How long do on-line flowers last?

Virginia V · March 2010

I'm designing all of the 9 bouquets, centerpieces ect. for my son's wedding. I used to work for a floral designer years ago, so I'm not concerned on the design end. I'm hoping to get some of my flowers from my many gardens at home, but Mother Nature plays too key of a roll of what will be in season for a June 2010 "purple" wedding. With this in mind I'm planning on using an on-line wholesaler, which I have never done and am quite nervous about. However my biggest concern is the timeline. I have to leave my area on Friday and drive approx 1 1/2 hours away to where I will be staying for the wedding week end. We have rented a block of apartments on a college campus, so I will have refrigerators. I will be working on the flowers on Saturday and the wedding is Sunday. I'm afraid the flowers will be past their prime by then, but the latest I would be able get my flowers delivered is Friday. I've also heard a few of you talk about Whole Foods, which I could get at a 20 % discount (family employee). Would their price be equal to an on-line company? I would still have to pick up on Friday. Lots of questions and I apologize, but I'm trying to figure this out. Thank you for you input.

Sue-n-Kevin · March 2010

Welcome Virginia. Congratulations to you, the mother of the groom, and to the young couple who have SUCH a talented family member! I hope my experience can help.

My plans are to order from www.costco.com. They are very competitively priced with other online sites, and offer wedding packages as well as bulk flowers. Check their website, there is a floral link at the top, and then browse the many options.

I wanted to try them out, and so I ordered 100 multiple colored roses for my Mom's birthday this past January. The cost was $89, with free shipping. They arrived on time and according to the link I was provided to track my order, were shipped from Quito, Ecuador on Jan 18th, and delivered Jan 21st, pretty fresh!

I went to her house and we followed the directions that came with the flowers. This is important, as you know, you will have to re-cut the stems and place in water. They were also bundled into bunches of 25, with cardboard over the tops to keep them from wilting. I don't recall how long we had to keep the cardboard on, I think about 4 hrs, or something like that.

By following the directions, she had a house full of roses for over a week. I brought several stems home and they were open to what I consider the best stage for wedding flowers for up to 5 days.

I have a Costco membership, and go there often. They sell bouquets daily that are amazingly beautiful and varied, all for $15.99. I was there one time and the floral designer for that store was there putting up the new flowers. She told me if at any time I needed something "special" to just let them know. They sell 2 dozen roses for $15.99 at the stores, and have bird of paradise, mixed bouquets, filler, etc.

So, you have one of two ways to go about this. Not sure if you are near a Costco store. But my experience with their online ordering was superb, and I have no qualms about recommending them.

Not sure what flowers you need, but 80 purple alstroemeria are $69.99. They have hydrangeas, baby's breath, lisianthus, calla lillies, asiatic lillies, roses, tulips, spider mums, delphinium, carnations, and many more. Good luck.

Virginia V · March 2010

Thank you for your quick reply. I checked out the Costco website and was quite impressed. The only problem I have is their selection. The bridesmaids dresses are deep purple (called Lapis at David's Bridal) and bride is wearing ivory. The accent color is a cross between a spring and mint green. I plan to add a small amount of my pale pink fairy roses to the mix as well. The plan if we have a cold, miserable spring, (can't believe I'm hoping for that) my French and traditional lilacs will be in bloom in my garden.These will mostly be used in the alter/centerpieces. The bride's bouquet will be an ivory accent, with a green tint Queen Annes Lace and hopefully purple Lisianthusor sweet peas. The bridemades will be some what the same but less purple. I saw the Lisianthus on the website, but it came in a combination of three colors and I don't need two of them. Plus I didn't see anything to bring the green or ivory in that I liked. These are to be oldfashioned bouquets. So research continues, but I am definitely keeping Costco on the list. The bride wants to leave the flowers completely up to me so I am open to all suggestions.

gmeissne · March 2010

Your son and his fiance have excellent taste! thats one of my colors! Try Sams Club. They have deep purple carnations. fiftyflowers says their flowers will last from 5-7 days after shipping.

Sue-n-Kevin · March 2010

Virginia, I totally understand hoping nature will play with your selection! I have tons of lilac bushes, but no purple in my colors, and an August wedding. I've offered some of my lilly of the valley to the girls on the local board with May weddings, one is early May, the other Memorial Day weekend, and they have differing hopes. But florists want like $50 for 10 sprigs! I have 100's of them, as they've spread over the years. I love them, and am thinking of "screwing with Mother Nature" and putting some of the sprigs in my large freezer unit this year, and seeing if I can delay blooming until August. If so, I'll be having some at my August 2011 wedding.

Whatever way you go, good luck.

Virginia V · March 2010

For me and my lilacs, I may only be talking a week or two. Does putting them in the freezer work? It doesn't danger them? I have deep French Lilacs and many of the traditional. I would love to use them.

How long do on-line flowers last?

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