In the floral world, 2021 has been a year of people wanting more flowers than wholesalers can produce. Beautiful cut flower arrangements have taken on new meaning during the pandemic—a safe way to wish someone well or send a get well soon message, a way to celebrate across the miles when you can’t be there, a bright and wonderful patch of joy in a year of confusion and fear. If we can’t be there in person to say “How are you,” “Thinking about you,” or “I’m so sorry,” we can rely on flowers to perfectly represent!

In addition to an increased 2021 demand for flowers, atypical weather has continued to effect cut flower crops, particularly for growers in South America. Rain and cold temperatures have put production weeks off schedule, and been particularly tough on the rose production cycle. Slower growth on the new shoots delays not only the current crop, but the next crop also.

Finally, general backlogs at container ports during the pandemic have exporters increasingly turning to cargo airlines–which means less room for flowers. And higher costs for whatever cargo space is available.

What has this entire picture created for brides planning their weddings? Pandemonium! Some of our Copper Penny Flowers brides have had to postpone their wedding three or more times. The September wedding they had planned with sunflowers and dahlias morphs into a May wedding where their blooms are not only inappropriate, but not readily available!  Or the bride excited to have pastel wildflower bouquets for her spring wedding is now planning a winter holiday wedding that necessitates an entirely different floral direction.

Resourceful brides have switched to a classic white and blush floral palette. How can you go wrong with classic and traditional whites? We can answer that: when the flowers aren’t anywhere to be found!! Every week here now is a dance of matching up the lists of pre-ordered flowers with the flowers that actually arrived, reviewing the quality of the product–which isn’t always acceptable, and then diving into a maze of phone calls and market trips—in state and out–to provide our brides their now uber-popular white dream wedding look. This intense flower hunt comes at a cost…and we don’t just mean our sanity! On top of the already inflated floral prices, the cost of white and blush blooms right now can be up to another 25-30% higher than the already increased prices.

CPF tip: Planning on sending flowers or ordering floral designs for an event this year? Don’t choose an all white-and-blush color scheme!  And order early…!
Next time: A favorite color palette, Sophisticated Autumn…