James Cress Florist

. It was an honor to use the same florist my mom did for her wedding.

ere done so early I didn’t get to tip them :( but they truly made our ceremony so beautiful, and I can’t wait to get my flowers back from outside preservation. They did my bouquet, my husbands pocket flowers, and our ceremony arch!

++. Highly recommend.

e out absolutely beautiful and were exactly what we were looking for. James Cress Florist were very easy - and fun! - to work with and were able to accommodate our last minute request for fresh flowers on our wedding cake, for which we are so thankful! We would HIGHLY recommend James Cress Florist for your weddings or any occasion. They truly care about their craft and making your day special.

often contained mistakes - I sent them pictures of things that I liked, but it kind of felt like they just have one look and stick with it.

n in this industry. My guests were blown away by my centerpieces and when I saw the bridesmaids bouquet baskets I asked them to create, I started crying because they were so incredibly stunning. They are a 10/10 choice!! For the rest of my life I will use this florist.

hing so easy to organize our flowers for our wedding. The flowers were delivered on time and were absolutely beautiful especially the wedding arch! They were exactly how I expected! Would definitely recommend James Cress Florist of Smithtown!

y son & his brides wedding day be perfect.

planning process, very responsive and created the most beautiful arrangement for our wedding.

hurch ceremony. Despite multiple phone calls and meetings where we had discussed setting up the pew bouquets and bows every third row so that they would go all the way to the back of the church, on the actual wedding day James Cress did not skip any pews and stacked them all at the front of the church. The way that it was set up made it look like those rows were reserved, so none of our guests sat in them. We’re pretty disappointed by this, since we had added more pew bouquets and bows onto our contract a couple weeks before the wedding because we wanted to make sure that they went to the back of the church. Seems like a waste of money looking back now. I reached out to Barbara about this and her response was that it was never documented that we wanted every third pew to have a bouquet/bow. In my opinion, the vendor should be responsible for documenting things discussed during meetings.

ck up bouquet ready for me when i came home in September to go dress shopping. Months later, when my husband and I went to do our cake tasting, the baker suggested i call the florist to ensure they would put the flowers on our cake. At this time, i was shocked to find out that there was no record of our wedding on file. The woman i had worked with had left the company……to say this was shocking and disappointing is an understatement. (lesson to be learned here: be concerned if no deposit is requested at the time a contract is drawn up- i thought it was weird but Jen ensured me i could place the deposit once it ‘got closer to the day’). Moving forward, I worked with Brandon and Barbara to re-do the entire contract. We met via zoom, finalized flowers, etc. Brandon & Barbara were apologetic and realistic with me in telling me that the initial flowers selected were not even in season in the fall…. The whole thing was truly a mess. I feel like overall, i spent a lot of time re-doing my floral arrangements, despite sending photos and having meetings. When I went to NY in July 2022, the mockup centerpieces were nothing like what I wanted. We spent an hour re-doing them to my liking. I truly felt unsure of what would arrive the day of my wedding. At the end of the day they came out beautiful but still felt it wasn’t exactly what I wanted ( but very close)

hey delivered. The table arrangements were also stunning.

und Barbara and Brandon to be personable, professional and experienced. We relied on them for their knowledge and ability to add-in personal touches where needed. Their finished product and level of service exceeded our expectations! We are extremely happy with how beautiful our wedding day flowers looked. We will recommend their services in the future.

for us. He was personable and easy to work with. Most importantly, he didn’t disappoint! The flowers were truly our vision brought to life.

during our meeting with him and he absolutely made it happen. Like spot on perfect! including my bridesmaid bouquets. The customer service is also 10000/10. Any questions or concerns, Barbara got back to me in no time, especially when I had to postpone our original date. Thanks again James Cress! You guys made this bride extremely happy!

ts wanted to know which florist we used because they loved the flowers so much! I planned my wedding out of state and Barbara , in the events department, and Brandon, the head florist, were so helpful and accommodating. I sent them photos of what I liked and they delivered beautiful pieces that went above and beyond what I could dream up. Anyone looking for a florist for a wedding (or any event) should definitely go with James Cress!

uets, corsages, and boutonnieres were. Their care and quality of their craft is exellent. Even after the wedding they followed up and wished us well. Definitely recommend James Cress Florist, and reorder again.

VERY specific vision of what I wanted for my wedding, but also a tight budget. Brandon worked with me on every gritty detail, understanding my vision while being creative in how to sub specific flowers and numbers of items to stay within budget. I spent hours going back and forth with Brandon and he was patient and professional through it all. He literally turned the solarium room in our venue into a greenhouse with flowers and lanterns adorning the ceilings and walls. The venue was so blown away by his elaborate work that they requested that our pictures be used to show off the possibility of the ceremony room for future weddings and asked us to get them a card for James Cress so that they can work more officially with them in the future. James Cress is the best florist to work with on Long Island and I would recommend them 100%.

ress was easy to work with and very accommodating. Brandon really listened to what I wanted and created stunning pieces and Barbara was super responsive so I didn’t stress at all. I recommend!!!

ompliments about how amazing the flowers looked, especially the tables at the reception! And their price was very competitive! I used James Cress for my own wedding over 30 years ago, they were wonderful then and just as wonderful now!

g day. My husband and I really appreciated the effort this company put in to make sure we were truly satisfied with our purchase. The day of deliveries all ran smoothly, even with our multiple drop off locations. Would definitely work with this company again!

n was great throughout the entire process! Everything was flawless day of and my guests are still raving about how beautiful my flowers were.

e of our altar and then by our dais. It made our wedding have such a magical feel.

ges that came up or if I had any questions. Our centerpieces, bouquets and boutonnières were beautiful; we received so many compliments. I’d definitely use them again.

wers requested and were arranged perfectly. The planning process and communication within the business could use improvement. I originally met with a representative 6 months prior to our event. Our vision was discussed, great recommendations were made and all seemed to be set according to what we wanted. Two weeks prior to the event I was notified that the original representative had left the business and there were several details that had to be finalized. Based on this we met with another representative who again discussed our vision and added to our prior record. After this meeting I was contacted on several occasions to confirm details of the arrangements that were already discussed. Without knowing fully what happens behind the scenes the impression that given was a lack of communication between the different moving departments and staff in the business. While attention to detail is appreciated and the flowers were beautfil the planning process could have been easier.

y were so personable and warm. I loved that they made the bridesmaids bouquets mini versions of my bouquet. I would highly recommend James Cress to brides!

iled vision of what I wanted my wedding to look like and they far exceeded my expectations! I met with Cezar several times to review various details for the wedding reception, ceremony and bouquets. Cezar and his assistant sat down with me and took time to make sure I felt very comfortable and secure with all the floral pieces that were created. What impressed me the most was the amazingly gorgeous floral wall that was specially built for me and my wedding. Seriously!!!! Who does builds a floral wall from scratch? James Cress! Cezar created a design that was so beautiful and so life like I actually asked him to create a smaller version for my new home. Also, my husband and guests actually thought the flowers were real! All the centerpieces and the decor on my deis table, cake table and gift table were extraordinary! They did not skimp on anything. Every piece was quality and better and more beautiful than the next! They even used various sizes in votives and candles which I never expected that added a special touch. I remember walking into my reception room and being absolutely blown away with the decor. I couldn't believe that was my wedding, I felt like a celebrity. Thank you so much to Cezar and James Cress for your dedication and extraordinary service. You are one of a kind!

hat helped us wouldn't give us the time of day. They obviously fit me in so I was the last appointment and was completely rushed. The entire appointment lasted about twenty minutes. The best part was that he wouldn't give us prices and told us he would get back to us in a week!! Well a week came and went and I didn't get a quote for three weeks! I booked someone else by the time we got the prices back.actually received the quote.

s table arrangements and left with peace of mind about all my flower/centerpiece endeavors. Not only did Rich take the time with me, but he asked me for pictures, what I wanted, and allowed me to hand pick what I wanted to see in and on the bouquets. My vendor experience before working with Rich was unexciting and I felt rushed with everything. I can truly say after leaving my appointment I felt excited and happy. It finally became fun. I would recommend working with him to anyone.

photos and their books etc) He seemed to understand exactly what I wanted and James cress has a great reputation on Long Island so we decided to go with them. Everything went downhill from there... Between unanswered phone calls/emails and passing me off from one person to another every time I contacted them I finally found out right before my wedding that Gary hasn't worked for them in a while! NOBODY TOLD ME! the only person there who knew exactly what I wanted and nobody thought to call me and let me know he was gone or try and set up an apointment with me so that THEY would know what I wanted. What's worse is that when I finally did get an apointment with the person they tried to have fill in for him, SHE never showed up for that apointment and yet again we were passed on to someone else again. Fast forward it is now less than a month before my wedding and Im going over what they had written in my contract and it was ALL WRONG! The bouquet and bouteneer counts were off... BY 5 PEOPLE... And the drop off time and location was wrong. The even charged me different prices for the same exact bouteneers (some 10$ some 15$) for no reason. THANK GOD I double checked everything. So I make an apointment and go in and INSIST that they do another mock up of how it was supposed to look. Of course we get there and it's ALL WRONG AGAIN. I wanted things to be simple and small as to not overcrowd the tables and there were flowers everywhere! We had to cut them in half! Also we had all white hydrangeas and spray roses but the roses were all sticking out of the centerpieces and not flush (looked awful) so I told them it all had to be changed. Sure enough the day of my wedding roses sticking out all over the place from the centerpieces to the bouquets. By the time the ceremony started half of the girls bouquets had fallen apart and roses were all over the ground. Not to mention they all looked old and dirty! NOW THE WORST PART... James cress supplied us with the runner for our ceremony and dos the entire setup... We did a quick rehersal before the wedding started and the runner looked like it wasn't laying right so multiple people told them it needed to be fixed or someone was going to trip. Sure enough we are walking out of the ceremony and my mother in law trips on the rug that kept bunching up, falls flat on her face and sprains her ankle. She spent the rest of the night in a wheelchair and missed our entire wedding :( DO NOT USE JAMES CRESS!!!

day with my inspiration pictures. I set the mock up on her next available weekend appointment so that I could specifically meet with her again but she did not show. The flowers they presented were not only wilted and crushed, they were nothing like what I wanted. Even Steven, the new designer that we were working with, agreed they were completely different. They begged me to make another appointment in two weeks as a do over and said that would give sufficient time to order the flowers. Low and behold, neither Caroline or Steven showed for this appointment either. I asked to at least see the flowers he ordered for us and that wasn't done either. Maybe they had their hay day but it is definitely not now. I would never go back!!!!

the holidays, and they were working with the town of Smithtown on holiday decorations and were limited on time. Ok great, so we set up an appointment for a weekend evening which was fine. I didn't hear from them in the time between our meeting and our appointment date. I know many places do confirm, but I don't think anything is wrong if someone doesn't confirm, you just assume they took care of it when you set it up, which was in person. When we arrived for our appointment on Saturday night, we walked in and were greeted by a lady. She paged Gary on their call system, and then went to find him. We waited for a few minutes and then she returned with a bouquet and let us know there was a mix up and they had no record of the appointment. The bouquet was for the inconvenience. They told us they would call us on Monday to reschedule. The store attendants didn't take any opportunity to speak to us about our wedding to make the trip even the least bit worthwhile. They had no care. The Smithtown fire department was coming by for the holiday light show and they ran outside to see the trucks and wave, instead of catering to potential customers. Now I am very understanding, and I do understand how a mistake could happen. What upset us the most is that seemingly Gary was there to take our appointment and just didn't because he wasn't prepared and/or was in the middle of something. I'm sorry, but if you mess up, you have to inconvenience yourself to make up for it. If you're in the middle of something, you interrupt it. However, reluctantly, I gave them my number to call me and reschedule. Monday came and went. No call. At this point it was clear to me that this institution was very unorganized, lacked personal accountability, and didn't value their customers. I wasn't about to enlist their service with our money to take on our wedding. They called two days later. I didn't answer. Opportunity missed on their part. Blessing in disguise I'm sure

bar mitzvah 10 years ago, his name has been thrown around for years, and I was always told he would be our go to for flowers on my wedding day, whenever that day was. Let's fast forward to 2015, my wedding year, I will tell you James Cress florist is amazing, but GARY CRESS, blows me away, every time. From mock up meeting - to phone calls to emails and mock up meetings again, Gary never met me without a smile and a huge hug, he made this stressful process FUN - and I looked forward to going to meet with him. His ideas are refreshing and he is so educated on events, weddings, and the island.... When it came to the day of the wedding, the flowers - WERE BREATHTAKING.. there is no other way to put it. His ideas, his visions, his execution, is simply fantastic. If you want an easy floral experience for your wedding day, go see Gary, you will NOT be dissapointed, my parents werent 30 years ago, they werent 10 years ago, and they werent in 2015.

ers and the flowers were even better then we could have imagined. Brides and bridesmaids flowers were stunning. So many compliments on our centerpieces! If you want beautiful flowers go with James Cress Florists..you will not be disappointed.

was 45 mins late and this pushed back my photographer slightly . But over all they were amazing it was a Friday and it was traffic time. I would defiently use them again !

He was all about you and making sure you get what you wanted. I met with him 4 other times throughout the 1.5 years of planning, each time I got less confident in him. The initial sample for the center pieces was great we had a few changes but it was what I wanted, the 2nd time I came in, it was completely different, because he got mixed up. The day of the wedding the centerpieces were exactly as I wanted and so were the bridesmaid bouquets. They did mess up my bouquet, which we went over numerous times. It was supposed to be a cascading orchid bouquet with some small blush roses put in. The day of the wedding I got a cascading rose bouquet with all pinks, oranges, and blush. I was upset because I paid extra for the orchids and there wasn’t any. Someone came and tried to fix it, but it was already made, she added some orchids to it and tried to make me happy. Throughout the day the pieces she fit in fell out. We also had an arch put in where we were getting married, It was supposed to be drapery and then the top all flowers… they did do the drapery but there was just flowers on the two top corners. So there was a lot of miscommunication, which is frustrating because I am from out of town and came down for 4 meetings with them but it was still messed up. For the high price they charge, they should take better notes because thy are pricey and you are paying so much for things to go right. They did drop off the centerpieces that were left at the reception to my house, which was very nice. All and all they do good work, but there is a very big disconnect and I would use them for smaller events but not a wedding.

So glad we did. He created the most beautiful floral arrangements. The mix was just what I had envisioned for my wedding - warm fall colors and fall flowers. They really gave me a new appreciation for flowers. Everyone was commenting on how gorgeous they were and they complemented our dresses and the venue perfectly. Thanks Gary and James Cress for your expertise and beautiful work. Highly recommended.

trouble finding a florist that was available for our wedding. We met with Gary who assured us that we had plenty of time to make our decisions for flowers. After discussing my vision for the wedding we set up an appointment to see a mock-up of our centerpieces. About a week before the appointment I decided to change the colors for our wedding. For some florists, this may be a problem but not for James Cress. On the fly, Gary was able to create a new centerpiece that included the new colors. We set up one final appointment to go over everything and see a mock up of our final centerpieces. On our last appointment Gary put together a centerpiece and we were able to tweak it to create the perfect centerpiece. On the day of the wedding the flowers were delivered ahead of schedule. The flowers were set up at the church before the bridal party arrived and they looked fantastic. Our throw bouquet was missing, but a quick phone call to James Cress, and the bouquet was waiting for us after we finished pictures at the Watermill. Our centerpieces looked phenomenal. The stands were a little different from the ones we had originally picked, but they still looked great (I honestly didn't even notice until they were cleaning up the reception room). I would definitely recommend James Cress to any bride. They were so easy to work with, and will work to accommodate whatever it is that you want for your wedding day.

you until he fully understands what you are looking for! Very personable and friendly!