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photo by Erin Summerill Photography

Go on over to theldsbride.com and check out the upper left-hand corner "weekly love" - you'll see our bouquet from this wedding there!

Get to Know Polka Dots and Daisies

Polka Dots & Daisies was started in January of 2007, after Mollie Openshaw noticed a lack of color in the wedding invitation industry. When planning her own wedding in 2006, she couldn't find wedding invitations that complimented her wedding style or color scheme and since she wanted a cohesive look for her entire event, Mollie put her graphic design training to work and created the perfect custom designed invitations. Since then she's helped hundreds of brides make their wedding invitations unique and customized with thousands of color options, top notch printing, & excellent customer service.

Polka Dots & Daisies offers an array of pre-designed invitation styles that can be customized with your wedding colors and font selections or they can even create brand new designs and graphics just for you! If you're the lucky winner of the Giveaway, you'll get 100 Group A invitations/envelopes (select from pre-designed styles) that can be tailored to perfectly suit your wedding! And if you're one of the finalists (those that do not win the Grand Prize) you'll still receive a special bonus... $50 off your wedding invitation order through Polka Dots & Daisies-- good through 2011. Check out the giveaway post for additional offers.

And now for post #2 on Christmas arrangements: Pine Cones. This is kind of a "no-duh" addition to a Christmas arrangement, but I decided to include it nonetheless. You can see them in the wreath from the last post or in this photo, with roses, seeded eucalyptus, fern, hypericum berries and other fillers, from GoodHouskeeping.com.

Pine cones often come scented at Christmastime and are even great for just around-the-house use. I like them for some of the same reasons I like pomegranates - they add interesting texture to an arrangement, and I LOVE texture in arrangements. There's not much else to say about them, other than as with pomegranates, you have to use a pick or some sort of floral pin to add them to an arrangement, necessitating the use of floral foam as well, but they are great to work with.

Get to Know Jessie Alexis Photography

As promised, we will be posting little bios about each of the vendors involved in our giveaway. And, as a tie-in, since this is a floral blog after all, I will be posting favorite things to use in Christmas arrangements at the end of each post.

So first, let's get to know Jessie, from Jessie Alexis Photography, in her own words:

-Growing up, I was the girliest of little girls, and having a "boy's" name was a tragedy in my eyes. In preschool, I refused to respond to anything but Princess Buttercup.

- I adore Disneyland with my whole heart and spent the first two years of my marriage as an annual passport holder.

- I love the thrill of photographing weddings, and I always cry during the father-daughter-dance.

- Potatoes and popcorn are my two favorite foods, and I love any sort of fruity candy except anything grape flavored. Yuck.

- I drive a Jeep and my husband drives a Prius, I guess you could say we balance each other out.

- In June of 2010 I became a mom, best job ever second only to being a wife. Photography is a close third :)

See Jessie's amazing photography here.

And now, favorite inclusion #1 for Christmas arrangements: pomegranates.

Proof:

This arrangement from Canada Roses,

and this one from Delightful Deliveries.

Aren't they just lovely? They get used a lot because they are in season and they smell yummy, and they dry well, and they are hearty. They work fabulously cut in half - the texture is just amazing - and they give you rich red color in your arrangement without adding extra flowers. So there you go - pomegranates.

Enter our Giveaway!

Getting married between January and June? Want an "in" with some of Utah Valley's greatest vendors? Here's your chance!

SAS Floral, along with seven other amazing vendors, is sponsoring a Multi-Vendor Giveaway, running between Thanksgiving and New Years Day. Tell us your love story (or engagement story) and why we should pick you and you will be entered into our giveaway.

Want the details?

Be sure to read the Official Rules to make sure you qualify to enter. Anyone who doesn't qualify will be immediately disqualified.

Who are these people?

We'll be updating this blog with personal information about each specific vendor throughout our giveaway so you can get to know them better, but for now, check out their Web sites, linked below.

SAS Floral

Jessie Alexis Photography

Wilson Diamonds

Polka Dots and Daisies Invitations

Candy Clouds Company

Rockwell Catering

Abella Bridal

What's in the Grand Prize?

SAS Floral: One free wedding day bouquet up to $150 (or a $150 credit toward a more expensive bouquet)

Jessie Alexis Photography: 4 hours of Utah Valley wedding day coverage, with travel fees applying to any wedding outside of Utah Valley. The bride and groom will have access to all their proofs online with the option to purchase prints and/or the disk with their photos.

Wilson Diamonds: 10 percent off your engagement ring purchase

Polka Dots and Daisies: 100 Group A invitations/envelopes

Candy Clouds Company: 25 cotton candy guest favors to use at an engagement party, bridal shower, bachelorette party, or as a gift for the members of the bridal party

Rockwell Catering: Free wedding cake or Italian soda bar

Abella Bridal: One pair of Crystal and Freshwater Pearl Earrings valued at $115 & a set of Crystal hairpins valued at $45

Want some incentive?

In addition to being entered for the Grand Prize, and as a "thank you" for entering our giveaway, each entrant is eligible for 10 percent off a wedding bouquet when you book a wedding with SAS Floral*. Also, Jessie Alexis Photography is offering anyone who mentions the giveaway 10 percent off a custom package and the top three finalists win a free mini engagement session with 30 edited photos (can be upgraded to a full shoot at a discounted price).

*all offers are pending on availability. Weddings and events are booked first-come first-served.

who took that picture?

in case you are wondering, and didn't see the credit at the bottom of the flier, the floral ring pillow is from this wedding I did back in May, photos by Alyssa Cook Photography.

Giveaway Official Rules

PLEASE NOTE:

Only one entry per couple will be accepted. Entries will be accepted from 12 a.m. Thursday, November 25, 2010 until 11:59 p.m. Saturday, January 1, 2011. Entries will be accepted via e-mail at brittanie [at] sasfloral.com or as comments on the "Enter our Giveaway" blog post. Please title e-mails "Giveaway Entry" with your name. Identifying information must be provided (either a phone number or valid e-mail address for contact in the event that you win). All personal identifying information will be kept confidential. Votes will also be accepted via e-mail. Please continue reading below for additional rules.

Martha and Derek

I met Martha and Derek almost a year ago at the Thanksgiving Point Wedding Expo. They were super fun to work with! These photos are from their wedding back in July, at The Lion House in Salt Lake City. They wanted an English Countryside type of feel. Long wait, but I assure you they are worth it! Photos courtesy of Hayley Andersen Photography (minus the close-up of the cake, the boutonnieres, and table #1 - those are from me). Check them out!

This last one is from Martha's bridals, at the State Capitol Building.

Danielle and Eric

The fabulous Jess, over at Picture Me Mine Photography, sent me these photos of our flowers from Danielle and Eric's wedding a little over a month ago. I had a BLAST doing this wedding. The colors were so bright and cheery - perfect for summertime. Thanks again Danielle and Eric for letting me be part of your special day!

Tiffany: Purple and Green

Tiffany is another friend from college and gorgeous bride. I had so much fun doing her flowers. I think purple and green is one of my favorite color schemes! All images courtesy of Camilla at CioCo Photography.

Mr. and Mrs. Beck

Thanks to Jen over at Fauset Photography for these photos. This was one of my August weddings before we left on vacation, and I was SO glad to be a part of it! Crystalee and I have been friends for years (we met back in college), and it was a pleasure and honor to be her floral designer. She and Ryan are SO cute - quite the lovely pair! Don't you agree?

Peek!

Just a sneak peek from one of three weddings I did the week of August 14th. SUCH a fun week! These photos are from Melina Moore Memories. More to come from the main photographer for the event, CioCo Photography!

Centerpiece Inspiration

Love this!

Found here.

Sarah + Ken - Red and Turquoise

Sarah and Ken's wedding was so, so fun to decorate for. Their colors were bright and cheery, just like their personalities. Probably my favorite part of the whole ordeal (besides her bouquet, because it was gorgeous!) was doing the aisle flowers. I dunno, the centerpieces were pretty fun too. Why don't you decide what you like best? Credited photos by Emily Renee Photography.

The Scottish Highlands

Brittany and Peter are like a breath of fresh air. They are both such interesting people with such a neat story. Brittany went to school in Scotland, where she met Peter and fell in love. And, if you ever hear him talk, you'd think you were dreaming. His accent is so thick, you know it's authentic.

Brittany had such a gorgeous vision for her wedding. When she came to me last year and asked me to be her florist, I was honored and excited to be a part of their special day. Their ceremony and dinner/reception was at The Canyons resort in Park City. The whole event was at the Grand Summit Lodge, a 15-minute breath-taking gondola ride from the base resort. I'll let their pictures do the rest of the talking.

Aren't these romantic photos? Courtesy of the fabulous folks over at Bird on a Wire Photo.

Enjoy!

Peter's daughter, Cairyn - So cute, and I mean, so cute!

Dashing in their kilts, no?