Haha, okay so that title might sound a little dramatic, but it was my reality! This story has a happy ending, but it's a good example of events that can go on behind the scenes and sometimes it's just out of your florist's control! So this story begins in July, when the sweetest bride sent me an inquiry on doing florals for her October wedding. The first question she asked was whether I could get burgundy dahlias and if they were in season. I told her yes! Of course they're in season and I can get them and it was going to be so pretty! I remember her saying another florist had said they would be out of season and thinking how weird because they are definitely in season and it would be no problem. Fast forward to the week of the wedding and the day my flowers were being shipped out, my rep called me to say that all the burgundy dahlias that had come in were moldy and mushy and I was getting 0/the 60 dahlias I had ordered! No panicking yet though, because there's actually a farm about an hour and a half from me that had some gorgeous burgundy dahlias. So I get off the phone and call them and was told they were using all their burgundy that weekend but another farm up north might have some. So I waited to hear back from the second farm and was told they just sold out of all their burgundy dahlias! So then I began to panick haha. I immediately started reaching out to my floral contacts across the country. I called farms and wholesalers in CA, AZ, UT, NM, CO, TX, OH, FL, NY...all in the hopes of finding someone who could overnight me some burgundy dahlias! You guys, before I even asked if they had them, I started getting the response, 'Let me guess, you're looking for burgundy dahlias?' Haha, are you kidding me?? The world was out! Haha or at least the country. The demand was WAY above supply for the week and I had the short end of the stick. Finally, I decided I would go down to the nearby farm and see what they had. Amazingly, they had a few stems of burgundy dahlias but I ended up being able to get some white and purple dahlias. What I planned to do next, I do not recommend!! But as a last resort, and in a pinch, there is some fresh floral spray paint that can be used to make flowers the color you want them. So, on my way home, I went to a few stores looking for this paint. Well, surprise! It can't be found! I even had stores looking up other stores in New Mexico and it was out of stock everywhere! I had to get home to take care of the flowers that WERE coming in but as soon as I got home, I found a store online, about 1 1/2 hours away, that carried this paint. I was able to get some the next day and spent the day painting flowers :) So here's the end result: Let me just say, I'm grateful to have had an understanding bride who trusted me for her big day! And to be honest, I thought it was so cool, that if any body HAD dahlias to send me overnight, they could've! It's such an amazing thing to be able to do. That being said, I'm almost nervous to share this story, because this was not a typical situation. Normally, I -or any other florist- would get a nice substitute. But when my bride had only been specific about that one thing, I had to try everything I could think of to make it happen! But, seriously, from a florist to a bride, don't be afraid of plan B's or even plan C's! Hopefully you have a florist you can trust that has your vision and best interests in mind and everything will turn out amazing :D Happy planning, brides!! Photos courtesy of Lisa's Design Studio
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Hello!I'm a wedding + event floral designer here to help with your basic wedding planning needs :) Thanks for reading! If you like what you see, feel free to contact me for a consult. Archives
April 2020
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