With Valentine’s Day around the corner I thought it might be helpful to share some insight on ordering flowers. With the wide range of flowers available and each order being a unique piece of art designed just for you it can sometimes be confusing. Don’t worry though! Part of the beauty of flowers is that there are literally infinite combinations, and we are here to guide you through your purchase from start to finish.
The best place to start is with a few easy questions to ask yourself. The basic 5 w’s will cover most of what is needed; who are they for, what would you like to send, why are you sending a gift, when would you prefer them delivered, where are they going. To do our job best we will ask all of these questions to obtain all the information we need such as your name and that of the recipient, phone numbers, address, card message, and of course what you would like delivered. Whether you call us or order online, we will walk you through all of these steps to make sure your order gets to where it going on time to the best of our ability. It’s worth noting that delivery always depends on us being able to contact the recipients to confirm someone is home and that we have the correct address. Businesses and events are the exception with our aim to have these delivered by 1PM.
It’s also important to note that if you have any special instructions such as the business closes for lunch, someone’s shift at work ends early, or a contact we need to reach to gain access to a venue. This allows us to prioritize our work for the day and coordinate with our delivery truck.
When is the best time to order? There are three major floral holidays; Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day. We also have events throughout the year that take significant planning and coordination with our industry partners. These holidays and events take hours of planning and often mean time on those days is at a premium due to increased volume. Orders are always prepared in the order that they are received, so the earlier you can place your order the better, especially if you would like to request your delivery by a certain time. The one exception to this is funeral work, which frequently is very short notice to make and deliver to a memorial service. These orders always take priority and if there is a way we can get your order to the service we will do our best to make it happen. Of course we will always accept same day orders, hey life happens! The best option though is always the earlier the better as it allows us the option of bringing in any special requests you may have. A day, a month, even a year in advance is not uncommon and we are pros and remembering for you! We recommend a week in advance if at all possible, 2 or more if your order is for or close to one of the major floral holidays mentioned above.
What should I order? This will depend on many of the circumstances mentioned above. At the end of the day though, it comes down to what you would like to send. The big thing to remember here is who you are sending to. Unlike ordering food for yourself, you should give some consideration as to what the recipient’s tastes are. Are they more traditional or would they like something with a modern flair? There are samples of both on our website, but if you aren’t sure the Artist’s Choice is always a safe bet with some guidance from you.
How about budget? Well this one is entirely up to you, and we always say we can fit any budget! There are a couple of starting points though and some tips for holidays such as Valentine’s Day. Cost increases have affected every industry and ours is no different. For a baseline you should keep in mind that our average order before taxes is around $80-90 at the time of writing this blog. That doesn’t mean that your order must be that much! We can do anything from a single rose delivered for about $15-20 to, well, the sky is the limit.
It’s also important to note here that the price of the order does not necessarily affect the overall size of the order. Each flower in our shop has a different price, ranging from as little as $3.50 per stem for carnations to upwards of $80 for some of our more exotic flowers. Yep, you read that right! This wide range of prices gives us infinite options to fill your order especially if you order in advance. Want to spend $200 but want it to fit comfortably on someone’s desk at work without being in the way? Or maybe your budget is $75 and you want the bouquet to look massive? Yep, chances are we can make both of those happen with the flowers we select to use, and your input on the style you are going for is vital.
Last but not least, when you order flowers please call shop local to your area. This applies to if you are sending locally or in another city across the country. Your local shop will either take the order and look after all the details for you, or provide you with direct contact information for a real shop in the area you are sending to. There are lots of pretenders online that I discussed in a previous blog, focusing on one specifically, but they are a dime a dozen. Don’t fall for their marketing gimmicks of huge discounts and promises of same day delivery when they give you no idea where they are located and have no idea where you are sending to before taking your order. An old lesson many of us have learned comes to mind; if it looks to good to be true, it probably isn’t. Save yourself headache, money, and heartbreak by calling your local florist first.
I hope that helps and was at least a little informative, but as always feel free to comment and if you have any other questions let us know. We are your local florist, and we want you to enjoy your flowers!
Shaun Fjeldsted
Bonus! To help your flowers last their longest, change the water daily. A simple rule to remember is if you wouldn’t drink the water your flowers shouldn’t be either!