Florists have dealt with a number of challenges over the past year. Certain flowers have been difficult to get, and COVID-19 pandemic restrictions have changed the way people hold funerals.

But as larger weddings resume, florists are starting to see things return to normal.

At Worthington Flowers in Wynantskill, many couples didn’t outright cancel their wedding orders. Instead, they postponed their dates. That means as restrictions loosen, the work is just beginning.

“I’ve been doing weddings for 52 years. I started with my mom a long time ago, wiring flowers, and I guess I’ve just been doing it so long, it just comes natural,” says Linda Worthington Mulson, co-owner of Worthington Flowers.

Worthington Flowers was started by Mulson’s parents more than 70 years ago. Mulson says business has held steady during the pandemic thanks to loyal customers who bought flowers to celebrate milestones like anniversaries and birthdays.

The shop has also seen an uptick in people buying plants to beautify their homes.

“They could make their home look beautiful with flowers. It was the only thing that they could really do,” says Mulson. “You couldn’t go out anywhere. You couldn’t do anything, so they wanted to make their living area special and beautiful.”

Worthington Flowers closed for two months last year, but reopened in time for Mother’s Day. A year later, it's holding strong, and is ready for what is expected to be a much busier summer.

“There’s some days that are slow, but other days are really busy, where it’s hard to keep up with everything, but for the most part, we’ve held steady and figured it out as we went along,” says Mulson.