Event Florist

Recently I was asked, "What is the difference between a florist and a special event florist?"

Generally, a florist can handle a wide variety of floral projects at one time. They usually work in a shop, but not always. Florists usually do projects relating to any occasion (prom, funerals, anniversaries, weddings, and holidays).

A special event florist handles larger scale events. Generally event florists specialize in large weddings, corporate events, and floral design as art.

Blossoms of Rachael West Designs focuses on large scale events and floral/plant arrangements for corporate offices and events. We also do funerals. Whenever possible, we do take on smaller projects such as birthday bouquets, anniversaries, dances, and other special events.

Please remember when placing orders we do require 24 hour notice as we do place priority on our events and corporate contracts first. By providing us ample notice we can guarantee your project will receive the attention and care it needs to make the floral accent of your special event perfect.

Please call 828.455.3774 for an appointment to plan your perfect special event.

A Funny Story!

This cute bride never knew the disaster she almost had at her wedding...and it wasn't regarding the flowers! Actually, the flowers are what saved the day. You see, the wedding planner had agreed to pick up and deliver the cake to the reception site but on the way the cake tipped over. You can only imagine how panicked the wedding planner was as she opened up the back of her car to show me the damaged cake.

Thankfully, I was able to put a few flowers on the bottom layer to help hide the damage as we placed it on the cake table. We carefully (and quickly) stacked the other layers and placed flowers, tropical greens, and seashells on the cake. All of which looked as if it were floating on a tray of water, rocks, and sea shells. Plumeria blooms floated in the water and gave off the most amazing scent.

Shortly after the bride came over to see the cake. She LOVED it! She promptly brought over her family and proudly showed off the cake just moments before the ceremony started.

Something usually goes wrong at weddings, but when you have experienced vendors who are prepared, you can usually get through anything....and most of the time, the bride never knows-- which is exactly how it should be!

Want a tropical Blossoms at your wedding?
Call Rachael West Designs at 828.455.3774 for a wedding consultation.

(Some of these photos have been posted before but without the story)

Pink and Champagne Wedding

This wedding is actually one we did several years ago. I just LOVE these pictures because they still look incredible, trendy, and really pop against the champagne colored dresses.

Thanks to MK Images for sending me these photos after the wedding.

If you are interested in a wedding consultation or more information about our wedding services, please contact Rachael West Designs or call 828.455.3774.

Classic Creations

Stacie King is an event planner and coordinator located in Hickory, North Carolina. She and I have now had the opportunity to work together on several weddings. Stacie has an incredible eye for detail, always keeping in mind things like ribbon accents and floral pins.

She, along with her staff have been professional, organized, and do a great job catering to her clients.

If you are in need of a fun, creative, and professional event planner, please give Stacie and her team at "Classic Creations" a try.

Stacie King, Hickory NC

828.217.5049
classiccreationshky@yahoo.com

Placing Orders

Since we are special event florists, we spend a lot of time at venues with our clients. During that time, we may not be available to take on additional orders, especially on weekends.

If you reach our voice mail, please leave a message and we will get back to you as quickly as possible. However, do not assume that if we got your voice message that we are doing your project. You will always receive a follow-up call with confirmation stating that we will do your project and coordinate all the special details for your project.

We always encourage you to call in your orders with as much notice as possible. Orders placed with less than 24 hours, especially during holidays or weddings, may not be possible for us to fill.

Our upcoming expansion will help accommodate more orders, but until then we don't want to over-book. We want to give our best work to each of our clients and their special events.

To place an order, please call 828.455.3774 or visit www.RachaelWestDesigns.com

Testimonial

Rachael,

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! Everything was PERFECT! You and Stacia did such a beautiful job. It seriously was everything I'd imagined..... I loved it all. Matt and I had such a wonderful day, it really was perfect. Thank you for taking such good care of me. You were so wonderful to work with.

Love,

A. S

Cancer Fundraiser at Rock Barn

This past weekend the Chamber of Commerce of Hickory hosted a fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society. We had the honor and privilege to donate two arrangements for the silent auction.
Pictures coming!!

How do I know if I am getting what I paid for?

My husband and I recently celebrated our wedding anniversary. Unfortunately on that day he was in Atlanta for a work meeting and we were unable to be together, so, he sent me flowers. These beautiful lilies came in a glass vase and were delivered to the house for $95.00

The lilies were beautiful, and I was extremely excited my husband would send me something I truly loved and there is nothing that would lessen the excitement I felt receiving those flowers from him.

However, being a florist I would be embarrassed to send this arrangement. First, there are uncleaned stems in the water which means the leaves below the water line of the vase. Debry in the water creates a breeding ground for bacteria. This is a guaranteed way to shorten the life of your flowers. There was no plant food packet attached to the arrangement.

Second, North Carolina grows a lot of lilies locally and they were in season during the time of our anniversary. The cost for these lilies were a little too high....however, it could have been priced accurately if there had been other flowers, a higher quality vase, or some type of extra embellishment.

Third, the florist called me that morning to say they had a delivery and asked if they could leave it on if I was not home. This is a MAJOR concern to me even more than the others because a good florist knows that if you set a vase of lilies out in the summer sun, even in water, they will open up and be dead extremely quickly. Lilies are finicky and like to grow in sun, but not be cut and in a vase and left in the sun.

Fourth, when the florist called, she mentioned the time they would arrive by. The florist was over an hour late. This was my first contact with them even before the flowers arrived. A big frustration when I was sitting at home waiting for them to arrive.

And last, the flowers, by the next day looked awful and were quickly deteriorating. All of them were dead in a matter of just a few days.

Rachael West Designs take great pride in making sure we include all the special little accents to your floral arrangements and here is how:

~We take care of the little details like making sure the water is clean and free of debry. We provide a packet of plant food which not only feeds the flowers, but more importantly helps keep the water clean and free of bacteria. Changing the water daily and mixing in flower food can double or even triple the life of your flowers.

~We are always happy to use local flowers or in-season flowers to help reduce costs for you.

~If you are not home, we always do our best to make other arrangements for delivery.

~Sometimes things happen. If a situation arises where we are running late, we will call.

~We offer, for anyone who would like, a photo of their arrangement. With technology literally in the palm of our hands, there should never be a time when you cant see exactly what you are getting... and paying for.

~We don't tack on a huge delivery fee at the end to make up our costs. Delivery is free for all of our weddings to one local destination and to Frye Hospital. Repeat customers also may get extra perks like free delivery.

~We would also be happy at any time to show you pictures of our work or provide references any time.

If your florist is not doing these things for you, you should definitely give us a try. We guarantee you will be pleased.

Rachael Wests Designs and Blossoms
828.326.7100