How the 2021 Flower & Greenery Shortages Affect Your Wedding

The 2021 wedding season will be like no other, to say the least. While 2020 had its fair share of challenges, postponements, and firsts, we are prepared and looking forward to a busy 2021 season. 

This is something we have been watching and dealing with in real-time and we feel it is something that is important to share with everyone. Back in March of 2020 when the world shut down, the fresh-cut floral industry struggled. You may have seen the photos or news stories of fields of cut flowers being destroyed or seen the Dutch auction come to a halt. There is an image of flowers from the Aalsmeer flower auction that will forever be etched into our memory. With over 200,000 large blooms the message was clear, #LetHopeBloom. 

I know a few of you may be thinking well, that not in America. Which, for some part, is the truth. However, American florists rely heavily on other countries such as the Netherlands, Columbia, Ecuador, and others to get the volume and special varieties they need for large events like weddings. One of the leading growers of those stunning garden roses, Alexandra Farms, is located in fertile savanna Bogotá, Columbia. 

We promise this blog isn’t to scare you or upset you. We want to keep all our couples up to date and let them know what steps we are taking to stay ahead of this situation and deal with the upcoming unknowns. We are resilient and resourceful. We will deliver you beautiful wedding flowers for your special day. That is our promise and we intend to keep that promise at all costs.

So what steps are we taking to combat the global fresh-cut flower shortage?

• We are ordering early and often from our local wholesaler.

We have been blessed to have formed an incredible relationship with our local wholesaler who is keeping us up to date on the current happenings and status of the market. Curious what is in their cooler right now? Check out this link to view their frequent cooler tours! 

• We are actively seeking out more local farms to purchase from.

We have recently been in contact with a local farm called Unity Farm in Charlotte, VT, and are excited to be purchasing from them. We pick up our first order of tulips for our mothers day bouquet from Unity Farm next week! We also have recently joined a group of local farmer florists in an effort to purchase more local blooms. 

• We are building a larger cut flower garden this year at our studio. We have invested in hot ticket flowers such as peonies, garden roses, and hydrangea. 

Fall of 2020 we put in over 50 new peony plants and expanded our flower gardens to make room for more hydrangeas and specialty roses. We have also bulked up on our annual seeds and hope to start over 250 annual flowers for this season. Yes, these plants will need time to grow but we are actively seeking out more plants and reconfiguring our space.
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We know this is not the news you want to hear but it will get better. We will do everything in our power to get that specific rose variety that you love but please have an open mind. We promise you will LOVE that Combo Rose or Honey Dijon Rose just as much as a those highly prized Toffee Roses. Check out the comparison below!
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 Toffee, Combo and Honey Dijon Roses (in that order). 

At Tipsy Tulip Designs, we promise to deliver full, lush, beautiful wedding florals for you on your special day. Flower and greenery substitutions are coming but in the words of Dalia Lama, “Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.” No matter what, your bouquet and your florals will continue to stop guests in their tracks.