Why the delivery fee?

            Many moons ago, before I was a floral designer, I would have gasped at delivery and setup fees.  Now, I know why those fees are in place, especially with French Quarter weddings. 

Fitting all of those delicate yet lush arrangements into a delivery van becomes a task similar to that of building a three dimensional puzzle—every little stem has its place and if they are not in the correct place, snap goes the stem and you pray that you have enough extra flowers to compensate. Now imagine your van bursting at the seams with strategically placed flowers and carefully secured bungee cords, negotiating New Orleans potholes, the general lack of parking in the Quarter coupled with construction that never seems to end and let’s not forget the never ending parade of saucy sightseers—not exactly a walk in the park for a time sensitive setup. Let's not underestimate our wonderful Louisiana heat—cut flowers really like that, right?

          I think you get the picture—it’s not easy, especially when that loading zone you were assured is occupied and the usual French Quarter traffic has the added bonus of lights and sirens creating a complete halt in the crawl of traffic. What does a flower girl do? Park in the first spot she sees and hikes with the flowers to the destination piece by piece. (Note to self: remember to wear safe and sensible shoes).  Yes, just another Saturday spectacle.  

The moral of the story is that deliveries require ample planning, tons of patience and yes, a very skillful driver to park in those spacious parking spots.  All that is just getting to the destination on time.  Unloading and setting up –well, that’s the easy part.  Perhaps now when we see a delivery and setup fee, we might pause a moment just to contemplate the effort it takes to get the goods to the destination looking as if Cinderella’s fairy godmother simply waved her magic wand and they appeared.

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