Red Roses, New Traditions: Shelby Flower Shop Owner Shares Valentine's Day Stories

When it comes to Valentine’s Day flowers, Amy Guzzardo knows what she’s doing. The Shelby Township resident and owner of four 1-800-Flowers shops—including the one in Shelby—has been in the floral business for 20 years.

“It has been a wonderful experience,” said Guzzardo. “We wanted to serve a community—not just an internet business. What you see online is what you’re going to get in our stores as well.”

And what you’ll get in their stores coming up to Valentine’s Day is a lot of options—from traditional red rose bouquets to unique combinations of flowers, chocolates, stuffed animals and more.

“It’s been absolutely crazy,” Guzzardo said of the weeks leading up to Feb. 14. “It’s the busiest holiday of the year.”

Some things never change. But what does change, she said, is customer tastes.

“You still have your old-fashioned consumers who want the roses, beause Valentine’s Day is still a rose holiday,” she shared. “Others want to do something different—they always want to be the special one and wow their girlfriend. They want to be creative, and we help them do that.”

Some of Guzzardo’s favorites include the “Love Potion”—a bouquet in a martini glass; and the “Lucky in Love”—which features two dogs made out of flowers in a basket.

“If you’re a dog lover, it’s beautiful.”

It takes some expertise to help customers find exactly what they want, and a lot of preparation.

“Be prepared, be early, have great designers and great drivers,” Guzzardo said. “And hope it doesn’t snow.”

But even if it does, she added, they won’t turn anyone away. Deliveries to offices and homes happen all day Valentine’s Day, and the stores will be open to accommodate those “Oops, I forgot” purchases, too.

“The busiest moment is really the last day,” Guzzardo said. “They walk in after 5 o’ clock when they get off of work—that’s when the walk-in business gets busiest.”

Luckily, there are plenty of flowers to go around.

Find the Shelby Township 1-800-Flowers shop at 46569 Hayes, and check out our Shelby-Utica Patch Business Directory for a full list of Shelby Township and Utica florists.