Cooke's Florist earns a great reputation for being open to anything & offering everything

Reviewing Cooke's Florist & Greenhouse

 

There's no shortage of brides who have something fantastic to say about Cooke's Florist & Greenhouse in Clinton, Ontario. In fact, don't let the small town address fool you. This intimate flower shop has managed to stay busy with weddings of all sizes and styles for the past 80 years. They have their own on-site greenhouse, a large inventory of flowers - fresh and artificial - and an even larger emphasis on service.

 

Cooke's designs flowers for the wedding party, ceremony décor, reception décor, table centrepieces and just about anything else you can think of that requires a bit (or a lot) of colour, scent or style on your wedding day. That's why staff at The Ring sat down with Owner and Designer, Anjannette Carter-McAsh, to find out more about what they had to offer brides from Clinton to London and beyond. Let us explain...

 

Personally speaking...

Anjannette has her own design style and it shows - particularly in wedding flowers. She says the floral business gives her the chance to be artistic with her own new ideas. "I strive for unique and exquisite floral design." She actually first fell in love with the industry when she was hired to work at Cooke's Florist by its previous owners. Learning as she worked, Anjannette must have realized floral design wasn't just a short term job for her - when the previous boss retired, she dove in, took over and brought her own, new style to the busy flower shop. The shop is filled with flowers and décor options with a greenhouse just a few steps away. "The greenhouse is really hard work but very rewarding."

 

Feeling lucky to have been able to establish and keep a great reputation within her community, Anjannette believes it's always been the quality customer service that has kept them one step ahead and busy from dusk to dawn.

 

Anjannette works with a full-time employee in the shop, Betty Kelly, and 2 or 3 part-time employees during their busy season. Even though Anjannette and Betty admit they are completely different in style and personality, they say it makes for a great team. "We're so different that it works. Betty and I can come up with completely unique ideas for our customers."

 

Cooke's weddings 

When it comes to weddings, Cooke's goal is to offer everything a bride's heart could desire. "I love that some brides want such a simple style and that others want 'the works'..." Anjannette considers it her specialty to be open to anything, and this shows through the variety of floral design she has done to date - each couple that enters the Cooke's Florist doors is unique and so are their wedding flower ideas.

 

Anjannette offers a long list of floral and décor options that could be used in any combination, style and colour so that it helps you create a wedding day that's as close to your vision as possible.

 

The greenhouse and shop offer both fresh and artificial flowers to fill your needs - flowers for the people and locations that make up your wedding day. For example, ceremony flowers can include altar arrangements and décor for the ceremony site as well as flowers for the entire wedding party, parents and those VIPs who deserve an extra mention with a boutonnière or corsage. Reception flowers may be a few simple head table arrangements or a floral archway that welcomes guests into a space made gorgeous with tall, intricate table centerpieces.

 

For Anjannette, it's about finding out who the bride and groom is in real life so that she can create flowers that will work with their personalities and their overall wedding style. She told us, "Flowers show different emotions, they echo the voice of the human heart."

 

Trends :: what a bride loves

The flowers Anjannette is asked to design are most often hand held bouquets and cascade, or over-the-arm, bouquets. "Brides are also having fun with their flowers. They're adding glitzy items such as butterfly trinkets, crystals, pearls... I love that they dress it up with details."

 

Anjannette says bright colours are definitely in. "And even though weddings are getting bigger and more creative, centrepieces aren't necessarily always floral... Couples are using candles and vases, more simple designs with lots of height."

 

Budgeting & booking your wedding flowers 

The average bridal bouquet is about $100 to $300 at Cooke's Florist with bridesmaids bouquets running at $50 to $100. Boutonnières start at $8 and corsages start at $12. Large floral arrangements (such as for the head of the aisle) can range upwards of $80 or more. "It all depends on the flowers you choose and what's in season at the time," explained Anjannette. "We have suppliers from everywhere. We will bring in flowers from all over the world if you ask us to, and we can give you a quote when you contact us of what those prices would be." That said, for more budget conscious brides, locally grown flowers that are in season can be both beautiful and budget friendly.

 

You should book your wedding date with Cooke's about six months ahead if possible, though Anjannette will take last minute bookings if she can. "We actually had one bride come in five days before her wedding. We came up with some flowers, they went with it, and the bride was absolutely thrilled." Booking on short notice means needing to be more flexible with flower types and colours, and open to suggestions.

 

Cooke's is available by email or phone, which is how you can book your initial consultation. Because they want to give you their undivided attention, an appointment is highly recommended. Throughout your consultation, Anjannette and Betty say they put together different flowers in different colours to give couples some ideas and some inspiration to get started. When you choose Cooke's for your wedding, a deposit of 20% puts your date on the Cooke's calendar. Depending on the location of your wedding, the delivery charge will vary.

 

And then some 

Cooke's has something for just about every special occasion, from wedding showers and birthdays to baby showers and 50th anniversaries. "We carry balloon bouquets, plants, wreaths, home décor, swags (horizontal arrangements for over doors, photos, etc.), candles, wall décor and a lot more. Cooke's also creates gourmet gift baskets, something that could most certainly come in handy if you're looking for gifts for parents of the bride or groom, or possibly for a way to thank guests who've come from out of town.

 

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• Anjannette suggests booking your wedding flowers about 6 months ahead if you can - although she's helped many brides with a tighter timeframe.

• After deciding the size of your order, which colours and which flowers, a 20% non-refundable (but transferable) deposit will hold your wedding date with Cooke's Florist.

• The balance is due when you receive your flowers by delivery or when you pick them up.

 

In other words...

"Thank you for taking the time with us to choose our flowers and arrangements for the wedding. You were very patient, friendly. You presented the flowers well and gave us great ideas. The flowers were perfect!" - Angie & Mike

"Anj and Betty were very knowledgeable about their flowers and offered tremendous support with the selection of flowers for my fall wedding. My flowers were a main focus for me when I became engaged and I initially expected this expense to be high. After consulting and receiving a quote from Anj I was delightfully surprised how reasonable Anjanette's prices were. My flowers were absolutely gorgeous and were exactly the way I dreamed they would look like and more. People still comment today how beautiful my flowers were at our wedding. When looking back now I recall my most memorable and emotional moment of the day was when Anj presented my bouquet to me. My bouquet was so vibrant and breath taking." - Tara Dykstra

 

Making an appointment...

Cooke's Florist can be found 'right in the centre of Huron County' at 61 Orange Street in Clinton (their postal code is N0M 1L0 if you're mapping a route). Betty is available by phone at 519-482-7012 and email at cookesflorist@cabletv.on.ca. They check email regularly and strongly recommend booking an appointment if you're looking for wedding flowers. Their website hosts many more bouquets and other floral décor, right online at www.cookesflorist.ca.

 

"With so many details involved, you deserve our undivided attention and we want to make sure everything is perfect." The shop is open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5:30 pm and Saturday from 9 am to 4 pm. After hours consultations are available, by appointment.

 

- The Staff at TheWeddingRing.ca

* Prices are all approximate and are subject to change and verification by authorized staff and management of Cooke's Florist & Greenhouse. * Photos are used with the permission of a Cooke's Florist & Greenhouse authorized staff member.