The intent of this review is to protect other couples from experiencing the same devastation that Ashton caused us at our wedding. She ruined our wedding, and never adequately apologize for the stress she caused us, nor did she deal with the matter professionally or attempt to make adequate amends. I would hate for any other couple to experience what we did with Bespoke Décor. Almost a year later, I can't even think about my wedding, because I become so upset thinking about what Ashton did and how she ruined our wedding.
I met with Ashton on the advice of my day of coordinator, after I informed the day of coordinator that my fiancé and I love vintage décor. I also reviewed Ashton's webpage and instagram account beforehand to ensure that our styles meshed, and I was super excited to meet her. I met with her and shared my vision, and decided to sign a contract with her for the Full Décor Package. I put together a pinterest board, and she assured me that it was a vision she could work with.
I first saw red flags arise when Ashton joined my fiancé and me at the UBC Boathouse for a tour. I explained to her that I wanted the ceiling covered in drapery and lights, and she said that it was a beautiful ceiling that should be exposed, and we'd only string up lights (I realize now this was one of her many ways of minimizing work) - she spun it as her being a decorator and knowing what was best, and so I trusted her. Our cocktail hour was going to be on the deck, and because my husband and I love wine, I suggested instead of tables we put a bunch of wine barrels on the deck as cocktail tables. She said we should just go with the UBC Boathouse's plain tables, and I stupidly agreed, because she told me to trust her vision and that everything would be beautiful. We went through the venue, and she took notes, and at that point, I had no reason not to believe I should trust her.
A few days before my wedding, she springs it on me that she won't string up lights anyone on the ceiling. The one vision I always had for my wedding was to have strung up lights to dance under, and she tells me the week of my wedding she won't do this anymore. I cried my eyes out and decided to just let it go, because again, she said to trust her, and based on her portfolio and recommendations from the day of coordinator I had no reason not to. Then I ran into major issues with Bespoke Blooms. I was presented with a bill for over $3,000 (this was in addition to the $5,000 décor package), and I asked over the phone three times for a breakdown, and twice over email for a breakdown, and was never given a breakdown of what exactly I was paying for, and was instead told I needed to pay the bill or they couldn't get me flowers. What was I supposed to do the week of my wedding? The thought of having no flowers was horrifying, so I just paid it and hoped that we could sort it out later. This was after having to request TWICE that the $500 credit for Bespoke Blooms be honoured, as they kept on "forgetting" to adjust the bill for it. I put these two extremely stressful and upsetting incidences the week of my wedding behind me, and looked forward to the big day.
My husband and I were completely devastated when we pulled up to the UBC Boathouse and saw that the vintage bike we discussed having outside the venue was not there. My husband is an avid biker, and even proposed to me on one of our bike rides. The one piece of décor that he really, really wanted was the vintage bike, and Ashton told us we would have it, and never told us it wasn't going to be included. I felt absolutely horrible that the one piece of décor that my husband wanted at the wedding wasn't there - I don't know what kind of person does that to a couple on their wedding day, especially because she knew how important having the bike there was and why.
Then we entered the cocktail hour on the deck of the UBC Boathouse, and what was down there? Some cocktail tables and chairs from the UBC Boathouse, with some flower arrangements from Bespoke and a few lawn games. It looked absolutely awful. Imagine trying to mingle with your wedding guests while holding back tears, realizing you've been completely duped by Bespoke Décor. It is funny however, that since our wedding, she has decorated another wedding at the UBC Boathouse (who is apparently a Bespoke staff member), and they got beautiful vintage furniture and custom pieces on the deck - I'm not sure why Ashton decided our wedding was worthless and other weddings were more important, but that is the message we sure got.
Entering the reception hall, things got worse. It looked absolutely horrible. The UBC Boathouse is a beautiful venue, but quite plain, and needs to be properly decorated. For $5,000 plus flowers, what did we get? A card table, birdcages to hold flowers (even though we had discussed using wooden vases), ONE wine barrel for our cake table, a seating chart, and a sign for the kids area, and some baskets for the bathroom and flip read more
