1. Always use clean, sharp utensils (knives, clippers, or shears) when cutting flowers. Do not use paper of fabric scissors because these will crush the flower’s vascular systems and prevent proper water uptake.
2. Cut all flowers and foliage about one inch from the bottom at a 45 degree angle. Remove all the lower foliage that would be submerged in water. This will retard bacterial growth, which shortens the vase life of flowers and makes the water smell foul.
3. Immediately after cutting the stem, place it in a vase filled with cool water.
So… you think Mr. is short for mister and Mrs. is short for missus?
Well, originally Mr. and Mrs. weren’t short for mister and missus at all. Mrs. was an abbreviation for mistress, the female counterpart of master, abbreviated Mr.
However, not just any woman could be called a mistress. For centuries, mistress only applied to all adult women of higher social standing, whether married or not.
Like master, the word mistress had a general meaning of someone who was in charge of something. Mistress could be used to refer to a governess (who was in charge of children) as well as a woman who was the head of a household.
So, what about Missus and Miss?
Well, Mistress is the root word of both of Missus and Miss. What I find quite interested is looking at the way these words (which are derived from Mistress) have developed their own meanings and that throughout history, these meanings have changed based on the status of women in society, home and in the workplace.
In fact, it was not society’s desire to label a woman’s availability for marriage (in the case of Miss), or the socially superior status of marriage (Mrs.) that steered to the use of these titles to distinguish female marital status. Rather, is was due to socially ambitious young single women. These women wanted to identify their propriety as distinct from the mere businesswoman or upper servant, hence the term Miss.
Eventually, the use of Mrs. to distinguish between marriage status and class status began to blur, but Mrs. did not definitively signify a married woman until around 1900.
My 2015 wedding season has come to a close with a wedding style photo shoot to cap off the year (a sneak peek will soon follow). After a week of cleaning, organizing and returning rentals, my life and my work space finally feels back to normal and not a haphazard mess of buckets, ribbons and boxes.
You may have noticed that there haven’t been a lot of wedding blog posts from this summer. That’s at the top of my to do list once I receive the photos from all the photographers. Believe me, I’m dying to see the photos and I so am eager to blog about each wedding I was honored to be a part of.
Until then, here are a few photos I took (or my team took) during this past season.
https://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.png00Jessica Swagmanhttps://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.pngJessica Swagman2015-10-16 21:44:302015-10-27 19:59:17My 2015 Wedding Season
May 3, 2015
Enchanted Animals Amidst a Whimsical Garden
The moment I saw the Enchanted Manor with all the animal statues, I knew I had to play up that “enchanted animal garden” motif. With my mind dreaming of antlers, feathers and animals (oh my!), my fingers were busy emailing vendors and covered in goopy papier mâché. With my eyes constantly scanning the sky (Michigan weather is totally unpredictable) and my car making multiple trips to the lakeshore every week, I managed to find sleep in-between all the busy. I am so thankful to my amazing vendors and friends for helping me design and execute this wonderful style shoot.
Stay tuned, because this style shoot will be featured on Artfully Wed on November 6!
Erin and Ross are some of the sweetest and kindest people ever. I know, I know. I probably say this about all of my couples. But seriously, these two are wonderful. They are some of the most welcoming and warm people that I have had a chance to work with; which isn’t surprising once you meet their families. Having grown up with Erin (we attended the same church for many years), it was such an honor to be able to help her and Ross with their wedding. A classy color palette was used to set the stage for flawlessly mixing modern pattens with slightly vintage details. Add in a stellar pair of shoes (seriously, they are amazing!), a donut dessert table, and potted succulent favors (they live in Arizona) and you have a wonderful wedding. I couldn’t think of a better way to start my wedding season than spending it with these two. All my love to you both as you start this new journey together.
