Flintwood Floral & Design rent and sells artificial flowers for events such as weddings. I'm getting married in June and looked into them because I have allergies. I was concerned a bouquet made of real flowers would cause my eyes to water or get red. When I arrived at my appointment, I wasn't sure I'd order since I liked the thought of having real roses. After all, I'd only be holding the bouquet for a short time. During my appointment, I realized there are so many other reasons to skip the florist that I placed my order without hesitation. I picked up m bouquet today and absolutely love it. My wedding will be small, and I didn't order anything else and won't be renting decoration floral arrangements. Here are reasons I've glad I made the decision to buy a bouquet through Flintwood:
1. I absolutely don't have to worry about allergies causing havoc to my eyes or nose
2. I was able to pick out literally every stem in the bouquet, so I know exactly what I would get (including the exact shades of pink.) (Who knew white roses were actually off-white?) I choose four types of roses (two them in two slightly different color schemes), two types of foliage, and one type of filler. I didn't know how little I knew about flowers or how much opinion I would have until I was there. I also got to choose what fabric the stems should be wrapped in and the heads of the pins used to secure the fabric.
3. I was able to see how my bouquet would look before picking it up and was able to ask for changes based on photos. There are so many variables that I never thought of (e.g., how much filler? How far should it stick out? I didn't want a perfect "half-ball"), I'm so glad I was able to get exactly the look I wanted. If I'd waited to pick up the flowers a few hours before the wedding, there wouldn't have been time to wait for them to move some stems around (if they would even do it). Based on the first photo, I realized I wanted an all pink bouquet and asked that the three white roses be replaced with pink roses.
4. I was able to pick up my flowers months before my wedding (although I was given the option to wait to pick them up). I know my helpers and I will be very busy with last minute details, so I'm glad this is taken care of. One of my friends found out on her wedding day that the florist lost her order. Her family had bought flowers there for 30 years and until then never had a problem. But she ended up having a wedding with untied flowers her friends picked up at Whole Foods and she didn't get the special flowers she'd ordered.
5. I will be able to keep the flowers forever. Flintwood will arrange them in a vase with fake water after the wedding, or I can arrange them myself (sans fake water).
6. The flowers look beautiful and do look real. These are much better quality than what I'm used to seeing in craft stores.
7. I'm environmentally minded and although I'm not renting floral decorations, I like the idea of supporting a company that makes that option available.
8. I priced the same bouquet from a florist and saved quite a bit by buying artificial.
I hadn't been to Parker in a long time. If you go to their store, be aware that every big-box store out there is along Parker Rd. I got lots of other wedding shopping in on the way home (Hobby Lobby, Michaels, DSW, and lots more). read more