Many of the out of town, overnight services claim their flowers are fresher, But this is not true. The flowers are cut in the same fields in South America, Holland, Africa, Hawaii and other areas. They are flown in the same planes. The real difference is the care of the flowers before they are delivered. With a florist the cold chain is protected. This "cold chain" insures that the flowers are kept in a cooler until they are delivered to your door.
With an overnight service the flowers are out of water and refrigeration and sit in a box for 24 hours. (the flowers ride to the airport hub and sit in a warehouse until they are loaded back on a plane and flown to your city. They are then sorted and delivered in a non-climate controlled truck and delivered dry in a box.)
The flowers are not arranged and have not been professionally hydrated. The fact is, overnight flower services are giving you far less service. When you are sending flowers you are sending sentiment - show how much you care by having your flowers delivered by a professional florist. Flowers from an overnight service are not a finished gift - they are a do it yourself kit.