Congratulation to all high school seniors. You’ve done it.  Some may say it was a breeze and some may say it was tough.  Nethertheless you have made some friends along the way. Some will move onto college right away and some will start working soon.  Hope you’ll all stay in touch after you leave school. Enjoy.    

(green orchid, he’ee, Maile, tuberose, cigar, kukui nut)

Lei are like flower arrangements, you can either pick one off the fridge or you can order ahead. When you order ahead, the lei will come granantee fresher and nicer.  There are certain lei such as the maile, pikake, puakinikini, royal ilima, or the haku, you need to order them early anyway. Not many shops have many of them in stock.   

 
(Green orchid, willamina orchid, angle orchid, cigar, carnation)

Since we are not your everyday lei shop, you can ask us to do a lei of a different color combination, different twist combination, shorter length for kids, and of course the haku lei – very popular for graduation, weddings and birthday celebration. 

(haku lei)

Look around – When you go to friend’s weddings or other functions, ask for referral when you come across arrangement that you really like. Ask friends and family members for referral. Go to wedding and bridal expos and talk to as many florists as you could. But be aware that the person you talk to may not be the florist that will be doing your arrangement. The next bridal expos are on July 25-27, 2008; January 16-18, 2009

Book early – As soon as you know your wedding date. Book your florist early, especially during wedding season between June to September. At Sweet Blossoms Hawaii, we required a deposit of 10% to hold the day and 40% more 3 months before the wedding day and finally the remaining balance a few days before the wedding.

Let’s talk – Have questions about flowers? Make a appointment and let’s talk. Out initial consultation is complimentary you. Over the years, we found that communication between the florist and the couple are the most important thing on getting what the couple expect for their wedding ceremony.  When you have any questions, go ahead and ask the florist.  Make sure you’re comfortable with the person you’re dealing with, let it be the photographer, the wedding planner or the florist.

Bring pictures – Clip pictures of bouquets and centerpiece arrangements that you like and bring them to your meeting. This will help the florist understand your wants.  Explain to your florist how large the bouquet you want or your florist can suggest a size that would fit you.  Most of our bouquets are about 6.5 to 7 inches (as a reference, a volleyball is 8.2″ diameter) Remember, it is like your dress, it is not the bigger the better.  You want something that will fit you.

Budget – Not many couples are on a no budget wedding, so we like to have the couple fill out our questionnaire and that helps to initiate the budgeting process. We are not car dealership, so it’s okay to tell us your budget. We are very creative on massaging the budget to get what you want. For example, saving two dollars per table centerpiece of 20 can give you $40 worth of flowers to be used for the most important flower arrangement of all, the bridal bouquet.

Sweet Valentine and Holidays. It may be a very romantic idea to have your wedding on Valentine Day. But the reality of it is that most florists will not be able to give you the full attention you deserved during the week of Valentine Day. Choice of flowers are limited. You will be paying a premium for the flowers during that week. Sometimes your first choice may even become unavailable as the valentine week comes near. Let’s not stack our stress over a happy occasion like a wedding. Let’s schedule your wedding away from busy florist holidays such as Valentine, Mother’s Day, and Prom and graduation season. You and your florist will have more time to prepare for the wedding. Happy wedding planning.

We recommend Wedding Planner – Katy Castillo Weddings

We got our first sunflower, grown right here behind the shop. It’s island grown, or more specifically Kapahulu grown? 100% sustainable sunflowers:) 100% organic. Water from our reused water that we change out from our flower water buckets. Compost from our flower clippings. Sunshine from the sky. Soil from the aina. Transportation of flowers is only 6 yards by foot. No dependency on foreign oil. That’s it. Enjoy! (April 11, 2008 post)

We got a lot of sunflowers. Just asked. We can cut it for you on the spot. We also saved a few stalks for sunflower seeds; and guess what; they are generic engineering sunflowers. There are seed pods but no seeds. Bad scientist. That’s why the Hawaiian taro farmers are so afraid of the generic engineered taro that they are developing at UH. What if they cross pollen? That could be the end of the Hawaiian karo. (May 25, 2008 added)

It’s graduation season. Lei giving come to mind when you live in Hawaii. And the question always come up, what is the right kind of lei to give? There is not much of any rules when it comes to lei giving. You can give it anytime, with or without an occasion. You can even buy your own lei so you could just look good. Okay, may be there is a few rules. Never give a pregnant woman a close lei, and the lei maker can make you an open end lei of any type of lei. Just ask. Give lei with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. (for company function, it is easier when the giver and recipient be of the opposite gender) Always accept a lei with a mahalo or thank you. If you’re allergic or uncomfortable with flowers around your neck, you can take it off discreetly after receiving it. Lei should be treated with respect, never place them on the seat of a chair, the floor or swing them around. Don’t wear the lei that you are about to give. Although it is okay to give any lei regardless of gender, some lei are preferred by men and other are preferred by women. In general, lei with kukui nut looks good on men. Other intricate orchid lei look beautiful on women. Lei maker even have special names for them – Christiana, Angel, Butterfly, Wilamina, just to name a few.

Lei preferred by male – kukui nut with mock orange, cigar with kukui nut, crown, maile, ti leave, ti leave with rose, heehee with sea grape, double crown, triple crown.

Lei preferred by female - pua kenikeni; pikake – single, double, triple strand or rope style; Orchid in the Christina, angel, butterfly, wilamina weave style; micro ginger with ilima, orchid, ti leave, red ginger;

Lei for both gender - single orchid in color of green, white or purple; double orchid, cigar, carnation, carnation with roses, tuberose, tuberose with carnation; tuberose with roses; haku, royal ilima, white ginger – single or double; plumeria, tie leave, stephanotis, shell,

Fragrant lei – pikake, pua kenikeni, ginger, tuberose, crown.

Rare lei – Ohia, Kaunaoa, Hinahina, makihana, Maunaloa, Pakalana, Paper flower, firecracker, Vanda Orchid, jad vine,

University of Hawaii Graduation Sunday, May 18, 2008
La Pietra Girl School Graduation at School Great Lawn on Wednesday, May21, 2008
Saint Louis School AT Neal S. Blaisdell Arena on Saturday, May 24, 2008
Kaiser High School at School Stadium on Friday, May 30, 2008
Kaimuki High School at Waikiki Shell on Saturday, May 31, 2008
Kalani High School at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena onTuesday, June 3, 2008
Iolani School at School Campus, Saturday, June 7, 2008
Other School Graduation date.

history on lei
more history
more about lei
lei seller oral history
funny guy the lei man from DC
candy lei from Vegas
care for lei

Want to see some beautiful lei. Check out the annual Merrie Monarch.

Fresh lei for Memorial Day are needed. Fifty thousand of them. If you have plumeria trees and would like to donate flowers for the effort, please email Irene at irene@sweetblossomshawaii.com or drop the blossoms off at the flower shop. We would like to collect the blossoms on May 20, 21, & 22. You are also invited to make a few lei in honor of those who died fighting for us. Lei making sessions will be held on May 21 & 22 at 6-8pm at the shop.  Bring lei needles if you have. Please sign up with Irene. On Memorial Day, your lei will be placed on the graves of veterans at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Ceremony will be held at 8:30 a.m. Monday, May 26.

If you are making a few lei at home, please plan on dropping them off at the Ala Wai Community Park on May 23, Friday, 9 am-1 pm or the fire station at 6 am-11 am. Lei are shorter than normally required, so please check Lei Making for Memorial Day’s official website for details. 

We’ve created these few arrangements especially for Mother’s Day this year. Please call for availability. Also check out these other arrangements at our photo post. You can also email us a picture of your arrangment; we could recreate it for your mom. Enjoy. Happy Mother’s Day. 

  

   

The world’s longest lei (1 mile long!), haku lei contest, investiture of the court are some of the activities for this once a year Lei Day festivities. Check out some of the images at Honolulu Star Bulletin.