After, almost always. Hand them over as the graduate comes out, and the flowers go straight into the photographs rather than under a chair.
Graduation flowers are one of the few gifts that have to work in public. They are handed over in a crowd, held through a long run of photographs, carried out to a hot car park and then, with any luck, still look lovely on a kitchen bench the next morning. So when people ask me for advice about graduation flowers in Melbourne, the useful question is not which bouquet is prettiest on a screen. It is which one survives the day it was made for.
We have been sending graduation flowers across Melbourne since 2007, and it's always interesting to me how graduation week has its own rhythm. Here is what we have learned about the timing, the choosing and getting graduation flowers there on the day.
Why after the ceremony
"Dear Kate and Team, our sincere gratitude for the exceptionally beautiful bouquet you provided for our daughter's graduation. Thank you again for your excellent service and for making our day even more special."
Chris, Google review
Ceremonies run long, seating is tight, and a graduate who is gowned up and queuing backstage has nowhere to put a bouquet. Flowers handed over beforehand spend the ceremony on the floor.
Afterwards is also when they mean the most. A degree takes years, and most of it happens quietly, alone, at a desk. The ceremony is the first time any of it is visible.
Flowers are one of the few gifts that are unmistakably celebratory as soon as they appear, with no explaining and no unwrapping. Handed over at the door of the hall, they do the congratulating for you, in front of everyone, which is precisely the point.
They also photograph. Every graduate ends up in a hundred pictures that day, and a bouquet gives their hands something to do.
If you cannot be at the ceremony
Send the flowers to arrive that evening or the following morning instead. Arriving home to flowers after a long day is a kinder gesture than a bouquet left at a reception desk for hours, and it extends the occasion by a day rather than competing with it.
Send to a home address rather than a campus wherever you can. University buildings on graduation day are full, staffed by people who are not expecting parcels, and reception desks close early.
Choosing flowers for a long day in public
Because the bouquet will be held, photographed and carried for hours, three choices count for more than usual.
Size
Size is the decision people get wrong more often than colour. A very large bouquet looks generous online and becomes a burden by the third photograph. Something the graduate can hold comfortably in one arm, for an hour, in the heat, is the better gift.
Colour
There is no correct graduation colour, and nothing in the tradition that says otherwise. Two things are worth a thought.
Strong, saturated colour photographs better than pale colour under the flat light of a university hall, so magenta, deep pink and hot coral tend to look better in pictures than blush does.
And if the gown has a faculty colour, you can either echo it or ignore it entirely. Echoing it looks deliberate. Clashing with it is the only outcome to avoid.
For a graduate who would not call themselves a flower person
This comes up more than anything else, usually about sons, brothers and partners. The honest answer is that the objection is rarely to flowers. It is to a particular idea of flowers, something pastel and ruffled and vaguely bridal.
Send something with structure instead. Banksia, gum, textural natives and dried elements read as architectural rather than romantic, they hold up in heat, and they keep going long after the softer stems have finished. If you want to think that through properly, our guide to choosing an Australian native bouquet covers what works and when. The Australian native bouquets in our range are a sound starting point.
Ordering for the day
Graduation days are logistically awkward, because the person you are sending to is not where they usually are, so order with time in hand. Our same day cut-off is 1pm and we are closed on Sundays, and November and December are the two busiest months of our year. Delivery across Melbourne starts from $19 and is carried out by courier.
If the timing genuinely has to be tight, tell us in the order notes. We would rather know the plan than guess at it.
When you are ready, our graduation range is the place to start.
Graduation flower questions we are often asked
Can you bring flowers to a graduation ceremony?
Yes. Keep them in the car or with a guest who is not graduating, and hand them over as the graduate comes out. If you cannot attend, have them delivered to their home that evening instead.
Do male graduates get flowers?
Yes, and they are often the most pleased by them, because they were not expecting any. Choose structure over softness. Banksia, gum and dried textures read as considered rather than sentimental.
What colour flowers are best for a graduation?
There is no rule. Strong colour photographs better than pale colour in hall lighting, and echoing the faculty colour of the gown looks deliberate if you happen to know it.
Can graduation flowers be delivered on the day?
Yes, with same day delivery across Melbourne when you order by 1pm, Monday to Saturday. For a graduation we would still suggest ordering a day or two ahead, because the ceremony will not wait and the roads in November do not always co-operate.
Kate x
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