Boesen the Florist and Schaffer’s have been involved in countless weddings over the years, and now they’re planning a marriage of sorts of their own.

The two longtime Des Moines businesses are embarking into uncharted waters with a joint project in West Des Moines. Later next month, they plan to move into their new building at West Glen Town Center, with their flowers and formal wear commingling in a 10,000-square-foot space. You might even see one of the Boesen brothers ringing up a customer’s tuxedo order.

“I don’t think there’s anything like this in the country where two people go in and buy a building together with no walls between the businesses and basically cohabitate,” said Tom Boesen, who runs Boesen the Florist with brothers Ed and Frank. “We’re kind of making history in the retail world.

Schaffer’s owner Kari Smith and Boesen have named their building the Harmony Building. Boesen credits Smith as the mastermind behind the project. A few years ago, she was told she had to move her business from its location on Eighth Street, where Schaffer’s had been since it opened in 1950. She liked what she was hearing about West Glen at the time, so she put in her claim on a property there.

The high costs of new construction and land in the development forced Smith to think creatively about how to design the kind of store she wanted without breaking the bank. That’s how she came up with the idea to talk with the Boesen family about doing a store together. As they talked, they saw benefits to the partnership beyond the cost savings they could both achieve.

“For the most part, we’re talking to the same customers at different points in their lives,” Smith said.

As the Boesens and Smith started to plan for their building, they invited the owners of another local business, Baratta’s Restaurant, to also get involved. Smith is friends with the owners of the South Side restaurant and catering business, Joe Gatto and Lisa Kruger. The Boesens liked the idea because they have had success with a coffeehouse at their Ingersoll Avenue store.

“When customers can come here to pick out their dress, we can sit down in the café and talk to them about flowers,” Ed Boesen said. “We’ll have three different tenants, but it will feel like one shopping experience.”

Smith thinks the café will enhance her customers’ shopping experience.

“Our bridal customers usually spend a couple of hours with us and make a day out of it,” Smith said. “It will be nice for them to be able to go down to the café to have a glass of wine or take a break if they want to. It will add to the fun of it.”

Ed Boesen sees potential for his new building and the area around it to become an event-planning destination, with Josephs Jewelers located just across the parking lot from them and clothing stores such as Sarto nearby.

“I like Josephs, and I’m comfortable with those cats who own Sarto, so I figured if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me,” Ed Boesen said. “This area is proving to be successful for local retailers, and I like the whole environment here.”

Toby Joseph, president of Josephs Jewelers, also likes the idea of having more locally owned special-event businesses near his.

“I think we’ll both draw from each other,” Joseph said. “It’s just a natural fit to have Boesens and Schaffer’s out here.”

Ed Boesen’s development company is handling the construction of the Harmony Building, and then the flower business and Schaffer’s will buy it. With three sets of business owners involved, it has taken a while to hash out the details for building, Smith said. She compares the process to “blending families.”

“We’ve had a few starts and stops along the way since we started,” she said. “There have been a few moments along the way that have been a little tense as you try to figure out who is in charge, learn each other’s skills and learn to work together and trust each other. That was, and is still, our biggest task to pay attention to.”

The plan the businesses are running with now is for Boesen’s to have about half of the main level for its floral business, with Baratta’s café and Schaffer’s tuxedos taking up the rest of the space on that level. A stairway and elevator near the middle of the store lead up to the second level, where Schaffer’s will have its wedding gowns, ladies formal wear and dressing rooms.

Ed Boesen said it was important for his business to be on the first floor, because his customers need the convenience of being able to get in and out quickly. He and Smith agreed that wedding gowns belong on the second level in a private area of their own.

“They usually want the flower shop to be a quick stop, since they’re often running late for a special event,” Ed Boesen said. “The bridal business wants a private experience, a place for its customers to come and spend hours. The second-floor boutique environment is perfect for them.”

Several employees at the café, Boesen’s and Schaffer’s will be cross-trained so they can work the different cash-register systems, schedule appointments and perform other tasks, Smith said, although not to the extent that her bridal gown salespeople will be cooking food in the café.

Ed Boesen said he and Smith know that there could be challenges to working this closely together with other established businesses. After all, most business owners are pretty independent people.

“Some of us who consider ourselves entrepreneurial, we don’t play nice together because we want every decision to be our own,” he said. “But this becomes more like a marriage, with compromises and give and take.”

Boesen’s has some experience “playing nice with others” because several of its shops are located inside Dahl’s Food Marts, where Ed Boesen considers his employees to be guests inside the supermarket.

“It will be neat to see how this thing unfolds,” Ed Boesen said. “Of course, I’m hoping for the best because I’m spending a couple million dollars on the building. But I have every confidence that this is a great concept.”

Smith said what she and the Boesens have working in their favor is that they share the same philosophy of getting to know their customers and making their shopping experience special.

“When we run into a situation where we’re asking ‘who’s the one in charge here,’ we just have to remember that it’s the customer who’s in charge above all else,” Smith said. “As long as we keep that at the forefront, it helps manage some of those other challenges.”