I worked with Jenny Downs for the floral arrangements for my wedding in May 2018. Our initial phone…read moreconsultation was great! She easily understood my vision, conveyed useful tips based on her experience, and offered her services within my budget. It seemed to be a great fit.
When we met to finalize everything, she seemed determined to charge me my max budget. For example, I decided to use bridesmaid bouquets as a centerpiece for 4 of 13 reception tables. However, the total cost of the centerpieces remained the same because she increased the price per arrangement. (Ex: We originally agreed to 13 arrangements for average price of $100 per arrangement or a total of $1,300. When I reduced the number of arrangements from 13 to 9, the total cost was still $1,300 or an average of $144 per arrangement). When I inquired about this increase, she stated that the original quote was an "average" estimate and thus it was reasonable for the price per arrangement to increase. I expected there would be minor adjustments to the cost as we hammered out specifics, but the final arrangements I selected were almost identical to the images I provided in our first consultation. If these images were used to calculate the original quote, an increase of $44 per arrangement was ridiculous. Also, the fact that the increase in the cost per arrangement was exactly enough to cover the amount of $ she would have lost from the arrangements I removed seemed a bit too convenient.
Further, we discussed having a floral arch for my outdoor ceremony. When I asked for pricing, she noted that the arch would be $400 as pictured or $350 if I opted for less flowers. I agreed and it was included in V1 of the contract that I signed in Sept 2017. When I received a new version of the contract in March 2018, the details were changed and an additional $150 charge was added for an arch rental. When I inquired about this, she promptly agreed to remove the $150 charge for the rental and to provide the arch as discussed for the V1 price. I was satisfied by how she handled the exchange initially. This changed when I saw the arch on my wedding day. It was noticeably different than the pictures she provided and had considerably less greenery/flowers. From my perspective, she essentially reduced the total amount of flowers/greenery on the arch by $150 for the arch rental charge she agreed to remove. I highly recommend being more transparent with your clients and suggest you never agree to provide the same level of service and then not follow through.
Further, I had several issues with the flowers I received on my wedding day. Firstly, my bridal and bridesmaid bouquets had several brown/wilted flowers in obvious locations. While I expected a few flowers in the bouquets to be blemished, we had to replace at least 4-5 roses in my bridal bouquet alone. When I pointed them out to her when she dropped the bouquet off, she was initially apologetic but quickly became irritable when I noted my surprise at the volume of replacements that were needed and the fact that bridal bouquet specifically had so many flowers that needed to be replaced. Lastly, when I walked in to my reception hall after my wedding, I immediately noted that there were bright purple flowers in all of the arrangements when I specifically requested only white, ivory, and light pink flowers. I'm not sure how or why she chose to add a color that was drastically different from my chosen theme/colors... but the mistake could easily have been avoided if she would have sent pictures of the flowers being used in my arrangements. I requested this information from her the month prior to and the week of my wedding but it was never provided.
While my negative experiences exceeded the positive, there were things the Elegant Petal did well. Overall, Jenny was a pleasant and helpful person who was easy to communicate with. Further, the flowers were delivered on time and Jenny did a great job setting everything up based on our discussions. Lastly, the flowers were decently priced and designed well excluding the items I noted above.
In summary, I had high hopes for the Elegant Petal but was disappointed due to several pricing issues/inconsistencies and the quality/accuracy of the floral arrangements I received. I wouldn't choose them again.
