Valentine’s Day is typically filled with chocolates, teddy bears, heart-shaped pizzas and of course flowers.
“Valentine’s Day for us is really busy but it’s also really rewarding because we get to make people happy during these times,” said Petra Janssen, the owner of the Wascana Flower Shoppe in Regina.
At the Wascana Flower Shoppe, customers spend anywhere from $10 on a single rose to $700 on a bouquet for Valentine’s Day. On a cold Saskatchewan day, creativity is put to the test regardless of how much you spend.
“Embarrassingly I just did a little karaoke song and recorded myself and sent it to her but I mean make your own homemade cards or that sort of thing. Money’s not always available so you’ve got to be creative with how you do things,” said Rory Bashforth.
Shoppers like Bradley Brown prefer to stick to classics like dinner and a movie.
“Nothing too crazy. We want to be able to do something nice but not destroy our bank accounts while doing it,” said Brown.
Rory Bashforth says even after 15 years with his wife it’s always important to remember how much your spouse does for the family. However, this year a family health situation had made Valentine’s Day much more than a Hallmark holiday.
“We’re going through a lot with our son going through leukemia right now, so she has been totally, 100 per cent committed to him for the past 10 months and so she deserves to get a little recognition on a day like today,” said Bashforth.
Due to his son’s medical condition, Bashforth is limited in what he can do on the day that celebrates love but he finds a way to make it work.
“Being creative can sometimes be hard but when it’s someone special you want to put that extra effort forward,” added Bashforth.
At the Wascana Flower Shoppe they spend roughly 10 days prepping for Valentine’s Day and the hundreds of extra orders they receive. It’s obviously a profitable day in the flower industry, but Petra Janssen can’t help but reflect on what she calls the hardest day of her life after 42 years in business.
“Tanya and I at the beginning of March, when the pandemic hit and we were in shutdown, we stood at that front counter and cried as we had to lay everybody off because we didn’t know what we were going to do or how this was going to go,” said Janssen.
But days like Valentine’s Day are about more than business to Janssen.
“Personally I just can’t believe how many people support us, how many people love us. And for that we are super blessed and super grateful.”