She recently was among the decorators who beautified the White House for Christmas. And back home on the Coast, Theresa Cuevas brings happiness daily to customers of her business, Forget Me Not Florist and Gifts.
“I still try to make a few deliveries every now and then just so I can see that smile,” Cuevas says. “People just love receiving flowers.”
As a third-generation florist, creating joy for others has been a way of life for Cuevas. When she was 8, her mother, Bebe Nelson, started Forget Me Not, and her grandmother previously had owned Three Sisters Florist.
Today, the business remains a family affair.
“My husband and five children are a blessing to me in the everyday life of the shop,” Cuevas says. “My mother, although retired, still contributes to the business. Extended family members are always ready to lend a hand when needed, especially during holidays.”
Forget Me Not offers fresh flowers, silk flowers, funeral flowers, green plants, balloons and candy baskets. It also carries a full line of gifts that consist of jewelry, candles, frames, home décor and plush animals.
“We strive to make customer satisfaction our number-one goal,” Cuevas says. “I treat every customer as if they are family.”
Cuevas always wanted to open a shop in her hometown, and she jumped at the opportunity to make that happen in August of 2018. She loves having a Forget Me Not location in the heart of Long Beach in addition to the first store in Gulfport.
During the 2020 holiday season, Cuevas realized another long-held dream when she and her daughter, Courtney Cuevas, spent Thanksgiving week in Washington, D.C. They were among those chosen to decorate the White House for Christmas.
“It was such an honor to help the designers make the people’s house beautiful,” she says. “While we did not create the theme (America the Beautiful), we did help get everything ready. We spent hours placing lights on the trees.
“What great memories we made while in D.C! We met a lot of wonderful people and enjoyed a few tourist attractions while we were there.”
In 2021, Cuevas is looking forward to focusing on gifts, and she says “some really great gift lines” are coming to Forget Me Not this year. One thing that won’t change, she adds, is how the business views and treats its clientele.
“Our customers are our family.”
WANT TO GO?
Forget Me Not Florist and Gifts
100 E. Railroad St., Long Beach
(228) 863-5740
Mon-Friday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
www.forgetmenotfloristlongbeach.com
Writer for Gulf Coast Woman Magazine.
