Anissa Rae Flowers & Refinements

03/28/2018

Spring is here! I feel like the warm weather inspires us to get moving on our Spring cleaning in our homes and changing things up. Plants are an easy way to add style to your interior decor. If you’re a pet owner and thinking about creating your own indoor jungle visit the ASPCA website first to see which plants are toxic and non-toxic to your pet.

Our handy list contains plants that have been reported as having systemic effects on animals and/or intense effects on the gastrointestinal tract.

03/27/2018

Super fun happening at Radio City Music Hall this evening, celebrating kids at the annual Talent Show performing on the big stage. It’s free! Check it out. We delivered some Spring bouquets today for some special and very deserving people. Thank you always to our friends Garden of Dreams for including us and Congratulations on another wonderful and caring event!

03/14/2018

https://anissaraeflowers.com/blogs/studio-blog/tips-to-get-the-most-from-a-wedding-florist-consultation

Most people have no idea what to expect when meeting with a florist to talk about flowers for their wedding. If you're taking the time out of your day to meet w

03/13/2018

As a wedding florist I'm always going to be in favor of not opting for DIY specifically on your wedding day. There are other occasions when I'd say you should go for it! A nice concise article reminding current and future brides why this is never a good idea (even if you are a florist).

The expertise of a wedding florist will reduce your stress on the arrangement to the flowers in season to keep your cost in your budget. As a bride, you are not always familiar with the art of flower arrangements, and this is why hiring a florist is essential to your planning. Every florist is looki...

03/08/2018

Warning!!! I'm getting something off my chest here. I came across and old article that I hadn't seen before in the Huffpost called "Preferred Vendor Lists and Why Couples Should Ignore Them" and it really boiled my blood. This was a super irresponsible article to be published because it really diminished how hard the majority of the people in the wedding industry work to develop relationships with each other. I'm not on a preferred vendor list anywhere but I do have relationships with venues around NYC that do refer me often. This is solely because I am professional and treat each referral as a gift not a give me. I still have to work very hard to make that referral my customer. I also give extra care knowing that I am fortunate to get these referrals. I take extraordinary care of these clients knowing that the venue is sticking their neck out to refer me to people they know. We are supporting each other. I would never want to let my venue down or have a customer come back and be upset with them because they referred me. I do not accept commission from anyone! I price my work accordingly and take extreme pride in my job. I also give referrals to my clients when they are looking for vendors. I refer other professionals on their merit because I've worked with them before and I know that they are reliable, professional and treat people with care. I do this because I appreciate their work/art not because I get money from them. It's true that there may be venues or vendors that make referrals for money but this in no way should make people think that every preferred vendor list or referred vendor is referred not because they are great at what they do but because they pay each other. If you happen to come across an article like this please do not take this as "word". I think this is actually the minority and not the majority. It also doesn't mean that vendors on a preferred vendor list are not great at what they do. If you don't connect well with a vendor you should ask permission from your venue to bring in another vendor. Most of them will make exceptions. Sorry for the rant but I think it's important that people understand that most referrals are not based on how much money someone can make from another vendor but because they are hard working individuals that make people happy with their skill.

02/25/2018

Making Jessica & Eli’s wedding day dreams come true!

01/09/2018

It's always a nice surprise when you find one of your weddings on a blog. We had worked with Douglas & Steven earlier this year in October on pretty Fall flowers for their intimate ceremony and celebration Ardesia. The talented Meridith Desmond Photography always does an amazing job capturing a moment not to be forgotten!

It was the most beautiful October afternoon in New York City for Douglas and Steve's intimate wedding at Ardesia Wine Bar, which was the location of their first of many, many date nights. Their closest friends and family gathered as Steve's father officiated their heartfelt ceremony and two became�...

11/27/2017

I don’t think I would have made it through without passing out or throwing up. Have you seen this? Insane!

11/10/2017

This Marchioness really knows her flowers!

Emma shares her easy tips and tricks to extending the life of fresh flowers, from preparation through to life in the vase.

10/22/2017

Friday night wedding rehearsal dinner at AVRA Madison Avenue.

10/22/2017

How much baby's breath? It's a question that I see people search for often. Whether you're doing your own wedding or you're a florist just starting out, I thought I'd share some of our experience.

We used a variety of baby's breath or gypsophila called Morning Star. The buds of the flower are a beautiful white and open nice and big. In total we used 44 bunches of baby's breath. We designed 2 large ceremony arrangements, 12 aisle bouquets attached to chairs, 10 boutonnieres, 2 wrist corsages, 1 bridal bouquet, 8 bridesmaid bouquets, 9 floral crowns and 3 arrangements for a long table (1 med and 2 small).

Make sure you order extra bunches in case some of the blooms don't open well or dries out. Baby's breath is sold by grower bunches not by stem count as most flower bunches are sold. With this said, there were approx. 7 stems per bunch but you may need a few extra bunches just in case.

It took 12 bunches to complete each ceremony arrangement. We used 8" floral foam spheres inside the urn to create the shape.

It took 3 bunches to create the brides beautiful bouquet. Since baby's breath has multiple stems some will need to be cut away. Hold those smaller pieces because they will be used for boutonniere's and corsages.

We used 5 bunches for the bouquets attached to the chairs down the aisle.

We used 1 bunch per bridesmaid and used the smaller pieces we trimmed away for the floral crowns.

We used 3 bunches for the medium size table arrangements and 1 bunch split to design the 2 smaller arrangements.

09/24/2017

This is one way to get people to really move at your wedding. I think I'm liking it!

Here's a few festive ideas for an unforgettable wedding