Your Complete Guide To Seamless Out Of State Flower Ordering
We’ve all needed to send flowers cross-country, whether it’s for a funeral service or to celebrate a loved one’s milestone birthday. For many of us, there’s a certain anxiety linked to using an unknown florist. What will actually get delivered? Will the design style be dated? Will the flowers be fresh? Today, we’re sharing some insider tips and tricks to make ordering from afar a breeze.
Use your local flower shop as a resource. It may not have occurred to you, but almost all upscale flower shops offer complementary long-distance ordering (called wiring out in our industry). Tell us when and where and we’ll take care of all the logistics. It’s a guaranteed way to get a similar style of arrangement you’re accustomed to.
If you don’t have a regular relationship with a flower shop, try reaching out to a luxury hotel or resort in the town you’re trying to send flowers to. Ask who their preferred or in-house florist is, and voila! You’ve been connected to the best florist in town.
Use a floral concierge service. Believe it or not, there are entire businesses dedicated to helping you easily order flowers around the world. Our favorite is B.Brooks. A member only service, B.Brooks works with the finest florists in the world so you know you’re in great hands. Think of them as the American Express Concierge of the flower world.
Sometimes knowing what not to do is equally helpful. In general, avoid ordering from any website that has no physical address listed or stock images of flowers. Huge online flower companies tend to outsource the actual design to small shops after taking large commissions. Or worse- they’ll ship your flowers in a cardboard box via FedEx. Trust us, there’s no bigger faux pas than sending funeral flowers in a box.
Stick to the basics. Without an established relationship, we recommend keeping your order simple and easy to execute for the out-of-town florist. It’s much more likely that an arrangement of hydrangea and roses in a clear glass vase will be pleasing than ordering something complex. Still worried? Send a beautiful orchid plant.
- About the shop
Helen Olivia is a boutique floral design studio located in the Del Ray neighborhood. Known for a lush and timeless style, the shop is a favorite among locals. Outside of beautiful flowers, Helen Olivia is a destination for house plants, decorative pottery, and an endless selection of stylish front door wreaths. The shop is also well known for its weekly floral design workshops — come visit us and try your hand at flower arranging! Helen Olivia is owned by Chuck and Rachel Gang who are veterans of the bustling Washington, D.C., events industry. Both are D.C. natives, and reside in the Ft Hunt neighborhood of Alexandria with their son Jack.
1519 Leslie Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22301
703.548.2848
