As we head into prom season, it’s time to offer a few reminders about planning and ordering flowers for that special night.
After spending lots of time and effort selecting the perfect attire for the big dance, make sure your flowers are picture perfectly coordinated accessories that add to your overall look. 
To get just the right prom flowers:
A remember not to compromise quality in pursuit of low price. In a recent article about prom planning, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette recommended guys
consider that floral departments in grocery stores may be able to hook you up for less.
In reply, Pittsburgh florist Luv-US Flowers wrote
The March 5, article “Practical for Prom” by Lamont Jones caught my attention. A brief statement was made in the article suggesting that “floral departments in grocery stores may be able to hook you up for less”.
I’m employed as a trained professional floral designer in the Pittsburgh area. I would like to emphasis “professional”! Grocery store floral departments might offer you flowers but the employees there rarely know what to do with the flowers! They have very little training in floral design. I rescued a friend of a friend who started working in a grocery store floral department and didn’t know how to make a corsage. I had to give her a quick lesson on how to assemble one! The grocery store offered no training to the employee.
Prom work and wedding work, for that matter, is labor intensive and requires an eye for proper design and skill in mechanics to assemble the design. The floral departments at the grocery stores are NOT interested in that type of work. They put corsages and boutonnieres together in horrendous ways! I’ve had teens and mothers coming into the shop in tears because their “grocery store” flowers fell apart or wilted beyond belief!
Try the local professional florist BEFORE going to the grocery store. Professional florists are most happy to work within the customer’s budget. Moreover, as a result of trying the professional florist first, one will obtain a quality product at a reasonable price!
With the average budget to attend the prom at about $1000 per couple, your flowers are the most affordable luxury of this memorable night. So choose a professional and make your flowers as memorable as the evening.
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I totally agree with this statement! I know of one person that did go through the prestigious Hixson’s School of Floral Design with me … she worked at her local grocery store in the floral department and went to school to learn the trade. The grocery store didn’t have the means to train their staff in that department. A professional florist will adapt to almost any budget given the freedom to work with their choice of flowers and hard goods!
Hey Janine , I agree-Supermarket staff is not adequately trained or jazzed about prom work. I own a store in between 2 grocery stores. I hardly ever hear of people going there for prom flowers. I love prom work because it my chance to showcase my jewlrymaking skills.
-janine
I disagree. Not all supermarket floral departments are run by untrained florists. I am the manager of a small-town supermarket floral deparment. I have worked in traditional florists for over 10 years and have all the professional training any other local florist in my area has. I can almost always undercut prices, without compromising quality because of my lower overhead costs. Don’t discount the supermarkets just because some people have bad experiences. Many believe, and I am one of them, that supermarket floral departments are the wave of the future.
I also disagree that you can’t get professional quality floral designs in a supermarket floral shop. We are trained usually by veteran designers and fill a niche that the “real” florist won’t. Our hours of operation and consideration for customers schedule is a main factor in why these shop have been so successful. We are also “Real” florist and I do my part in reminding my customers. It’s a matter of integrity and professionalism that keeps them comming back. I can’t count the number of time I have baled out a devastated prom goer or her mother over shoddy workmanship and high priced corsage work. I love this industry and will continue to educate my clients. With exceptional quality, selection, and service we are more competitive in the marketplace. The real florist need to pay attention because the retail industry is the wave of the future because we do go that extra mile and we’re open night and weekends.
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