its rank; use 1 for your top priority, 2 for your next priority and so on. Once you have done this, you are well on your way to crafting an event budget.

Now it is time to allocate monies to each facet of your event. I prefer using a percentage range system; while it is a slightly more difficult to track, it allows for greater flexibility.

In a perfect world where all elements were created equal, an ideal budget would breakdown as follows:

Catering/Bakery - 15-30%
Ceremony/Reception Site Fees - 5-10%
Fashion (bride/groom only)- 5-10%
Flowers/Decor - 12-15%
Lighting - 5-10%
Linens - 5-10%
Misc. (gratuities, planners, etc.)- Less than 10%
Music - 5-10%
Photography - 5-15%
Printed Material - 5-10%

That being said, this is where your priority list comes in. Allocate monies first to those elements of your event that matter most. For instance, if you aren't as concerned about the venue for your reception, but you want killer decor embellishments... you may choose to select a less expensive venue and spend more on flowers, linens, and lighting.

Or, perhaps you have your eye on a killer couture gown that tips the scales on your fashion budget (requiring 8% of the overall budget) if that is what is important to you, splurge on the dress and allocate less monies elsewhere... Get it? Got it? Good... now go allocate!!!

Next you'll want to meet with vendors to acquire written estimates. This is a great time to express your wants and desires, including your budgeting requirements. If you are uneasy about providing a concrete number, at least give a range with no more than $1000 between the high and low numbers. I can't speak for all vendors, but I will tell you this...

When I meet with a client, the first things we discuss are event vision and BUDGET! The reason for discussing budget specifics isn't so I can charge exactly that amount, it merely allows me to help each couple make design decisions that will meet their budget requirements and still look stunning for their special day. My goal is to be sure my clients get the most value for their budget.

Remember, crafting a Wedding/Event budget doesn't have to be overwhelming and awkward. Approach the situation logically and be honest with all involved parties (including vendors). There are no hard and fast rules for weddings these days; instead, you should craft an event that truly speaks to your personal style yet fits within your budget.

Cheers!
s.

Motor Yacht Blue Moon

Motor Yacht Blue Moon is a nearly 200' luxury ship suited for both warm and cold climates. She traveled up the East coast this summer and through the locks of the Great Lakes and made her way to Lake Michigan. During the months of July and August, she docked here in Milwaukee with occasional trips to the windy city.

Muscari had the distinct privilege to provide exclusive floral designs for the ship. Throughout July and August, we tailored three sets of Ship-Wide Floral Decor. Here are a few of the designs for your enjoyment.

Kuchnia Wedding - Aug 2009

What can I say...

Morgan was just a doll to work with. Her vision was Modern and Chic with an emphasis on her love of all things yellow.

Morgan's ceremony took place at a lovely church in Whitefish Bay with the Reception in the Harbor Lights Room on Michigan Avenue in Downtown Milwaukee.

We decorated Morgan's Cake with Double Yellow Tulips from California (Veriflora Certified) and bear grass.

Half of Morgans Table Centers utilized Rented (eco-friendly option) Julep Cups filled with white hydrangea, white roses, and white carnations.

The other half of Morgan's table centers were graced by carnation orbs one sitting atop a 26" in rented cylinder (again, eco-freindly element of the wedding) and one resting right on the table.

Frazer Wedding - July 2009

Amanda and Will found a way to create their dream wedding and incorporate meaningful aspects at every turn.

The ceremony and reception were held at The Humphrey Scottish Rite Masonic Center located on Van Buren Street in Milwaukee.

The color palette included Deep Blue, Silver, and White.

The flowers selected included Blue Hydrangea, White Roses, and Blue Thistle.

Flower girl Pomanders crafted from blue hydrangea, white spray roses, purple spray aster and blue thistle

The bridal bouquet, crafted from white roses and blue hydrangea

Maids' bouquets white roses, deep blue hydrangea, and blue thistle

The cake was topped with tufts of light and deep blue hydrangea

Bauer Wedding - July 2009

Lani & Tim
July 26

Ceremony - Old Saint Mary's Milwaukee, WI
Reception - Silver Spring Country Club

Lani and Tim have a very special place in my heart.
Lani became a good friend throughout the planning process.

Lani's vision was bright and vibrant with an eye for the unique.

Included in her design plan were hydrangea, gerbera, gumphrena, button pom poms, orchids, nerine lilies and dianthus.

All Photos by Ari Rosenthal Photography
http://arirosenthalphotography.com/

Scmid Wedding - July 2008

Trisha & Franz
July 12, 2008

Ceremony - O'Donnell Park, North Garden, Milwaukee, WI
Reception - Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, Milwaukee, WI

Flower selections included cymbidium orchids, sweet peas, bouvardia, roses and dendrobium orchids.

We created the wedding bouquet using cymbidium orchids, white dendrobium orchids, bouvardia, and white and fuchsia sweet peas. To add meaning to the bouquet, the stems were wrapped with Swiss satin. Trisha's mother's cameo served played double-duty as a wonderful embellishment to the stem wrap and as Trisha's 'Something Borrowed.'

The maids' bouquets were created using fuchsia dendrobium orchids, Efloria's 'Anuschka' roses, sweet peas and miniature calla lilies. Trisha chose to add rhinestone monogram pendants to each of her maids bouquets.

To embellish the arch design at the ceremony, we incorporated all of the flowers used for the bridal bouquets to craft two pieces, one for each corner. This picture shows a close up of one of the arch designs.
At the reception venue, Trisha chose a mixture of elevated table designs as well as lower candlelight designs. This picture shows the elevated designs created using fuchsia dendrobium orchids, pink astilbe, and pink veronica.

As a cake topper, Trisha requested a simple mound of cymbidium orchids.

Hudson Wedding - July 2008

Quita & Darren
July 11, 2008

Ceremony - Calvary Presbyterian Church
Reception - Bradley Pavilion, Marcus Center for the Performing Arts

Quita, self-admittedly, isn't a 'girlie girl,' yet she found herself drawn to the irresistible glow of 'Bubblegum' dresses. To embellish the bubble gum theme, the flower selection included Revival & Polar Star Roses by Eufloria, pink cymbidium orchids, pink blush dendrobium orchids, and white fuji mums.

The wedding bouquet was crafted using 20 stems of Eufloria's Revival rose. The stem was finished with a partial wrap and embellished with pearl pins.

The table centers were created using three vases with the flowers designed 'under glass.' This style of design is typically referred to as 'Breakaway.' Two cymbidium orchids sat nestled amid swirls of bear and lily grass with a fuchsia wire accent. The taller cylinder housed 2 fuji mums with bear grass accents and pink blush dendrobium orchids floated beneath silver bullion wire and a floating candle.

The toss away bouquet was created using 3 polar star roses with their outer petals tinted dusty rose. Dusty miller was used to add texture. Sitting next to the toss away bouquet are pink cymbidium orchids waiting to grace the cake.

Klink Wedding - July 2008

Stephanie & Peter

July 5, 2008

Ceremony - Saint Roberts - Shorewood, WI

Reception - The Astor Hotel - Milwaukee, WI

Flower Selection:

Wedding Bouquet - White Polar Star, Raspberry, and Pink Roses from Eufloria; Picasso and Red Magic Miniature Calla Lilies embellished with Italian Ruscus.

Maids Bouquets - White Polar Star, Raspberry, and Pink Roses from Eufloria and Yellow Tulips embellished with Italian Ruscus

Railing Embellishments for the Church's Exterior -

Raspberry and White Polar Star Eufloria roses complimented with English ivy, seeded eucalyptus, and simple bows tied from Swiss Satin.

Table Centers for the reception - Sitting atop 32" pilsner vases, these lovely designs were crafted using White Oriental Lilies, White Polar Star, Raspberry, and Pink Roses from Eufloria; the designs were further embellished with trailing English ivy and seeded eucalyptus.

Bach Dinner Party

The Bach's and 22 friends and family members celebrated a momentous wedding anniversary.

They chose Harbor 550 on Milwaukee's lakefront as their venue.

The color palette included soft pinks, greens, and creams.

Flower choice included hydrangea, white and green orchids, double tulips, freesia, kale, and seeded eucalyptus.

For The Lady - a small scented poesy
The Gent - a double orchid boutonniere
The Guests - 5 lush table centers, orchid embellished napkins and candle light
The Cake - a lush topper crafted of the same flower used in the table centers.

Lambries Wedding - June 28th

Tanya and Andy were wed at the Greek Orthodox Church of Milwaukee, with a reception to follow at the Radisson North Shore.

The color palette was spring green, fuchsia and white.

Tanya selected pink throated cymbidium orchids (standard and miniature), white roses, miniature green cymbidium orchids, wax flower, and bupleurum for her flower choices.

Until the professional photos come in, please enjoy these!

Tanya's Bouquet -

Pink Throated Cymbidium orchids, miniature green cymbidium
orchids, pink wax flower, bupleurum, and white roses

Bridesmaids' Bouquets
Pink throated cymbidium orchids, white roses, bupleurum

Attendants' Boutonnieres
Single miniature green cymbidium orchid with greenery

Flower Girl Pomander

One of the many beautiful embellishments at the church

Rutkowski Wedding

Megan and Chris were wed Friday June 20 at St. Peter Immanuel Church and enjoyed a lovely picnic Saturday with family and friends.

To honor their mothers, they had Muscari recreate miniature versions of their wedding bouquets (See Below).

For their event, Megan selected vibrant summery flowers with a garden feel. Blooms included sunflowers, bells of Ireland, Delphinium, solidago, monte casion, gerbera daisies, freesia, limonium, lavender, daisy mums, and roses. We even incorporated 2 faux butterflies in the smaller bouquet for her Jr. Bridesmaid.

Megan's Wedding Bouquet

Lily's Bouquet

Megan's Mom's Bouquet

Chris's Mom's Bouquet

Chris's Boutonniere

Kippert Wedding - June 21st

Pictures from the Kippert Wedding
Flower selection included Oriental lilies, white, purple, and fuchsia roses, lisianthus and baby's breath.
The ceremony took place at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Milwaukee with a reception to follow at Best Western Midway Hotel in Brookfield.

Urband Ecology Center - Summer Solstice Event

Muscari was fortunate enough to craft the flowers for the Urban Ecology Center's First Major Fundraising Event - The First Annual Summer Solstice Soiree and Auction. For those of you less familiar with the UEC, it is "a neighborhood-based, environmental education, nonprofit community center" located at 1500 East Park Place.

Lyn Falk, Founder, President, and Co-Owner of Solterra Studios & UEC Volunteer, was charged with interior decor for the event. She wanted to set the stage in an atypical fashion; selecting unique blooms that aren't typically utilized for special events.

Lyn chose a color palette of spring green and fresh yellow with hints of red and orange. The flower selection we settled on included Craspedia, Pincushion Protea, Leucadendron, Tulips, Various Ornamental Grasses, and Green Fuji Mums. We also used Wheat Grass and Sisal for accent pieces.

Reception Table Design

Table Center Design Choice A

Table Center Design Choice B

Food Station Design

View From Outdoor Balcony

Passionate About Petals

I had the distinct privilege to meet with a group of lovely ladies today. Muscari donated time and supplies to teach the residents at Homestead Ridge Assisted Living of Bayside, to design a spring bud vase. Among the participants were , Ethel, Rose, Carmella, Helen, Ora and many more. We created a petite bud vase using bright yellow carnations, baker's fern, and purple limonium for accent. Special thanks to KJ for inviting us!

Happy Anniversary!

One of Muscari's clients offered this lovely design up for a very special anniversary present.
Congrats Dr & Mrs. A., here's to many more!

Wong Wedding - June 2008

June 7th was a beautiful day for a Milwaukee wedding. Sandwiched between days of driving winds and pelting rain, Saturday was warm, sunny, and slightly breezy.

Irene and Daniel were wed at Milwaukee's Chinese Christian Church and invited guests to an early brunch at Discovery World's Pilot House.

The flowers selected for the wedding bouquets included green hydrangea, white roses, and yellow tulips.

Reception flowers included green hydrangea, pale yellow lisianthus, and yellow freesia. For added color, Irene's vision of a grass lined place card table was created using homegrown rye grass, yellow gerbera daisies, and green hydrangea. Stunning!

The top three photos are courtesy of Millicent Wong of Millicent Wong Photography

Great Fun At Girls Night Out -Thanks Miss Ruby!

Girls Night Out was a grand success.

Many thanks to Erin Thull, owner of Miss Ruby Bridesmaid and Special Occasion Boutique, for inviting Muscari to participate in Girls Night Out.

Over 15 brides/maids joined us for the mini-class on designing fresh florals for tablecenters. In addition to the mini-class, attendees received a free bloom, how-to handouts, and special offers from Muscari and Miss Ruby.

Attendees also got to enjoy Limoncillo, citrus shortbread squares, wine, and truffles.

Below are a few pictures from the evening.

May 25th - Wedding Prep

I am so thrilled about the wedding for tomorrow May 25th.

Suzanne is the bride and the venue is Milwaukee's own Osteria del Mundo...

Because of its layout, we are fortunate enough to have many opportunities to infuse the atmosphere with floral embellishments.

Suzanne loves colors and we selected a very bright/diverse color palette including fuchsia, lime green, orange, and blue.

These are just a few of the pictures from today's flower prep. The designs will get their finishing touches tomorrow just prior to delivery, but I couldn't wait to post them!!!

Very exciting!

Cheers.
S.

Impromptu Pleasures

Celebrate the unofficial birth of Summer this weekend by enjoying nature's splendors.

Taking a quick glance out my window, I noticed our lilac bush is in full bloom. I absolutely adore lilac and couldn't resist snipping a few stems to throw in a vase at work.

I chose a simple crystal vase and added a handful of peonies and hosta foliage to the fragrant mix.

While this took a mere minute or two to accomplish, I will be blessed with a fragrant bouquet for days.

You don't need anything fancy to throw an impromptu design together and I encourage you to enjoy natures bounties.

Here are a few helpful tips for designing from your garden.

1) Select blooms that are just on the 'break' or just about to open.

2) Clip them with a sharp pair of pruning scissors first thing in the morning or late in the evening. Flowers are least stressed at these hours and will not be as shocked upon removing them from their mother plant.

3) Re-cut the stems just prior to placing them in your design.

4) Change the water every day or so.

Cheers!
S.

Jodi & Jeff

This was by far one of my favorite events! Jodi and Jeff are such a unique couple. They both have backgrounds in fine arts and chose the Eisner as their ceremony and reception venue.

An understated elegance was present throughout the event. Jodi wore a single orchid bloom in her hair and carried a bouquet of lily of the valley. Her maids carried three standard calla lilies bound with a simple sash of double-faced black satin.

The gift table was adorned with a botanical display of curly willow and green cymbidium orchids.

Contemporary breakaway designs served as the table centers. The largest of three cylinder vases housed two cymbidium orchids and bear grass, while the other cylinders contained apple green fuji mums, jade dendrobium blooms, and floating candles and hot pink wire for accents.

The photos are compliments of Erin Lance, http://www.erinlance.com/

Swanson Villa Wedding - May 10

This was a great event set at the Grain Exchange.

With a hot pink and lime green color theme, the flowers of choice included Oriental Star Fighter Lilies, Green Button Pom Pons, Wax Flower, Miniature Hot Pink Carnations, & Hot Pink Roses.

Heather & Johnny - April 26th

Heather was a great bride to work with.

She had a clear vision of what she wanted and challenged me, as a designer, to accommodate that vision.

Her flower selections included Lily of the Valley, Anemones, Tulips, & Ranunculus.

Bridal Bouquet of anemones, Tulips, Ranunculus, Columbine, Lily of the Valley and Astilbe

Attendant's Bouquet White Fringed Tulips, Atilbe, Ranunculus

Table Centers Tulips, Astilbe, and White Marbles

Sue & Randy Petroff

Sue & Randy wed March 29, 2008.

They were fortunate to have a family friend create the bridal bouquets as their wedding gift, but sought Muscari's services to decorate the ceremony site.

They opted for a traditional theme in pinks and blues.

We crafted 2 altar designs, 16 feet of fresh floral garland, and a unity candle design.

Biedermeier Returns - MAM

When the Milwaukee Art Museum reintroduced the Biedermeier Collection, Muscari created a Biedermeier-Inspired design in a clean color palette.

Thank you Melissa Heppe for the images.

American Society of Interior Designers Gala January 2008

Yes, this is a bit late, but things have been a bit hectic.

We were fortunate enough to be commissioned by ASID to design the table centers for their January Gala 'Black and White, Where Color Begins.'

The 500+ guests enjoyed a contemporary setting at the Milwaukee Art Museum complete with black and white damask embellishments.

The table centers were crafted using white dendrobium orchids, white roses, and onyx ostrich feathers. They were finish off with a double-faced sash of black satin ribbon and a black and white damask table marker.

See pics below.

Welcome Back!

We finally have our blog back up and running.

We have many exciting things to share including the wonderful news that we have moved to a new location in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward.

Located on the Lower Level of the Landmark building, we have a larger facility that can accommodate our ever growing business.

In addition to the move, we have shaped our business model to best serve our clients.

Muscari is Milwaukee's Premier Event Florist and as always the Greener Choice For Fine Flowers.

We offer exclusive design services for weddings, special events, and very special occasions.

We look forward to seeing you at our Grand Re-Opening Scheduled for June 25th at 6PM.

Cheers!
S.