Like many others have stated, this business is a complete scam. I ordered Christmas cards at the beginning of November and after I got my confirmation email, I never heard another thing from them. I called, emailed, DM'ed on instagram - you name it. And nothing. If you look up the company in more detail you can see the "store front" is the ladies home, and her business phone number is her cell phone number. Thankfully my credit card company was able to fully refund me and dispute the transaction. read more

I am very disappointed with Kelly and WH Hostess. I placed an order in February, paid in FULL, and only received half of the order. I have written numerous emails, DM messages on social media, and even a few posts; that she erased, very nicely asking about my order. I have not received any communication back from my inquiries. I have never written a bad review before, being a small business owner myself, I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and an opportunity to "make it right". This lack of communication has gone on for almost 2 months. I feel customer service is very important and unfortunately, Kelly and WH Hostess seems to be lacking. I do not recommend this business. read more

Terrible experience. Cute things but as soon as I gave my money, there were no further emails or items. Wrote to ask what was going on. Party date past. Terrible communication and customer service. read more

This business is a complete fraud. My wife and I ordered a Christmas card before Thanksgiving and emailed once with Kelly to obtain the proof, but since she has gone silent over email, instragram, and facebook. I commented on an instagram post this morning asking politely for an update on our order and was blocked!! It sickens me so many comments below tell the same story and nothing has been done to prevent Kelly from collecting customer funds. You can try to block me, but I am not going away Kelly!! read more

This is the WORST company! I ordered our Christmas cards and paid in full. Haven't received them and when asking about them she doesn't reply to any emails. I have sent messages on social media that she has no problem viewing but won't write back. Had to call my credit card company to dispute and order cards late from another (reliable) company. Kelly and WH hostess make small businesses look bad. She is a THIEF! read more

I placed an order on 11/11 after finding WH Hostess on instagram. I was incredibly excited to gift custom stationery for the holidays. I noticed she does Black Friday sales, but paid full price to ensure delivery in time for a holiday party. What a disaster! After multiple emails, I was finally told I would likely have my order by 12/14 (more than 30 days after ordering). 4 days later, I have still not received my package, had to rush around and find last minute replacement gifts and big surprise, still haven't heard anything from Kelly. It's absolutely horrible that a business is allowed to continue operating and scamming people like this. I don't leave negative reviews, but I feel it's important to save others the time and headache that will ensue from WH Hostess. I only wish I had seen these Yelp reviews prior to ordering!! read more

This woman is a THIEF. I placed an order six weeks ago and have received nothing. I have attempted to contact her through her website and left several voicemail messages with no response. I have had to open a dispute with my credit card company. AVOID THIS COMPANY. read more

Awful customer service. Sloppy and careless with design layout. What everyone else said is true. Slow to ship. Not willing to make anything right. Go anywhere else. read more

Such a Terrible company! They charge you for your order and then they don't send items! They refuse to respond to emails and when I commented on their posts on Instagram they blocked me! I noticed other people were commenting the same thing! What a fraud! Don't trust them! read more

I am in agreement with all the reviews here. I am a business owner and was excited to sell Kelly's products. Here I sit with her owing me money because I have never received the order. I had to spend quite a bit of money to make this right for my own customer and she was completely unapologetic. She doesn't respond to emails, phone calls, or a dispute on PayPal. She blocked me on Instagram. I don't understand why Toss Designs, Hedge Farm candles, and others continue to show her designs. They must not have done their homework! read more

I placed an order 8 weeks ago and never received it. I reached out many times was ultimately blocked on Instagram by Kelly. To not apologize or refund a client is unacceptable. I have never heard a thing about my order - $50 for literally nothing but stress. I truly regret ever discovering this "company" because it's but nothing but frustration. I'm not sure how you function this way, dishonesty. read more

The customer service was good, quick responses before I ordered. The cards were nice paper quality and well printed, they just weren't what I ordered. It was a different font, a different design, and a slim patch showed the stock photo still hidden behind my photo. When I asked about it, I got no response. I still sent the Christmas cards, but I wouldn't consider this a reliable company. So, as long as you don't mind getting a different product, it's probably totally fine to use this company! If you'd prefer to get what you paid for, maybe select a different company. read more

I was sent the wrong order and have been trying to contact the company with absolutely no response. Very frustrating and disappointing! Would give zero stars if possible. read more

Absolutely, positively, the WORST company I have ever worked with. I placed an order for $200+ and never received a confirmation even though my credit card was charged. I reached out to customer service several times via email. I even reached out to Kelly herself! I never had a response. After 2 weeks of asking for some type of shipment confirmation, or just confirmation that my order was in production I still didn't hear anything. Finally, I emailed them to state that I needed to cancel my order because at this point I would not receive it on time. Still no response. I have been blocked from her social media accounts, there is no answer when I call the phone number provided It has been 6 weeks and I have been asking for my credit card to be credited. I have reached out to my bank, I have filed a report with the BBB. I cannot stress enough to everyone that this woman and her company is a fraud! read more

Ordered an item as a gift on 11/29/21 and it still hasnt shipped. I have made multiple inquiries to the owner and gotten no response. Had to file a dispute with AMEX. Quite embarassing to not have the gift I had planned for my mother on Christmas. The multiple reviews stating similar issues should persuade you not to trust this business with your holiday cards and personalized items- THEY WILL NEVER ARRIVE. too bad, since the designes are cute, yet, not worth the frustration read more

The absolute worst customer service. Placed an order for candles in May and still have not reviewed mid-August. I have reached out several times and never received any response. Had to dispute the charges with my credit card. read more

I do NOT recommend this vendor. While the products are cute, the customer service is terrible! I'm still waiting on hearing the status of an order placed a month ago. My frequent emails have been ignored. My Insta comment was removed, and I was subsequently blocked. Don't be fooled by how professional the websitappears Update on 12/18: PayPal just issued me a refund because Kelly never responded to their attempt to resolve the conflict. read more

I ordered the "preppy whale" party supplies from WH Hostess for our sons first birthday. Everything was PERFECT. Kelly was very responsive and helpful. She actually sent me the invitations right away and then followed at a later date with the party supplies. She also made a runner for our tables that went very well with the party theme. I am surprised with the bad reviews below. The only thing I can suggest is making sure to allow two to three weeks when ordering. These supplies do take awhile to make (from any vendor), and it is important to give yourself a delivery buffet especially with how USPS has bern lately. read more

See all

I contacted my credit card company to dispute the $367.95 charge for the holiday cards I never received this morning. Late last week, I emailed Kelly Lyden (WH Hostess) and told her I was going to file a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General's Office regarding charging my credit card and not giving me the product I paid for. No response from Kelly or WH Hostess last week. I filed an online complaint with the Illinois Attorney General's Office this morning and sent it to Kelly Lyden (WH Hostess). Guess what?!? I finally received a response saying I would be credited (but no proof that it had actually been credited - I'll believe it when I see it) . I hope that the Illinois Attorney General does in fact continue with this investigation of Kelly Lyden and WH Hostess because something doesn't seem right here. read more

Give this company one star is too much! I have to agree with the review the Elizabeth B. submitted on 10/2/2019. I ordered a few items and one was incorrectly monogrammed I contacted Kelly to notify her and asking for a correct one to be sent. She has ignored all my emails and this has been going on for a month. I had no choice but to contact my credit card company to dispute the charges. DO NOT DO ANY BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY. If you leave her a question on her Instagram account, she will remove it. Kelly is impossible and avoids any customer service at all costs! read more

I ordered some stationery from Kelly's website for my moms birthday. Kelly then emailed me later asking for an additional $28. She said she had a website glitch and it didn't charge me the right amount. I went ahead and paid it. It has now been almost three months and I can't get Kelly to respond to emails. I've asked her to cancel the order and refund me .. nothing. I have now gotten my credit card company involved to try to get the money back. DO NOT ORDER FROM KELLY. read more

Cute designs. the worst customer service. Many of the gift stickers I ordered had font so small on them I couldn't read the names. I emailed WH Hostess 3 times asking for replacements or a credit and never got an answer. Very frustrating. This seems to be a case of a great artist having no idea how to run a business. Its too bad b/c I would like this woman to succeed. read more

WORST customer service! I own a store and loved her products. But I received an order that was wrong and I have emailed, messaged her on Instagram(and it got removed) commented on FB(it got removed) and finally found a phone number of a previous business she had and I have left her a voicemail. NO RESPONSE except to delete! Don't order from this person because if it is wrong you will not get a response. If it is right it will be loved by all. But now I will have a customer who is not happy! read more

I wish I had seen these reviews before I ordered with this so called company. I placed my order on October 1 and have received nothing but a confirmation email. I have emailed and received no response. I have called and the number is always busy. I think it is time for more than negative Yelp reviews. This woman is stealing. Do NOT order from this person. My credit card company is now involved as well. read more

My little girl just adores Elmo so when I was planning her 1st birthday, I wanted to make it girly with polka dots, chevron print and pops of Elmo everywhere. I didn't want the whole sesame street birthday you see everywhere in stores. I wanted more of a "Modern Elmo" concept for her party so when I came across the girly elmo design the WH Hostess carried I was so excited that it was exactly what I was looking for! The birthday party was on Saturday April 20th, I ordered the items from WH Hostess on April 4th (over 2 weeks before her party). I ordered elmo stickers to stick on her lollipop favors and to stick on kids party hats, a big round happy birthday sign with elmo on it, food tent cards and a sign for my dessert table. All of these items to me were the icing on the cake to tie everything together for her birthday. They were all personalized with her name, age, along with the signature drinks names and food names for the party. When you place your order you also put when you need the items by, which I did. It was the Monday before the party (4/15) and I have not received anything from WH Hostess saying that my order is shipped so I sent a follow up email to check status(If their was a phone number on her website or order confirmation I would have called but their was only an email address), reminded her that the party was on Saturday. I told her if I needed to pay for expedited shipping, please let me know. She responded with your order is due to ship out tomorrow.(I'm thinking tomorrow? that would be Tuesday, that's cutting it pretty close!) She asked what day is the party, and said standard shipping takes 2-3 days and I should have it by Friday at the very latest. Just let me know so you can receive it on time. I sent her 2 emails after that just to make sure she received and told her when it was and told her I wanted to pay for expedited shipping just so I get it on time and I got no response. Well Friday came along and after a long day of getting ready for the party,I come home excited for my girly elmo goodies, and there was no package that was promised. I emailed Kelly, the WH Hostess, that night when I came home telling her how upset and disappointed I was especially since I told her earlier in the week I would pay more just to expedite it. I told her I deserved my money back. Again, no response, nothing. How do you run a business and not get back to your clients? So unprofessional! It's Thursday May 2nd and I still never got the package! I called my bank to get my money back since she never got back to me. Don't waste your money you won't get a response or your items. read more

I've seen Kelly's work on many of the design blogs that I follow, and never thought twice about placing an order. I am normally someone that reads reviews prior to ordering new products or services, but I was completely confident about my transaction because I felt WH Hostess had been endorsed by several websites that I trusted. To be fair, I think this needs to be a two-part review. Products - Five stars. I ordered a customized birthday party invitation, food table cards, and two different types of coordinating stickers (some for the birthday favor bags for our guests, some to adorn the drinks). All of the pieces that I received were gorgeous, of the highest quality, and the invitations were printed on the thickest card stock that I've seen for children's stationary. Which is what makes me so annoyed about the next part of my review... Customer Service - Zero stars. When I first placed my order online, all of the customization details that I had typed into her website disappeared at checkout. Since I was not at home, and didn't feel like typing all of those details into my iphone again, I went ahead and placed the order with a note, then sent in all my details the following morning (which was a Monday). I read that the order wouldn't arrive for two weeks, which I thought was kind of long, but can't really complain about since I knew that upfront. I was emailed a generic order confirmation, but never received any acknowledgement that my customized information was received. After about 10 days, with no correspondence from WH Hostess about my order shipping (to arrive within the 2 week deadline), I followed up. I received a response that my order would ship the next day, and I asked (and received) a tracking number. Items arrived, very beautiful...just one problem, I was missing one sheet of stickers for my favor bags for the party guests. I sent a thank you email for the beautiful goods, pointed out that I was missing twelve stickers, but that it wasn't a big deal, since there was plenty of time for them to send out a second order to me as the party was three weeks away. No response. Over the next few weeks, I sent three more emails to the different email addresses that I had for Kelly (gleaned from her website), on the off-chance that she was having technological problems. Never a response back, an apology, or a note saying that they had refunded me the money I paid for items I didn't receive. I'm really annoyed because I like her work so much, and if she had handled the order appropriately, I would have continued to use her site for both of my children's birthday and holiday parties for the future. I also would have given her website out to the several party guests that commented on how cute the invitations were. Sadly, I cannot recommend this business. After having such wonderful customer service experiences with Minted, Etsy, etc for paper goods, I was quite frankly shocked at WH Hostess' disregard for the customer. If you have people like me that love parties, love planning every detail, and are willing to spend money to have those parties, you should realize that they expect every detail to be as gorgeous as planned. The day before the party I was scrambling to find a coordinating sticker to adorn on the other half of the guest favor bags...and yes, I realize that it's just a kid's birthday party, and this little detail didn't matter to anyone but me in the slightest! BUT...I'm the type of Mom that her site caters to, so some Business 101 is in order! read more

I placed an order from the "Bows and Kitty" collection well in advance of the party we had scheduled for my grand daughter's 3rd birthday party last fall and had a similar experience to what Carla A. had. I ordered over $200 worth of party decor and fabric and didn't receive anything. I have repeatedly written emails and tried to contact Kelly Lyden but she didn't return my emails nor did she honor my requests for a refund. I am writing this now because I came across Carla A's review and realized that it was not just a fluke. Kelly is apparently in the habit of doing this. I think it is shameful....especially when children are looking forward to a particular party. Please do not order from WH Hostess. You are setting yourself (and your child) up for disappointment! read more

I contacted Kelly Lyden on July 31 to place an order for several items for my baby shower. I specifically provided the date of my shower before placing my order to ensure that delivery would be made on time. After some back and forth on item customization, I paid for the items on August 4. I ordered several customized items including a Guess the Due Date game, food cards and a chair sign totaling $100.00. The baby shower was on August 23. A week before my shower, I had yet to receive any shipping confirmation and so I sent Kelly an email asking for the status of my order. I wrote her on Monday August 17th asking whether the items had been shipped and asking for tracking information. She replied that she "didn't know" that my party was that upcoming weekend but that my order would be ready to ship by the end of the day. Two days went by and I had still not heard back from her about my order and so I wrote her again on Wednesday August 19 asking for the status of my shipment. She replied that the items had been sent. The tracking information she provided disclosed that the items were not sent on Monday as she had promised but instead were sent on Tuesday via US mail. The day before the party I contacted Kelly to let her know that I had not received the package. She never replied. The day of the party, I wrote Kelly again to which she replied that she had done her part and that this was a post office issue. Without any regard for the inconvenience, she told me that the package should already be at the local post office and that I should just go to pick it up myself if I wanted it on time for the party. Needless to say, the package was not there and I never got the items on time for my party. Kelly Lyden refused to take any responsibility for her lack of planning and her failure to send the items on the day she committed to or to send them via expedited shipping to make up for her delay. She also refused to give me a refund and was dismissive when I expressed my concerns. Don't waste your time ordering from WH Hostess. It is not worth the aggravation. read more

You get one star only because that's the lowest. This business deserves 0 stars because I received 0％ of my order! Then kelly ignored my emails and was upset when I commented on her Instagram and told her how are you posting and not responding. Finally after starting a dispute on PayPal she's magically not busy any more and responds... Accuses me of slander which is far from true all I did was write my experience then says she's going to refund me my money although I should receive my package that day! Which is 8 days after expected delivery but she still can't provide me with tracking info... Long story short ms.kelly your attorney doesn't scare me I know what slander is honey and me telling the truth about your crappy business isn't it!! So please don't ever order from her EVERRRRR! It will just ruin your party when your items NEVER arrive. read more

I never leave reviews..this will be my first but NEVERRRR NEVERRRR NEVEERRR will I ever use this website again! I requested my order on may15,2018 for my sons 1st birthday which is on June 10th. She responded so quickly to my purchase email saying we will have it in time. Ever since then I heard from her once where she said she puked be sending it this past Monday and I will receive it in time for his birthday. Not once did I get a tracking number not once did I get an email saying my order was complete and being sent out. It's Friday now and I still haven't heard anything! Please do yourself a favor and never order anything from her! read more

i have been in business for 31 years and have never seen such poor customer service. I have no product and i have paid for it and i can not get anyone to respond. 10 note pads for christmas gifts and got a vague response from "charlotte" that it looks like they will ship last Thursday. This is absurd. I will go on to dispute my Credit card charge like the rest of the reviews i have read. This woman has no business having a business!! i wanted to give 0 stars BTW read more

LESS than one star. My good friend ordered a backdrop decoration for her little one's birthday - SIX WEEKS AGO. She was told production and delivery would take 2-4 weeks, tops. When she emailed to inquire on the status, she received no response. She commented on their Instagram page to ask for help and they deleted her comment, blocked her and STILL didn't respond to her email. Her order was over $80. After much persistence, she received a callous email from Kelly about how busy she is and how they need to protect their business from negative reviews - also pointing out that "Charlotte does an excellent job" keeping those reviews away from the public. Their customer service is severely lacking as is their integrity. Order from a more reputable company where the owner and employees value your business and take pride in their quality customer service. read more

I have never posted a Yelp review so it has to be bad! Where do I start? First of all, the invitations I ordered had the rsvp email address cut off. Secondly, I ordered WH Hostess fabric to coordinate with the invitations. With an estimated 2 week delivery and multiple emails inquiring about my order, I still do not have my fabric. I also posted on the Facebook page asking Kelly(very nicely, I might add) to contact me. Within an hour of my posting, it was deleted and I was blocked from commenting. When I finally heard from Kelly, there was no apology or effort to correct the order. I told her I was very disappointed and her response was "feel free to do whatever you wish. I have way more serious issues in my life than your disappointment." Great way to run a business! DO NOT order from WH Hostess. read more

I am so sorry I did not read these reviews prior to placing my order...same story...I placed my order--teacher gifts--so needed them by a specific date...I emailed Kelly for a status update and never heard back...nothing. Still waiting, now attempting to cancel. I guess we'll wait and see what happens...INCREDIBLY disappointing. Now it's June 26, still no word from Kelly. So, I have now gotten my bank involved...hopefully this will yield some result. While her stuff is without question adorable--do not order from WH Hostess otherwise be prepared for disappointment and major aggravation! There are plenty of other places out there with just as cute if not nicer products---and customer service is a priority, as it should be. See places like Lipstick Shades, The Stationery Studio, or Moxie Paper and Gifts....good luck. read more

I hate having to write a poor review and this is my first one ever- especially since I love her products. I placed two orders and loved everything received. However, the last name on the gift stickers I received was spelled incorrectly (her error) and they were a gift. I have emailed countless times, sent a message on instagram and asked on instagram if she was receiving my emails. I was blocked on instagram and have not received ANY communication since. I do not feel like she plans to fix my order or communicate in any fashion going forward. I believe if your order goes well, it is fine. Should you have any issues, you will be blocked and ghosted. Good luck! read more

I placed a sticker order on 7/26 for my daughter's b-day party which was held on 8/25 (one month out). When I did not receive them in the time listed on the site (2 weeks shipping from order date), I followed up with Kelly only to get no response. I did however receive a response once I threatened to report to the BBB.. Kelly's response (the week of 8/21) was that she was tracking the order and if she cannot locate it, she will send to be sure I receive my labels by Friday 8/23. Fast forward to Friday, NOTHING..I hoped to receive them in Saturday's mail. Still nothing. I've been following up via e-mail, stating that I would like to be reimbursed for my order being that I never received the product that I paid for a month ago - no response. As mentioned in previous reviews, yes, Kelly's work is nice and she does get rave reviews from big companies. Just curious - are small orders disregarded? Why haven't I received my product that I paid for one month ago and why haven't I received a reply? THIS IS BAD BUSINESS!!!! How can you take someone's money whether small or large amount and not produce? A mere apology and date of reimbursement would be appreciated - but still nothing. Not sure how business is run on your end Kelly, but as I mentioned in a previous e-mail. The best way to market your business is word of mouth and here you have failed. It's unfortunate. I do hope however that if you are inundated with large orders, perhaps you should have a minimum order policy on your website this way you will avoid these types of issues. What a disappointment!!!!!! read more

Made several orders. Money was taken and I received an email that my order had been received. Then, NOTHING. After several weeks, I sent an email enquiring when I could expect the goods to arrive. NOTHING. Made several phone calls to the "company". NOTHING. Sent a private message on facebook because I could see they were promoting their business there so hoped that someone would be monitoring their account. NOTHING. Eventually wrote on their wall asking someone to please get in contact with me regarding my order. NOTHING. This "business" is disgraceful. Accepting money for orders that you have no intention of fulfilling is a CRIME. Perhaps Kelly Lyden should work on developing some original ideas for her blog instead of masquerading as a stylist or designer or retailer! SAVE YOURSELF THE TIME AND THE MONEY AND AVOID THIS DODGY COMPANY AT ALL COSTS! read more

I can't believe how Kelly is getting away with this. I've had the same experience where I ordered from her WH Hostess site. I thought that 6 weeks lead time would be ample time to have the product shipped to me, but it hasn't. I had ordered on Nov 6, 2015, sent an email on Nov. 27th to Kelly, as I had noticed that my ordered was still showing as 'Pending' on her website. She replied to me on Saturday, Nov 28th, stating that my order was due to ship on Monday. It is now a week later (Dec 7), and she has not sent me any tracking information (as per my request in an email on Dec 1, which I had also noted that my order was STILL shown as 'Pending'). This is not how a business should operate, and quite frankly is criminal. read more

This is the worst experience ever. I order several items for my baby shower and never received them . I contacted them and left several messages and never got a call back. I had to call my credit card company to get my money back. This business is fraud. Don't bother on ordering anything because you won't get it. read more

I too never post on Yelp so it is bad if I'm taking the time to post!!! BUYER BEWARE: Nobody order from this company!! It's fraud. I ordered and they never delivered and won't return my email or phone calls and won't refund my money!! NOTE: They also go by the name, The Party Dress. read more