Flowers

Costco roses

I have been playing with the idea of ordering the bulk roses from Costco (100 stems for $89.99) and actually doing the bouquets myself. I watched and read some tutorials online and it seemed like something I could do if I do some practice runs first. I read the reviews on Costco's website and they were kind of mixed. Some said they were great and opened up beautifully, some say they were horrible and dead. I was wondering if any of you girls did the Costco flowers and if you would suggest it. Also, any tips for care when you receive them or when would be the best time to have them delivered? One review said that they have to be de-thorned when you get them. I don't know if I trust myself to de-thorn 100 roses, but maybe if I had a helper? I don't know... 

Also, has anyone used them for their table petals? I would love to have fresh petals on the tables at least, if not for the aisle also (I'd rather not littler and have a thousand silk petals blowing around outside). If you've gotten fresh petals, what kind of care did you need to do when you received them?

TIA
April 2011 November Siggy: Venue Photobucket Wedding Countdown Ticker

Re: Costco roses

  • Catwoman708Catwoman708 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I haven't ever ordered them from Costco, but I buy them from Sam's Club all the time.  I think they are supposed to be pretty similar in price and quality.

    If you pre order in bulk, I'd pick them up or have them delivered 2 days before the wedding.  Trim the ends 1/2" and get them in water with some floral preservative immediately.  They need to "rest" for a few hours or overnight in a cool place, out of drafts and away from sunlight.

    They usually come tightly wrapped so they won't open up.  If you want them open, unpackage them and they should be fairly opened up by the wedding day.  If you don't want them open, leave the buds packaged as long as possible. 

    There is a floral supply gadget you can buy to de-thorn the stems.  It looks kind of like a giant staple puller.  Or you can just snip them off with floral shears, or if they are sharp enough, "rake" the stems with the shears, sharp scissors, or a sharp knife.

    Some color roses tend to wild quicker, and I occasionally get some that don't open up before they start to droop. 
  • Sue-n-KevinSue-n-Kevin member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Answer First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I ordered my Mom 100 various roses from Costco for her birthday back in January. They come with instructions.......they have cardboard wrapped around the rose tops, in groups of 25. You have to follow the directions to put them in water, wait a few hours before taking the cardboard off, and recut them. I don't recall anything about taking the thorns off, we didn't.

    I brought some of them home so I could watch how they did (since I'm planning on using them as well). They looked great 7 days later.

    The online tracking tool they provided after they were shipped showed they took 3 days from Ecuador to her front door.

    I have no qualms about ordering my flowers from them. However, I am going to order a wedding package, probably the white roses, and some bulk white roses for centerpieces.

    If you live near a Costco, go there at some point and ask to speak with the "flower lady". We were there once and she was placing the arrangements she had made. She said we could get in touch with her anytime if we needed something specially made. Not sure if this happens at all stores, and this was a while ago.

    Another good site is www.californiaflowergrowers.com. I may get some additional bulk flowers from them as well, as they have a bigger variety.

    Good luck. Based on my experience, I have no qualms.
  • GnatthebrideGnatthebride member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I'm trying to decide if I should try this or not too. I did go to sams club and talk to the manager there and he was saying that the flowers come in "vacumn" packages and really need to set for 24 hours to recuperate after unpacking. This followed what I saw in some of the Costco reviews online for the bulk flowers.

    As of now I am going to give it a try..... but I went out and spent a couple bucks on a few fake flowers to make a fake boquet as a back-up plan. Worse case I figure I'll stick the flowers in the back of the ceremony where no one is close enough to tell if it is real or fake and it will be a bonus arrangement. I'm thinking it is worth the money to prevent myself from turning into bridezilla if it doesn't work out.
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  • edited December 2011
    We're ordering the individual rose bouquets from Costco in Chicago and just putting them in a vase.  I don't think I could deal with 100 to arrange.
  • knaasknaas member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I went to the Costco near me and got their florists number and I am going to  ordered straight through her what I need.
  • chendrix77chendrix77 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I was going to order mine through Sam's Club but my mom also has a membership to Costco so I will check them out too and compare. I read through almost all the reviews on Sam's Club and majority of them were all positive. It would be so much cheaper to do and I want to keep mine simple.
  • edited December 2011
    Friends of ours ordered them in MI for a SC destination garden wedding.  They raved about them!  They ordered pre-arranged bouquets, though, that just needed the stems cut to length.  Our friends did need to be at the destination 2  days ahead, with plenty of vases, to receive the shipment.
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