"Ernestine, my bride, I love you so much..."

These were the words spoken by my 90-year-old grandfather last Sunday at 2:30pm. My grandmother and my cousin Sarah were each holding one of his hands. He passed away at 3:05. I am so thankful that he was able to say these words to my ailing grandmother, his wife of over 66 years. He was smart and alert right to the end (he was sitting up in bed reading the Sunday paper that very morning!).

As my children and I travel to his funeral, it causes me to reflect on those things that are important and long-lasting on this earth. My dear brides, your wedding day is special and important, no doubt. But I wish you deeper things than a gorgeous, fun wedding: May you dance at the wedding celebrations of your grandchildren. May life give you challenges that show you and your husband that your relationship has the staying power you hoped for. May you see your great-grandchild born, grow and mature into young people of whom you are very proud.

Planning your ceremony and reception is difficult and sometimes stressful, but remember to keep your focus on the important things. When you are at the end of this life, you will not care that your flowers were not the exact shade of pink that you had in your mind, or that the DJ played the hokey-pokey when you asked him not to at your meeting 8 months ago, or that Uncle Fred got a little too tipsy at the reception and told your new in-laws about the time you were 5 and shoved a pea up your nose at the Thanksgiving dinner table. These are not the enduring things that define your life. Have the best, most gorgeous wedding you can, for sure. But be ready for 60+ years of ups and downs, a lot of joy, some sadness, and a lot of surprises along the way.

All the best! - Emily

9th Street Abbey

Here are some springy pictures of a wedding we did at 9th Street Abbey in Soulard. The wedding was on April 26th, when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom!!




These are shots of the whole room from the balcony above.

Two different arrangements were used to decorate the guest tables. One was all cherry blossom branches and the other was a submerged green cymbidium orchid with the bride's candles.

The overall look of the room showed the bride's style while it complimented the historic Abbey.

Grand Hyatt at Union Station

Here are a few pics from one of our most recent weddings at Grand Hyatt Union Station:







Tall and short centerpieces with all white flowers were used. Tulips, hydrangea, snapdragons, curly willow and pheasant feathers filled these tall cylinders.













Shorter clusters of vases with similar white flowers balanced out the other tables.

Alternating cluster vases were used to line the middle of the head table.

As an extra special treat, the guests were able to find their place cards on top of a bed of pink carnations. This box was approximately 2 ft. x 4ft. and held over 200 carnations!! Sisters Flowers rents this white wooden box to be filled with similar flowers or short grass and flowers for any event.

Flat Tires & Fire Alarms- The Adventures of Sisters Flowers

Here at Sisters, we pride ourselves in not only our flowers, but on our ability to be organized and on time for every event. We always have back-up plans in case of slow traffic, weather-related issues, etc. But a recent Saturday brought up two unusual new scenarios none of us had ever experienced!!

When leaving for our last two set-up/deliveries of the day, we discovered that one of the vans (Emily and David's), filled with reception flowers, had a flat tire in our driveway. Like a true champion, David, (with the help of John) got the spare tire on the van and enabled the delivery schedule to remain unscathed! Whew!!

Meanwhile, the second van (Shelly and Beth's) headed out for the other remaining delivery/set-up. Shelly and Beth got to the hotel, and up to the top floor where the reception was being held. Then, they started the on-site production and centerpiece placement. About half-way through set-up, Beth heard a fire alarm!! Knowing not to use the elevators in a fire, Shelly and Beth found the nearest set of stairs (in the kitchen) and evacuated onto the parking garage near-by. Meeting up with Emily and David in the lobby, Shelly and Beth found out that the problem had been solved (no real fire) and everything would be back to normal shortly. All four Sisters staffers had a laugh and returned to the top floor. We finished set-up and decided that we did not even think of a fire alarm contingency!! :)

Even with a couple of unexpected hitches, Sisters Flowers pulled off another great weekend of weddings and no one was the wiser, until now....

Spring has SPRUNG at Sisters!

Here is a little "sneak peak" at all the beautiful spring flowers that we've been doing for our brides the last couple of weeks. We are all so ready for SPRING and it shows!

Here is one of our brides, Erin (Wille) Watkins and her wedding party. She chose black magic roses with stephanotis for herself, and mixed bouquets of pink gerbera daisies, red roses, and purple lisianthus for her girls. All the colors really pop against the black dresses!!

Here is the new Mrs. Katie Griffin with her very spring-like bouquet of ivory and lavender roses, ivory spray roses, ivory ranunculus, and an accent of pink waxflower filler. Perfectly soft and pretty for a spring wedding!

Katie's bridesmaids had a beautiful spring bouquet of purple calla lilies, stock, roses, lisianthus, and pink waxflower. If that doesn't make you think spring, I don't know what will!!

Last weekend, we did a very fresh, spring-time reception at the Chase for another one of our brides, Maureen (Dempsey) Alfermann. (Lots to tell about that reception set-up in another blog!!) She had three different centerpieces to decorate the Starlight Room. Here are some of those pictures:

Cube vases wrapped in Maureen's signature color are filled with all white and ivory flowers.

Coordinating centerpieces of white and ivory flowers in a ginger jar with river rock in the bottom decorated some of the tables.

Tall vases of hydrangea and cherry blossom branches made a bold, spring statement in the room.

For one last touch of spring, here are some pictures of Jill (Schroeder) Faulk's reception at the Four Points Sheraton.

We used seasonal iris and bells of Ireland in Jill's tall centerpieces. To accent, the opposite tables had short, round vases of blue hydrangea, white spray roses, and white waxflower.

The rain has made us so HAPPY for SPRING to arrive!! We will keep you posted on more seasonal weddings that are coming up!!

Sabrina's Birthday Bash

Last Saturday, March 29, Sisters Flowers helped one of our good friends celebrate her birthday! Sabrina from Proposing Dreams was the guest of honor. She had a great turn-out with wonderful support from her friends and family.

The Birthday Girl and her hubby.



The party had a tropical theme, complete with leis and palm trees. The cake was yummy, too!! (Bet you can't guess which birthday this was for Sabrina!!!)



Here are the tulip centerpieces that Sisters brought to the party.

It was a great night and we were glad we could be there to help Sabrina celebrate!!! Happy Birthday, Sabrina!!!

Sisters goes GREEN with Vase Rebates

At Sisters Flowers, we do our best to leave a smaller "footprint" on the environment. We have always recycled and tried to conserve as much as possible. In an effort to be even more environmentally aware, Sisters Flowers now offers a vase rebate for used vases purchased from us in 2008.

Many times after an event is over, people find themselves bogged down by leftover vases of all shapes and sizes. They take up room in closets, basements, and pantries. Sisters Flowers would like to help recycle unused products by offering a rebate for those vases. We now pay you for bringing back any reusable vases from your event within two weeks of the event. At the time of your consultation, we can give you a rebate price for each piece we are providing you. It's a savings for you AND we all get to help out our Earth. Everyone wins!!

If you have any questions about this offer, please fell free to contact us!!