Bouquet vs Flower Arrangement

Floral Bouquet

Flower Arrangement

People often call a bouquet a flower arrangement. And a flower arrangement a bouquet. It becomes even more confusing when a florist does the same thing.

A customer came into Fly Me To The Moon Florists last week asking for a bouquet. She was pretty frenzied. Her daughter was graduating from a college upstate that evening. Before I began to arrange the flowers I asked if she wanted a flower arrangement in a vase. She said no.

So I began to assemble a bouquet for her. She was very particular for a woman in a hurry I thought. She had a vision of what she wanted, but had a hard time putting it into words. She must have been in the shop a total of 45 minutes trying to get it just right.

Midway into the process she said, "So what are you going to put them in?" I said, "Well, I was going to wrap them in cellophane paper." She said, "Aren't you going to put them in a vase?"

I realized later, that many people really don't know the difference between a bouquet and a flower arrangement.

Here are my definitions:

Bouquet Definition

A bouquet is a group of flowers selected and placed into a bunch with or without foliage.
These flowers are usually bound together and wrapped in paper.
A bouquet is often given to people who may or may not already have a vase or vessel in which to place them.
A bouquet requires the recipient to cut the flowers. And either arrange them decoratively or simply place them in water to keep them alive.

Benefits of Giving a Bouquet:

You can buy more flowers and not waste money on a vase if the recipient already has one.
Easy for you to carry and deliver yourself.

Flower Arrangement Definition

A flower arrangement is a group of flowers decoratively placed in a vase, vessel or basket containing either water or floral foam.
Flower arrangements may contain foliage.
Will probably cost more than a bouquet depending on flowers used.
Flower arrangements come in many diferent sizes, shapes and styles.