All Occasions Decor

Hi Tanaya,

In continuance of our email exchanges about these issues since your wedding and your latest email that you will do a list of things if we don’t comply such as suing us in court, leaving us bad reviews and making complaints on other websites, it is unfortunate that we had to see you post a review when we have not resolved this matter yet while we have also offered a resolution too.

Before we address the issues raised by you, we would like to point out that we have been in the industry for over 20 years and that we are proud to have a review rating of 4.5 stars even with your current claims. We have always provided an excellent service to our customers and addressed any potential issue in a professional and diligent manner. We have tried to apologize for the delay due to unforeseen traffic issues (while still completing before the ceremony started), and find a resolution but you have refused any reasonable solution and demanded a hefty amount to be reimbursed for items and services that you received. Amongst other things, you claimed we didn't come to take down our decor after the wedding. This is completely untrue, and the venue staff were also there while our team was taking down. The venue can attest that our team was there prior to the agreed time which was 1:30am.
Here are our answers in point form so we can share and correct in detail.
“• Breach of contract for not letting me cancel some items on the invoice 6 days before my wedding (contract states I have up to 48 hours before to change my order). “

Our response: We have simply agreed and cancelled all of the items you advised just weeks before your wedding without any hesitation, and even after you paid the final deposit. However, cancelling florals 6 days before your wedding date is something we cannot do that easily. Since you already paid your final deposit, we already pre-planned, designed and pre-ordered all your florals with our wholesalers and we cannot get a refund ourselves from them with such short notice. This was openly explained to you in detail via email right away. You later asked if we can provide vases, free of charge for you, which we also agreed to do as well. Please note on our contract, we do allow changes but it doesnt note that we will provide any refunds if we already received the final deposit. Although it doesnt say we provide refunds on our contract, we usually do to our clients. Which is what we did with you for all the decor items that you cancelled throughout the last few weeks before of your wedding without any hesitation even after receipt of final payment. Please note florals are freshly grown products that are perishable and we need to pre-order them way in advance. Floral wholesalers have strict rules on cancelling as well. To cancel florals 6 days before your wedding, after the final balance has been paid is something we simply cannot accommodate, as already mentioned to you prior to your wedding. We are also confident any florist out there will agree to this as well. We believe we have been more than flexible with you since day 1, up until very short notice requests as well. We even offered you a further discount as a gesture of good will.

“• 2 hours late for setting up my wedding, didn’t finish until 4 minutes before I walked down the aisle. I didn’t get a chance to take my bridal party photos because of this.”

We did arrive after the agreed upon set up time due to unforeseen congested traffic and we take full responsibility for that. We were speaking to you multiple times via phone calls to give you live status updates. We were in no way being rude when communicating and advised many times that we will call the crew to get new updates throughout the way. We apologized profusely and finished setting up for the ceremony before it started.
“• Flowers were nothing like what I wanted, and they were so dried out they were falling apart as we held them.”
Our response: We would like to strictly point out that we do not ever, and ever will, provide dying flowers or unusable condition of florals to any client. We followed your wishes to a T as per her request on her invoice: no yellow, more of pink, cream, and orange with dry florals like pampas and bunny tails. All our flowers are stored in our floral fridge up until they are picked up from our shop and were picked up on the way to the event to maintain integrity. We are confident to say that there is absolutely no way the flowers were in bad condition. We also have security camera footage that proves they were made 2 days prior to your wedding and were stored in the floral fridge since. Our florists also made wedding florals for 2 other weddings for that weekend at the same time and we received nothing but amazing compliments on them. We also have photos of the florals for these weddings, one being the exact same day as your wedding and was made on the same day. We did see your photos and saw that 1 flower (rose) was dry out of all your wedding florals. By simply spraying water on the rose, it will immediately hydrate. It is however not dead. Besides that, all the other florals were fresh and completely fine. It is also normal if a few flowers dehydrate faster than others. We also note that day was extremely hot so that could have expedited the dehydrating timeline as well. This is normal to happen as these are all fresh mother nature products and are fragile.

“• Many items I ordered weren’t even set up, even though I paid a delivery and set-up fee (including the head table garland and all of the linens).”

Our response: We had 4 set up team members there to set everything up. Although we notice that some linens were set up by your team, which was helpful from them, it doesnt mean that we would not have set them up as that is our job to do so. The same with the garland as well on the head table, it seems that someone from your party picked up the garland from the box and placed it on the table. Again, we want to firmly mention that this doesnt mean we didnt fillfull our set up service nor that we wont do it. Just like any set up job we do, we are there to successfully set up everything we provide, and even items that our clients brings from home, if requested and agreed. We do in fact take responsibility for coming later than we were supposed to for set up and immediately apologized for it before the set up, and up until after your wedding. We did complete before the ceremony started. As a gesture from us, we did offer you a refund for the full amount of the set up service due to this, which we believe is reasonable.

“• It has been more than 3 weeks since my wedding, and they still haven’t given me money I am owed from cancelling some items in my order.”

Our response: We are still in exchange of emails since your wedding day to come to a solution. We are not avoiding you in any way. If you previously called us, we may have missed it. We have already said we will credit you for the items you cancelled before your wedding. In fact, this is what we said to you in our last email to you, but we haven’t done so yet as you responded and requested a refund for a long list of other items that you already received, which we do not agree with. Alot of claims you made are also untrue. Because of so many allegations and you mentioning that you will sue us, write bad reviews about us, and simply go out of your way to ruin our business' reputation, we do not take that lightly at all and we simply need time to gather more information to respond back to you in a detailed thorough manner. Nonetheless, we stand by everything we are saying in this post. On top of this, it is currently high, high wedding season right now and we have been working nonstop everyday so a delay in response is not uncommon right now. Our doors are open during our work hours 5 days a week and anyone is welcome to come in anytime. We are not avoiding you in any way, shape or form. We have previously took the initiative to offer you a full refund for the entire set up service charge as we arrived later than agreed upon (although we still finished before the ceremony started) but we simply do not agree to your list of things for a refund as your response. We are still working with you via email in regards to a solution while you posted this review.

“• Difficult to reach by phone during the day of my wedding, and rude on the phone when we finally reached them asking where they were. “

Our response: Several members of the team were in contact with you throughout this and we were trying to locate the exact position of our team who was driving toward the venue. We simply would not speak to anyone in a rude form.

“• Minimal contact after my wedding, even though they owe me $900.36 for items that were cancelled.”

Our response: Numerous emails and phone calls have been exchanged with you since your wedding to find a solution. Please read our answer we gave above that will answer this statement as well.

“• I want to start off by saying, I am in the process of filing a complaint with the Civil Resolution Tribunal, as well as the Better Business Bureau, as I am requesting money back that I am owed, as well as compensation from this vendor. I am hoping to warn other brides-to-be by posting this review, because I don’t want anyone else to have to go through what I did on my wedding day.”

Our response: We are very sorry that you are taking this position although we have been working with you on a resolution. We stand by our track record, email chains, and of course the testimony and proofs in regards to arrival time, condition of flowers and the time our team came to remove the decor.

“• My wedding was on July 2, 2022, at the loveliest venue (UBC Boathouse in Richmond). I hired this company to do my décor and florals (with their sister company Pretty Things), as they were listed as a preferred vendor for my venue. Most of my contact with them has been through email, other than an initial phone consultation. I am fortunate to have everything documented for my dispute case. I spent $4249.95 total on this vendor.”
Our response: UBC Boathouse is a reputable venue with a very strict policy. We have been on their preferred vendor list for many years and the reason is our quality of service. This in fact is our first ever complaint with this extent of requests for items and services already successfully provided as well as a list of things that you will do to our reputation and mentions of suing us if we dont comply.
“My biggest issue with this company that caused me the most stress and threatened to ruin my wedding is that they were 2 hours late for my wedding. They were to arrive at 1 pm, so that my wedding party could get our flowers and take our photos at our venue before guests arrived at 3:30. That would also give them 2.5 hours to set up. My day-of coordinator arrived at 1 pm, and the decorators weren’t there. None of the linens were set up on the tables, which I had paid for them to do, so she had to do it herself with the help of our wedding party. At 1:45, I was very stressed because they had yet to arrive. My day-of coordinator tried calling the number for the contact person I was given, but no answer. I called the main company phone number, and Eliza answered. She apologised for them being late, said they got held up but are on their way and would be there shortly. She said she would call them right away and ask where they were, and then call me back. No call back. My sister called 30 minutes later to find out where they were, and Eliza was rude to her on the phone, saying she wasn’t in front of her computer and so she didn’t know when they were scheduled to arrive. My sister told her they were now 1.5 hours late, that we needed the flowers to take the photos, and she said she would call them and get an ETA and call us back. No call back. They finally showed up at 2:55 pm, all frazzled and getting in everyone’s way. We never got to take those wedding party photos, because the guests started arriving at 3:30. In fact, the décor company was still setting up the ceremony when guests arrived, and didn’t finish until 4 minutes before I walked down the aisle. So much for creating an ambience for guests. “

Our response: Again, we do take full responsibility for arriving later than we were supposed to. We apologized many times for the delay and we also wish that things will always go as planned without any unforeseen issues arising. However, just like any situation, things may arise unexpectedly no matter how much pre-planning is involved. It happens and business and life and our hands are simply tied when this is the case. Nonetheless, we did set up everything before your wedding started but we agree this is not okay and take full responsibility for it. This is why we offered a full refund for the set up service to you. We answered most of the phone calls from you and her entourage but, in all honesty, our team was on their way to the venue and they were going as fast as they possibly could. We knew for a fact that we would complete everything before the wedding started, and we did. We stayed up until close to the start of the wedding to make sure that it was all done properly and if there were anything to tweak. “

“• In regards to the flowers, they were nothing like the photos I had sent Eliza, which she assured me they could do. The flowers were so dried out that they were falling onto the floor while sitting in the jars on the table. They looked horrible. My bridesmaids tried to fix them by removing some of the dried floral and adding eucalyptus that I had bought from another company, thankfully. Even the colours of the flowers weren’t what I wanted, as I had said I wanted more pinks (sent the colour of the bridesmaid dresses for matching), and not much orange or yellow, but guess what I got? As the decorators were trying to put the flowers on the arch, the flowers were falling off and falling apart. I have photos to prove it. It’s like they were left in a hot car all day, or they were cut several days before. I want to be reimbursed at least 50% of what I paid because of this. “

Our response: All the florals were directly picked up from the floral fridge before coming to your venue. Yes, some florals can fall out while we set up. This is completely normal. It doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with them and we simply just have to put them back in. It is not uncommon for some petals to fall while they are being set up on an arch as they are fragile fresh products. This, in no way, meant that our flowers were dried out. As for floral colours, please note flowers will not ever come in the exact colour pantone that one will request. There is no such way any florist can guarantee the exact colour for the flowers that we get from wholesalers or farm, as these are all live products that are grown. It will be impossible to get the exact flower colour of the dresses, but we of course get the closest colour that we can locally get. Upon looking at the pictures posted, we can't help but notice that the flowers in the bouquet are in excellent condition except one flower which indeed is a little more dehydrated but just needed some water sprayed on it. Inspirational photos provided never means that what you receive will be an exact replica of it. Photos can be edited/filtered, or the florals could be made in another country where we cannot get those types of florals or colours locally in our city. All floral designers are human, every arrangement will not be the exact same . Every flower colour, shape, and life span varies. There is absolutely no way any florist can guarantee otherwise. We have absolute no control over the shade of colours that is available as it varies every single day.

“• In addition, I paid $240 plus tax for a head table garland that was supposed to be set up, but when we sat down to dinner, we realized it was sitting in a box on the floor behind our table. What was the set-up fee even for, if they didn’t set up the linens or the head table garland?”
Our response: The reason a box with a garland was left there is because someone from your party had asked for it while we were setting up so we brought it for her. This wasnt left there because we didnt set it up or want to set it up.

“• I also paid a late-night pick-up fee, however they never even showed up that night to collect the items. The venue coordinator was telling my sister to take home the vases because the decorators were not coming to pick them up. Why did they charge me $298 for a late-night pick up charge if they weren’t even going to come? “
Our response: We are still puzzled over this affirmation as, not only our team was there for the take down but also the staff at UBC Boathouse was there during that time. Our team removed all our decor as agreed upon and, anyone who has ever had any dealings with UBC Boathouse, would know that they are very strict on their policy in that regard. We will gladly provide proof from the venue to the court. Furthermore, the vases were actually a free item requested by you, which we agreed to do, and it was always the intent for them to keep them.

“• I am trying really hard to think positively about my wedding, a day that we spent $40,000 on. I am so glad that everything else ran smoothly, and all of our other vendors were absolutely amazing! It is so unfortunate that I had such a horrible experience with All Occasions and Pretty Things florist, because they were an integral part of my wedding. I have advised UBC Boathouse of my experience with them, as they are listed as preferred vendors. My biggest regret is that I hired this company. I sincerely hope no other bride has to go through what I went through with them. I will continue to pursue legal action so that this doesn’t happen again. They still owe me $900.36 for items that I had paid for but had removed prior to my wedding, as well as what I calculated to be $1443.68 in compensation for poor quality and poor service.”

Our response: The updated total was $3,377.59 after all the decors you cancelled after your final payment and before your wedding. You are requesting a refund that is close to this entire amount for:
- arriving later than expected for set up due to unforeseen traffic but everything was set up prior to the ceremony
- flowers condition but beside one rose which indeed looked dehydrated, everything else from greenery garlands to floral pieces on the arch and bouquets were in excellent condition
- your team taking the initiative to help place linens and pre-made garland on the table while we were happily able to do it ourselves
- No take down service however this is completely untrue. You would have actually been charged by the venue if this was the case, which we are sure you would have written about in this post as well. Again, the venue staff were there while we were taking down and we can provide such proof to the court if needed.

Overall, we are deeply saddened that you didn't feel you had received our full customer service and for that we are sincerely sorry. We feel we have been more than flexible with you, provided further discounts and free items prior to your wedding day as well. We wholeheartedly tried to make amends for the stress we had caused you with our delayed arrival but to no avail. We wish we didn’t have to go to the extent of this publicly, but we need to state our side of things for our clients, and future clients to read and understand the situation better. We have all proof ready and available to back up our facts. We hope you will accept our compensation we offered you and that everyone here will read all the wonderful reviews we have been collecting over the years.

HI Frances
We were so excited to be a part of your special day and so glad you loved how everything turned out. We enjoyed working with you! Congrats again and we wish you all the best!
Janeil and the AO team

HI Jane
We so enjoyed working with you as well! I know its been a tough time for everyone.. we are so glad it came out how you envisioned.
We wish you both all the love in the world!
Janeil, Julie and the AO team

HI Rebecca and Peter
Thank you so much for the great feedback. It was such a pleasure to work with both of you and we were very happy with how everything turned out as well! I hope your day was everything you dreamed of. We wish you all the love and happiness!

Janeil and the All Occasions team

HI Jenna
Thanks so much. We really enjoyed working with you guys and were so happy with how everything turned out!

Wish you both lots of love!
Janeil

HI Sherry
We are glad you loved the décor. It was my pleasure to make sure you were 100% with every element.
Thank you for the kind review.
We wish you both all the best.
Janeil