Help! Sending Flowers

[Cehrabehra]

Okay - I know... I''m 39 years old and have NEVER sent flowers to anyone ever. I do know that when my mom died I got some truly beautiful flowers and I got some ho-hum flowers. My favorite was a bouquet of ALL white flowers... lilies, daisies, roses, iris - you name it. But all white. It was beautiful and really struck me with it''s uniform white color. I was thinking something like this would be nice, maybe with one yellow rose in it (he is from texas after all) but I''m really not excited about going with FTD... should I try to contact a local florist? how the heck do you pick a good one? Are there new and better flower sending services now? yes, i know how to google - but I also know in the world of site optimization I may not actually find the good ones so I''m looking for recommendations... possibly something local in the killeen (sp?) area.

 

[Kaleigh]

Call the high end florist in your area and have them place the order. I have done this time and time again with great success. I hate 1-800-flowers. They suck.

Love the all white flower theme. I had a friend send that to me in a short square glass vase when I broke my ribs this summer. Love the short compact look.

 

[Gypsy]

Ditto. I hate using 1800 flowers or Teleflora. I always call the nicest florist I can find in the area and place a direct order for flowers-- much better results. And I''ve even called funeral homes to get florist recommendations (they usually know the nicest ones in town, morbid but true).

I love all white with some yellow accents. Personally I always ask what they have, or are getting in, then specify the actual flowers I want used because I don''t want to pay 100 bucks for some daisy''s and baby''s breath.

 

[Lynnie]

Big ditto to gypsy''s post.

I worked at a florist through college (my mom still works there).

I think one of the best things you can do is call a florist with a good reputation, and ask them about their inventory... let them know your budget, and ask what kind of arrangements you could get. A good florist will have no problem helping you out with deciding.

I worked for a large florist - the owner dealt with 5 or 6 wholesalers, and one week a wholesaler would have a great deal on hydrangea, the next lillies, etc. So the owner would snatch up those deals, and pass the deals to the customers. It can''t hurt at all to ask if they''ve got any specials going.

As far as choosing colors, all white shouldn''t be a problem. Just make sure, like gypsy said, that you specify that you want a nice mixture.

All those international chains upcharge everything - FTD, teleflora, etc. Their $12 delivery fee may only cost $6. And all they do is wire the order to the nearest flower shop. And charge another wiring fee.

Ditto on the funeral home inquiry too. Make sure you call a few, though. Our shop had a bad rep with one of the funeral homes, not because of the quality or anything, but because they won''t accept flowers after 2pm for a 7pm viewing. The funeral home was 1 BLOCK away, and we took a last-minute order from an elderly couple in tears. We got the flowers there by 3pm, and the director was nuts and reamed us for it.

Check it out: http://www.weddingwire.com/c/tx-texas/killeen/wedding-florists/8-vendors.html
It''s reviews of florists (for wedding flowers) in Killeen tx. If they''re good at weddings, they''re good for other types of arrangements

 

[SapphireLover]

I NEVER buy from any of the chains if I can help it. I have a good florist near me and one near my mum. I always order from them and ask them to make recommendations about what is in season. It works out so much better value and you get much better selections of flowers.

Some of the Interflora bunches look like they came from a petrol station and cost a fortune.

 

[Cehrabehra]

These are excellent suggestions!

I was thinking of having the flowers delivered to the home if I can get them delivered tomorrow... think that''s an okay idea?

 

[Cehrabehra]

These were AWESOME suggestions guys - I''m totally sold and will always go local forevermore. The people I spoke with today are all so cool and I know that not only is the quality going to be better, but so was the price! Goodbye internet middleman!