Cutting out the retailer is the goal of the recently launched Web site, Wholesale-Wedding-Flowers.com. This site claims to provide a wide array of flowers that are shipped directly from the importer to brides-to-be, so they can create their own “perfect” wedding arrangements.

SAF sent a letter to Wholesale-Wedding-Flowers.com on Sept. 10 responding to a series of negative floral references on the Web site.

The site features a variety of links supporting the company’s “direct to you” case, such as “Fresher Than Your Florist,” and “Straight From the Source.” Wholesale-Wedding-Flowers.com alleges its flowers are better because they “will be strikingly fresher than those you can purchase at any local florist” and that, unlike retail florists' products, their flowers haven’t been exposed to “harmful chemicals, rays of sun and car fumes ... left to sit in dirty water.”

SAF states in its letter: “These claims are unjustified and run a serious risk of giving customers an overall negative impression of flowers, regardless of where they are purchased ... SAF requests that you eliminate all references to florists, and promote your products and services on their own merits.”

Ironically enough, one piece of advice in a wedding checklist seems to contradict the site’s overall theme. Under the “6-12 Months Before the Wedding” section, brides are advised to book a florist, with no mention of do it yourself flowers.

SAF is the industry’s “watchdog” for negative references to flowers. Spot a negative ad? E-mail jstromann@safnow.org, or fax print ads to (703) 836-8705.

 

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