On the heels of another holiday, I realize that once again customers are deceived at the photos from wire services, i.e. Teleflora, FTD, 800-Flowers, etc, versus the price they've paid online.
If you've ordered directly from one of those sites, they've built in their delivery fees and service fees that either don't get passed onto the florist or the florist's aren't given enough to fill to the value of the flowers in the arrangement.
As a real florist, we attempt to match the "look" of every piece from the wire services according to the recipes that we are given. These companies give us a recipe to follow for each arrangement that often times doesn't even include all of the flowers pictured. Or the wire services have designed the arrangement for the photo with ALL of the flowers in the recipe facing the front, but have sold us the design as a piece that should be designed all-around, instead of one-sided. This gives the customer a skewed idea of how the arrangement is going to look. We, as the filling flower shop, have to decide do we design the arrangement all the way around (which means that the look of the arrangement will NOT appear as full as the picture), or do we design it as it looks in the picture? This option would either make the back of the arrangement bare (which is a no-no) or we end up adding more flowers to make it all-around? To add more flowers, makes it impossible to meet the bottom line, especially since we do not receive all the monies paid by you the customer. Either way, the florist is not able to break-even when sending out the arrangement. I'll explain below:
The wire service keeps a percentage of the amount, as well as, not indicating to you, the customer, that your total amount doesn't go towards the arrangement, but some gets taken out for the delivery too. If you were to look online at your local florist's website and notice the same arrangement you just paid for on the national wire service's website is less, you would see that we are actually listing the real price of the arrangement and that our delivery price is listed separately at the check-out. Wouldn't you want to know what you are really paying for?
For a different option, we sometimes take the container that we have gotten from the wire services and produce our own design in them so that we can give you a better product for your $$. In these economic times, we realize that all want to get what we pay for. Just remember, you don't always get what you pay for on these national wire/floral websites. They aren't really a florist themselves, they are just a "phone center" to direct the orders to real florists. Why not, save your dollars and go directly to the real florist themselves?
We really do want to please our customers. We welcome the opportunity and would rather speak to you. The opportunity to form a relationship with our customers as we recognize their needs and likes is how we have stayed in business for over 38 years. We don't enjoy getting the orders from a "phone center", we'd rather talk to directly to you, our customer.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Brides: DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Trend
Over the course of the past few weeks, we've had many brides coming in to see if they can effectively produce their reception centerpieces themselves, and a few interested in making their own bridal party bouquets.
My initial thought is, "Of course, you can!". But as I think about it there are a few things that pop into my mind that can be warning signs. I thought I would mention some of these items so that brides would have a chance to think about it before jumping in:
1) Your wedding day (and the days preceding it) are extremely stressful. If you have a tendency to get stressed over the "small stuff" then this may not be the best option for you. The beauty of flowers is lessened when making sure everything needs to look it's best for one of the most important days of your life.
2) Realize that all flowers need to be processed and hydrated before working with them! And, some flowers need to have the refrigeration time to "harden" in their perfect state before arranging them.
3) Don't take on too much! Would you make your own wedding cake and decorate it? Taking on 10-20 centerpieces for the reception may be more than you can handle.
4) There are lots of ideas that can be done by you and your wedding party. Make sure that your bridesmaids are willing to help you and that you won't be left alone trying to put this together by yourself at the last minute. Let's face it, not everyone is the creative type, so don't expect all of your bridesmaids to be expert floral designers.
There are other countless questions/comments to bring up, but you have to be prepared.
All that to say that if you decide to venture down the "designing your wedding flowers" road, then try a few ideas from the expert first.
1) Maybe just working on the bridesmaids flowers would be fun. Ask your local florist if they would be open to you and your wedding party coming in and assembling the bouquets yourselves? Or, have a one-on-one demo with your florist to show you how to make the bouquets and then work on them by yourselves if you need to. Please don't expect your florist to do this for free. This is what your florist has been doing to years and their expertise and knowledge are worth something.
2) Keep in mind that if you are going to be doing something yourself, then pick something that is easy to put together, not more than you can handle. I don't suggest trying to learn how-to design 7 cascade bouquets for your bridesmaids, this requires a little bit more skill. But a hand-tied design, maybe with all the same type of flower, might be an easier choice.
3) Take a class on floral arranging to see if this fits your creativity level. This is the best way to see if you can handle this type of work for the days leading up to the wedding. Some brides have realized too late that they loved to work with flowers, but their wedding week was too hectic.
4) How about some creative centerpieces that can be made in advance and have flowers added at the last minute? Tap into your local florist and find out what part you can do and how they can help.
The last point I want to make as a florist, is to not expect to buy your flowers from somewhere else and think that the florist you bring them to can guarantee them and work with them. I've learned this for experience. You might be able to get them cheaper somewhere else, but do you know how those flowers perform? Does the variety of flower you are ordering open nicely? Does that variety hold-up and last in the design you have chosen? Is it in season? If it isn't, then the quality of the flower isn't going to be a great as it would in the height of it's season.
As a professional florist, we do have floral purveyors that we use on a regular basis and trust the quality that comes from them. Florist's process them, clean them, add preservatives, determine the correct water temperature and special handling instructions for every type of flower. That is part of what you are paying for when you come to a professional. Our designs and labor are just a part of the whole process.
We love to help you and guide you in the most important day of your life. Trust us, we are here to help you make decisions that best fit your budget and ideas.
My initial thought is, "Of course, you can!". But as I think about it there are a few things that pop into my mind that can be warning signs. I thought I would mention some of these items so that brides would have a chance to think about it before jumping in:
1) Your wedding day (and the days preceding it) are extremely stressful. If you have a tendency to get stressed over the "small stuff" then this may not be the best option for you. The beauty of flowers is lessened when making sure everything needs to look it's best for one of the most important days of your life.
2) Realize that all flowers need to be processed and hydrated before working with them! And, some flowers need to have the refrigeration time to "harden" in their perfect state before arranging them.
3) Don't take on too much! Would you make your own wedding cake and decorate it? Taking on 10-20 centerpieces for the reception may be more than you can handle.
4) There are lots of ideas that can be done by you and your wedding party. Make sure that your bridesmaids are willing to help you and that you won't be left alone trying to put this together by yourself at the last minute. Let's face it, not everyone is the creative type, so don't expect all of your bridesmaids to be expert floral designers.
There are other countless questions/comments to bring up, but you have to be prepared.
All that to say that if you decide to venture down the "designing your wedding flowers" road, then try a few ideas from the expert first.
1) Maybe just working on the bridesmaids flowers would be fun. Ask your local florist if they would be open to you and your wedding party coming in and assembling the bouquets yourselves? Or, have a one-on-one demo with your florist to show you how to make the bouquets and then work on them by yourselves if you need to. Please don't expect your florist to do this for free. This is what your florist has been doing to years and their expertise and knowledge are worth something.
2) Keep in mind that if you are going to be doing something yourself, then pick something that is easy to put together, not more than you can handle. I don't suggest trying to learn how-to design 7 cascade bouquets for your bridesmaids, this requires a little bit more skill. But a hand-tied design, maybe with all the same type of flower, might be an easier choice.
3) Take a class on floral arranging to see if this fits your creativity level. This is the best way to see if you can handle this type of work for the days leading up to the wedding. Some brides have realized too late that they loved to work with flowers, but their wedding week was too hectic.
4) How about some creative centerpieces that can be made in advance and have flowers added at the last minute? Tap into your local florist and find out what part you can do and how they can help.
The last point I want to make as a florist, is to not expect to buy your flowers from somewhere else and think that the florist you bring them to can guarantee them and work with them. I've learned this for experience. You might be able to get them cheaper somewhere else, but do you know how those flowers perform? Does the variety of flower you are ordering open nicely? Does that variety hold-up and last in the design you have chosen? Is it in season? If it isn't, then the quality of the flower isn't going to be a great as it would in the height of it's season.
As a professional florist, we do have floral purveyors that we use on a regular basis and trust the quality that comes from them. Florist's process them, clean them, add preservatives, determine the correct water temperature and special handling instructions for every type of flower. That is part of what you are paying for when you come to a professional. Our designs and labor are just a part of the whole process.
We love to help you and guide you in the most important day of your life. Trust us, we are here to help you make decisions that best fit your budget and ideas.
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