Flowers- what I ordered vs what I got.

[Bonitalazenia]

Interested in opinions. This arrangement was for my aunts funeral. Cost £55. I was disappointed when I saw them. What do you think?

Did you tell them it was for a funeral?
You received the same type of flowers, but the ones in the first picture are arranged to lie down while the ones you received look ready for a vase!
But I agree, the bow is meh.

Oh goodness! I'd definitely complain about that arrangement. Particularly because they were for such an important event. They're dire!

They look awful. In the first pic they don't look worth £55 but in the second they look much smaller and dead.

Former florist here. The photo on the left is of a tied sheaf. The photo on the right is pretty much a hand tied bouquet. The person who made it hasn't put it together properly. The flowers haven't been arranged to make the most of them either.

They are not worth £55 , did they have anything special in them, I find florists funeral arrangements a bit of a rip off, you would have got nicer ones from a supermarket but when you suffer a loss you want others help . We always take funeral flowers home, sorry for your loss and disappointment in the flowers.

Looks to me that they've just taken a better photo. They've focused in on the flower heads and taken it from a lesser distance than your photo.

How awful. The ones you received look like you've picked them off a hillside yourself. For £55, I'd be very pissed off.

No - the arrangement is wrong: it's not a tied sheaf.

And this is why I don't do flowers. They look awful, sorry op.

Yeah they are pretty naff. I’d agree with a PP they look put together for a vase and the flowers are much smaller/ sadder looking than the artwork. I’d be disappointed at £55, disappointed at £15 too probably

Yes, this. It’s (mostly) the right flowers, but totally the wrong arrangement.

Flowers do often take a day or so to open up and be like the photos, but agree the arrangement isn’t designed for “lying down flowers” in the pic of what you received.

They've been arranged wrong and your version has a lot more green 'filler' than the advertised one. I'd definitely complain.

I agree with previous posters the ones you received look like they’ve to go on a vase. Did you complain as I would have happily paid £55 for the arrangement in the first photo but not the ones in the second. The ones in the second photo look a bit wilted too.

Total rip off, op. Complain.

I tied sheaf should have a flat back and the flowers arranged so the focal area is raised and full. There are lots of flowers in the one the OP got, but they would have benefitted from being more open - especially the lysianthus, the dark purple. The delphiniums are a bit weedy, but more could have been made of them.

I'd be very disappointed, they haven't been arranged as requested.

Looking at the photo, I suspect your flowers haven't been laid down as intended, but that will be because the shape and arrangement isn't solid enough and it's not clear where the back of it is. There should be flowers graduated down to where it is tied and there's too much bare stem above the bow. It's poor. Either someone untrained or having a bad day who's work wasn't checked before it went out has made it.

Thank all especially @NigelHarmansNewWife for the feedback. I’m loathe to complain and I like to support local businesses but I’ve just emailed the florist as I’m interested to see if the arrangement was damaged in transit by the funeral home.

I did wonder whether it had come apart in transit somewhere along the line. It should be tied tightly enough for that not to happen though.

I'm sorry for your loss.

I've seen the website that the OP ordered from (name is in the first photo) and they are listed under their "Funeral Shop" options. If the OP bought from this particular florist and selected that arrangement, it should have been at the very least arranged as per a funeral sheaf would be arranged and not as a hand tied bouquet.

@Bonitalazenia - I would complain. There is no description on their website as to what differentiates between the different prices of this particular arrangement (e.g. you get X amount of this flower or Y amount of that flower depending on how much you spend). £55 for an arrangement is not to be sniffed at and your arrangement looks nothing like what they had on their site.

The only thing I would say to defend the florist, is that I believe since the 1st May, new regulations have come into force about importing flowers/plants as the UK is now outside of the EU and these regulations were coming down the tracks as a result. Florists are being hit, a lot, by these regulations and if your funeral was on or after that date it might have been caught up in these new regulations and that is why what you got wasn't as plentiful as what you were expecting.

Those cost £55???

Just to add (my earlier post was edited to add my condolences and also to correct where I had said funeral spray and not sheaf) when a website has such an array of prices for their arrangements, the photos should match up to give you a visual representation of what £40 gets you and the difference between that and what £80 gets you, and the various prices between that. I think the photo in that image is the £80 sheaf and not what you thought you were getting. I hope I'm wrong but they should invest some money in developing their website to be better and give customers a clearer idea of what they can expect for their money.

I hope your complaint to the florist clarifies things for you.

@LookItsMeAgain I get what you are saying, however there's a lot there in the bouquet made up for the OP's order. How you arrange flowers when making on item and how open they are really can change perceptions as to quantity and value - it's a skill and many florists go to college to learn the necessary skills.