I’m SO excited to share a killer line up of bouquets with you from all across the globe! As many of you know, I’m a member of the Chapel Designers - a group of like-minded floral designers (finely curated by the one and only Holly Heider Chapple) working to elevate the floral industry. These designers are dear friends, and I hope that after checking out my **favorite bouquet, you’ll swing by their blogs and check out some of their favorites as well.

**yeah, it’s my favorite… this week. It’s so hard for me to pick a favorite bouquet. Each week I have a new one. No kidding. It’s like asking someone to pick a favorite child, or asking me to pick a favorite flower. Sorry, just not gonna happen. This one’s my fav this week because it contains bits and pieces of my personal garden which is FINALLY starting to come to life. I was wondering when that was ever going to happen.

This bouquet is a mix of left overs and yard finds. The daffodils came from my front yard. The beautiful magnolia branches are casualties of pruning I’m slowly forcing open. The hellebores, astrantia and berzelia are left overs that have been just hanging around waiting for the right moment (for over two weeks… don’t judge). The grevillea, agonis and seeded euc are left over from this weekends wedding. And of course, it wouldn’t be an Alluring Blooms bouquet without a fabulous stem treatment. This pretty little ribbon adornment makes my heart happy.

So there it is. My favorite this week. Now comes the fun part – go check out some gorgeous bouquets from my friends:

Holly Heider Chapple Flowers LTD: http://thefullbouquetblog.com/?p=25873

Celebration Florals:  http://bit.ly/11Bc48t

Gertie Maes: http://www.gertiemaes.com/blog/

Soiree Floral: http://blog.soireefloral.com/

Colonial House: http://colonialhouseofflowers.wordpress.com/2013/04/28/bouquets/

Stacy K Floral: http://www.stacykfloral.com/blog2/?p=4489

Wild Bunch Studio: http://wildbunchstudio.blogspot.com

Passionflower: http://www.passionflowerevents.com/main/blog.jsp

Alicia Jayne Florals:  http://aliciajayneflorals.com/blog/?p=162

Goodness-Gracious! Florals: http://tulipiere.com/2013/04/29/46/

Urban Petals: http://myurbanpetals.wordpress.com/?p=3233

FloressenceFlowers: http://floressenceflowers.blogspot.com/2013/04/my-favorite-bridal-bouquets.html

On Butterfly Wings:  http://onbutterflywingsblog.com/?p=356

Fleur:ology : http://fleurologydesign.com/?p=721

Posh Floral Designs: http://poshfloral.com/memory-monday-favorite-bouquets

Francoise Weeks: http://francoiseweeks.com/2013/04/bouquets-2/

Exquisite Designs http://www.exqdesigns.com/blog/?p=2225

Sherwood Design and Events: http://www.sherwooddesignandevents.com/a-few-of-our-favorite-bouquets-and-meet-our-friends/

Courtenay Lambert Florals, Weddings, and Events: http://courtenaylambert.blogspot.com/2013/04/bouquets-with-chapel-designers.html

Affair With George: http://www.affairwithgeorge.com.au/blog/?p=80

I’ve been back home for almost a month now. I still can’t believe my time with my dear flower friends went by so quickly. This was a CRAZY packed day – so this is going to be a long post!

Our second day in NYC was a full one. We spent the day at the Helen Mills Event  Space which was located just across the street from our hotel. Monday was a really surreal day for me. A couple weeks ago our leader Holly asked if I would share my experience and some of my documentation with the group. I was honored – and terrified. Me? Really!? A new-ish designer from Wisconsin talking to the group on the same day as legends from Style Me Pretty and Martha Weddings?! You’ve gotta be kidding me. Despite my doubt I took the stage and I’m so happy I did. A handful of other Chapel Designers also shared with the group: Daevid of Daevid’s of Norfolk, Leslie of TULIP, Francoise Weeks, Laura of Faith Flowers and Jenn and Dave of Modern Day Floral. All of them graciously shared their experiences and offered valuable insight into the business of flowers. We also heard from Anne Chertoff who gave us brilliant advice on tackling social media.

After a full morning it was time for lunch. Sorry guys, I didn’t take pictures as everyone was speaking – I was too busy soaking in all the information. So instead you get pictures of my lunch. Oh, but this wasn’t just any lunch. On Sunday when we were out sightseeing we noticed a little restaurant right down the street from our hotel called Melt Shop. A restaurant devoted to grilled cheese?! Yes, indeed.

One look at this sign and it was a done deal. We were going back for lunch.

They had me at $2 PBR… all. day. (All DAY. ALL DAY, SON… All. Day. Any other New Girl fans out there?! Hahaha)

Lunch didn’t disappoint. My sandwich was sinfully delicious. And it was just the break I needed before heading back for an inspiring afternoon. I was so excited to hear from two women I greatly admire in the world of weddings: Naomi de Manana, Editor at Martha Stewart Weddings and Abby Larson, founder of Style Me Pretty. Between the two Rachel Merkle was kind enough to talk to us about branding your business.

My favorite two comments of the afternoon: Naomi – “Flowers are a reminder that life & beauty are fleeting”. Abby – “It’s dedication and hard work that turns your little something into something bigger”.  So true. Such an amazing day.