Enter to Win Free Flowers

Our friends over at The Hidden Garden are running a super cute contest for FREE flowers!! There is just one special Bella Girls addendum to the rules - we want a little flower love!! So share the beautiful blooms!!
Check out all the details and rules below:

Ever been disappointed on Valentine's Day?
Was yours the most romantic Valentine's Day ever?
Either way, we want to hear from you.

The Hidden Garden announces a Valentine's Day Contest

Share your most memorable Valentine's Day story (the good, the bad & the ugly) and you could win a Valentine's Day arrangement worth $200 to be delivered to your home or office on February 12th. Entries will be judged on humor, romance & fan comments.

How to Enter: Become a fan of The Hidden Garden on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/TheHiddenGarden.) & post your most memorable Valentine's Day story on our wall. We want to hear the best, worst and everything in between! We encourage entrants to post photos and video ­ be creative, funny and interesting!

Judging: The Hidden Garden Romance Committee will select five finalists and post their entries on the Facebook page Thursday, February 11th. Entries will be judged on creativity, humor, romance & fan appeal/comments. The five finalists will be notified and contacted for their delivery address. On Friday, February 12th one lucky winner will be surprised with a huge
arrangement just for them!

Rules:
All entrants must live or work in our service area, which includes Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley and Westlake Village. No purchase is necessary. All entrants must become a fan on Facebook of The Hidden Garden. All entries must be posted to the Hidden Garden Facebook page no later than 12:00 pm PST on Thursday, February 10, 2010. Finalists will be announced on Thursday, February 11, 2010. Winner will be surprised on Friday, February 12, 2010. Grand-prize winner will receive a floral arrangement with a retail value of $200 delivered to the address of their choice (within the designated service area.)

I leave you with a couple pics of the gorgeous work that they do! Photos courtesy of MiBelle Inc

Bella Blooms

As we arrive into February, all I can think about is romance, valentines day and my upcoming anniversary. Pink just speaks to me as the symbolic color for romance. Here is some gorgeous pink eye candy for a Monday morning. Enjoy!

How could I showcase pink flowers, without starting with the signature Bella photo.

Photo by Thayer Allyson Gowdy

1st photo from Project Wedding, floral by SimplyBlooms 2nd photo courtesy of Hidden Gardens

How lush is this one?

Florals by Hidden Garden

I leave you with a little bit of both Susan and I....great tasting cake, and gorgeous flowers.

photo by MiBelle Inc, Flowers by Hidden Garden, cake by Fantasy Frostings, lighting by LightenUp Inc

Stay tuned next week - we will get all fiery with red, red, red!

~ Frosting Friday ~

In honor of Kathy's new Bella Blooms series, today's Frosting Friday features a cheerful cake beautifully topped with bright pink peonies. Be sure to read Bella Blooms every Monday!

photo courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings

Featured in Ceremony Magazine 'Grand Ideas'

2010 is off for a bang for the Bella Girls! Susan and I were thrilled to not only have a real wedding featured in the 2010 Los Angeles Ceremony magazine, but to also be included in their Grand Ideas article. Ceremony magazine contacted what they consider to be the top planners in the area and to get some great ideas for couples planning their weddings, this is what we and our peers in the industry offered as 'grand ideas'!

Launch of Bella Blooms

I am so excited to announce the launch of a weekly blog post dedicated to flowers, flowers, flowers. Susan has her love of all things cake, which brings us Frosting Fridays. 2010 brings to life my love of all things floral, which I attribute to my Southern roots. (even here in LA where there is little green space I manage to find corners and nooks around the homestead to plant all sorts of flowers year round)

My goal with this new feature is to have a weekly post to discuss all aspects of flowers as they relate to wedding planning. We will showcase different types of flowers, talk about budgeting for flowers, seasonal availabilty, and much much more. Please be sure to visit frequently, and I would love to receive suggestions on topics you would like to learn about.

For my inaugural post, there was no question in my mind what flower to showcase. There is no more widely sought after traditional wedding flower than the peony. For the bride getting married in May or June, you are in luck, that is prime peony season. Peonies come in varying shades from whites to light pink to much brighter pinks and reds.

As we enjoy a 'winter' season here in Los Angeles with rain and 60 degree days...here are some gorgeous flowers that just say summer wedding to me.

Floral bouquet from FlowerWild for one of our May Bella brides

Image found on Style Me Pretty by Modern Day Design

Images found on Polka Dot Bride - Ivory Bouquet from Vogue Flowers bright pink peony bouquet from Brides

Image found on Style me Pretty by Blush floral designs

Note: It is becoming more and more common for florists to be able to purchase peonies throughout the year through international growers. Just be advised that with shipping you will pay quite a bit more per stem than when peonies are in season locally. If you are looking for the look of peonies but can't get them, you can try some different types of roses such as cabbage roses or even tightly bound carnations.