While Valentine's Day [read: week] is huge for floral shops, Mother's Day and the few days leading up are the biggest for us at WildFlora.
We get a lot of people who are surprised when they walk into the shop on the big holidays and can't get the exact blooms they want, but waiting to buy your flowers on Valentine's or Mother's Day is kind of like waiting until Thanksgiving to buy your Turkey - there *might* be a handful in stock at the store if you're lucky, but you kind of just have to take what you can get. For that reason, we always suggest ordering SOONER THAN LATER.
Here's a peek at what happens at WildFlora on our big days:
1. Getting the stock - We calculate an amount of flowers needed based on the orders in place and the numbers from the prior year. Then, Alexandra, chai latte in hand, will pick up our blooms and greens from the Los Angeles Flower Market at the crack of dawn.
2. Processing - Once the flowers arrive at the shop, it's all hands on deck to unload the vehicles and start processing the blooms. Certain flowers, like roses, get a bit of an attitude if they don't get into water first. While we usually try to keep as many flowers in the cooler as possible, for big holidays we lower the shop temp and place the mass of bundles in buckets all over the shop. It's super gorgeous and magical-looking.
3. Logistics - Back in the office, someone goes through all of the orders, categorizing them by day. Delivery orders get sorted further, based on location. Then comes the fun job of punching in all the addresses into the map and finding the shortest routes for the drivers.
4. Design - Once orders are assigned to a route or pickup day, the orders are given to the florist to make. Sooooo many arrangements. We usually stay late a few nights to prep as many as we can for the following day - that way the blooms will open by the time they're received. Pizza from our favorite local joint, OVÉ Pizzeria, usually gets involved. Huge shout out of thanks to our brother company, WildFlora Design Inc., as well - on our big days, we fill up their entire office with flowers before they're picked up or loaded for delivery.
5. Delivery - Lastly, our badass drivers pack the vehicles full of arrangements. We have special foam holders that help to keep the flowers from moving around too much, but we always suggest adding water once you get them, since driving through the hills can cause a little spillage.
6. Holding Down the Fort - While all of this is happening, our designers are also taking orders from walk-in customers until we get down to a certain amount of flowers. Then we do a wait list, to be extra sure that the earlier orders get made. It's a tricky dance, so we always suggest getting those orders in ASAP.
So there you have it - a little insight into our Mother's Day. While it's a lot of work, our flower holidays are filled with fun and we really do appreciate you trusting us to provide you with something magical and pretty.
