I planned my wedding from the West Coast, moved back to the East Coast 3 weeks prior to the event and was being married in yet another state. Therefore, organization and having the utmost trust in my vendors was imperative. I am not your typica...l younger "fly by the seat of your pants" bride. I am older and I knew exactly what I wanted, but please do not confuse this with being called a "bridezilla", lol. I provided the florist and my initial contact there, Josie with my request of Black eyed Beauty Calla Lilies MONTHS (6+) in advance of my October wedding. She proceeded to tell me there was no such thing. In hind sight, I suppose I should have taken this as a clue. Instead, I did her job for her and provided the website which was a wholesaler for the flower and she assured me that they could get them.....
I provided them with all pertinent information within the required time frame, paid my bill in full well in advance and made the appointment to meet with Josie on the Thursday before my Saturday wedding to view my arrangements just in case there were any issues. I didn't want to wait until Friday to find out. We were in Jacksonville all week so we went to the Florist on Tuesday. I met with Pam, not Josie....Pam explained that I had been "handed off" to her. It took her quite sometime to find my information for us to review. Pam then proceeded to show me the WRONG flowers!!! She told me she knew these were not the right ones and I was assured that my Black Eyed Calla Lilies would be there on Thursday when I came for my appointment. Imagine how I felt when I showed up to provide them with my grandmothers handkerchief for my bouquet and to view my flowers and the flowers were still wrong! They were the SAME ones they showed me on Tuesday!!!
I was then asked to pick another bouquet because they were having difficulty finding the Calla Lilies I'd requested MONTHS ago!!!! I was just supposed to PICK something else out like it was a centerpiece, not my wedding bouquet!! AND they proceeded to tell me how hard they were trying and all the phone calls they were making and how awful Pam felt, trying to make me feel bad! If they'd done it when they were supposed to we wouldn't be having this conversation!
They never did get my Black Eyed Calla Lilies and they created another bouquet for me. I feel badly for Pam, she was thrown into the situation that Josie should have been accountable for. When the flowers were delivered I had ordered Pomander Balls for my flowers girls...OM gosh , not only do they weigh 3-5 lbs a piece they were falling apart right out of the box!!!!!!!!! When I called Hillary the owner after my wedding to discuss all of this I basically got to bad, so sad, "We have the right to choose another flower" and "Don't you know how heavy they are"? No, actually I don't, that's where I relied on your expertise! When I specifically identify them as being for Flower girls would you not point that out? Maybe suggest something else??? She told me they were voted #1 in The Knot by Brides for a reason and there really was no reasoning with her.
Hence, my longer than usual review, but I truly feel hurt and mislead. If you think you'll have difficulty obtaining flower(s) suggest earlier than TWO (2) days prior to the wedding.