Young adults in Provo are familiar with the ring-by-spring phenomenon, encouraging couples to get engaged by the time they finish their last semester of college. As the winter semester at BYU has ended, the beginning spring season sees an influx in wedding planning.
Local florists are one business directly affected by this cultural trend.
Corinne Smith is the manager of Campus Floral, BYU’s flower shop located on University Parkway. Since working with Campus Floral for nearly 10 years, Smith has seen firsthand the ring-to-spring effect. The bride’s schedule is key when planning wedding flowers.
Smith said it takes a long time to formulate each order, plan what flowers the bride needs and order the products from wholesalers with enough time to find replacement flowers if the product is not available.
“If the bride isn’t picky, we can do something the same week if we need to,” Smith said. “We’d rather not do that, I’d like to have at least three months notice.”
Smith explained that if a bride comes in on a tight schedule, she is often left with fewer floral options and a more expensive order.
Miriam Housley has owned Foxglove, a flower and gift shop on Center Street, for five years. She shared her thoughts on the “crazy” turnaround during the short window between semesters.
“I feel like in other states the timeline would be horrific. But for us, it’s normal,” Housley said. “We have a lot of people planning a month ahead, which is crazy.”
Housely added that Foxglove is taking extra care to prepare during the spring season.
“We still have days available for consultations,” Housley said. “I plan our weddings well in advance so we know what we have available and we just have more staff for those times.”
Sara Ebert, founder and owner of Pressed Floral in Orem, said her business revolves around the wedding season.
Ebert and the staff at Pressed Floral are also taking steps to stay ahead of the tide of incoming customers.
“The majority of our team was recruited and trained in the last months of the year so they are well trained and ready for a busy season,” she said.
Marketing is another checklist item that Ebert says is vital to preparing for wedding season.
“We curate a lot of ads so when our brides are on social media planning their weddings, they see our content,” she said.
One problem Smith faces is the unrealistic expectations often found through social media.
“Pinterest is great for inspiration. But the reality doesn’t measure up to that inspiration,” she said.
According to Smith, if brides want elaborate flowers for their wedding, they should be prepared for the cost.
A solution to this is what Smith called “floral cheats”. For example, if someone wants peonies in their bouquet but can’t afford the $27 stems, they can replace them with garden roses, a similar but cheaper alternative.
Recent inflation has increased prices for local flower shops.
“What a rose was worth a few years ago compared to what a rose is now is probably up about 30%,” Smith said.
Smith explained that Campus Floral tries to “buy smart” and order flowers directly from flower farms in Ecuador and Colombia, and tries to cut out the middle man that drives up costs. That’s why, Smith said, brides should plan ahead and get their orders in as soon as possible so they have time to order all the flowers they want at a reasonable price.
The hardest part of Smith’s job, she said, is turning away brides during the busy season. Smith advised brides to make booking their flowers a priority — not a back burner — when it comes to wedding planning.
