The Flower Blog

A couple years ago, we at Gillespie Florists thought it would be fun to have a Prom King & Queen Contest and have been having it every year since! Prom customers only needed to post their picture on our Facebook Fan Page wearing our flowers! We then asked our Facebook fans to "Like" their favorite picture or make a positive comment about it to determine the winner. We had several people enter but there can be only one winner!

And the Winner is...

Miranda wore a three-sweetheart rose corsage similar to the one pictured here. Miranda’s was yellow, black & silver and looked great with Darrien's matching sweetheart rose boutonniere!

As a Thank You to everyone who entered the contest, we want to offer you a free Sunshine Bouquet! Just stop in the store any time, give us your name and we will give you your Sunshine!

Those Contestants are:


Cole & Morgan
Nick Fallen Adams

Thanks again to everyone who entered the contest! Until next year!

Every year I do a blog on the flowers of the Glee Prom but there is usually a prom on Glee by now. Vampire Diaries however has had a Prom this year with a great scene showing off some different Prom flower options!

If you do not watch Vampire Diaries, let me give you the 411 on what’s going on in this episode. The series follows the life of Elena, who falls in love with a 150+ year-old vampire named Stefan. Their relationship becomes increasingly complicated as Stefan's vicious older brother Damon Salvatore returns and eventually falls in love with Elena as well. The series is set in the fictional town of Mystic Falls, Virginia and includes other supernatural beings such as werewolves, witches, ghosts, and hybrids. Through a complicated series of events Elena is turned into a vampire and because of the death of her brother Jeremy, she “turns off” her emotions. In this episode, Stefan and Damon are convinced they can get Elena to turn on her emotions by taking her to Prom and reminding her of all of the good times in her life and showing her how many people still love and care about her. 

Since Stefan and Damon are over a hundred years old, it’s not surprising they take part in the time-honored tradition in bringing their prom date flowers (even though they are taking the same girl). Stefan gives Elena a hand tied bouquet (a.k.a. nosegay) of gerbera daisies and green roses. Even though her emotions are turned off, she does accept the bouquet. I think that is very telling of Elena true feelings toward Stefan because when Damon tries to give Elena a white rose with pink ribbon corsage; she tries to refuse it and not wear it. Of course if you know Damon, he won’t take “No” for an answer and with his super Vampire skills; he grabs Elena’s wrist and straps that corsage on her like her life depends on it! Elena does show up to prom with Damon’s corsage on and doesn’t have Stefan’s bouquet so, we could say that is very telling as well. But I’m on team Stefan so I am choosing to read more into Elena accepting the flowers from Stefan.

 
Pictured here is a three sweetheart rose corsage, that would be perfect for Elena to have worn in this episode! I don’t have a picture that looks like her corsage but hers had sweetheart roses and a keepsake bracelet so, I thought this one would be a good fit. By the way, I think it is great we are seeing keepsake bracelets on television! This corsage is called Angelina and includes pink sweetheart roses, white accent flower and pink bracelet.

Later in the show I noticed the character Matt had on a single white rose boutonniere. I wonder who got that for him? The witch Bonnie? The vampire Caroline? Or did he get one for himself? I’m just glad he was wearing one because I noticed Elena didn’t care enough to get her dates a boutonniere.  The Focus boutonniere is similar to the one Matt is wearing with it’s white rose and accent flower. I think it would have looked better on Matt because of the boutonniere holder it is in. Boutonniere holders are easier to use than pin-on ones and they have a cleaner look.

I love the centerpieces for the tables! They were fresh flowers with a lighted lamp in the center. I like how they combined two things people like to have in the center of the table and combined it instead of choosing one or the other. The bouquets included white lilies, purple stock, burgundy carnations, white buttons and accent flowers. A lot of schools choose not to have fresh flower centerpieces at their proms but we have a local high school that still does it and the kids love it! They keep the cost down by bring us their own containers and many times bring in items for us to include. This year they brought us party masks to include in the bouquet.

Caroline, vampire and friend to Elena, left the Prom early because she was upset that she couldn’t spend her senior prom with her werewolf/vampire hybrid boyfriend, Tyler. She came home to set up for a party she was having later that night and there was Tyler waiting for her with a hand tied bouquet of flowers. This bouquet included lavender daisies, cushion pompons, alstroemeria lilies and solidego. It was very pretty and very sweet of him to bring.

Hopefully there won’t be vampires at your prom but there should be flowers! Go to our website to view our entire selection but clicking below!

Check out our latest video on Prom flowers below! 

Vampire Dairies airs on the CW network on Thursday nights. Make sure to catch the next episode or watch an episode on thier website now by CLICKING HERE! 

All images of Vampire Diaries are owned by the CW Network. 

It’s important to show Mom how much she means to us! This Mother’s Day get Mom one of my top 5 gifts! I based this off of sales from last year and compared them to comparable gifts we are offering this year.

5. WoodWick Candle - We carry a wide selection of fragrances of WoodWick candles, as well as RibbonWick, Spill Proof Diffusers, Car Scents and Wax Melts! Customers can add a WoodWick candle to their flower order online or over the phone. You can also stop in and pick one up to take to Mom!

4.  Wind Chime - Gillespie Florists is proud to carry Arias, Arias Elite, Festival and Shenandoah wind chimes. These wind chimes are hand crafted, hand tuned and made in the USA! We do not offer them at this time online but hope to soon. Until then, you can call us and we will tell you about our great selection or stop in the store to pick one out!  

3.  Hanging Baskets -  Our hanging baskets are filled with lush outdoor blooming plants and we decorate it with a lovely bow with streamers! When you order online, we select the most beautiful and full hanging basket we have in stock for your Mom! If you would like the know the exact kind of hanging basket we will send, please call us and we will go over the varieties we have in stock! You can also stop in the store and hand pick a hanging basket for Mom to take with you or to send out on delivery!

2.  Dozen Pink Roses - There is something about pink roses that says “Mom”! Year after year, a dozen pink roses proves to be a popular favorite as the perfect gift for Mom on Mother’s Day! Pink roses mean happiness, admiration, sweetness and appreciation! I think that makes perfect sense for Mom! One of my favorite rose colors is called Attache, they are a beautiful medium pink and have wonderful fragrance! When placing your Mother’s Day order I suggest asking for the Attache pink rose!

1.  Fresh Flower Bouquet with Keepsake - Every year we offer a variety of fresh flower bouquets. Some in clear glass vases and some in keepsake containers that can be enjoyed throughout the year! There’s always one bouquet that from the moment I see it, I know it will be a big hit! This year that’s the Fern Valley Bouquet! This small whitewashed watering can is filled with gerbera daisies, daisy poms, button mums, sword fern, bear grass, solidego, euc and a butterfly!

There’s more at Gillespie’s than these five items! Visit our website or stop in our store to see gifts like: South Bend Chocolates, Jellycat plush, Northern Lights Candles, Music boxes, silk bouquets, angels and figurines, snack and gift baskets, balloons, corsages, indoor & outdoor plants and hundreds of options in fresh flower bouquets!

Check out our entire selection by clicking below!

Watch our latest Mother’s Day video below!

We have had a couple of weekends of smaller proms and there are some definite favorites from our new 2013 Prom Flower Collection! Listed below is the top five!

 5.  Whether you are an Avon Orioles fan or just wearing black and gold, this corsage will make a big and flashy statement. The Oriole wrist corsage is created with Mokara orchids painted gold, black ribbon, thin gold ribbon, gold bead sprays, black leaves and a keepsake black bead and rhinestone bracelet! Item#13PN01          $48.95

4.  The Venetian corsage has warm, rich colors and textures! The Venetian wrist corsage is intricately designed with peach roses, mini lotus pods with glitter, bead sprays, cream and gold ribbon, green bead sprays, cream and pink accent flowers and a keepsake pink/clear crystal beaded bracelet with rhinestones!  Item# 13PN22                  $65.95

3.  Who says you have to wear a corsage?  This year we worked hard to create new designs to meet every girl’s style! The Black Magic Scepter is not a wrist corsage but is intended to take the place of it. Be the Queen of the Prom with Black Magic Scepter! This scepter is created with white posy callas, white tea roses, black glitter ribbon, white beads, silver wire and iridescent bead strands!   Item # 13PN48                  $69.95

2.  Here’s another alternative to the traditional wrist corsage! White Hot is a corsage like design of flowers we created to be added to a customer’s prom shoes. White Hot includes, three white tea roses, three glittered scabiosa pods, pink sequin accents and pink rhinestones. We create this with ribbons so you can easily attach the flowers to your shoe or bring in your shoes and we can do it for you!  Item# 13PN09                  $39.95 

1.  Our designers want to create prom flowers that match each girl's individual style and this corsage is the epitome of that! The Grim wrist corsage is shockingly repellent and inspires horror to any who look upon it! This corsage includes blood red roses, skull charms, black feathers, black ribbon, silver chain, glitter, other grisly accents and a keepsake bracelet! If we can create a corsage like this just imagine what we can come up with for your individual style! Item# 13PN26                  $74.95

We are happy to make changes to the color of flowers and other accessories in your prom flowers to suit your needs!

After our prom season is over, I will post another blog letting you know our overall Top Five Best Sellers! 

Shop our new line of Prom Flowers by clicking below!

Want to see some more of our favorite designs for 2013? Check out this video below!

Gillespie Florists Prom King & Queen

Post a snapshot of you and another person wearing flowers fromGillespie Florists on our Facebook Page and get the chance to be crowned the Gillespie Florists Prom King & Queen!

Here's how it Works:

·   Take a snapshot of you and your date wearing Gillespie's Flowers.

·   Post or Share it on our Wall.

·   Tag your self in the photo as well as anyone else in the picture.

·   We'll put it in our "Prom King & Queen Contest Album 2013".

·   Ask your friends/family to "Like" your photo or post positive comments on your photo.

·   One week after the end of Prom Season, we will tally up the "Likes" and Comments and whoever has the most wins!

What do you get if you win?

The Queen will be crowned with a tiara and flowers and

both King and Queen will be awarded a $25.00 Gift Card to Gillespie Florists!

And don't forget, Bragging Rights!

Contest ends May 22nd, 2013. Winners will be announced on Facebook May 25th!

Here's the Link to our Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gillespie-Florists/196410082316

Here are last years contestants!

Click below to check out our Prom Flowers!

Yes, you read it right. Don’t wear a corsage this year! Do something different, be daring! Why not wear flowers on your shoes or around your neck? If you want to be the one to set the trend then I’ve got some options for you!

If you are wearing a strapless dress to prom you might like our Haute Couture necklace. The Haute Couture necklace comes with a golden yellow mini cymbidium orchid with silver accents, gold leaves and gold ribbon, a little fresh greenery and a sparkling rhinestone necklace! You will sparkle and shine with this lush accessory!

Wearing a short dress? You may want to add some sparkle to your prom shoes! Let us create flowers that can be attached right to your shoe that match your dress perfectly! White Hot includes, white tea roses, glittered scabiosa pods, pink sequin accents and rhinestones. We create this with ribbons so you can easily attach the flowers to your shoe or bring in your shoes and we can do it for you!

If you get flowers for your prom shoes but you still want a little something else to accent
it, you might want to get one of our flower rings! The Sugar Sugar fresh flower ring is created with a pink sweetheart rose, wax flower, beads and a few rhinestones! We make this with an elastic band so this ring is a “one size fits all” item!

Wearing a long dress? Wearing a dress with long sleeves or a higher neck? Maybe a headband is in order!  The Sorbet headband is designed with soft pink sweetheart roses, rhinestone dazzle chain, glittered scabiosa pods, a rhinestone heart, ribbon, soft green leaves and a headband.

Wearing a bohemian or Greek style dress? Check out our bohemian style headband! Taylor is a bohemian headband with a green orchid, dragonfly pin, dangling beads, blue glittered leaves, silver accent ribbon, rhinestones and a braided silver and white headband! The bohemian style is intended to be worn across the forehead.

Do you want to feel like the prom queen for the entire night? Let us create a tiara with flowers to match your gown. We want you to feel special on the biggest night of the year with the Head Trip Tiara! This tiara includes, rhinestones, sweetheart roses, hydrangea blooms and limonium. We have different styles of tiaras for you to choose from!

Are you wearing a sleeveless dress? Try one of our island style armbands. The Callista armband is silver with rhinestones, lavender sweetheart roses, silver leaves, silver beads and metallic silver ribbon!

Want to see more? Check out our Prom Night Category by clicking below!

Check out this video of some of our prom corsages and boutonnieres below!

Most florists get 10% of their sales for the entire year from Valentine’s Day. There is a ton of preparation that happens to get ready for this one day of business!

For me, I am in charge of anything that happens online. This includes Product Development, Designer recipes and marketing. Sometimes as early as November I will start making our Specials for Valentine’s Day and take pictures of them. Duane, one of our designers will help me with some of the designs. Then I compile the best pictures of the Management team to review. They select the pictures they want used for this year's specials and I start working with a graphic designer at a printing company to create a flier to distribute. I also have posters printed for our store and I upload the bouquets to our website. I thentype up a list of all the flowers needed for each bouquet ( we call that a recipe) and give a copy to each designer about 3 weeks before the holiday. I also make sure we have a good online presence before the holiday by sending out Tweets, posting pictures on Facebook, creating YouTube videos and writing a few blogs on the subject of the holiday. Then the week of Valentine’s Day, I join the design staff and help create bouquets to fill orders!


I asked our General Manager Sarah what she does to prepare for Valentine’s Day. This is what she had to say:

“The first thing I do is hire people for temporary sales, drivers, designers and flower processing positions at the beginning of January. I interview each candidate personally and I bring them in the second week of January for training and the training period lasts about three weeks. After that,  starting the fourth week of January going into the first week of February they go into their practical experience where they practice waiting on customers, answering phones and flower processing begins at that point as well. During the week of Valentine's we start tagging orders that have been placed early with the day of the week that they need to be designed and day of week they need to be delivered. We also determine of we have enough product for the more popular specials and if not make sure we get in enough product to cover our orders.”

Sarah is also in charge of pre-ordering all of our fresh flowers, she handles weddings and the Order Control desk!

I asked Pat our main delivery router what he does to prepare for Valentine’s Day. He told me that not only is he in charge of delivery but many others things in the store as well. He pre-orders all the supplies we need. That includes vases, ribbon, flower food and so much more! He orders a refrigerated semi and coordinates getting shelving being put up in it so we can fill it with our Valentine’s product! Then he lines up the drivers for the holiday and has a class with them and he gives each driver a kit that will help them during their hectic day. The kit includes things like Frequently Asked Questions, pens, door tags, ect.

The week before Valentine’s Day we try to do anything we can ahead of time, such as: filling vases with water and preservative, cutting balloon ribbon, filling water tubes, making bows, making extra planters, getting in extra chocolates, balloons, candles & plush, setting up additional cash drawers,  setting up temporary design tables and so much more!

Check out this video of our staff and see what they said they do to prepare for Valentine’s Day!



The most important thing we do is make sure we are surrounded by lots a great people who can help us help our customers!


Want to order your Valentine’s Day Flowers with Gillespie? Check out our wide selection of Custom Products by clicking below!

Are you a Valentine's Day hater? Does cupid make you want to puke? Actually, Valentine’s Day doesn’t make me want to puke but there are a lot of people out there that hate this holiday all about love. Every year we have a few customers admit they don’t care for the holiday and we even have some customers buy flowers and corsages for Anti-Valentine’s Day Parties. 

If you have a friend who have recently gone through a breakup and isdown in the dumps about it, why not brighten their day and make them laugh a little by sending them a Anti-Valentine’s Day bouquet? This bud vase will not break the bank at just $29.95. The Little Stinker Bouquet is filled with yellow gerbera daisies, baby’s breath, greenery and a keepsake plush skunk holding a heart thats says “Love Stinks”

Anti-Valentine’s Day Parties are gaining in popularity in recent years. Now there have always been people who didn’t care for the holiday but now people are getting tired of all the lovebirds having all the fun. If you are going to an Anti-Valentine’s Party think about getting a corsage for you or a friend! Last year a customer came in and bought two corsages, one for herself and one for a friend. They were going to Anti-Valentine’s Day Party being hosted by a local radio station and she said getting a corsage always make her feel special and there’s no reason why she couldn’t feel special that day!

One corsage you might like to get is the Sugar Skulls corsage. Sugar Skulls is a wrist corsage that has lavender sweetheart roses, statice, black lazer leaves, black feathers, rhinestones, black beads, black flash ribbon and little skulls. Think of the skulls as: Death to Valentine’s Day! You could also ask us to make you a corsage in deep red and black or colors that match your outfit!

No matter what day of the year it is, I think that everyday is what you make of it. So, if you are a Valentine’s Day hater, try to find a way to have fun with it! Invite some friends over to watch movies about the opposite of love, send your single friends Anti-Valentine’s flowers or cards, or have an Anti-Valentine’s Day Party! Turn this day you dread into a day you look forward to!

Check out our other Anti-Valentine’s Day Bouquet by Clicking below!

13V01                  Beary Lovable               $29.95

The Beary Lovable bud vase includes two red long stem premium roses, babys breath, seeded eucalyptus and a keepsake teddy bear! This is a gift perfect for a guy or girl and is the perfect size to sit on their desk at work!

13V02                  Tulips Renoir             $44.95

Send the gift of spring with the Tulips Renoir bouquet! This bouquet includes ten fresh cut tulips in mixed colors and tree fern elegantly designed in a keepsake vase decorated with hand painted tulips! This painted tulip vase will be cherished for years to come! 

13V03                  Love Is...                      $44.95

This bouquet is so popular that we remake it year after year! This year, Love is... is filled with tea roses, alstroemeria lilies, carnations, daisies, mini-carnations, limonium and a keepsake silver heart keychain. Roses, lilies and a heart! What can be more perfect than that?

13V04                  The Love Bug Bouquet                $39.95 

The Love Bug bouquet is a small vase filled with carnations, alstroemeria, limonium, daisies and a small keepsake plush love bug that makes kissing noises when you press on the belly! This bouquet is filled with all long lasting flowers! With proper care you can expect this bouquet to last your two weeks!


13V05                  The Key to My Heart Bouquet          $34.95

The Key to My Heart bouquet is filled with daisies, alstroemeria, carnations, limonium and a keepsake keychain!

The Key comes packaged with a poem that reads:
“Late at night when I’m sound asleep, Into my heart you so softly creep. I sit and wonder how it could be, But you must have stumbled across the key. This key holds the secret to true love and more, So take it now and unlock the door. And I pray that we will never part, Now that you have the key to my heart.”

13V06                  Sweet Annie                            $29.95

If your Valentine loves to get flowers but doesn’t get into the decorative hearts and roses, this will be the perfect gift for them! The Sweet Annie bouquet is a small vase filled with lavender daisies, alstroemeria lilies, carnations and wax flower! A long lasting bouquet in wonderful spring colors! 

13V07                  Vin Rouge                     $79.95

Vin Rouge is the classic symbol of Valentine’s Day, an elegant dozen roses! This clear glass vase is filled with 12 long stem red roses with babies breath, greenery and a bow! Red roses represent love and this bouquet sends a lot of love! But if your Valentine doesn’t like the color red, ask about the other colors we have in stock for no extra charge! 

13V08                  Cupid's Choice                    $64.95

Send a bouquet that makes a big statement like a dozen roses with out hurting your wallet! The Cupids Choice bouquet is a clear glass vase filled with nine pink carnations, three pink roses babys breath and a keepsake plush bear! Pink roses stand for appreciation. Tell your Valentine you appreciate them with the pink roses in this bouquet! 

Check out our Valentine’s Day Specials and more on our website by clicking below! 

It may sound funny, but some of my greatest inspiration comes to me while I am driving to work! As I drove into work this morning, I noticed the sun peeking over the snow covered branches of the trees. I thought to myself, “What a beautiful scene! I would like to capture this feeling in an arrangement.”

I found myself thinking about how to create the feel of winter with fresh cut flowers. I visualized the snow and imagined arrangements of flowers in shades of whites and creams, like a fresh and crisp snowfall.
I also pictured natural accents such as birch, pinecones (frosted are my favorite) and lotus pods, which reminds me of the barren landscape all around us. Even berries (Winterberry, seeded eucalyptus or hypericum) add a splash of color and/or texture that enhances the overall winter look. We offer several options in monochromatic arrangements for a variety of occasions. 
   

Planning a winter wedding?
Contact us for a free consultation!