THE RICH MAR STORY

The Rich Mar story began with the vision of Richard P. Morrissey, his wife, Dolores A. Morrissey, and his parents, Frieda and Vincent Morrissey. Together, they founded the company in 1955 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, opening their doors in the basement of a townhouse on Gordon Street.

In the years to come, Rich Mar Florist expanded to its most remembered—and most popular—location at 4th & Tilghman Streets in Allentown. During the late 1970s, Richard’s son, Richard J. Morrissey, entered the business and became the head designer and manager of the 4th & Tilghman Street store.

The ‘70s were a good time for Rich Mar Florist: it expanded quickly throughout the area, from The Berkshire Mall to Gilbertsville, Village West, Broad Street in Bethlehem, and center-city Easton. The wave of expansion continued into the 1980s, and would help shape the current face of Rich Mar Florist as it is known today. Richard J. married Frances M. Martin in 1981, and she too joined the business to work alongside her husband.

In 1987, Rich Mar converted an old TV repair shop into the beautiful location it is today at 2407 Easton Avenue in Bethlehem. The following year, the Tilghman Street location moved a few blocks down to 17th & Tilghman—the old Shane’s building. Over time, these two locations became its busiest, and during the ‘90s would become its only, flagship locations. In 1989, Rich Mar opened its “Design Center” in Allentown, where they take all phone orders and make the beautiful arrangements that are delivered to customers every day. This location also houses the Bridal Showroom.

Upon graduating from King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, PA in 2003, Richard J.’s son, Jonathan, entered the business, marking the 4th generation of Morrisseys to enter into and operate Rich Mar Florist. In 2007, Jonathan married his college sweetheart, Melissa Hahn, who also joined the company to make yet another husband-and-wife Morrissey team.

2009 was the start of new heights for the business. Rich Mar Florist was named the official floral provider for the Women’s Open at Saucon Valley Country Club, and additional success came immediately thereafter. The next year, Jonathan and Melissa’s daughter, Charlotte, was born. Will she follow in her parents’ footsteps? Only time will tell.

As the decade progressed, the company became one of the top 100 FTD florists in the country out of more than 20,000 florists. The company has received many other awards and award nominations in the last decade, culminating with the 2017 Excellence in Business Award from The Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Rich Mar has always been a family business with the intent of giving back to the community that has made them who they are. They have grown from a basement to the Internet, and plan to keep their family vision alive and well for another 50+ years.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

I have been a customer of Rich Mar Florist for the past two years. They never fail to amaze me in their professionalism, creativity, timeliness, and positive attitude. Jonathan is always willing to meet face to face, discuss all options in depth, and come up with the best fit for my timeline, events, and budget. Darcie is a top notch designer in her creativity, work ethic, and positive attitude. She consistently takes my ideas and turns them into beautiful masterpieces I could never conceptualize on my own.

Rich Mar was critical in the success of our private VIP events held during the 2017 AHL All Star Classic. Jonathan and Darcie blew my expectations out of the water! They understood the magnitude of my events and the whole family was on-call if I needed anything throughout the entire weekend. The flowers were flawless and were all our guests could talk about! I’ve never worked with a florist who could think so out of the box and create pieces of art beyond just a flower arrangement.

I highly recommend Rich Mar Florist for any occasion. They are timely, professional, friendly, creative, and accommodating. The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are very proud to be partners with such a great company!

-Emily Krombach, Director of Client Services
Lehigh Valley Phantoms

I don’t know anything about flowers — but I know I need them at my events. Whenever I have something coming up, I just call Jonathan at Rich Mar Florists, explain my theme and budget, and let him work his magic. Poof! Flowers show up the day that I need them, and everyone starts complimenting me on how good they look. Rich Mar always come through on-time, on budget, and with a product that exceeds expectations. They make flowers the least stressful part of every event.

-Mike Holle, Manager, Sponsorship Services
Lehigh Valley IronPigs

Rich Mar did the flowers for my wedding and they were absolutely stunning!!! Definitely Pinterest-worthy! They worked hard with us to keep us in a budget, and were knowledgeable about alternative options that would still give the feel and look we wanted for the wedding. Definitely, will recommend to my friends who are getting married!

-Jessica Figueroa

Rich Mar Florist is an absolute gem in the Lehigh Valley. This family-owned business took so much time to help us choose our flowers and paid so much attention to detail for our flowers. They had wonderful customer service and pricing and helped us to work within our budget. The flowers that Rich Mar made for our wedding were exactly what I had asked for and completely matched our venue. We were originally planning on having our ceremony outside, and due to rain, I called Rich Mar the morning of the wedding and they worked with me to change the layout of our flowers for our indoor ceremony. We were absolutely blown away when we saw the arrangements they created for our inside ceremony and were amazed by the quality work they provided. I would recommend Rich Mar to anyone planning a wedding or special event, and will definitely work with them again in the future.

-Suzie Marie

I want to thank you and Rich Mar Florist for the absolutely gorgeous work you did on our wedding this past Saturday. The bride and bridesmaids, groomsmen and all of the parent and grandparents flowers were outstanding and surpassed our expectations.

The church was absolutely beautiful and what can we say about the venue except that it was breathtaking. The centerpieces in the pilsner vases were out of this world and we were extremely pleased and impressed with the flower wreath that you made which hung from the center of the tent. You really outdid yourselves and people could not say enough about how absolutely enchanting everything looked.

Nate was an absolute sweetheart and was right on the ball and worked very hard delivering, moving and disassembling everything.

You were a pleasure to work with and we thank you very much for everything.

-Sharon and Joe Artinger

Rich Mar did the flowers for my wedding and they were absolutely stunning!!! Definitely Pinterest worthy! They worked hard with us your keep us in budget and we’re knowledgeable about alternative options that would still give the feel and look we wanted for the wedding.

Definitely, will recommend to my friends who are getting married!

- Lauren Hamory

Jonathan was so helpful when it came to selecting our wedding flowers! I went in clueless as to what I wanted and the arrangements/ bouquets that he helped us select couldn’t have been more perfect! We were also delightfully surprised how long they actually lasted! My bouquet was still beautiful when we returned from our honeymoon 1.5 weeks later! Jonathan also kept in contact to make sure any changes that needed to be made, were. He was always very prompt in response! My husband and I highly recommend Rich Mar for their knowledge and professionalism!

- Ashley Cummings

Jonathan and team did an amazing job with the bouquets and floral décor for our wedding. After initially speaking with Jonathan at a local bridal show, he actually remembered our conversation at the first meeting with my fiancé and I. From that initial consultation, Jonathan was instrumental in assisting us in selecting the flowers that completed our vision, including amazing submerged floral centerpieces, which just completed the modern and sophisticated compliments were looking for. The team at Rich Mar far exceeded our expectations!

- Tami Correll Pinchiaroli

I am very happy with my experience with RichMar Florist. I contacted them pretty late in the game as far as wedding planning is concerned, and Jonathan got back to me immediately and scheduled a time that was convenient for me to come into their main warehouse in Allentown. I was given a quick tour and some time to look around upstairs, where they had several rooms full of suggested wedding arrangements for inspiration. I wasn’t totally sure what I wanted, but Jonathan took the time out to go over what my options were. He was familiar with the wedding venue and was very honest with me about what I did NOT need to purchase based upon the layout of the place. We sat down with a book full of pictures of the different varieties of roses. I was amazed by a large number of choices and was able to come up with exactly what I had in mind for the bouquets and the boutonnieres. I also needed two larger arrangements for the pillars used for the ceremony. I saw something in one of the rooms upstairs that gave me an idea, and as vague as my description seemed, those arrangements were EXACTLY what I had envisioned. They definitely are very experienced and passionate about what they do. Jonathan was very friendly and very accommodating. I would recommend RichMar Florist to anyone!

- Melissa Joas Yobe

Minutes before closing, I called with an urgent need for an arrangement to be delivered to a funeral home first thing the following morning. I wasn’t at all disappointed. Fact or the matter upon entering the funeral home to pay my respects I couldn’t help but see the stunning arrangement that was delivered on my behalf. Sight unseen I didn’t know what to expect. The price, customer service, and arrangement far exceeded my expectations. Rich Mar has a customer for life. Thank You!

- Rob Gaber

Rich Mar Florists are the way to go when you want flowers for your wedding or any event! My husband and I got married on 10/28/17 and everything was PERFECT! The centerpieces were gorgeous. The church altar pieces exceeded my expectations. Even the little things like the corsages, boutonnieres and bouquets help up great and were beautiful. They are very knowledgeable and very accommodating. Thanks again, Jonathan and Staff! We couldn’t have asked for a better florist.

– Emily and Matt

I sent my mother-in-law the Giving Thanks Bouquet after she had surgery and she absolutely loves it. She said it was the gift the keeps getting better, that the roses are still opening. I am very pleased with the quality of your flowers. This was my first time ordering flowers over the internet and so I was a bit skeptical of what I would get for my money. You have truly exceeded my expectations. I should also mention how impressed I was with the quick delivery. I will be sure to use your florist every time I want to send her flowers in the future.

-Elise Waldman