Lesson Four

• Assemble the team (brunch or snacky-snacks are recommended for happy helpers).
  
  
• Prepare your hydration containers/buckets before your flowers arrive. Fresh water is perfectenschlag - no additives required. (Seriously, no bleach, pennies, white vinegar, Sprite, or sugar! We beg you.)
  
  
• Organize your supplies into stations so everything is easy to find. Example, bout station, bouquet station, centerpiece station, etc...)
  
  
• When selecting your workspace, remember that you don't want your flowers getting too hot or too cold. The ideal range is 60-70º - a bit cooler is okay but flowers will open more slowly. Stay away from hot-as-balls garages. If you're sweating, your flowers will be mad, too.
  
  
• Receive your flowers with all the vigor of Liam Neeson finding his daughter (according to the method you selected at checkout - pick up or delivery).
• Pick Up at Air Cargo: Pick up at the address given - you should have received tracking info for arrival time. Go inside, tell them you’re picking up a box, show them your tracking number or tell them your name, and they will get the box(es) for you. They aren't picky about who picks up the box.
• Pick Up at Wholesaler: Pick up at the address given during the timeframe suggested. Go inside, tell them you're picking up a Flower Moxie order for [name on order], and they will bring it out to you. If you're driving very far, don't forget to look over the flowers at the wholesaler. If there's anything missing or "off" about your blooms, it can be addresses while you're still there! They aren't picky on who picks up your order. Delegate if you need to.
• Pick up at FedEx Holding Location: If you couldn’t have FedEx deliver directly to your home/location, you can pick up at a designated holding location. Head into the location, let them know you’re picking up for [name on order], and they will get the package for you. You will have to show your ID and it has to match what’s on the box, FYI.
• FedEx Delivery: Plan to be home all day to receive your package and sign for it when it arrives. Oftentimes FedEx will not leave the package at your door (and we promise you don't want that anyways), so you need someone to be there. When it's delivered, you can begin prep!
  
  
• Pull the bundles of flowers from your box they were shipped/received in (don't remove the wrapping on the bunches yet!). Go through and make sure all of your bunches are accounted for.
• If something is missing, email orders@flowermoxie.com ASAP so we can get it worked out for you. We need to know within 24 hours of delivery/pick up so there's enough time time to get more flowers to you.
• If anything is damaged or compromised, email us photos of the flowers in question AND photos of the rest of your flowers so we can get a visual on everything! Again, we need to know within 24 hours.
  
  
• Don’t toss those shipping boxes! They are great for transporting your arrangements later.
  
  
• With the flowers still in their packaging, remove leaves that will sit below the water line (you can remove more if desired), give the stems a fresh cut at an angle, and place the bunch in water. You want the flowers to hydrate IN the packaging for 1 hour before removing it. This allows the flowers to rehydrate in an upright position and prevents sad drooping.
  
  
• After flowers have had time to hydrate for an hour, remove wrapping from ALL bunches. As you do this, be sure that flowers are in size-appropriate hydration containers/buckets and that the flowers have space to open up. If they are too crowded, they will not open fully and may get damaged/bruised.
• We highly recommend using gardening gloves (the ones with rubber palms) when handling roses & sappy greenery like eucalyptus. Rose thorns WILL prick you.
  
  
• Once you’ve ensured all flowers have the space to open, let them sit overnight to continue opening and hydrating.
  
  
• Tidy up your workspace for a fresh start tomorrow!
  
  
• We recommend not building on this day. Wait until tomorrow to begin so your flowers are looking their best.
  
  
• If you have time, you can pre-section your recipes to streamline building tomorrow. This will require some extra buckets/vases.

Need a visual?? Watch our prep tutorial below!

I know it sounds like a lot, but it's all super simple (meditative) stuff. Grab your best pals, put on Lizzo, and the work will fly by.