What Valentine’s Day Looks Like For A Florist
Valentine’s Day. Synonymous with flowers. Also (obvi) one of the biggest flower holidays of our year. While it might sneak up on the non-florists among us, prep for V-Day starts way before it ever crosses your mind.
Actually, it starts the moment the holidays wrap. Our very earliest flower orders are due right after the turn of the new year. So… what does Valentine’s Day look like for a florist? Keep reading.
January - Orders, Marketing & Early Prep
January sounds like it should be quiet, right? A little exhale before the year begins? Not so much. For us, January is the first domino in a very busy cascade.
Because Valentine’s Day lands squarely outside the growing season here in the Hudson Valley, we rely almost entirely on the international flower scene. Most of our stems are shipped in from the Dutch flower market, and those earliest preorders are due within the first ten days of January. So yes. The year starts at a sprint.
By the first week of January, we’ve already planned our color palettes, ordered sample flowers, and prepped vases to be photographed for the website. We like to have our Valentine’s Day offerings available for preorder a full month ahead of the big day. That gives you plenty of time to choose your favorite, and gives us time to fine-tune our flower orders as sales roll in. A win-win.
Week two of January is all about photographing and listing everything on the site. (Psst: our 2026 V-Day edit is live now.) This photoshoot usually takes the better part of a day because we want everything to look as delicious, intentional, and true to the final design as possible. And yes, we photograph all of our own work. It helps that Corinne has a background in photography. Like… a full-blown bachelor’s degree in it. 🎓💐
Throughout the entire month of January, we’re placing multiple flower orders, carefully timed around supplier deadlines and constantly adjusted based on how many Valentine’s orders are rolling in. It’s a delicate dance of forecasting, math, and slight obsession. We track it all in a trusty spreadsheet we’ve refined over the years. Truly a thing of beauty. Not as beautiful as flowers… but honestly, kinda close.
We also keep meticulous notes on every preorder placed from the moment they open until orders officially close the week of Valentine’s Day. And yes, that lives in — You guessed it — another spreadsheet 📊.
we <3 Spreadsheets
By the end of the month, nearly all of our flower orders are locked in (minus a few very last-minute additions). Vases start getting prepped, additional freelance staff is confirmed, and marketing and social media promos are flying. We do a lot of petal-pushing this time of year so you’re never caught off guard when Cupid comes knocking. 💘🌸
February - The Flurry Begins
I swear, the first two weeks of February are the fastest weeks of the year. We spend most of that time deep in logistics mode, thinking through the big ol’ lovefest barreling toward us, all while orders are absolutely flooding in. And while we love a good preorder, a large chunk of Valentine’s orders still come in at the very last minute. Keeps us sharp. Keeps things interesting. Keeps us just a little delusional — but fun!
The week before Valentine’s Day is when things really start to click into place. We build delivery routes, map out who and what goes where (and when), and fine-tune the flow of the day. It’s a chaotic, joyful dance. Something that used to feel very scary has now become a welcome challenge, that reminds us of how important teamwork is in floristry, and how good at it we’ve gotten over the years!
We also start writing notes for orders already on the books (yep, we handwrite every note!), making sure our staplers are loaded for bouquet wrapping and our clippers are sharp and ready to rock. At this point, it’s a lot of muscle memory, kickass teamwork, and a lot of coffee. ✂️🌿
Valentine’s Week - The Big One
Ironically (or maybe perfectly), Valentine’s Day usually falls the same week as the Super Bowl. And that’s exactly how we treat it. This is our big game.
Starting Monday, our flowers begin to arrive en masse. Thousands of stems move through our doors and through our hands, cleaned, snipped, fluffed, hydrated, and Doted on. We time every delivery for maximum WOW. Roses and tighter blooms arrive earlier in the week so we can gently coax those buds open. More delicate blooms like tulips, anemone, and ranunculus arrive closer to the main event so they’re designed at peak freshness.
Ahh, Glamorous
Something you might not realize is the sheer amount of packing materials that internationally shipped flowers come with. Each bunch of 10 or 25 stems arrives wrapped in paper or plastic sleeves, rubber-banded at the ends, and packed into cardboard boxes. And we get a lot of boxes this week. Like… a lot a lot. So much so that we build in one or two dump runs just to recycle all the cardboard we’re graced with.
When our hands aren’t in the blooms, we’re updating spreadsheets, taping and prepping vases, writing notes, adjusting delivery routes, and doing a few wrist stretches before the 14th. Occupational hazard.
Our earliest deliveries typically go out two to three days before Valentine’s Day itself, which means we start designing on February 11th or 12th. We prep everything for preorder clients while also making a limited number of premade bouquets for in-store purchase. It’s a delicate balance of serving walk-ins without ever shorting the folks who did us the solid of ordering ahead.
It’s a juggle we’re well-practiced in, and one we’re pretty proud of. Every year, we manage to get a whole lot of flowers into the hands of a whole lot of lovers. And honestly? That part never gets old. 💐💘
The Main Event - February 14th
By the time Valentine’s Day itself rolls around, we’ve got it down pat. Bouquets are flying, the bar is stocked, pickup orders are packed and ready to head home, and deliveries are being designed and carefully sent out to loved ones all around the area. We close the webshop to preserve our sanity (and to keep anyone from cutting in line ahead of the custies who show up in person).
From there, the focus is simple: keep the shop running smoothly, keep our staff fed and hydrated, and keep the flower stock looking its absolute best.
By mid-day, it feels like we’ve done just about everything we can do. At that point, we stop overthinking and just flow.
The rest of the day is spent undoing the chaos of the week before. Buckets get scrubbed, compost gets taken out, floors get swept, and we take a few deep breaths before turning our attention back to the rest of the season ahead.
Then, we all go home and sleep like rocks. And show up the next day ready for whatever’s next. And that next thing is: weddings. 💐
Thanks for staying curious about what makes it all happen! Floristry is so much more than it seems, but no matter what, it’s always interesting!
And, while we have ya… Check it off your list, and order your Valentine’s Day blooms now!