Our Signature Designs are created with you in mind! We want to give you beautiful, visual examples of what you can order, especially when you know you want to send flowers but aren’t exactly sure what you’re looking for. Sometimes, those Signature Designs can require flower substitutions and we’re here to let you know a bit about why that happens and what it means.
How We Create Our Signature Designs
When it’s time to develop a new Signature Design, we usually begin with a particular color palette and style in mind. We create the arrangement, photograph it, record the ingredients in a “floral recipe,” and add it to our website.
Some designs use seasonal flowers and are only available during certain months of the year. Others are made specifically for a holiday, season, or occasion. Then, there are designs created with flowers available throughout most of the year, allowing them to live happily on our website all year long.
This process takes a lot of time and involves thoughtfully considering many elements at once. But all that behind-the-scenes work is worth it when you visit our website and just like magic, you find an arrangement that feels just right. Simply look through our options and pick your favorite. No extensive knowledge of flowers required. No guessing games for either of us. Just an easy and enjoyable flower shopping experience!
Why Substitutions Are Sometimes Necessary
It would be nearly impossible, and certainly impractical, for us to keep every flower used in every Signature Design in our cooler at all times.
This is one of the reasons we require at least 24 hours notice for website orders. We happily accept same-day and next-day orders, but those are limited to our Florist’s Choice designs. You can also read more about rush orders here. To prepare for upcoming orders, we always keep a wide, rotating variety of flower types and colors in our cooler. While shopping at the flower market we pay attention to what is in peak season, what looks the best, and what we think you will love!
When your order comes through, we get to work making it as close as possible to the Signature Design you selected. That is always our goal. But flowers are natural, perishable, and highly variable products, so sometimes substitutions are necessary.
The Beauty of Substitutions in Flower Arrangements
Sometimes, spotting a substitution feels a bit like one of those children’s activity pages that asks you to “find the differences between these two pictures.” The swaps are so subtle that the finished arrangement looks almost identical to the original… especially to the untrained eye. For example:
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ORIGINAL DESIGN
Signature Design: Spiced Splendor
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Sometimes the ingredients can even be very different, but the overall color pallet and vibe is maintained. A little more of an obvious change, but still as recognizable as the original item selected and beautiful, of course. For example:
ORIGINAL DESIGN
Signature Design: Wild at Heart
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ORIGINAL DESIGN
Signature Design: Woodland Whites
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Sometimes we sell out of a particular container and have to switch it out for a similar version that is of the same size and value. Again, the colors and style will still remain as close as possible to the look you were going for. For example:
ORIGINAL DESIGN
Signature Design: Happy Harvest
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Sometimes Customers Request Changes or Substitutions
Not every change is caused by flower availability. Sometimes, customers ask us to make small adjustments so that a design better fits the occasion or the space where it will be displayed.
For example, It’s Your Lucky Day was originally created as a St. Patrick’s Day design featuring a Bells of Ireland heart and a rainbow bow. Because one customer was ordering it for a funeral, they asked us to leave out the heart and replace the rainbow bow with something more neutral. The arrangement still captured the beauty of the original design while feeling more appropriate for the occasion.
ORIGINAL DESIGN
Signature Design: It’s Your Lucky Day
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REQUESTED CHANGES
With this Autumn Radiance design, a customer requested a smaller arrangement for their kitchen island. Instead of creating the forward-facing design shown on our website, we arranged the flowers in a 360-degree shape. The focal flowers faced in every direction, making the arrangement beautiful from every angle.
ORIGINAL DESIGN
Signature Design: Autumn Radiance
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REQUESTED CHANGES
We’re always happy to consider these kinds of requests. Just keep in mind that changes to the size, flowers, colors, or overall shape may make the finished arrangement look different from the website photo.
Our Promise to You
As explained in our Substitution Policy, the photos on our website are intended to represent the overall style and theme of each arrangement. When substitutions are necessary, we maintain the design’s style, theme, and color palette while using flowers or containers of equal or greater value.
Flowers may not always cooperate perfectly, they have minds and growing seasons of their own, but we will always create your arrangement with care and our signature Olive & Honey touch.
If a specific flower, color, container, or design element is especially important to you, please include that information in the “Notes for the Florist” section at checkout or contact us directly to confirm availability. That helps us understand what you love most about the design and make the best possible choices for your flower arrangement order.