Wedding Blog
Many of you had strong reactions to yesterday’s post about the bride who is suing her florist.
But let’s take the money out of the equation.
What if you didn’t have a contract with your florist because they had previously worked on your sister’s wedding. Your florist did a mock centerpiece trial, that you paid for, and said that the flowers would be exactly the same on your wedding day.
On your wedding day, the flowers are different and some are wilted and brown. You repeatedly email and call the florist asking for a partial refund - 15%, but they ignore your attempts to contact or resolve the situation.
What would you do?
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Oooh good question! I know I’d do a big fat nothing, other than complain about how it sucked. 
But I’d love to hear if anyone has constructive ideas!
I would take action and post reviews about the experience on places like Citysearch and other bridal resources like Weddingbee and Indiebride so that other brides would be forewarned. As for legal action, I don’t know… it’s a lot of money, work, and effort. But flowers and decor make up a lot of the budget for a wedding and really affect the tone… so I guess it would depend on how bad the situation was. Sounds like this bride was pretty angry! You should get what you pay for.
Same thing I’m doing about the caterer who picked a fight with the groom in the middle of the reception: 100% honest online reviews. This is a big word-of-mouth business, and the magic of the internet is making it even moreso.
Like Miss Canary, I would probably post a negative review on every website I could find, including Wedding Bee, City Search, Yelp, Project Wedding, etc.
But after that, I would let it go. Litigation can be extremely costly, both monetarily and emotionally. Sometimes the filing of a lawsuit is enough to make a defendant want to quickly settle to avoid negative publicity and a costly trial. But that’s not always the case and the financial and personal costs of a trial can be great.
I might be upset that the flowers were not what I wanted, but in the scheme of things, it probably wouldn’t be worth it to pursue legal action. The day is over and done with and I think I would just want to move on.
I highly doubt that a florist with any business sense would say that they would be able to replicate a centerpiece exactly for a wedding; there are way too many factors.
That being said, I think if a contract was broken, then you have every right to sue…but not for a ridiculous amount. I doubt that you would even get a full refund, since you did get flowers, even if they weren’t perfect.
The whole thing seems fishy to me though, and I’m waiting to here more the florist’s side of the story.
I’d contact the BBB. I would also try to post a honest negative review on various boards so that others can avoid the hassle I went through.
I definitely would post negative reviews of the florist. Oh, and I would let them know that they will be getting these bad reviews as well since it may persuade them otherwise. If I paid a large amount for the flowers, I might sue but knowing what a cheap bastard I am, I probably didn’t pay much
Something similar happened to me. My florist used light pink for all the pink we discussed instead of the dark pink I asked for. I even supplied several pictures and discussed it in detail with her during our meetings. She also did loose, sparse centerpieces, instead of the full, round ones we discussed and the flowers in my bouquet had some brown on the edges.
It didn’t really effect my wedding though and everyone else thought the flowers were gorgeous. I got a good deal on the flowers and even though they were not perfect, they were still great and I am not going to complain.
Maybe I could have hired a more expensive florist who would have gotten the details perfect. I did leave give her a mixed review and discussed the problems in my reviews on the knot, etc. We did have a contract, but it did not specify the exact pantone color so even if I wanted to sue her for breach of contract (which I don’t), she did not default on any of the terms.
I would take pictures for evidence and then I would definitley want some or all of my money back. It’s hard to take money out of the equation, after it’s over all you really can do is ask for your money back. You can’t undo crappy flowers.
That being said, however, I probably won’t even take notice of my flowers because I’ll be too busy partying and having a great time at my wedding with my friends and family and new husband!
i think i would post reviews- not blasting them- but stating what i liked and what did not go right- and move on. The day is so much more than just flowers, and I’d hate to let it get me down on such an otherwise spectacular day.
I’d definitely post reviews and “blacken her name” to anyone I knew who was looking for a florist. Being an attorney, if the money were significant I’d consider suing, but only if it were going to be worth it. I mean, my floral budget was under $2K, so 15% of that wouldn’t be worth suing for (heck, the filing fee where I live is almost $300).
But if I’d spent as much as that bride did, I’d definitely give serious thought to suing. Again, since I’m an attorney I’d probably draft a complaint with attached photos, and send it via certified mail to the florist, just so they knew I was serious about it. And I’d try my darndest to get triple damages for the fraud aspect, if possible. But I’d never claim $400K in emotional distress or whatever.
I’m going to assume (for the sake of argument) that the flowers were *completely* different than what was discussed and displayed during a trial. Then I don’t think a refund (of the florist’s labor–not the cost of the flowers themselves) is unreasonable and if it’s necessary to take the matter to court, then that might very well be what I would do.
But taking away my assumption, it is an incredibly slippery slope to say that flowers didn’t meet the “vision” of the bride–where does it end? Should you get a refund if the roses are purple and not lavender? Cream and not ecru? Red and not burgundy?
I think the most important lesson from this is that a florist is an artist (much in the same way your hairdresser is an artist) and a large part of what you are hiring is their talent. When I was looking for florists, I hired not the cheapest, or the nicest, or even the most accomodating–I hired the one whose work I liked most consistently (even with flowers that I didn’t like). That way, I’m assured that no matter what she has to work with on my wedding day, she’ll deliver flowers that I love.
I’d approach the florist and ask for a partial refund. If that didn’t work, I would have my FIL write him/her a letter (he’s a personal injury att’y) on business letterhead. If that didn’t work, I’d go the internet route w/reviews, etc.
But it goes without saying: NEVER DO ANYTHING W/O A CONTRACT.
I’m going through a florist issue myself. I never received a contract, even though I specifically asked for one 4 times (2 in writing, 2 verbally). We decided to continue to go with her because her photo examples were beautiful and her price seemed reasonable. But then, a ton of stuff went wrong on my wedding day with the flowers, big things and little things - I never received my toss bouquet (which I paid for) and had to toss my MOHs bouquet instead, all the mother’s & grandmother’s corsages were these hideous white scrunchi wristlets instead of pin-ons (like I asked for) and my coordinator spent 30 min fixing them, the stems of all the guys bouts were supposed to be wrapped in black ribbon but only the grooms was…ugh, the list goes on and on. My husband contacted her multiple times after the wedding trying to get a portion of our money back, especially for the toss bouquet and she refused, saying that she made it and left it on the cake table and it’s our reception hall’s fault that we didn’t get it. I think I’m going to send her one last letter that outlines everything that we were unhappy with and if she doesn’t issue us a refund within the time period that I specify, I’m going to the BBB and she’ll have to deal with that on her record.
I had a similar situation with one of my vendors (not my florist!) where I was asking for a $100 refund. I found this vendor through theknot and my experience with them was somewhat disappointing. I asked for a refund back and at first the vendor refused and asked why i would like to have $$ back. I explained everything that went wrong and the vendor completely denied everything. I even had other vendors at the museum call in to complain about their services.
I called the vendor back and this is a little excerpt of our conversation:
Mrs. BP: So have you talk to my events coordinator at the PAFA?
Vendor: Yes, he said everything went fine and nothing went wrong during the reception. I don’t know what you’re talking about because everything went exactly how it was supposed to be planned.
Mrs. BP: BUt I just spoke to the coordinator and he was upset how things went wrong…
Vendor: I don’t know what you’re talking about, it’s just your imagination! End of story, Mrs. BP.
Mrs. BP: I know I wasn’t imagining things and we have several witnesses who also understand why I’m talking about. I would like my money back.
Vendor: Nothing went wrong, period.
Mrs. BP: If you don’t give me a refund, I could potentially damage your reputation.
Vendor: (laughing) Now how can you do that?
Mrs. BP: I’ll a write a long negative review on theknot and I know that can potentially ruin your reputation because a lot of your clients are coming from that website.
Vendor: (long period of silence).. Can I call you back in a few minutes?
Our vendor called us back and gave us the $100 refund and apologized for all that went wrong on our wedding day.
Advice from my experience is to negotiate with the vendor and see how they respond if you were to write negative reviews. It might not always work but sometimes some vendors really rely on the internet for their business.
first of all, I have not booked anyone, purchased anything, ordered anything, etc. without explicit instructions in writing, contracts, receipts, and confirmation from anyone, and I don’t know why anyone else would not do the same. But, if for some insane reason I did, it would depend on how much money I spent. I would definitely contact the BBB, and I would also write negative reviews everywhere I could (yes, I am a vengeful b*tch when needed!). If that still did nothing, I would consider the costs of hiring a lawyer and suing compared to what I spent. And there is always Judge Judy! Yes, that show is real - I know some people who actually went on it!
Now that I’ve had a couple hours to think about the bride suing her florist story, I think I would be pretty disappointed myself. if the florist had charged so much for the flowers and promised to do everything according to plan, then he should have. Well, it’s too late to get a contract after the wedding, and if I were an attorney (like the bride herself) I’d probably sue.
but seriously, $1000 just for a trial centerpiece?! my florist did mine for free! and my flowers turned out lovely.
I’m with dreambml…I cannot imagine ordering services without the proof of what I ordered, as well as at least an outline of what I can expect from the vendor on the day of. I had an issue with my florist this past week…I only have 11 tables instead of 15, and so I had to decrease the amount of centerpieces we will need. In my original contract, the cost of the centerpieces was stated in black and white. I signed that contract.
This past week, when I alerted them to the final table count, they changed the price of my centerpieces…raised it by $30. I declined that price hike via email, and told them that I would be paying the original price we agreed upon.
And they were AWESOME about it! They were very sorry if they had upset me, and they realize the wording within the contract about the possibility of prices on things like centerpieces going up was confusing and they plan to make changes to it due to the issues they’ve had, and I was absolutely ok to pay the original price on the centerpieces that we agreed to in the beginning.
Get. It. In. Writing.
ALWAYS get things in writing - espeically in the wedding business where there are a LOT of unethical vendors out there!
i had a horrible experience with my cake person and had to haggle tooth and nail to get my money back for something that was ridiculously charged. Posting honest reviews about the situation and taking it to court (if necessary) is definently the way to go!
Although I’m not the type to sue, I am the type to write letters. When I got married I lived in a small town with a lot of family and friends living near by. My big mouth, phone calls, and emails could have put a company out of business or at the least run them out of town.
I would pull that card in a heartbeat, if for no other reason than to make sure one of my cousins didn’t go through the same thing.
I didn’t have to do this, but our town does have one less photog thanks to a family member who was wronged.
I agree with Jennifer (commenter #5). I can see both sides of the story and although it’s impossible to know the whole truth, the story itself is still pretty vague…
I would probably wouldn’t sue, it seems like too much of a hassle, especially if I didn’t have a contract.
BUT I would tell EVERYONE I knew about how crappy the service was and possibly file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.
let it go!
life is too short, learn your lesson and get contracts from now on
Better Business Bureau
and post something on my blog
Well, i guess i’d be outraged, but did the flowers really arrive on the day of the wedding? shouldn’t it be prepared and taken cared a night or a day before, so last minute changes can still take place…
Do not hire anyone to do anything for your wedding without a contract!!! Flowers, location, photography, caterer, dj/band - anything that is important enough that you’d be really upset if it falls through should have a signed contract!
In the New York Post article about the lawsuit, the florist mentioned that the Mother of the Groom cut the budget from the original quote.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10162007/news/regionalnews/bridal_bloom__doom.htm?page=0
“(the Bride) would order elaborate arrangements that her future mother-in-law, who was paying for the flowers, would then trim down. ”
Unless you’ve experienced it first hand, there’s no explaining the difficult situation a florist faces when trying to balance a bride’s fabulous taste with a MIL’s reigning in of the purse strings, especially if the MIL never tells the bride about her budget cuts.
When a florist presents a sample for $X and is them told to trim off substantial dollars (10%, 20% or more) then less flowers or lower-priced blooms are going to be used.
I don’t know if that’s the case here, and a lower budget is no excuse for brown flowers, but it seems there’s more to this story than meets the eye.
I totally agree with CA Florist - things come up - depending on the weather, the time of year, etc - availability and exact color match can’t be guaranteed, but then again, you can’t know exactly what happened in this case - whether they were COMPLETELY different or just slightly, so who knows?
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Mrs. Bee, New York
Age and Occupation: 29, Weddingbee Publisher
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Internet
Engagement Date: May 7, 2004
Wedding Date: March 5, 2005
Venue: Westside Loft, New York
About Me: Yes, my name really is Bee! I love my blogging, wikis, and tabasco sauce!
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