Special Moments

One thing I never anticipated when I decided to embark on a career in floristry, was the part you play in people's special moments.

When you think about it, it makes sense. So much of your work is creating flowers for major events in people's lives - weddings, funerals, gifts for birthdays, new babies. 

I can't tell you how many times I've delivered flowers to Brides and Grooms for their wedding day. I don't want to generalise, but in most cases, the Bride is having a great time!! Excited, champagne flowing with their Mums and Bridesmaids, getting their makeup and hair done. The guys are more often than not still in their underwear, maybe having a beer, often quiet, still so excited, but a little bit nervous, and stressed out about how to attach their buttonhole. 

Both the Bride and Groom will only see such a small handful of people on their morning of their wedding - their bridal party if they have one, hair stylist and makeup artist, photographer, sometimes their parents, and we really count it as a privilege that one of them will be us.

Often we are the ones delivering gift bouquets to hospitals to celebrate the birth of a new baby, or to people recovering from surgery.

I always feel so awkward delivering to people in hospital - but usually they are so excited to see someone, and get a beautiful bunch of flowers to brighten up their hospital room!

Sometimes they get me to read the card because they can't move very well, and put the flowers in water for them, or I get to meet their baby, sometimes even before their families!! (this happened a lot during covid, as you can imagine!) 

I wrote a really special post a few years ago about a delivery I did to a lady called *Maggie  for her 98th birthday - it really left a mark on me. The flowers were a big bunch in a vase, and I was worried she wouldn't be able to carry them to her living room, so she let me bring them in and put them on her coffee table. 

Her little house in Glebe was amazing - full of a wonderful life of memories, and she had the most amazing energy, I've never met someone who invigorated me so much for life, at 98!!

Her friends have since ordered flowers for her every year, and I love delivering them to her - this year will be. her 102nd birthday and I can't wait.

I love that I have gotten to know so many of our customers, delivering flowers to them every year for their birthdays, or anniversarys! We get to know their families, and the flower they like, even exactly the right sized arrangement to fit in their favourite vase!

One of our couriers made this point on Valentine's Day this year - he's been helping us with our deliveries for a few years now, and said that when he first started doing deliveries to one family, there was always a note on the door to say not to knock because a baby is sleeping. The last delivery he made, said baby opened the door, and said hello!

One type of event that is very sad, but always very special, are funerals. Believe it or not I really love doing these. Obviously people are so sad to be organising the funeral of a loved one, but the part we play in this, is creating a celebration of the person's life. We help the person tasked with organising the flowers decide which flowers to use, but they usually already know - they know what type of flowers the person loved, or even just the colours.

It might be a flower that they grew in their garden, or the flowers that they had at their wedding. 

And we learn a lot about the person too. Once, a long time ago, I created a casket cover for an elderly market gardener out of vegetables, and mounted it all onto his shovel to sit on top of the casket!

So yes, lots of what we do is creating flowers, but so much of it is getting to know people, and being part of the most important days of their lives. These moments aren't lost on us, and while we are always discreet, we love these interactions with people. It makes our job feel even more important.