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You don't get cut any slack if you forget one, she said.
"If you forget Valentine's Day you're in the doghouse," Rivera said with a laugh. "You have all week to remember your mother, she'll forgive you if you're late. But Valentine's Day, you can't be late."
She is the manager at Stamford Florist Flowers & Gifts at 625 Bedford St.
There is another truth about Valentine's Day - stressed men wait for the last minute to buy their flowers, Rivera said.
"We expect the majority to be a last-minute call-in and a last-minute walk-in," she said with a laugh.
Although the traditional dozen red roses are the biggest seller, she said the store does sell more arrangements with other flowers sprinkled in that offer a more varied arrangement of color.
Stamford Florist Flowers & Gifts has enough flowers on hand for Valentine's Day, even for the guys knocking on the door just after closing time on Friday and Saturday, Rivera said.
"One thing that I learned early in my 14 years in the business is that if you fail to prepare, prepare to fail," she said. "This is the best shop I have ever worked in."
Will the weekend holiday affect the gift-giving?
"We expect sales to be down 15 percent because it is a Saturday," Rivera said, pointing out that many men opt to take their wives or girlfriends out to dinner instead of buying them roses. There are also no last-minute corporate sales on a Saturday.
But one saving grace is the improved economy, she said, resulting in more sales.
"Also as long as the snow doesn't come, we are OK," Rivera said.
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