Surprise I have flowers for you!!! Before I get back to the story of our Chapel Designers trip to NYC, I had to share with you two very lovely bouquets. The designs were created for a shoot I did with the girls from Events In The City. The bouquets and the shoot were photographed by the amazing Katie Stoops.

Thankfully the whole shoot is being featured today on the Wedding Chicks so make sure you pop on over and check us out. Now lets get back to the escapades of the Chapel designers in NYC.

Are you starting to get a feel for just how much the Chapel Designers did in a few days. Recording all that we did is making me realize that this was one, over the top, and very fantastic week. On Monday night after spending an entire day with Tara Guerard, we headed to the rooftop for a cocktail hour.  After about an hour of relaxation we marched right back into the conference room with our good friend David Beahm. This was in fact one of the most important discussions of the week. This discussion was about the truth of being a business owner and an employer. David shared with us some of the challenges and blessings of running a creative business. This was so real and so moving and so only for us Chapel Designers. Thank you times a thousand David, for your constant support of others in the industry.

Tuesday morning started bright and early at the flower market and then with an early morning meeting at the corporate offices of Martha Stewart. Real Weddings Editor Shira Savada led our tour and that was a huge blessing for certain. This years tour took us a little deeper into the offices. Seeing the props closet was the big gift of the week. Since many of the projects are for potential print, no pictures are allowed inside the offices but our group had lots of fun posing under the Martha Stewart emblem.

Designer Holly Rutt of Sweet Pea Floral is checking out the latest Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine.

Here is a great picture of my girls Laura and Megan from Events In The City. I loved, loved, loved, having these DC planners on the trip with us.

This is Heather Thomas of HeatherLily.  This picture cracks me up, it looks like Heather is holding me up and in truth that is what this whole trip was about. Finding others in your field to hold you up, up to a higher standard, and up to a higher level!!!

Next we raced back to the conference room to learn about a new flower buying option being created by David from Modern Day Floral. And the crowd went wild!!!! We also heard from Jenn.

Jenn Modern Day Floral showed us how she handles designing reception spaces. She shared her cad system with us as well and she discussed the growth and future of Modern Day Floral.

Isha Foss of Isha Foss Events discussed how she verifies her expenses each year. She offered some super great tips about staying true to yourself and the business you have created.

Designers were thrilled with the opportunity to consider new business practices, software, or technology. This is a photograph of Angie Strange from Posh Floral. She was taking serious notes.

Evan and I did a comedic relief session on how we are working together and how we manage all that we do!!!

When it was time for me to speak, I was in the mega relaxed zone. I felt like someone had slipped me a pill. I guess that was due to exhaustion and the sense of gratitude I was feeling, and that the celebrity visits and lectures were over. Being responsible for the schedule and the experience the designers were having was a major concern of mine.  Once I got into that room of just friends I felt like I had slid into a comfy slipper, and I knew we could just be real. I dont know what the heck I shared, but I did feel safe, respected, and I knew I could be honest.

At the last minute I also asked Daevid to speak. He was new to our group this year, but I am certain he is someone I will be learning from. His design studio is based in Norfolk and he is a serious superstar. We were so blessed with the designers that visited us this year!!

Tuesdays conference ended with a huge shipment of flowers from Mayesh. We opened the most gorgeous box of flowers right there in the conference room. The designers had so much seeing the offerings of this fabulous wholesale flower company.

Tuesday ended with a group picture, although some of the designers had already slipped out of the room when I remembered to try and capture one picture of us all together. Tomorrow I will share with you our experience at the Flower School of NY and the prestigous designer Ariella Chezar.