Gifts for the Game Lover!!!

How cool would it be to wear your favorite game piece as jewelry?!  Bank of Memories & Flowers now carries awesome scrabble piece and mahjong tile necklaces.  

You can find them at the Pewaukee location. The tiles shown have beautiful one of a kind floral and nature designs on one side and a scrabble letter or mahjong pattern on the back side. These fun pieces can be paired with any outfit and they are perfect for the game lover you know!  Stop by and grab one today, you will definitely win!

Wedding Budgeting Tips

For a lot of brides this is something we have dreamed about all our lives, Our Wedding Day!  But how can we make sure all our dreams come true?  Here are some great budgeting tips to get you started on the right foot for choosing your wedding flowers.  At Bank of Memories & Flowers, we believe in making those dreams a reality.

Use These Budgeting Tips: 

BUDGET

Figure out your budget ahead of time.  Then give it to the florist and ask what she/he can do with it, as opposed to choosing flowers and then asking what the cost will be. A great budgeting tip would to figure 10-20% of your total wedding costs.

SEASONAL FLOWERS

Use flowers that are in season (ex: ranunculus, daffodils, and tulips are in spring) or flowers that are readily available year-round (ex: gerbera daises, roses, alstro, mums, and hydrangeas).  Stay away from expensive, imported exotic blooms, (ex: orchids, gardenias, and stephanotis).

 

TOO MANY BRIDESMAIDS

With all the excitement and wanting all your besties to be a part of your big day mean dollar signs. The more attendants you have standing up, the more flowers you will need. Think about using the bridesmaids’ bouquets for the head table.  This can add color and pizzazz to the head table.

IMPACT FLOWERS

Don't be scared of some expensive flowers.  Flowers like cattleya orchids and peonies are more expensive, but they are large blossoms and can cover more space and have a great impact. One cattleya orchid can have a greater impact then a bouquet of roses.

REUSE FLOWERS

Reuse your ceremony arrangements. Aisle flowers can become centerpieces and altar pieces can be moved to the buffet table. The ceremony usually only lasts about half an hour -- it's a shame to see so many flowers only being used for that amount of time when they could easily be incorporated into the reception decor.

TAKING OF TOO MUCH DIY

Brides who try to DIY their flowers will purchase dozens of glass vases for centerpieces, only to become overwhelmed. We receive many frantic calls, asking to take over the stress of these DIY projects, which oftentimes becomes more expensive than hiring a professional from the start.

FIND A FLORIST EARLY

Flowers come from South America, Holland, and all over the world, so it is very hard to contact farms across the world and have flowers arrive within one or two months. Leave at least a six to eight-month window ahead of your wedding to be able to line everything up. 

Memo to Bosses: Thank your Assistants!

This is the week to recognize your staff for their contributions to your success. 

Bank of Memories & Flowers has beautiful floral designs and European gardens that will surely show your appreciation for all their hard work.  Administrative Professionals Week is April 21-25th. 

New Years Eve Wedding

Kate+John's Wedding Day

Ceremony: Villa Terrace

Reception: Hilton, Downtown Milwaukee

Wedding Coordinator: Weddings With a Twist

Flowers: Bank of Memories & Flowers

Month: December

What a way to celebrate your wedding into the New Year!  Kate and John celebrated their vows into the wee hours of January 1, 2014.  

Kate's colors for her flowers were shades of pinks and accents of green and white.  Hydrageas, roses, peonies filled the mansion of Villa Terrace. Her bridesmaids were in a blush pink with a trim of a little sparkle.  Sparkle could be seen throughout the wedding, I especially loved her sweetheart table covered in sequins.  Balloons dropped over the dance floor at midnight; what memorable way to remember your wedding!   Thank you Kate and John for letting us be such a special part of your year.

Big Daffodil Sale!!

This week at Bank of Memories & Flowers, we have some gorgeous fresh cut daffodils on sale. They are sold in 10 stem bunches for only $6.00!!  Keep in mind that daffodils secrete a sap that can harm other flowers if not properly conditioned. If mixed with other flowers, do not recut as you will cause sap to be released again.  This is why I love to mound just daffodils by themselves in vases!

How cute are these vibrant daffodil vasings?  They would make a cute touch to your Easter decor!  

Happy Easter!!!

9 Wedding Flower Reminders

We have finally reached spring time which means those summer and fall brides are in full swing planning their weddings. If this is you, here are a few pointers that Bank of Memories & Flowers has put together of things you should remember when putting your flower order together.

• Remember to envision the whole room when planning out your centerpieces. If you have a large ballroom, and small vases with a floating candle, your centerpieces are going to get lost. Make sure you have centerpieces at a few different heights in order for the room to look spectacular!

• Trust your florist! It is our job at Bank of Memories & Flowers to make sure we create the perfect setting for your wedding. If you LOVE LOVE LOVE hydrangea, but don’t tell us, we may not even use it! Make sure you communicate to your florist what you like, what you don’t like and what your expectations are so that we can exceed them on your wedding day.

• Book your florist ASAP. Some brides make the mistake of booking the florist last. When this happens sometimes the date will fill up with the florist you want to go with or you didn’t leave enough room in your budget for what you really want.

• Be willing to compromise. If you come in to your wedding consultation with your heart set on a specific flower, and you aren’t flexible, we are setting yourself up for disappointment. A florist can do a much better job if the bride asks for an overall look and color scheme.

• Try not to be scared of pricey flowers. Sure, orchids, roses and peonies are more expensive, but they also cover a lot of space and have a much bigger impact.

• Don’t try and match the color of the flowers to the color of the girl’s dresses. Lavender flowers against a lavender dress aren’t going to show up very well. When thinking about your girl’s bouquets, think of their dresses as a backdrop for your blooms. Lime green, dark purple, blue and white look great against lavender.

• Remember that flowers need water! Hydrangeas are a key ingredient in bouquets and if they aren’t in water for long periods of time, they may start drooping halfway through the day! Flowers need water in order to live, so if you aren’t using them plop them in the vases they come in to hydrate them.

• DIY isn’t always a smart and easy idea. You may be taking on way too much work for the week of your wedding. Also, a lot of brides buy dozens of vases and then need to find something to with them after the wedding. At Bank of Memories & Flowers we rent out vases so you don’t have to worry about storing them afterward. DIY is sometimes more stressful and often more expensive than hiring a professional from the start.

• Order your flowers in a timely manner. Flowers often come from South America, Holland, Alaska and all over the world so it can be harder to get flowers in under a few days. Try and have your flowers picked out and finalized at least six weeks before you wedding week to ensure the best quality of blooms. 

These are just a few tips of things you should remember and think about when planning your wedding flowers.

Check Out Our Cool Air Plants!!!

Air plants get their name from living on air!  Air plants actually gather their nutrients and moisture from the atmosphere around them. Filled with a tiny collection of air plants, these clear glass planters created by Bank of Memories & Flowers, allow you to have a hanging indoor garden. Just be sure to hang them where they'll receive natural light. 





Wait, do these plants need water? Don't they just live on air?  These plants do need water!  You'll want to soak them in a small container of water for 15-20 minutes every week. Gently shake the water off your plants and allow them to dry completely before placing them back into their home. I would love to have some of these plants in my home. They don't need soil so you can use a wide variety of planters to display these air-loving plants.

Photos By Fisher Photography

Pincushion Proteas!!

Look at these amazing pincushion proteas that just arrived!  They look exactly like they sound: a little cushion stuck with a bunch of vibrantly colored pins but they are soft to the touch.  They come in yellow, orange, red and coral and add a ton of texture to any bouquet!  The pincushion protea is about 2-3 inches wide an is usually available all year long.  

Add some pizazz to your table by placing a single bloom at each setting!  You can even dry your protea without shedding petals or leaves. Once dried, they can be enjoyed for years!  Come in to Bank of Memories & Flowers and check out these cool flowers!  
I love them!!!!

Art in Bloom, Milwaukee

Thank you to all who came out to see our booth and floral design at Art in Bloom at the Milwaukee Art Museum March 27-30. This was our third year that we participated in the design competition and second year that we had a booth in the marketplace.  If you were unable to make it this year, here is a snapshot of our design and booth!! We had so much fun bringing a little piece of our two locations to the art museum to share with people who may not have known of us before.

Photos Compliments of Fischer Photography