- Order Early!
With the sheer quantity of orders that pass through a floral shop on Valentines Day, certain vases, containers, and flower varieties sell out quickly. The 12th-14th of February is an extremely busy time for florists and as orders flood their shops, florists may find themselves needing to use substitute flowers and vases for late orders. No florist wants to deliver bad news on such a romantic holiday, and the worst case scenario for us is that there is no guarantee that orders placed on Valentines day can even be filled. Ordering early guarantees that your bouquet will look as pictured, and not have substitutes. Early orders also tend to have priority with delivery. Orders that are placed on Valentines day, or the day before run the risk of containing substitute flowers or vases and may not look exactly like the photo you saw online. Floral shops usually start receiving Valentines orders 2 weeks in advance, so it is best not to wait!
- …So you didn’t order early…
We get it. Life is busy, things come up, and before you know it…the big day is here and you have not ordered flowers yet. The best advice we can give is to contact a local florist directly. We receive hundreds of online orders on Valentines Day and for many florists, it is difficult to be able to communicate with dozens upon dozens of customers if certain flower varieties get sold out. Calling us direct will give us the opportunity to let you know that certain flowers in the bouquet you are interested in sold out 5 minutes ago, and it gives us the opportunity to communicate with you immediately about available substitutions. If you need the flowers delivered by a certain time, we can also let you know if that is possible, because many of our bouquets that are delivered to schools and businesses are rushed to get out by a certain time. To be honest, one of the more stressful situations that florists have to deal with on Valentines Day is receiving dozens of online orders at 11:30am requesting AM delivery. Communicating with us directly on Valentines Day help us provide excellent service because we will be able to know exactly what you want and need, and we will be able to communicate clearly with you.
- Shop Local!!!!
There are many places to shop for flowers online and it is so important to make sure that those places are local to where you want the flowers delivered. Many online “floral shops” are simply call centers that take your order and money, and then turn around and sell your order to an actual florist for a fraction of the cost. We at Crow River Floral have banned most online order-gatherers from our shop and refuse to accept orders from them because we know that they over-charge the customer. In the past we received many many orders from them for $29.99-$39.99 and came to find that the customer had spent over $100. Examples of online order-gatherers include Teleflora, Avas Flowers, Proflowers, 1-800-Flowers, FTD, The Sympathy Store, Just Flowers, Kims Flowers, to name but a few. We recommend looking at the physical address of the florist you are interested in ordering from, because order-gatherers will not have a local “brick and mortar” store address listed…if any at all. Ordering local will ensure that your money will go towards the flowers, not wire fees.
- A note about card messages…
One thing that surprised us in all of our years in the floral industry is that many customers believe that their card message is anonymous…. that like post office mail, the message will be seen only by you and your loved one. That is not so. Florists personally see every card message that comes through and many shops still practice the old-school method of hand-writing customer messages. Don’t worry, we don’t judge. Personalizing card messages is absolutely encouraged! Put down a fun and cute message that will make your Valentine smile. Pet names are adorable. We just want everyone to be aware that actual human beings will be seeing your card message so maybe re-think the “50 shades of Grey” or explicit types of messages because we guarantee some poor little florist is going to be blushing like crazy as they hand write that card message. 😊
- Think Outside the Box
The classic, and traditional flower for Valentines Day has always been the lovely red rose, but younger generations are drifting from tradition, and this is a good thing! There are thousands of beautiful flowers available, and choosing blooms that match your Valentine’s personality, favorite color, or interests give an extra touch of personalization. Mixed bouquets are rising in popularity, and the recipients are loving the different textures, fragrances, and colors! Don’t be afraid to mix it up this Valentines day, and do a little research into all the fun ways you can personalize a bouquet!
- Seriously…Shop Local!!!!
I know we said this earlier, but it is really SO IMPORTANT to avoid online order gatherers! Not only do they scam people out of money, but they are also not honest about the product they are selling. #flowerfails exists for a reason and we don’t want you to spend money on an online image of a gorgeous photoshopped bouquet only to be disappointed when you come home to find a few tiny roses shoved into a box and shipped to your home, waiting for you to find them in a snowbank outside your door when you get off work. Order-gatherers have one purpose…to gather orders. They will promise you everything and guarantee delivery without even knowing if those flowers are truly available. These companies seldom touch a flower, and simply outsource to an actual florist. They gather such a volume of orders that they do not care if you are disappointed, and if they do end up giving you a refund, then they penalize and fine the local florist to recoup their costs.
Hopefully these tips will help you make great decisions when ordering flowers for Valentine's Day, and we are so excited to help you select the perfect arrangement to celebrate love! <3
