Exotic Flowers in Boston

The wedding designers and staff at Exotic Flowers in Boston are proud to announce our new partnership with Lombardo's function facility in Randolph. As a package florist for Lombardo's, Exotic Flowers will be able to provide our stunning floral designs for any event at Lombardo's

Lombardo's function facility is conveniently located at the intersection of Route 128 / 93 and Route 28 in Randolph, MA. Nestled in the midst of the Blue Hills, Lombardo's is a landmark for brides, grooms and guests who want to create a lasting memory for the wedding day.

Not just a wedding facility, Lombardo's hosts trade shows, baptisms, christenings and birthday parties. No event is too big as Lombardo's has four function rooms. Neighboring hotels make Lombardo's a convenience for guests and hosts alike. 

The food, experience and largest chandelier in New England make Lombardo's the ideal choice for any event. 

A complete synergy of two family owned businesses in their third generations, Exotic Flowers and Lombardo's complement each other. With Exotic Flowers extraordinary arrangements on the table of your event, you will be hosted by two icons of hospitality in the Boston area.

The Chinese New Year is upon us. The Year of the Dragon has arrived. Chinese New Year is the most celebrated holiday in the Chinese calendar. Celebrations go one for two to three weeks. The new year is a time for family and friends to feast together.

The staff af Exotic Flowers celebrates Chinese New Year by splurging on our favorite Chinese restaurant, Seven Star Bistro in Roslindale. At Exotic Flowers, we work on our feet and eat at our desks. Delivering and selling flowers in the Boston area is hard work. We build up huge appetites and Seven Star hits the mark on delightful entrees. I especially like the pork with thai basil. 

Seven Star Bistro features a legendary Hot n Sour soup that people travel from Cape Cod to buy and store in their freezer. The barbecued ribs are famous and I always order the chicken wings, forbidden black rice and hunan beef. 

All their food is made to order so you want to give them a solid twenty five minutes to get your food perfect. Just this past friday I called at 5pm and could not pick up until 545pm. But it my chicken and broccoli, beef fried rice, chicken wings and pork strips (unique to Seven Star) were well worth the wait. The owner Chris is your cook and wears many hats. Just knowing Chris alone will make you a loyal Seven Star client. 

Seven Star Bistro is a regular part of our menu at Exotic Flowers. Let Chris and Michelle make your next meal a delight. They cater too.

Every bride wants to look her best on her wedding day. Sorry guys, all eyes are on the bride. The most discerning guests notice every item from how the bride wears her pearls to how her flowers are held.  Want to be a head turning bride ? The presentation of the bride is not only one of the most important elements of your wedding but also the most fun. Once the bride chooses her dress, shoes, flowers and bling; it is time to plan your cosmetic design.

Some Boston brides prefer to hire a professional makeup artist. Many other brides choose a friend and family member .  All you need is the proper guide to application and color contrast.  Keeping the makeup in house is a great way to save money on your wedding.

 Color tones in foundation, blush, lipstick and eye shadow that reflect the hues present in either the dress or wedding décor is a common mistake.  Colors should always reflect a bride's natural complexion. Brides often make the mistake of wanting to look tan and come out orange.  The worst thing you can do is look at your wedding album in twenty years and have your children ask why you look like an orange crayon.

Blush should be a shade darker than the chosen base then applied underneath the cheekbones.  Once you’ve found the proper shade, then the bride can narrow down her lipstick by either sticking to deeper, more romantic shades ( mahogany brown, maroon or sultry red) or lighter shades expelling a soft bridal effervescence ( honey, peach or delicate pink).  Eye shadow should also reflect the particular lighting of the bride's eyes to ensure a dramatic statement.  Blue eyes SHOULD NOT be glazed in shadows of blues.  This washes out the natural beauty of her eyes and delivers no “pop” appeal.  If you have brown eyes blue eye shadow sets off a sexy composition, finishing them off with black mascara and liner.  Green eyed or hazel eyed beauties should enhance their assets with shadows of gold, using either black or brown finishing products to complete this earthy and exotic fashion. 

Less is almost always more in this area of bridal etiquette so let the natural beauty in you glow.  Every bride has an inherent shine that comes from within making this an area where most need very little help from bottles and tubes of artificial enhancement.  Keep it simple and let your inherent loveliness and charmed smile do the radiating of glamour.

Suzie Canale

on Twitter @SuzieCanale

www.beantowntales.net

My Boston home is always filled with orchids. Orchid plants, cut orchids, phaelenopsis, dendrobiums, cymbidiums. My wife Suzie and I cannot get enough orchids. Cut orchids last for weeks while orchid plants last for months. Like any plant purchase in Boston, do not waste your money on an orchid plant from Ikea, Home Depot, Lowe's, Target or Roche Brothers. Leave it to the experts. The staff at Exotic Flowers in Boston knows orchid plants. We're experts. 

Zygopetalum. This unique purple , brown and green orchid is one of the sweetest smelling orchid plants commercially available.

The cattleya orchid: what's old is new again. I often hear stories from my parents how cattleya orchids were used almost daily decades ago. Watch the Godfather and you will see them in the funeral tributes at Don Corleone's funeral.

The Vanda orchid is my favorite. The plump blossoms protruding from a mass of dangling roots make this plant an orchid lovers dream.

The Lady Slipper orchid is prized for high end wedding work. The  Paphiopedilum is one of my wife Suzie's favorites.

Miltonia orchids are a great choice for the orchid plant lover who is tired of the Phaelenopsis and likes more of a challenge.

The Phaelenopsis orchid is the most sold orchid plant in the United States. What's not to love?

Orchids and orchids are available nationwide through Exotic Flowers. Contact us today.

The following notification has been taken from the Society of American Florists (SAF) Member Wake Up email on 12/31/11

Best of Floral Management’s Hands On. If you think Sales Wake-Up is the only place where SAF members can get innovative ideas for increasing sales, then you likely are not reading the monthly Hands On column in SAF’s Floral Management magazine. It’s a treasure trove of best practices, management tips and, yes, sales ideas. As we bid 2011 farewell and get ready to ring in another year of Sales Wake-Ups, we want to pay tribute to you, our loyal readers, by gifting you with our top five sales-boosting stories from Hands On: 

No-Fail NeW Year’s
resolutioNs
> Resolved to start 2012 on the right foot? Take a step forward
with these practical changes, culled from a review of New Year’s
resolutions for florists and small retailers.
Invest a higher percentage of your marketing budget in
packaging. One year ago, florist Rick Canale resolved to shift
Yellow Pages ad dollars into monogramed bags and cellophane,
as well as interior and exterior signage for Boston-based Exotic
Flowers. The exterior signage, in development now to replace
two illuminated “relics,” “will pay for itself the first year,” he said.
“The new signs are grabbers.”
Canale also updated the staff uniforms: “The polished look
has made a huge difference in the psyche and approach of staff
when we all dress in the same color” (maroon), he said. Even
seasonal personnel will sport matching, logoed jackets for
Valentine’s Day deliveries.
******

Exotic Flowers in Boston remains an active marketer in the floral industry. We are proud to share our ideas. Honored that our ideas are shared with our colleagues. And Exotic Flowers in Boston is confident that our business ideas not only benefit our growth as a Boston Florist but benfit the entire floral industry.

Stay tuned for more exciting marketing ideas from Boston's Premier Florist as we start planning a new entry for the Floral Management Marketer of the Year.