Florist vs. Wholesale Flowers

Sandy...Thank you.

Samantha....That's funny. I asked our venue if that was the case. They said no. Also, we did our research as well. I read every review on WW within the last year. The complaints of being late and missing things rang true for us. The delivery person forgot the 3 sets of grandparents' corsage/bouties. He had to drive 45 minutes back to the florist and another 45 back to her grandparents' home(where we were dressing) Their mistake created a great deal of unnecessary stress. So, even with research, the vendor can drop the ball.

Marilyn T....I LOVE your floral inspiration. It's unique and goes quite well with your theme.

A florist just contacted me through thumbtack.com and she quoted me $55 for my bridal bouquet, $45 for my bridesmaids and she said centerpieces average $30. I'm wondering how she keeps her prices so low?? I'm sure mine will all work out to be a little more since I want the garden roses and pink anemones with the black centers. And the dusty miller is expensive from what I've heard.

I wanted to correct some misinformation earlier in this thread:

Rose varieties are cultured for height, color, head size, etc. That said, the fact that a rose is open or closed has no true bearing on it's freshness. Many rose varieties have a low petal count which means they open quicker than others.

By comparison, certainly you wouldn't consider a flower with a low petal count (anemone) to be less fresh than a flower with a high petal count (peony) simply because the anemone opened, would you?

You are paying more for lower quality stems (C grade) but they appear cheaper when compared to the higher quality stems (A grade) in a retail florist. This is why the $10 paper wrapped rose bouquet at Walmart seems cost effective. That said, you can achieve great results using a "retail wholesaler" such as fiftyflowers, Sams, etc.

The only concern you should have is proper hydration, care, and transport of these flowers once you receive them. =)

MJ,

You are amazing. I already copied and pasted your tips on my flowers doc. My parents have a small cinder block boat house (not the cool penthouse kind-- the shed near the lake kind). It stays pretty cool in their naturally, but we are going to blast an AC around the clock once the flowers arrive. Does anyone think that will be good enough, or do they really need to be in a fridge? If so, how are you all finding so much fridge space? Taking the shelves out or something?

I've been checking out fiftyflowers.com and wholeblossoms.com, as well as Sam's club.

Courtney, these greens might work for you. One of them is much lighter, which I agree, is definitely more vintage-y.

http://www.fiftyflowers.com/product/Rustic-Wedding-Flower-Combo-Box_274.htm

Agreed with Mrs. S. above! When you're getting quotes - don't forget your grocery store! Try it!

Granted, I chose a supermarket because my flower needs were not large. I needed my bouquet and 2 smaller ones for my BM. I also needed mom's corsages & bouts and a couple of wrist corsages.

My supermarket did a WONDERFUL job and it cost me $215.00 incl delivery to my venue for 3 bouquets, 2 wrist corsages, 2 mom corasages & 6 bouts. Money very well spent!

Ideal temperature for flowers to keep freshness the longest is 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Length of bloom life decreases with the higher the overall temp.

Lots of environmental factors affect bloom/vase life outside of temp: flower quality, shipping/packaging, water quality, proper hydration processes, amount of light, etc. It's important to remember that these grades of flowers won't have the same performance as higher grades, so expectations for performance should be limited.

Another good example is the presence of the Osiana rose under the Peach category on fiftyflowers.com. No high-end florist carries Osiana roses any more (and I'd be skeptical that any average florist could get them without resorting to using these cheaper websites/growers). Osiana was a popular variety 20 years ago but have since surrendered to better quality and better technology in roses.

Just use common sense with the purchase and the care and handling of your flowers. =)

Courtney, Those silvery green leaves are called "dusty miller". If you do decide to do your flowers yourself, just know that it's going to take you much longer than you think it will. give yourself a few days to get it all done. if you think you can do it all the day before, think again! You shouldn't be stressed out on your wedding day because you spent the whole night before doing arrangements that you thought would be "quick". If you use your home refrigerator, to store your flowers, be careful not to have it too cold. your petals can get translucent and the if they are wet at all, they can get black spots.

If you're doing roses, a good rule to follow is "warm feet, cool heads". After you process your roses, which is to cut the bottoms at an angle (preferably under water) then place them into very warm water (that's the warm feet). The warm water causes the hydration to travel up the stem quicker (heat rises) *next post...

Then store them in the cooler (cool heads). the cooler not only stops them from blooming out to quickly, but it also keeps the petals looking really fresh and spot free. You should have a flower food solution in the water as well. We florists have more steps in the process than I just shared with you, but for a D.I.Y situation, I skipped those and stuck to the simple necessities.

I of course would recommend hiring a professional! but if you do it yourself, I want you to have as little stress a possible

Good luck!

OK, so I realized AFTER I posted that there are TWO pages, not one... so If I was redundant on any subject that had already been answered, that would be why! lol. Still, I hope a helped even a little

Thanks ladies...am at this stage of planning. Have trouble finding a florist that isn't over priced.

In addition to the wise advice provided by Flair and Soleil Flowers, I would add that having your blooms at the 'right' stage of being open is not always easily done. As florists, we put blooms in and out of the cooler, using warm water or cooler water, etc., to make the flower blooms at the 'right' stage of being open for the wedding. You don't want them blown open so they'll fall apart, nor still too tight. And, secondly, I would emphasize that the quality of flowers and design is going to vary tremendously based upon where you get your flowers. This is certainly the case of you get what you pay for, so it really depends upon what is important to you. And, lastly, flowers are messy! LOL! They're dirty, wet, and may not be something you want to deal with when trying to have your hands, nails, etc. at their best. Hope this helped too!

Well said Flowers Flowers!!