Florist Tips On Buying, Ordering, Arranging, and Caring For Flowers

Prom is an expensive affair - the tuxedo rental, the dinner, the dress, the shoes, the matching bag - not to mention the hair stylist, the photographer and the prom tickets themselves! Prom corsages only add to these expenses. But you can easily save money on
your prom corsage without looking like a cheapskate.

In eighteen years as a professional florist I've learned a thing or two about prom corsages. To someone outside the floral business some of the things which make prom corsages so expensive might not be obvious.

People have asked me if it was the roses, the ribbon, the elastic band or some kind of secret product florists spray the flowers with that make prom corsages so expensive. The answer is - none of the above. It's the one thing people almost never consider when buying flowers - labor. Prom corsages are very labor intensive. Prom corsages, especially wrist corsages, can take anywhere from ten minutes to half an hour to make.
Find Out How to Save Money On Your Corsage>>>

Fresh flowers can live at lot longer and look their best with proper care. Learn how to take care of them in this article: Fresh Flower Care for Floral Arrangements and Cut Flowers

You might think ordering flowers is a simple business; just pick up the phone and tell the person who answers what you want or simply go to a florist's website and order using a picture you like. It can be that simple but if you want the best value for your money, the best possible service, and the nicest possible arrangement of flowers you might want to consider a few of these tips: A Florist's Guide to Ordering Flowers for Holiday Gifts

You'd be lucky to get a week out of an average floral centerpiece or flower arrangement much less having it last the whole month between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve. You could buy new flower arrangements every week for the month of December but you don't have to. You can keep your home decorated with stylish fresh arrangements throughout the holiday season with a minimum of fuss if you just follow a few guidelines which can be found here: How to Make Your Fresh Floral Arrangements Last Throughout the Entire Holiday Season

The first thing most brides are interested in are Florist Tips to Stretch Your Wedding Flower Budget.

If you need an inexpensive yet high style look for your reception you should learn How to Make Stunning and Inexpensive Artichoke and Tulip Centerpieces for Your Party or Wedding Reception.

One thing many prospective brides or couples do not consider when choosing flowers for their wedding is the availability of particular flowers during the time of year they plan to marry. Another aspect many do not consider when choosing flowers is the durability of the flowers themselves. Wedding flowers need to look good throughout the ceremony and the entire wedding reception. Some flowers can handle the stresses of a wedding better than others. You can learn about them here: The Ten Most Popular Wedding Flowers and What You Should Know Before Choosing Them

Orchids are a beautiful and elegant flower to use in your wedding. They are long lasting and sturdy flowers. However, orchids can be quite expensive. This doesn't mean you can't have orchids in your wedding, even if your budget is tight. The key to using orchids when you need to save money on your wedding decorations is to use them creatively. Learn How to Make Inexpensive Orchid Centerpieces for Your Wedding Reception.

Many advice columns and well-meaning people give brides the idea that artificial flowers, known as silk flowers are always less expensive than fresh flowers for their wedding. There are instances when decorating with fabric flowers can be more budget friendly but it's not always cheaper. It has a lot to do with the type of flowers used, their quality, and whether or not the flowers are arranged professionally. I think if brides were to learn about the differences this would save them a lot of money, hassle, and unnecessary stress.

You can save money by using silk flowers for your wedding but you have to keep a few things in mind to guide your choices. Find out how Silk Wedding Flowers Are NOT Always Less Expensive Than Fresh but They Can Be.

Silk flowers are often touted as an inexpensive alternative to fresh floral wedding decorations and that is not always true. However, many people don't talk about the other advantages of using artificial wedding flowers.

In this article you can learn about the Advantages of Using Silk Wedding Flowers Instead of Fresh Flowers.

You get on the phone and order red roses arranged in a vase with babies' breath and greenery. The florist tells you it will cost you $74.95 and will be ready for you to pick up in fifteen minutes. On your way home from work you stop into the floral shop to pick up your arrangement. Drawn in by the colorful, fragrant masses of flowers in the display cooler you decide to step inside and take a look around while the clerk wraps up your purchase.

Inside the walk-in cooler you see buckets of roses and other cut flowers for sale by the stem. The placards on the buckets of roses read "$3.50 per stem" and the buckets of other flowers have similar signs with different prices. Looking around, you see babies' breath for $2.50 per stem and leather leaf fern for twenty-five cents per stem.

The gears start turning in your head and something just doesn't add up. Your dozen roses has $42 worth of roses in it, about $5 worth of babies breath in it, and maybe $3 worth of fern. The vase couldn't cost $24.95, could it?

You go out into the shop and look for a vase like the one your roses were arranged in on the shelves. Finally you find it. It's only eight dollars and twenty-nine cents!

So where did the other $16.66 come from?
Find Out>>>

Countless businesses advertise flowers on television, on the radio, in the papers and on the Internet. It's easy to get suckered in by numerous flower marketing go-betweens.

Aggressive branding has resulted in almost universal recognition of the floral go-between giants - Teleflora, 1800Flowers, FTD, ProFlowers, and Flowers Across America. But did you know that these companies do not make the floral arrangements you send to your loved ones? They are simply go-betweens
for you and a florist in the city you are sending flowers to.

Read More>>>

Designing your own arrangements can be very rewarding but a few tips and tricks learned from years of experience (and learning from, er, mistakes) can help you have an even more enjoyable do it yourself experience. You can find some of my tips here: 10 Tips and Tricks of Professional Florists and Floral Designers

Are you sure you want to become a floral designer? I describe a little bit about the profession of being a florist giving some of the negatives as well as some of the positives in this article: So You Want to Become a Floral Designer?

Already a floral designer? Maybe you'd like to learn 15 Tips and Tricks for the Professional Florist and Floral Designer?

The Ugly Side of Valentine's Day and Why You Should Skip the Red Roses
People think of Valentine's Day as a romantic holiday. After 17 years as a floral designer I think of it as an overhyped pain in the ass. I've come to see the artificiality of it as played out by thousands of customers.
Find Out Why>>>