SAN ANGELO, Texas — San Angelo’s oldest floral shop, Bouquets Unique Florist has been operating since 1902. Each year, large quantities of bouquets are sold for Valentine's Day.
“We start coming in, you know, seven in the morning and we're here until at least seven at night. But the days get longer and longer so that we're here until ten at night. As we get closer, even midnight sometimes. So, yeah, we kind of live here. So we have breakfast, lunch and dinner here,” Bouquets Unique Florist owner, Becky Peña said.
The shop orders large quantities of flowers, it's challenging to keep track.
“I don't think I'd even want to know the stem count, it's a lot,” Peña said.
The shop prepares several weeks in advance. Just for Valentine’s day, the shop hired four designers and seven additional drivers. The planning begins even before other holidays.
“Before Christmas. So I have to start thinking about Valentine's Day while I'm still thinking about Christmas. So kind of all the holidays overlap for me,” Peña said.
Supply chain issues have been a challenge in getting certain items ahead of the big day.
“Things like glass vases have been difficult, especially clear glass has been difficult to get in. So we have seen, you know, that's been a little kind of a challenge,” Peña said.
Orders started coming in as early as the beginning of January, but it's not the case for everyone.
“Unfortunately, most of them wait until the 13th or 14th to actually come in and get the flowers,” Peña said.
Becky makes sure to keep up with what's popular and on demand.
“During Valentine's Day. Classic red rose is always the most popular flower that is sold,” Peña said.
Last year the shop sold about 500 bouquets. This year, they are well into the hundreds in pre-orders.