Fall weekends are filled with charity walks and runs, festivals and football games.
And, lately, weddings.
I never gave much thought to what the overlap might mean for wedding vendors who have to set up hours before the actual event, until I saw a frustrated florist’s Facebook post about the Denver marathon and how the related road closures were costing him money.
(I do, however, admit to grumbling when my alarm clock went off at 3:30 a.m. for the 2011 Disney World Half Marathon, run especially early so the theme parks—and their restaurants, stores and concession stands—could open promptly at 9 a.m.)
The post made me curious how other florists put on clients' events in the middle of city-wide events, so I asked around.
Here’s what I learned:
· Keep your calendar up to date. Don’t let big events creep up on you, veteran florists say. Tune into your Chamber of Commerce and city government page for a list of local happenings. “Twitter is indispensable,” said Boston florist Rick Canale, of Exotic Flowers. He follows @notifyboston for real-time updates of city functions and traffic.
· Plan ahead. When the G-20 Summit came to Pittsburgh in 2009, Parkway Florist delivered without a hitch because the staff had checked in with city planners in charge of the event. “We were given special passes that gave us access to closed streets,” said Cheryl Bakin. In New York City, Nic Faitos, of Starbright Floral Design, contacts the wedding venue to ask for the earliest possible start time, so most of the work can be done on site before event traffic kicks in. For many years, Ormond Beach, Fla., florist Rick Rivers, of A Floral Boutique, dealt with Valentine’s Day coinciding with the Daytona 500. Rivers, a former police officer, talked to his old friends on the force, who gave him advance notice of when roads would temporarily reopen, so he was ready to make deliveries within those windows.
· Rise and shine. Sometimes, you just have to suck it up and wake up super early, many florists told me. “Your employees should know it’s part of the job to work events, no matter if it’s at 5 a.m. for set up or 1 a.m. for rental pick up,” said Eileen Looby Weber, of Lake Forest Flowers in Lake Forest, Ill.
· Feed your staff. Have some coffee and muffins at the venue when employees get in, said Beth Carlos Rojas. “They will grumble less.” The Los Angeles designer, of Parisian Florist, said a breakfast of French toast compensated for any exhaustion she felt setting up for a recent wedding.
· Consider outsourcing. Sometimes, it’s not worth the struggle. “There are some new companies in Boston who will do set up and breakdown at any hour on any day,” Canale said. “This is all they do and they do a nice job.”
In the midst of my research, I came across a truly scary scenario: Valentine’s Day 2015 falls on the Saturday of Mardi Gras.
“This will be the biggest challenge of my career,” said New Orleans florist John Harkins, of Harkins Florist.
A lot of his peers have told him they’re going to blow off Valentine’s Day, but Harkins fears doing so would infuriate his regular customers.
“I genuinely don’t know how we’ll do it though," he said. "So many roads are closed, for one, and tracking down recipients who are out partying is a nightmare. I think this will be a big year for cash and carry bouquets.”
If you were in Harkins' shoes, what would you do?
And, lately, weddings.
I never gave much thought to what the overlap might mean for wedding vendors who have to set up hours before the actual event, until I saw a frustrated florist’s Facebook post about the Denver marathon and how the related road closures were costing him money.
(I do, however, admit to grumbling when my alarm clock went off at 3:30 a.m. for the 2011 Disney World Half Marathon, run especially early so the theme parks—and their restaurants, stores and concession stands—could open promptly at 9 a.m.)
The post made me curious how other florists put on clients' events in the middle of city-wide events, so I asked around.
Here’s what I learned:
· Keep your calendar up to date. Don’t let big events creep up on you, veteran florists say. Tune into your Chamber of Commerce and city government page for a list of local happenings. “Twitter is indispensable,” said Boston florist Rick Canale, of Exotic Flowers. He follows @notifyboston for real-time updates of city functions and traffic.
· Plan ahead. When the G-20 Summit came to Pittsburgh in 2009, Parkway Florist delivered without a hitch because the staff had checked in with city planners in charge of the event. “We were given special passes that gave us access to closed streets,” said Cheryl Bakin. In New York City, Nic Faitos, of Starbright Floral Design, contacts the wedding venue to ask for the earliest possible start time, so most of the work can be done on site before event traffic kicks in. For many years, Ormond Beach, Fla., florist Rick Rivers, of A Floral Boutique, dealt with Valentine’s Day coinciding with the Daytona 500. Rivers, a former police officer, talked to his old friends on the force, who gave him advance notice of when roads would temporarily reopen, so he was ready to make deliveries within those windows.
· Rise and shine. Sometimes, you just have to suck it up and wake up super early, many florists told me. “Your employees should know it’s part of the job to work events, no matter if it’s at 5 a.m. for set up or 1 a.m. for rental pick up,” said Eileen Looby Weber, of Lake Forest Flowers in Lake Forest, Ill.
· Feed your staff. Have some coffee and muffins at the venue when employees get in, said Beth Carlos Rojas. “They will grumble less.” The Los Angeles designer, of Parisian Florist, said a breakfast of French toast compensated for any exhaustion she felt setting up for a recent wedding.
· Consider outsourcing. Sometimes, it’s not worth the struggle. “There are some new companies in Boston who will do set up and breakdown at any hour on any day,” Canale said. “This is all they do and they do a nice job.”
In the midst of my research, I came across a truly scary scenario: Valentine’s Day 2015 falls on the Saturday of Mardi Gras.
“This will be the biggest challenge of my career,” said New Orleans florist John Harkins, of Harkins Florist.
A lot of his peers have told him they’re going to blow off Valentine’s Day, but Harkins fears doing so would infuriate his regular customers.
“I genuinely don’t know how we’ll do it though," he said. "So many roads are closed, for one, and tracking down recipients who are out partying is a nightmare. I think this will be a big year for cash and carry bouquets.”
If you were in Harkins' shoes, what would you do?
