I have had quite the time with securing a florist. I think I'm about to flip my lid, honestly.
The first florist I inquired with moved across the country. The second florist, I was able to pay the retainer fee and sign a contract. Unfortunately, she accepted a job in a different state and backed out of my wedding last week. She sent a couple of recommendations that I reached out to immediately.
Now, this is where it gets interesting.
In my initial email, I informed her of what the situation was with my previous florist and that I was reaching out to her based on a recommendation from my previous florist. The response was informative and polite. They let me know that their minimum was $2500 and that they required a 50% retainer fee.
Now, that seems a bit excessive. My previous florist only required a deposit of $150 and I still signed a contract.
So, I replied to the email and asked if, considering the current economic climate, would they consider reducing the retainer fee and we will still sign a contract confirming the minimum. I asked this question not because we couldn't manage the payment but because it seemed high and I didn't want to spend more than necessary since my fiance and I are currently laid off. They say "you'll never know until you ask". I thought I'd give it a shot.
The response, ya'll! It was argumentative right from the get-go. "We have faced MAJOR loss of income as well and are also dealing with financial hardship... Our retainer fee has always been 50% and we do apologize that this is not feesable for you at this time. When we book a wedding over a year out, we are passing up MANY other inquiries for this date, which means we are saying no to other potential weddings/income... I do apologize that this comes as a shock to you, we have been in the business for over 6+ years and we’ve always instilled this policy with our couples".
These are just the highlights of the email.
I am honestly, pretty upset right now. I work as an event manager and have been in the service industry for 15 years. I would never in my life think of responding this way to someone. While I do understand protecting your business and explaining policies to potential clients, there are appropriate ways to do it.
I'm sure others will most likely read this in a different tone than I did and possibly just think I'm losing my mind and that's fair because I feel like I am. But has anyone else ever heard of a 50% retainer fee from a florist? Is that reasonable?
Also, if anyone has a recommendation for a florist in the Jacksonville and Saint Augustine areas, I would be so so grateful.
