wedding photography... for free!

A few weeks ago, I met the talented Kp of HENLEY Portraiture. Her photography is stunning and soft. Any bride and groom would be lucky to have her snap their wedding photos... and even luckier to have her snap them for free!! Yup. F R E E!

This spring Sweet Woodruff & HENLEY Portraiture are teaming up to offer one very lucky couple free wedding photography when they book their florals with Sweet Woodruff!!

We are looking for a creative and imaginative couple getting married in Southern Ontario this March or April. This couple should be looking for romantic, garden-inspired flowers and have a budget of at least $2000 for the blooms.

To apply for this incredible offer, get in touch with us lisa@sweetwoodruff.ca or inspire@henleyportraiture.com

Check out HENLEY's work at www.henleyportraiture.com

tanya

Today I'm thinking of Tanya. Remembering the amazing impact she had on my life, the mark she left on me and all the ways she inspired me.

I've been thinking about her a lot lately, and how much she would've loved the shop. I like to think she would be proud. Opening the store this past spring was something I really wished she was here for. I would've loved to share it with her. It was an event that we fantasized about often, usually over wine and clodhoppers in our pajamas on our couch.

Last night my mom sent me the loveliest note. And I think she captured what I'm feeling so eloquently. She said,

Each year that goes by the sadness of our losses seems to dissipate but never leaves our hearts. It serves to remind us of how fragile life is and how precious our loved ones are. We must stay in the present and live life to the fullest.

Such beautiful words. And how true.

So today as a tribute to Tanya, I will be reveling in my beautiful store surrounded by gorgeous flowers, doing what I love most. And thinking about how much she would love that.

For T. xo

photos by Vicky Starz

brrr!

It's so cold out today that I thought it would be a perfect day to share these photos that Vicky snapped of me all bundled up. 

Stay warm out there!!

the wedding co show this weekend!

This weekend I'll be at the 12th annual Wedding Co. Show at the Carlu and I'm so excited. If you're getting married you should definitely be there, and if you're looking for a florist you should definitely come by my booth!

Here'a the details: 
Date: January 11-13, 2013
Where: The Carlu, 444 Yonge Street, 7th floor
Time: Friday 5pm-9pm; Saturday 10am-6pm; Sunday 10am-5pm
Tickets: $25.00 +HST online ($30.00 + HST at the door) Price includes a complimentary copy of the 2013 issue of The Wedding Co. Magazine.

Hope to see you all there!

(The above arrangements were  for The Wedding Co. Media Event last month and photographed by the lovely Katia Trudeau of Found In Love)

a year in review: 2012

Holy. What a year. Possibly one of both the happiest and saddest of my life. Reviewing it now, it is equally blissful and heartbreaking. 

Winter.
The winter began hopeful if maybe a bit apprehensive. I had huge dreams for Sweet Woodruff (still do). It had been 6 months since I had quit my consulting job to do the ‘flower thing’ full time, and I felt restless. I was just so anxious. I wanted everything to be up and running. I wanted the website to be up, the store to be open, I just wanted it to be happening already. Rome wasn’t built overnight, or something like that. I tried to be patient. I tried to channel the impatience – turn it to motivation. Nancy, one of our closest family friends (and luckily my real estate agent) started looking at retail spaces with us. It was mostly exciting. Sometimes discouraging. But she was amazing, and with every disappointment she was there by my side, comforting me that we just hadn’t found it yet. She was right. When we finally found 889 Dundas and put our offer in I knew it was mine. I felt at ease in the space immediately. The day I signed the lease I cried. I was home.


Spring.
As the winter melted away there was so much to be excited for. I went to New York. I studied more about flowers. I took classes. I met my flower idols and took them to lunch. I came back to a whirlwind. A whirlwind of painting, building, renovating, refinishing, transporting an old flower cooler in, then moving it out, then building a new custom one. That investment – that definitely made it real. My family and friends were amazing helping me get ready to open. We worked every night. Every day. Every weekend. When I opened the shop in May it was the happiest, proudest and most content I've ever felt. The feeling of actually achieving what I have always wanted to do, what I thought I would only ever dream of. There aren't words really. The weekend itself was madness. Besides opening the store, it was also my 29^th birthday. And Geoff and I decided to move... that same weekend. Mayhem. Blissful mayhem. My aunt and uncle even came in from Vancouver to surprise me for the opening party. It was perfect.


Summer.
These hot, crazy wedding filled months are simply a blur. I can't quite distinguish one from the other.  If I’m being honest, I was ill prepared for how much work it would be, running a business. It is definitely the hardest I have ever worked in my life. And definitely the most exhausted I have ever felt. But also the most rewarding. I was lucky to find some relief as my team started to come together. Joanna and Jordana started towards the end of the summer and the weddings we did together – wow! We. Worked. So. Hard! Oh but the fun we had doing it. The dance parties, the delirious laughing fits as we worked late late into the night. The results of our all-nighters were beautiful, and some of the work I am most proud of. It would perhaps be a bit unprofessional to pick favourite weddings, but there were a few (you know who you are) and I loved them!


Fall.
On Friday September 7^th everything changed. Our dear friend, and Geoff’s best friend, Pete was in a tragic biking accident in which he suffered massive brain injuries. Pete was in a coma at St. Michaels Hospital for 2 weeks. We were there every day praying, wishing, hoping. On September 21^st Pete succumbed to his injuries and passed away. Still, months later I am at a loss for words. The deep sadness and pain of losing Pete is still so sharp. It seems like a cliché and doesn’t come close to really capturing him, but Pete was such a special guy. The type of guy who really lived life. Who loved life. While we are still wrestling with the fact that he is gone, I try to remember his love of living every day and not take a minute of it for granted. 

As 2012 ends...  
 Though this year is rolling out on somewhat somber note for me, I am nothing but grateful. So so very grateful.  This is the year I opened my shop. A dream come true. And I did it only with the support of my family, Geoff, Patti, Gary, Tim & Steph. I love you guys.

Happy New Year to all of you! I hope 2012 leaves you with a sense of hope, an excitement to live life and do what you love.  

  
 

merry christmas!

Christmas is here. My favourite time of year. There is something so special about it to me, even now as an adult it feels magical. This was my first Christmas in the shop! And I took full advantage of it, turning the store into a little woodsy winter wonderland.

I wanted to start decorating the minute it got cold out  (first week of November) Luckily my girls at the shop talked me out of it! (Ha ha thanks ladies!) We waited until the last week of November instead, and it felt totally appropriate. Vicky came in and took photos. We made a wreath. We made a wreath wall. Jo and I set up a festive, glittery front window that just sparkles from the street at night. We set a Christmas table with Satsuma oranges. We lit candles at night. We revelled in all the gorgeous smells of the winter greens (even though all of us are allergic to them – it didn’t stop us)

Last year I did Christmas arrangements from my studio, but with the shop this year I got to chat with people as they came in and hear all about their plans for the holidays with their families. I got to sell people the gifts they would be giving to the people they love. It was special.

As we finish up the weekend and sell the last of the winter blooms in the cooler, I can’t help but feel so grateful. So blessed. So happy for my little shop. For my amazing girls that work in the shop with me, Joanna & Jordana, who are not only talented but incredibly kind and warm - the best shop girls a shop owner could ask for! For my amazing clients. For all my brides and grooms. For my talented colleagues. For my endlessly supportive family.    

I hope your holidays are filled with love, family, laughter… and maybe even a little bit of cheer. Happiest and warmest holiday wishes to all of you!

Merry Christmas! xo

how to: make a winter wreath

If you've been procrastinating like me this season, you may still have a couple things to do before Christmas: shop, bake, wrap, carol... make a wreath. But it's not too late! You still have 5 days! And this gorgeous, simple olive wreath is so easy you'll be on to rolling out your dough in no time. Read on below for simple instructions...

First, here's what you need:

• Floral Wire (can be purchased from your local flower shop or nursery)
• Clippers
• Olive branches (if you don't fancy olive, this 'how to' can be subsituted with boxwood, cedar, pine, etc.)

Step 1: 
Start by clipping small pieces of olive, ranging from about 6-8" in length. If you cut your pieces first you'll find it easier later on, so you won't have to cut pieces with one hand while trying to hold your wreath with the other.

Step 2 & 3:
You'll see that the individual olive branches (or other green you've chosen) all naturally fall or curve in one direction. Begin to place the pieces together curving in the same direction (almost like a puzzle). Continue by layering more pieces in that same direction until you have a some-what full looking bunch in your hand. 

Step 4:
Start wiring around the bare stems of the branches. Leave an extra 5-6" of wire at the end to tie it off at the end. You will need to pull fairly hard and wrap the wire as tight as you can. 
*TIP Wrapping the wire tightly is especially important if you are using fresh greens, because as the greenery dries it will shrink, so if you've wrapped the wire to loosely the wreath will fall apart.

Step 5 & 6:
Continue to add pieces of olive branch in the same direction, this will eventually create a natural round shape. There's no need to cut the wire as you continue adding pieces, using one long strand will ensure that you can keep the wire and branches tight. Don't worry too much about exposed wire. As you continue to add more stems it will get covered up eventually.

Step 7 & 8:
Keep adding branches until you've reached your desired fullness. When you have come all the way around and your ends meet you simply wire them tightly together. At this point you can cut the wire and for good measure do a couple extra twists around the ends to make it secure.

Step 9:
The wire will now be exposed where you've tied the ends. You can correct this by taking smaller clippings of stems and tucking them in to cover up the wire. You can also do this to the entire wreath, giving it a 'once over' to ensure there are no holes or pieces of wire showing.

Step 10:
The finishing touches! At this point everything is fair game... ribbon, ornaments, whatever your heart desires! Tie your accoutrements over top of where you tied off the ends of the wreath.

And just like that, a simple and elegant handmade wreath... Now get shopping! 

Photos by the amazing Vicky Starz