The Flower Blog

The most wonderful time of the year cannot be squeezed into just one month when you're talking about fall. September, October, November all play a role during the changing colors, cooling weather and special days to commemorate the upcoming holidays. Gillespie Florists has the best bouquets and centerpieces for anniversaries, birthdays, congratulations, Thanksgiving, special events, and many more for this exciting time of year!

Cornucopia of Goodies [17T05]
$44.95

Starting off with SNACKS! Because what is better than a cornucopia of sweets and treats you can enjoy anytime and then refill with fruits, more snacks, and/or gourds and small pumpkins! It's a perfect way to greet the fall season with comfort food and colors!

Forage [16T11]
$31.95

A darling bouquet of fall colored daisies, red carnations, yellow solidago, dried wheat stalks in a ginger jar. It is a sweet way to say "I Love You" "Thinking of You" "Happy Birthday" or "Just Because" with these bright color blooms.

Moonlit Nights [14T05]
$129.95

Nothing like going big or going home with this striking vased arrangement! Moonlit Nights is artfully designed for a special occasion such as an anniversary, company event or simply to say "I love you" in a very grand way! Large golden sunflowers, bright green fuji mums, birch branches, liatris, peach carnations, green midollino sticks, gunni eucalyptus, limonium and hydrangea in a gorgeous vase!

Sparkling Cider [16T01]
$44.95

Fall season is a magical time of year. Why not throw bit of glitter in to celebrate the excitement. Sparkling Cider does the job nicely with a shimmering keepsake hurricane, a tea light, burgundy carnations, fall color daisies, purple statice, hypericum berries and tinted baker’s fern! A small centerpiece to add holiday flair to a cozy family dinner, office party, Thanksgiving or just because! 

Spicy Nutmeg [16T03]
$75.95

Speaking of table pieces, we have plenty in our Thanksgiving collection to consider. There could be an article dedicated to our top ten Thanksgiving centerpieces, however today we will focus on one grand arrangement. Glorious in color, Spicy Nutmeg has much to offer with two taper candles, orange asiatic lilies, fall daisies, purple statice, hypericum berry, wheat, pheasant feathers, glycerin fall oak leaves, leucadendron, red carnations and safflower. This centerpiece will be a feast for the eyes while delicious food of your Thanksgiving celebration is being set around the table. 

Heart Warmer [17T02]
$68.95

Are we salivating yet? I am. Thinking of eating all the delicious food and then afterward sitting on the sofa listening to the crackling sounds of a fire. Our Heart Warmer bouquet also has the soothing, cozy feeling of a fireside with the colors of warm golden daisies, burgundy carnations, novelty mini-carnations, yellow solidago, glycerin fall oak leaves, small pine cones, fall silk accents, fall plaid ribbon, and a keepsake hurricane etched with leaves. Don't worry about tealights for this hurricane because there are battery-operated LED lights to keep the glow going. 

All this talk of food, cozy chilly nights gives me all sorts of warm fuzzies and excited for the upcoming holidays! Special occasion, birthday, anniversary, Thanksgiving dinner, family gathering, company event, etc; Gillespie Florists carries a variety of bouquets to fit any occasion during the fall season. Check out our website to find the perfect bouquet for your next event. Want to find something seasonally appropropriate for any budget and occasion? Visit our Monthly Specials page for the best choices updated monthly!

DIY Wedding Flowers are popular for a myriad of reasons, lower cost, sense of accomplishment and bragging rights to name a few. We add a crucial component to the top of the list for DIY Brides at Gillespie Florists with our simple process from start to finish! Wedding Specialist Sarah Gillespie explains the steps to making the wedding DIYers big day the best it can be.

Initial Consult
Initial consult includes our wedding specialist free consultation meeting with the bride (and groom) to learn what their ideas are and determine whether the order with be a partial or full DIY. Partial DIY is most common (this is where the florist designs the more difficult aspect of the weddings such as the bridal bouquet, corsages, bounnieres, large arrangements, etc.) After this meeting, the florist will provide an estimate based on the discussion.

DIY Test
Bride (and groom) and florist meet to test out the designs to see how they translate from theory to practice. We'll try different options during the test to narrow down the final design(s). If necessary there will be a DIY Test II - to teach the designs to other "helpers" who were not part of the planning process. Typically these tests are four to six weeks before the wedding and everyone who plans to help at the Final DIY the week of the wedding should attend.

DIY Final
This occurs a day or two before the actual wedding. This is the final DIY appointment where actual arrangements are made. Once the DIY is complete, arrangements are packaged for pick-up/delivery and stored in our 500 sq ft cooler until the day of the wedding.

The process for DIY Wedding flowers with Gillespie Florists is streamlined with our brides in mind to help their wedding days as worry free as possible when it comes to flowers. Want to learn more about the DIY Weddings at Gillespie Florists? Give us a call at 317-273-1100 for more questions, browse our wedding collection for inspiration and schedule a free wedding consultation by clicking below!

"Is June a popular month for weddings?"

YES! June is a prime wedding time for Gillespie Florists as the first weekend of June brought about our second round of an eight wedding weekend! What else could we do but showcase some of the gorgeous bouquets which left our building and made June 2-3, 2017, marvelous wedding days.

These bouquets and boutonnieres are boasting the beauty of seasonal favorites such as gerbera daisies, hydrangea as well as a favorite choice for every season, the classic rose. We have lovely accent florals creating fantastic texture and kicking up the color palettes a notch such as in the bouquet featuring colors pastel peach and blue.

One of our brides selected delicate pastel blue delphinium which brought out the pop of peach gerberas and sweetheart roses for a sweet marriage of complementary colors. The design was tied together (pun intended) with twine and a dash of babies breath. Another favorite for the weekend was the complex and eyecatching texture created through burgandy astilbe, stars of Bethlehem with dark centers, lavender waxflower, navy blue hypericum berries and italian ruskus. The fabulous movement was balanced out with the soft petals of blush sahara roses for a truly divine bridal bouquet pictured in the lower left of the collage. The mothers' wrist corsages reflected the splendor of the bridal bouquet with Star Blush spray roses, cream waxflower and burgandy sheer ribbon which coordinated perfectly with astilbe. The beauty of bridal bouquets come in all forms! Let's not forget the bold match of rich reds and bright whites along with the simple and sophisticated combination of light green hydrangea and Tiffany roses. Tiffany roses are one of our bridal rose favorites for their pale peach petals which make them perfect for a variety of styles and themes.

June is filled with joy for many reasons; from the comfortable warm weather to celebrations of love and marriage. We are proud to be take part in the season with the creation of gorgeous wedding florals to match any style and theme to make the newlywed couples' day a success and one to remember for years to come.

Looking for bouquet inspiration for your special day? View our extended wedding collection here!

Click below to schedule a free consultation with our wedding specialist!

"Mother is a verb. It’s something you do. Not just who you are."
Cheryl Lacey Donovan

Mother is definitely more than a title. It's an extremely active verb; so active I'm wondering why the calorie counting apps don't have "mom mode" as one of the cardio/strength training options. I'm certain I burned at least a hundred and twenty calories when putting the kids to bed last night...just enough to enjoy a glass of cabernet with some peace and quiet.

Enough beating around the bush, we all know why moms are a hot topic. Mother's Day is almost here and some of us are still figuring out how to say "Mom, I get it now, I love you and here's something to express my appreciation for what you've done for me. I'll try to remember to celebrate you every day but most likely I'll forget sometimes. Hopefully this will cover some of those days."  Fortunately, Gillespie Florists has quite a few top notch items with which to express some love and appreciation on Mother's Day or any day! Without further ado, here are our best sellers for day of the moms.

1. This Bouquet is absolutely Tea-licious!

2. The Sweet Scent of Candles

5. Herb Gardens in Awesome Keepsake Containers!

Notice a trend in our Best Seller lineup? The Highland Herb Garden is continuing the trend of our Mother's Day favorites being comprised of gifts which keep giving long after the special day has passed! These gifts are close to the hearts of those who enjoy  plants and having fresh herbs for their cuisine creations. Basil, thyme, sage and rosemary are among the top herbs we use in our little garden gifts. A decorative bow, butterfly and sweet button mums add flair and top off the look of our stylish rustic gardens.
*Click here to see the fresh cut florals version, English Garden* 

 

 

6. Delicious Chocolates

What gift list isn't complete without chocolate? I may be working on making healthier choices but I will never reject a delicious box of chocolates. Gillespie Florists carries a variety of sizes and items from South Bend Chocolate Company therefore you send your herb garden and a few sweets too! It's a win-win! 

 

 

Congratulations, you've made it through our top notch Mother's Day gift lineup. Best part of this list is you have great gift ideas for Mother's Day for the next few years or occasions Mom needs a gift or alittle something to brighten her day! Like the quote at the top, Mother is a verb therefore there's never a bad time to say "I Love You", "Thank you",  "I appreciate You", etc..

Doesn't have to be a grand affair each time. Take care of the dishes/laundry/dinner for the day for her because even little things can speak volumes. But also, so do flowers, herb gardens, windchimes...everything on this list. Moms (as in me) like these things too. So buy something on the list for them (me).

 

 

Shop our entire Mother's Day Collection by clicking below!

Post a snapshot of you and another person wearing flowers from Gillespie Florists on our Facebook Page, Twitter or Instagram 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 it on our Wall or use #GFPROM2017 - make sure it’s a public post!

·          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 2017".

·          Ask your friends/family to "Like" your photo or post positive comments on your photo once it has
           been added to the album.

·          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 17th, 2017. Winners will be announced on Facebook May 21st!

Post to our Social Media Pages!

Gillespie Florists Facebook Page

Twitter:    @gillespiefloris

Instagram:    gillespieflorists

Field trip at a flowershop?! Yes we can! 

Gillespie Florists offers an exciting, informative and hands on experience around the store in a field trip format for everyone to enjoy! Let's take a look at how our friends from Our Shepherd Lutheran Church Preschool enjoyed their visit with us!

Sarah, Gillespie Florists Manager and Owner coordinated with the teachers at Our Shepherd and our own staff to ensure a safe, educational and fun visit for the class! With an approximate class size of twenty kiddos and a few parent volunteers, Sarah chose to divide and conquer by splitting the class into two groups and switching halfway through the field trip for plenty of time to tour the entire building (including a chilly walk through our 500 sq ft cooler), make bouquets, sign cards, and even smell the roses!

Some highlights from the field trip included:

Customer Service at the Counter:

When visitors walk through our door and into the main display room, the first thing they will see is the service counter where our friendly CSRs help customers make their selections. With a large video display installed, customers and staff can also surf our website together to find the perfect arrangement for any occasion!

Display Floor

It's a jungle out there with all of our lush green plants! Sarah walks everyone through the different areas of the display floor including the small cooler and gift section in the entryway; the adorable wall of plush; and our lovely garden of a plant display which leads to the red carpet into the design room, cooler and delivery area!

Caring for Flowers

When the delivery vans aren't parked inside the garage during the evening, it is transformed into a flower processing room during the day. The class enjoyed an exciting demonstration on how we clean leaves and thorns off of roses using a special machine, cutting stems, and help them soak up water and nutrients in buckets before being placed in the 500 square foot cooler or out on the display floor! The students also had an opportunity to check out a delivery van and how bouquets are loaded in the vehicle for safe transportation.

Bouquets for the Road

While the Group One toured the store with Sarah, Group Two made little bouquets to take home and give to a loved one! Gillespie Florist staff member Curt helped with the selection of roses,carnations, daisies, and babies breath while Robyn gave a quick lesson on wrapping bouquets in cellophane!  

After Group One finished their tour of the store with Sarah, they jumped in on the fun of selecting flowers and making a take home bouquet! Everyone signed cards for their gifts and the visit was successfully finished! 

As you can see from the photos, everyone had a wonderful time and Our Shepard Lutheran Church Preschool was kind enough to share photos from their experience on how the class put their knowledge to work by setting up a flowershop in the classroom. What a wonderful idea! Want to learn more about the preschool and their class tour? Check it out here!

Interested in doing a tour at our store? Give us a call at (317) 273-1100 or email gillespieflorists@gmail.com!

 
"Came the spring with all its splendor. All its birds and all its blossoms. All its flowers and leaves and grasses."

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A new year begins and hints of prime wedding season are in the air! Gillespie Florists handles weddings all year long but springtime heralds in favorite bridal flowers such as peonies, tulips, hydrangea, calla lilies, gerbera daisies, ranunculus, and roses. These flowers range from romantic combination of textural soft pastels to chic streamlined shapes and bold colors. All styles and color themes come to life at our store under the guidance of our experienced wedding specialist and floral designer staff! What can Gillespie Florists do for your special day? Schedule a free wedding consultation here to begin your wedding florals journey with us! Below is a snapshot sampling of a few 2016 spring weddings featuring bridal party bouquets; boutonnieres and a lovely headpiece!  

A beautiful selection of spring wedding pieces made perfect to help our newlyweds have the most wonderful and memorable day ever! Each wedding floral theme has been planned out to the finest detail including tips for keeping your florals fresh once they've been delivered! We love the color combinations and variety our couples' have dreamed up! Baby blue mums, hydrangea and ribbon with white monte casino, shimmering silver leaves and offwhite roses; Cream colored roses with soft pink peonies; striking bouquets of poppies, waxflower and roses; classic cream hydrangea and bridal pink roses; festive pops of color through orange gerberas, sherbert roses and purple stock; bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres of assorted succulents, waxflower wrapped in twine; timeless tulips of lavender and white with ethereal heather as filler; pink roses and sweetheart roses with waxflower in a stunning headpiece.

Gorgeous, bold, romantic, festive and chic; these are a few samples of what the fabulous staff at Gillespie Florists can do for your wedding day whether it be in winter, spring, summer or fall! Click here to schedule a free wedding consultation with our awesome wedding specialist and check out more of our wedding/event collection at gillespieflorists.com!

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and the flowers and gifts options are limitless! What to do? What to choose! I'm narrowing down the options to a few of my favorites which range from petite and sweet to full-on fancy! With our Valentine's Collection, you can express your love on any budget!

1. I Love You Everyday...Let's Celebrate Just Because It's Valentine's Day!

Gerbera Crush [17V10] - $29.95

We are starting off this quirky list with the happiest flower on earth! Go ahead and look upon gerbera daisies and try not to smile. It's a challenge!

Gerbera Crush is filled with fun brightly colored red gerbera daisies, red hybericum berries, and a swanky aspidistra leaf (also known as the cast-iron plant). Easy on the wallet and just the right size to enjoy it's beauty anywhere in the office or home!

2. I Know You Like Sweet Sayings...

To the Moon and Back [17V06] - $36.95

This fancy cylinder vase wrapped with violet wire is brought to life with two lavender roses suspended in water-storing gel beads. Added bonus, this bouquet includes a lovely keepsake heart etched with a phrase long known and loved in the childrens book Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney. Your love can be perfectly expressed with this sweet bouquet with a nod to those of us who adore the sentiment "I Love You to the Moon and Back".

3. You Can't Stand Valentine's Day...I'm Gonna Send You Something

Love Stinks [17V06] - $39.95

Is the love of your life not a big fan of Valentine's Day? Cupid make them cringe? That's reason enough to send something to help them with the cause of Anti-Valentine's Day!

Love Stinks is filled with daisies, carnations, alstroemeria and carnations with an adorable and non-scented plush skunk holding an adorable heart with "Love Stinks" embroidered on it.

(Click here to check out our Budvase version Little Stinker)

4. This Will Make Your Office Mates Beary Jealous...

Crazy About You [17V02] - $62.95

This is one of those arrangments we have to be careful with because it is SO adorable that one may attempt to hug the entire bouquet before removing the plush bear!

Three lavender-kissed roses, nine Purple Moon series carnations, limonium and a huggable, lovable teddy bear dressed to the nines with a bouquet matching ribbon. I'm a sucker for plush animals and if your special person can't say "no" to them either AND loves getting flowers at the office...this one is the winning pick.

5. Going All Jane Austen for You...

Love Speak [11V01] - $82.95

Did I have you at Jane Austen? Strike a chord on the piano forte?

How else to elicite "a thousand times yes!" than with fragrant stargazer lilies, pink carnations, and the most delicate pink roses you've ever seen? Artfully arranged eucalyptus, airy larkspur and leatherfern combine for a final look fit for a romantic walk-out-of doors with your beloved. Except you don't have to take the walk if it's not on the order of the day; we can bring the view straight to you!

 6. Roses are Red, and Many Colors It's True, During       Valentine's Day They Are Precious but not as Precious as You...

Vin Rouge [13V07] - $99.95 

The rose. Timeless, elegant and representing love and romance through the ages. This still holds true today as roses are still the most popular flower to send celebrate the Valentine's Day.

If your relationship leans towards the classics then Vin Rouge is quite the catch with twelve long stem beauties, babies breath, greenery and lovely ribbon! 

(Click here to send a modern version of the classic dozen with Red Passion!) 

7. My Life  Overfloweth in Color and Joy with You in It

Enchantment [17V03] - $139.95

 Life is grand when you have love in it. Our Enchantment bouquet is visual expression of what cannot always be articulated with words.  

The fine designers at Gillespie Florists start with a large 10” Gala vase and expertly design your bouquet with yellow lilies, bright blue delphinium, purple larkspur, vibrant orange carnations, blazing orange roses, truly yellow daisies, white monte casino, deep red mini carnations, solidago and lush greenery! Wow! That's a mouthful isn't it? Speaking of mouths, this bouquet is a jawdropper. One cannot see the intensity of the colorful florals and not be blown away...in my humble opinion.

There are so many eligible bouquets in our Valentine's Day Collection which almost made the list for this year but better for you to see what I like and then decide what fits your valentine's day needs and check out our offerings for yourself! Come to our store and browse what we have created fresh daily and pick up sweets and gifts for your sweetheart or call us today to make something perfect for your Valentine!

When is wedding season? Spring and summer are tried and true but fall and winter welcome weddings too! Here at Gillespie Florists, wedding season can happen at any time and the first weekend of October 2016 is a prime example!

Fall weddings have been well underway and the first weekend of October 2016 was a definite indicator that another current of wedding weather had begun. We'll take it and love all the many themes and colors which roll out during this time of year.  Take a look at samples from our Eight Wedding weekend! They are picture perfect, just the way you want your weddingd day to be.

Fresh designs and favored traditional ones with brilliant color and texture, this weekend had it all. Traditional wedding florals such as callas and roses incorporated into quite a few of our bouquets while gerberas were used in striking nosegays and accesorized table pieces in others. One of top choices on my list was the eye-catching bridal bouquet of blue thorn thistle, soft pink roses and roses of popping color of orange! Speaking of wild colors, the contrast of white callas and deep blue roses in the cascading bridal bouquet is simply stunning! Another personal favorite is the sweet peach color callas clustered together with rich red roses and the most luscious sherbert-colored roses! Hypericum berries and leucadendron accessorize this fall themed bouquet with exquisite texture and color. Let's not forget classic pastel and cream colors continuing their parade into the fall/winter season with the prominence of babies breath and hydrangea from that weekend as well!

Brilliant bold colors, soft vintage pastels and everything in between; the first weekend of October 2016 was a fabulous way to herald in fall with the beautiful colors and weather which come with it. Do you have a favorite wedding season? Ours is any time we have the opportunity to create gorgeous flowers fit for the occasion and help brides make their wedding day dreams come true! 

Planning a wedding? Need inspiration for wedding flowers? Check out our extensive wedding collection!

Good Service is good business.
- Siebel Ad

Gillespie Florists does many things really well, one of them is customer service. We strive for everyone who walks through our door or gives us a call to have the best experience when working with us. Always looking for new ways to improve your experience with us, we've developed a new system for you to see your order before it goes out the door! "Impossible! You're joking" some may say. But here it is, a few FAQs on what we are doing to continue our tradition of bringing quality flowers and service to your door.

1. What Exactly is this Photo Service?

Picture this (no pun intended): You've called Gillespie Florists, your go-to florist. The designers have artfully designed a lovely bouquet for that special someone. Ever wonder what the final product looks like before it's delivered? Now you will know! We want our customers to see the quality we are delivering before it's delivered! We have a procedure set in place to take a photo of your order before it is sent on delivery or picked up at our store.

2. How Does it Work?

1.When you call or visit Gillespie Florists and place your order we ask     if you would like a photo of the bouquet.
2. What method you would prefer to see the photo? Text or Email?
3. Once bouquet has been designed it is taken to the photography           station where a picture is taken and then sent to you per preferred     method of either text or email.
4. The bouquet is wrapped up and sent on back to our delivery area,       ready for delivery. If the order is for pickup, we send it to our 500       sq ft cooler!

3. Are There Restrictions for This Service?

As this is a service of Gillespie Florists, it does not extend to orders being sent out of town.
This is available for Indianapolis area deliveries provided by Gillespie Florists.

4. How Much Does this Cost? 

We offer our bouquet photo service free of charge! 

5. What if I Have Multiple Bouquets in my Order?

If you are placing an order going to different locations with different bouquets, we would take a photo of each arrangement and send separately. If there are multiple bouquets ordered going to the same location with the same card attached, we would take a group photo of your order. 

Since implementing the Bouquet Photo Service in June 2015 we have received a lot of great feedback! Our customers enjoy seeing the final result and having the extra assurance their loved one is receiving a beautiful and artfully hand designed arrangement! Granted, it is one more step in the process at Gillespie Florists to complete an order but going the extra mile for our customers is what we do best and you can't put a price tag on that!

Have more questions? Please give us a call or send us an email at gillespieflorists@gmail.com!