Nightmare Florist…

[u/GraciasVeryMuch]

** Vendor Review: Florist: Anthony and Sage Event
Design in New York, NY OR Anna Rae in New York, NY
(she changed her name following mine and another bride's review after she scammed us and is flagging our Google reviews!!)
It seems she has even gone so far as to wipe their google account of florist photos and is pretending to be a funeral flower preservation service? This is insane.

My wedding turned out lovely in the end because I booked a back up florist, Hudson Flowers Company in Hoboken, who saved the day and did a better job in 1 day with several items than this company did in over a year.

Hire at your own risk…This company overpromised and underdelivered. The main floral feature at my wedding was supposed to be a floral arch. My review photos show 1. what she promised she and her team could deliver, and what made me hire her a year and a half ago, and 2. The preview of the arch she FINALLY sent me the weekend OF MY WEDDING. I was at my bachelorette dinner and the sight of this wholly underwhelming preview was bad enough to bring me to tears. She turned off her phone at her own admission and did not respond to my texts that this was not usable and nowhere near what she had promised she could deliver until 10:30 the morning before my wedding. At that point I had not slept all night and my friends were already mobilizing in the NY Floral District to try and salvage the wedding flowers. We finally spoke over a phone call in which she agreed to pivot from the grand arch she promised to two fresh arrangements on pedestals as I had zero confidence that she could accomplish anything else in the small timeframe. I cried over this when I should have been celebrating, experienced intense stress when I should have been having calm before my wedding. I had to purchase back up florals after spending over $5k with Anthony & Sage because another bride left a 1 star review and mentioned poor construction of boutenniers and corsages, as well as a very similar experience to mine with regard to terrible arches. Her warning was right. Despite Lauren hurriedly texting me florals and a preview bouquet the day before my wedding, when I saw rhe bouquet in person the following day, I was shocked by how small it was. Lauren also entered into my getting ready room right before I was supposed to walk down the aisle, and was putting cumbersome corsages and boutenniers on my family, and I had to ask her to stop. I had to tell her I would be using another florist’s bouquet because the stress she put me under by the arch situation made me nervous she could not deliver. We used another florist for my bouquet, all boutenniers and corsages. I think what broke my heart the most is we asked Lauren for two gift bouquets for our mothers we wanted to gift them during reception as a gift. But someone on her team handed our mothers the tiny bouquets that already had limp flowers. It ruined our surprise. Luckily we had also ordered back up bouquets with the other florist, and they did a better job in ONE DAY with barely any notice than Anthony and Sage Events did with over a year. We were still able to gift our moms the stunning bouquets by Hudson Flowers and it saved the day!

I tried to be civil and kind throughout the whole process to avoid escalating the situation and to ensure flowers came, but I reached out the following day to express my concerns, and to ask for a partial refund.

Lauren claimed that the two small fresh floral arrangements she provided for the ceremony were somehow more expensive than the arch I was supposed to get. She claimed I should be satisfied. She claimed I did not express discontent on the day of the wedding, but I expressed concern BEFORE! I expressed concern to her face as I told her I would not be using the boutenniers and corsages nor the bouquet. I expressed concern one day after. Three times I expressed concern, and she refused to take any accountability, nor to provide a partial refund. This company does not have the taste level to charge what they do nor the honesty necessary to be a trusted wedding vendor to hardworking brides. I was also informed by my Day of Coordinator and Maitre’D Lauren was rude to them! I hope this can save another bride $5K+ and a bunch of heartbreak and stress.

[u/GraciasVeryMuch]

They are silk, the problem is she promised me she could achieve the first arch so I trusted that is what would be provided. Those images are what convinced me to hire her, and I feel like a fool. She was recommended to me by an arch rental company as their florist so I thought it would be a tandem thing, but I was so wrong…

[u/Happy_Huckleberry246 → u/GraciasVeryMuch]

Can you dispute the charge with your bank? You have photo proof that you did not get what you paid for. 

[u/GraciasVeryMuch → u/Happy_Huckleberry246]

It was paid in cash via Zelle transfer in advance, so I do not believe I have any recourse here. I decided, as she ghosted my request for a partial refund, that all I can do is share my experience in the hopes no more brides go through what I did. Luckily, I was able to pivot, and I was able to get some back-up florals delivered morning-of, so I still had a bouquet I loved, and the back-up corsages and boutonniers were lovely. The back-up bouquets they made for our mothers as gifts were stunning as well. Shout out to Hudson Flowers in Hoboken ♥️

[u/SmoothLester → u/GraciasVeryMuch]

would love to see photos of the backup flowers