Give Flowers To Your Wife’s Best Friend for Saving Your Marriage

 

Jill Brooke, who launched Flowerpowerdaily.com, the website that looks at how flowers intersect into news and pop culture, has a message for spouses.

“Give your spouse’s best friend flowers or candy this year for Valentine’s Day since they have most likely saved your marriage countless times. You can write on the card, ‘Thanks for helping my marriage survive and thrive.”

The role of friends in maintaining and strengthening marriages gets little attention. However, therapists agree that friends can be influential in how spouses navigate emotions and day-to-day hiccups and obstacles.

Jane Karsh, a prominent psychologist in New York City, says that friends offer not only a “receiving blanket” to comfort but also a reality check.

“Many people, and especially women, will share their emotional lives with their friends,” says Karsh. “Men in particular may not be as aware how intimately friends share about their marriages and love life.”

Award-winning Virginia-based florist Holly Chapple, whose wedding designs have been featured in both The Knot to Martha Stewart, embraced Brooke’s idea with a special  “Spouse Best Friend Appreciation Bouquet” she is now offering.

“I believe I got to thirty-five-plus years of marriage because my girlfriends were there to talk me off the ledge,” she says. “Our gal pals often pick up all the little shattered pieces, or nudge our husbands to acknowledge our most significant accomplishments or celebrations.”

These pals are also dispatched by their friends to suggest ideas for their husbands to give as gifts for anniversaries, birthdays and holiday gifts. They are also often peacemakers and prevent misunderstandings and potential blow-outs.

Furthermore, new data from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics reveals that consumers are expressing appreciation and gratitude to non-romantic partners in growing numbers.

While consumers are expected to spend a total of $25.8 billion on Valentine’s Day this year, “a striking result from this year’s research is that consumers value the non-romantic relationships in their lives” and are prioritizing gifts for significant others.

Total spending on significant others for the holiday is expected to reach a record $14.2 billion. Consumers who are buying gifts will spend an average of $192.80, up from $175.41 in 2022.  Of the $17 increase in per-person spending, $14 comes from gifts for pets, friends and co-workers, along with classmates or teachers.

Already the concept of “Galentine’s Day” is rooted in the culture. While credit for its launch of celebrating female friendships the day before Valentine’s Day may go to Amy Poehler from her depiction in “Parks and Recreation” in 2010, it is now even in the dictionary.

This is why Brooke of flowerpowerdaily.com hopes spouses giving their wives’ best friends a nod of gratitude will catch on too for 2024.  The  “Spouse Best Friend Appreciation Bouquet” can come in many forms including candles, candy and of course, flowers. She can also present several bouquets and ideas.

Luckily in the language of flowers, while red roses convey romantic love, many other blooms represent gratitude and friendship.  They include hydrangea, iris, tulips, orchids, lilies and pink chrysanthemums. The sunflower is an especially good gift since despite its darkness in the middle, it will veer towards sunlight and positivity. That’s exactly what you want your spouse’s friends to focus on when discussing you. Taupe roses are also known for welcoming a variety of opinions. Then there is the classic choice  Yellow roses are also an ideal option since they represent friendship, joy and yes, gratitude.

Jill Brooke is a former CNN correspondent, Post columnist and editor-in-chief of Avenue and Travel Savvy magazine. She was also the editor of FirstWivesWorld which helped women navigate divorces and remarriages. Brooke is an author and the editorial director of FPD and a contributor to Florists Review magazine. She also won the 2023 AIFD (American Institute of Floral Design.) Merit Award for showing how flowers impact history, news and culture