5 Mother’s Day Lessons from “Beauty and the Beast”

A mysterious red rose slowly unfurls soft, velvet petals to reveal its inner beauty. One by one the crimson petals drop beneath the small glass dome. A furious Beast paces in despair inside the dark, lonely castle. The newly-released version of “Beauty and the Beast” is a love story symbolic in flowers. Primary to the plot of this timeless tale is an enchanted red rose in full bloom. People can also blossom like a rose, opening up when we take the time to get to know or serve them. Mother’s Day is a perfect time to help our customers express their love with flowers.

A beauty from within

Speaking of expressive flowers, watch this inspiring ‘Beauty and the Beast’ video to see how perfectly choreographed petal-people can bring a symbolic red rose to life in dance. Similarly, florists aspire to bring their client’s Mother’s Day messages of love to life in a vase of fresh flowers. As designers, the beauty of blooming roses and relationships often fill our thoughts with visions of romance.

‘Beauty and the Beast’ – the story

Unfortunately, in this age-old story, the mystical rose has already bloomed, begun to wilt, and is losing its petals one by one. Romance seems far away. The symbolic Beast represents anger and loneliness. The enchanted red rose sits like an hourglass ticking off moments of the Beast's unhappy life. When the flower is gone, so will the chance for the Beast to experience a new life and love. As fate would have it, a beautiful Belle arrives on the scene to unravel the mystery of how the Beast came to be and bring to him the only magical cure, her love; as you can see in this this video.

Flowers share the message of beauty

Flowers play an important part in the message of the movie and that’s good for the floral industry. The abundance of beautiful blooms is breathtaking to see and adds to the underlying theme of finding beauty in everyday life. Flowers used in the larger-than-life imagery of movies, television, social or political events connect with a broader range of people. Copious amounts of flowers in the backdrop of a scene or event send the message that flowers are an element of quality of life. In addition to the enchanted rose there is a profusion of flower bouquets in the movie’s marketplace and a ballroom-dancing scene filled with large urns of flowers and voluptuous floral garlands hanging from the ceiling. Even the villainous Gaston tries to wins Belle’s favor with a bouquet of flowers! In the movie, Belle longs for a clearer memory of the mother she lost as an infant. In true fairytale fashion, florists use their time and talent to help their Mother’s Day customers give a gift of beauty to the first person they learned to love - their mother.

Mother’s Day, a red-letter day for flowers

[rev_slider alias="beauty-and-the-beast-1"] Mother’s Day is a red-letter day for flowers and red blooms are among the most popular. Flowers, a sign of life and fertility, have been a favorite gift since a special day for celebrating mothers can be traced back to ancient Greece. Celebrations were held in the spring when flowers were plentiful. People in many countries around the world continue to celebrate their mom on this day by giving her a gift of flowers. For many years, it was a tradition of the day to wear a red rose corsage for a mother still living, and a white rose for a mother who was deceased. Today, flowers of all varieties are chosen as gifts for mom, but roses remain top of the list.

Good, better, best

[rev_slider alias="beauty-and-the-beast-2"] While ‘a dozen roses’ is a good choice with sentimental value, it isn’t necessary that roses always be given in dozens. Sometimes, a lesser number of roses is a better choice based on the situation or budget. Arrangements featuring a few roses mixed in with other varieties of flowers are very popular. Mixed or monochromatic bouquets are also favored. The best choice of flower arrangement to give is one the recipient will love to receive. Ask questions of your customer regarding the favorite flowers, colors, fragrance of the recipient. Ask where will the flowers be displayed and adapt design size and shape to fit a particular space. While the majority of designs can be sold from your Mother’s Day collection, consider offering a custom-design category for a premium price. Select containers and decorative accents such as the ones used in the photographed designs above at the products section of this website.

Five Lessons from “Beauty and the Beast”

What lessons of service can a flower shop learn from this “tale as old as time?”

1. Perfection isn’t everything. Doing your best to meet the needs of your customer supersedes a perfect plan. In the flower shop, no two days (or holidays) run the same. That’s part of the magic.
2. Learning new things opens the mind. At times, it can be hard to embrace change, but change is good – even for a flower shop. Try new things to keep your product line interesting for customers and fun for your staff, to keep your business growing.
3. To see the real value of a person, look beyond the surface. Flowers are a great equalizer of customers. Regardless of how much they spend, each person puts their trust in you to deliver their message of love. Remember, whether they appear to have less or more, never judge another person by their appearance or your wallet.
4. Embrace what makes you different, it also makes you unique. Differentiate your business by concentrating on what you do best and the needs of your specific community. The less your product line resembles others, the more valuable your offerings will be.
5. Believe in the magic The enchanted rose, all-seeing mirror, talking candelabra, dancing clock and dishes of this treasured fairytale remind us that falling in love requires a touch of magic and sometimes the help of others.

Fortunately, the experience of falling in love is available to all who open their hearts. Florists can be prepared to work their magic with the flowers. Have you seen the newly-released version of Beauty and the Beast? If so, what did you think of the flowers?