Active Weddings Trend

On May 1, 2015, Cheetah Platt and Rhiann Woodyard celebrated their 48th wedding ceremony in New York City’s infamous Times Square with an audience from all over the United States tuning in to Good Morning America to watch their final nuptials. Besides a love for each other, Cheetah and Rhiann share a love for adventure. The couple met at an acrobatic training session where Cheetah says of Rhiann, “I picked her up and never put her down.” As the two began to plan their wedding after becoming engaged in 2014, they realized nothing about the traditional wedding preparations felt good for them, “It was expensive, it was stressful, nothing was feeling right, and we realized, ‘Wait a second, renting a venue is $10,000 or we can go around the world for $3,000.” And so, the adventurous couple planned the trip of a lifetime, traveling the world together and exchanging vows 47 times in 47 exotic locales around the world. Their favorite wedding location was in front of the pyramids in Egypt-- talk about a venue! For Cheetah and Rhiann, the world became their wedding venue, the natural sights like the pyramids of Egypt or the botanical garden in Colombia became their ceremony decor, and they never spent more than $50 a night on lodging.

While Cheetah and Rhiann’s wedding may seem extremely unique, this idea of the adventurous or active wedding is actually an emerging trend cropping up in the wedding industry. Active and adventurous couples want to incorporate that unique side of their relationship into their big day like Paul Donnelly and Laura Oliver, whose unique nuptials were recently featured in the New York Times, did with their Wedding Day 5k, which was complete with race numbers, t-shirts adorned with specially made logos, swag bags, and time rankings for their wedding guests.

The New York Times cites other brides and grooms seeking out physical activity as a way to bring about the bond of matrimony in wedding ceremonies. One couple in upstate New York participated in a $2000 Barry’s Bootcamp session with wedding guests prior to their wedding ceremony, while two military veterans elected to have guests participate in a Tough Mudder competition just after they were officially pronounced husband and wife.

More Millennials report themselves as members of a gym, intramural sport, or other athletic organization than they do as religiously affiliated, so it is not surprising that the shift from traditional church wedding ceremony to more active and adventurous ceremonies and traditions are beginning to emerge as the Millennial generation begins planning more and more weddings. In each instance of these new and seemingly “radical” weddings, all couples stressed the importance of doing what feels right when planning a wedding. For them, the traditional venues and approaches to the ceremony and reception weren’t organic and didn’t capture their individualism, and so, they found what worked for them.

Whether you and your groom decide to go a traditional route, incorporate something active and adventurous, or even some other unique touch that maybe doesn’t require world travel or running a marathon, Peachtree Petals is here to help you with your wedding flower needs. Named top Atlanta wedding florist by TheKnot.com and WeddingWire.com, the Atlanta florist has over 20 years of combined industry with extensive experience working with wedding flowers and brides. Peachtree Petals is so confident in their ability to provide you with the arrangements you’ve been dreaming of for your special day created with the highest quality of flowers within your budget, that they are offering Atlanta brides free wedding consultations to begin the planning process. Schedule your consultation today using Peachtree’s easy online consultation scheduler to begin!

Flower Girl and Ring Bearer Etiquette

As weddings become more individualized and less traditional, brides and grooms are often faced with a tough decision when it comes to how to handle having flower girls and ring bearers in the ceremonies. While many couples now opt for children free ceremonies and/or receptions, many others will still keep the tradition of a flower girl and ring bearer in the ceremony in order to place special attention on two special tiny tots in their families. With these miniature bridal party members comes special circumstances and in turn a special set of etiquette though. We’ve compiled some of the more pieces of etiquette to help you navigate through including these special members.

What’s an Appropriate Age Range for Flower Girls/Ring Bearers? According to etiquette expert Emily Post, flower girls and ring bearers are traditionally from three to seven years of age. Since these members of the bridal party are close members of family or children of close friends, or even children of the bride and groom themselves, the age range can be flexible. It is recommended, however, the child be old enough to fulfill the tasks they will be asked to perform in the ceremony. Additionally, as children reach the “tween” age range (10-14), it might be wise to consider other honorary places for them in the ceremony such as honorary bridesmaid, junior bridesmaid, usher, or guest book attendant.

Who Should Pay for The Attire? Just as bridesmaids and groomsmen would pay for their own wedding attire, the expectation for flower girls and ring bearers is for them to provide their own wedding day garb. Given the age of these wedding party members, the parents usually pick up the tab, and so, it is recommended by wedding etiquette guru at Brides.com to pick a few styles you like within a budget set by the parents and then let the parents select the outfit they feel the most comfortable with. Since children’s clothing is often much cheaper than adult clothing, many couples will offer to pay for the outfit of the flower girl and ring bearer as their gift to them for being in the wedding. Either way you go, it is important to establish how you’d like to proceed prior to asking the parent’s permission for the child to be in your wedding so there’s no confusion later on.

Multiple Flower Girls: When selecting a flower girl, choosing just one special little girl to give honorary duties to can be difficult, especially in a larger family, or if the bride herself has several daughters. Many wedding parties have opted to have multiple flower girls and it has worked quite well. Two flower girls can share the traditional duty of spreading flower petals before the bride’s entrance, or dependant upon the bride and groom’s flair for personal touch in ceremony and reception, can have non-traditional duties. Premium florists, such as Atlanta wedding florist, Peachtree Petals, can create alternate options to include two little girls such as having each of them walk down the aisle with gorgeous garland rather than flower petals, or creating gorgeous floral wreaths for their hair for a whimsical touch.

As with making decisions about flower girls and ring bearers, there’s always more to think about when planning a wedding than one initially anticipates. Luckily, wedding flowers does not have to be a difficult part of the wedding planning process. The staff at Atlanta wedding florist, Peachtree Petals, has over twenty years of experience combined in the floral industry, bringing the most cutting edge designs and knowledge of quality blooms and greenery to a bride and groom’s special day. Peachtree Petals specializes in bridal bouquets, centerpieces, decor, unique hair pieces, gifts, to special flower girl hair pieces, garland, or basket petals, and even more to make your day truly unique. The Atlanta flower shop was recently named top Atlanta Wedding Florist by TheKnot.com and WeddingWire.com. Peachtree Petals is so committed to seeing brides get exactly what they want out of their bridal flowers, they are offering a free initial wedding consultation to discuss design ideas, budgets, review the venue, their extensive portfolio, and create a vision for the flowers needed for ceremony and reception. Atlanta area brides can schedule this free consultation by calling the florist at 800-337-1755, or using the convenient online consultation scheduler.

Best Flowers For Your 4th of July

One of the most popular holidays of the summer and for the year is no other than the 4th of July! We experience family, fun and a whole lot of fireworks while we're at it. It's truly a sight to see when we celebrate this bountiful holiday of independence.

This is also a special time for a variety of special occasions and events that occur around the 4th of July or even on the holiday itself. You know you want your occasion to be as beautiful and memorable as possible, and nothing compares to having the wonderful flowers that can create a festive atmosphere of life and enjoyment. With considering your event is being celebrating around or on the 4th of July, a great choice would be to go with the Best 4th of July Flowers that allow you commemorate both. Peachtree Petals has a number of 4th of July bouquets for you to choose from, full of those whites, reds and blues that are perfect for the holiday.

Our American Glory Bouquet is full of patriotism for our country and our troops. This beautiful arrangements consists of blue delphinium, bright red carnations and mini carnations, brilliant white Asiatic lilies, all surrounded by precious American Flags, nested within a round whitewash basket. You will love this victorious, floral expression for this holiday of freedom.

The Independence Bouquet is a dazzling, patriotic floral bouquet full of brilliant red roses and white Asiatic lilies, accented with Queen Anne's Lace and sheer blue ribbon within a glass bubble bowl vase. It is perfect for your dining room table as a centerpiece or even to send to that loved one which has a family member abroad.

Also, when you order either one of these featured bouquets, FTD will donate 15% of the purchase price to the USO to help fulfill their mission of lifting the spirits of America's troops and their families. For the best Atlanta 4th Of July Flowers, you can call on Peachtree Petals! Our floral arrangements are beyond compare, using the most freshest and highest of quality of flowers for every one of our premium floral arrangements. We are a leading floral provider nationwide, recognized as an FTD Master Florist and voted a #1 Atlanta florist. Our designers have over 50 years of combined experience and take pride in creating the bouquets that will leave your speechless, even custom-designed arrangements just for you.

Also, we can delivery our flowers the same day you order them anywhere within the Atlanta and Metro-Atlanta area. Our signature same-day delivery is available up to 3pm daily, so you have plenty of time to get your stunning flowers and floral decor delivered just in time. Our same-day flower delivery is only $11.99. If you can wait and you're not in a hurry, we also offer next-day delivery for $9.99 as well. We understand having your flowers for your treasured occasion is important, therefore, we management and perform our own deliveries to give you that additional peace of mind that they will arrive fresh and beautiful. Whether you are in need of an Atlanta Flower Delivery or a Alpharetta Flower Delivery, Peachtree Petals is here for you for your 4th of July holiday occasion and beyond. Visit www.peachtreepetals.com and celebrate your 4th of July with Peachtree Petals today!