Sparks Florist's DIY Wedding Marketplace

In some situations, designing the flowers for your own wedding can not only be fun, but can save you money as well. Welcome to Sparks Florist Marketplace. You can order your flowers by the bunch (or by the stem) at wholesale-to-the-public prices. Bring your wedding party to our 10,000 square foot Floral Design Center, with some finger food and champagne of course, and make it a true party! You can use as much, or as little help from our wedding designers as you want. Typically, the bridal party will design table centerpieces, altar arrangements, shepherd hook arrangements, and various other flower arrangements, and our wedding designers will make the wedding parties' bouquets, boutonnieres, and larger pieces such as the arch piece.  It all depends on how ambitious you are! We provide cooler space as well as delivery and setup. Be sure to visit the link at the bottom to see the Walters' wedding flowers - a recent DIY party masterpiece!

On a related note, the Walters had Laura Reaney photograph their wedding in Vinton, CA. Sparks Florist is happy to be working with Reaney Photography, an expert in the picture taking world! Laura is not only a great wedding photographer, she also specializes in engagement, family, graduations, maternity and newborn, and proposals. She offers her services at a one time fee, rather than an hourly rate, which is usually a great option for the soon-to-be newlyweds. Check out her website here and her zenfolio site here. Brides - prepare to fall in love!

Here is a little sneak peak of some of her work from Morgan and Jenny's #barn #open #field #rustic #shabbychic #awesome #wedding (too much on the #hashtag??? Sorry, #stilllearning).

Check out the Walters' wedding flowers and get some great ideas for your upcoming wedding!

Wedding Proposal Ideas

Alright guys, have you ever thought of making Valentine's Day the day to propose to your soon to be fiancé?  With the right amount of planning and creativity, you definitely can make your proposal truly unique.  Below are a few ideas that have worked well for now happily married men.

Love of My Life

One nifty idea that an old friend pulled off was taking his girlfriend to a fancy dinner and then had multiple friends bring out one rose at a time. After a number of roses were delivered by their friends, out came a four dozen, over the top, rose arrangement! He then proposed and now they are happily married with two kids.

We had a guy come in asking for an eleven rose arrangement and to add a fake rose to make it one dozen roses. The twelfth "rose" was a ring holder. He had the arrangement delivered and the card said "I will love you until the last rose dies".  He then later proposed to her when she realized that the last rose was a fake and contained a ring.  Very suave.

Let us know if you have any neat ideas for ways of proposing so we can share them with everybody!

Tips for Men

Guys: have you ever been in the dog house and had trouble thinking of a way to get out?  Here is my theory: always apologize FIRST (even if you were definitely right...) and then get the conversation moving and let the "healing" begin.  Apology gifts are usually good tool to consider.

We had a hilarious situation happen a few years ago that we always remember and reminisce about.  A guy was attempting to solve his challenge of getting out of the dog house by sending his girlfriend a beautiful and huge arrangement as a make-up apology.  When our delivery driver was walking up to his apartment, he heard "funny" sounds coming from the open door.  He then knocked on the open door knowing this was going to be super awkward. The dude peeked his head over the couch without clothes on and yelled, "Just a moment!" and slammed the door shut.  About a minute later he opened the door while zipping up his pants, and said, "I don't need this anymore, but good timing. She'll love these..." Apparently he did something right.

Flowers are always a way great for apologizing, because what lady doesn't like them?  You can be sure to look like the good guy and get the communication ball rolling.  Keep in mind that flowers also act as a supplementary tool to entice your lady to allow you to get something. Whether it is a new tool, firearm, big screen TV, or something else... just saying.  Keep that in the back of your mind. It is that time of the year you know.    

Ladies - Your Eyes Only! Valentine's Day Suggestions

Ladies: contrary to our previous post about the Man's Duty on Valentine's Day, it is your duty to expect and frolic in the lavishing your man will provide. Drop subtle (or sometimes more obvious) hints about what you want. For example, what your favorite place is for a nice dinner, what your favorite flowers are, or what your favorite scent is. This is an adverse view to what most would think, though being a man, I probably have the same mentality and way of thinking as most men, and need to be told what you want.  Of course we can be spontaneous and creative at times, but with a little nudging, you can get what you want and you both can have a great Valentine's Day.

Over the years I have read endless stories and blogs about how men have to do this or that and be sure to surprise his lady by doing something unexpected.  Let's be serious though, we all know how this game is played and we shouldn't fool ourselves.  For the perfect Valentine's Day, make your man think the ball is in his court and simply call the shots from the sideline - then everybody wins.

On a different note, have you thought about giving female co-workers, your mom, your friends, or even your children Valentine gifts?  Flowers, candy, gift cards, or a simple "Happy Valentine's Day" with a smile and wave is an easy way to make people beam.  Have you thought of giving your man a gift? What about a beer gift basket, or tickets to the game, or even flowers with a bottle of wine in the arrangement?  These will definitely build up the brownie points...not like you needed any!

More Valentine's Day suggestions, ideas, and thoughts to follow.

Men - Your Eyes Only! Valentine's Day Suggestions

Men: with Valentine's Day right around the corner, you should be thinking about how to surprise, charm, praise, and thank your lovely lady for doing all the great things she does for you. Be prepared. One great way to start is to send her a gift early in the week at her place of business so she can enjoy (and flaunt) your thoughtfulness with her co-workers.  If you are the one who sends her a gift early in the week, all of her co-workers will be gossiping how special she is and how awesome you are.  This is a time-tested technique for you to win big points...

There are plenty of gift ideas here for you to check out. Remember to not let others out do you, because that would be very embarrassing for your gal, especially at work.  Nothing will make you stand out more if her friends and co-workers are in envy of your kindness.  Even if you are not fond of Valentine's Day, it is our job as men to make our women feel really special.

An idea to make her feel special is to do something you don't usually do, such as getting a hot bath ready with rose petals floating on top and scented candles placed around the bath tub. One guy sent one rose on 2/10, then two roses on 2/11, three roses on 2/12 and so on, because they were celebrating their fifth Valentine's Day together. He definitely built up his brownie point coffer!

More ideas for the perfect Valentine's Day to follow!