Bride Sues Florist Over Flower Color

[GirlinContempt]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gdm0mtdDTOQu5Z2jiYkrmIlx_8_wD8SABA4G0

NEW YORK (AP) — The wedding was lovely, except for the flowers: They were the wrong color.

So says the bride, Elana Glatt, who was so upset that she sued the florist and alleged breach of contract.

She says Posy Floral Design in Manhattan substituted pastel pink and green hydrangeas for the dark rust and green ones she had specified for 22 centerpieces.

Not only that, she alleges that the hydrangeas were wilted and brown, and arranged in dusty vases without enough water.

"The use of predominantly pastel centerpieces had a significant impact on the look of the room and was entirely inconsistent with the vision the plaintiffs had bargained for," Glatt, a lawyer, said in the lawsuit, filed on behalf of herself, her husband, David, and her mother-in-law, Tobi Glatt, who paid for the flowers.

The flowers cost $27,435.14. The lawsuit asks for more than $400,000 in restitution and damages.


FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS?! Because the flowers at your wedding weren't right?
I'm so glad I don't live in the US, or I'm sure I would have had a hundred deranged brides trying to sue me because they're idiots.
Yeesh.

[Hugin]

1. Dang, my whole wedding cost less than 20% of what their flowers alone cost...

I must've done something wrong. :eyes:

[GirlinContempt]

4. Apparently, your wedding makes you a princess.

You clearly did not take full advantage of this license to spend copious amounts of money and act like a lunatic.

[Hugin]

7. I can't quite put my finger on where we missed out...

Everyone in the world we care about was there. Plenty of champagne. Fancy gowns and tuxedos... There was a guy
there driving away the flies I attract.

I don't get it.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

2. 27,000 on flowers?

:O

[GirlinContempt]

3. $27,000 and they didn't bother to

I dunno, pick them out properly or check before the wedding?
$27,000 and they need $400,000 in pain and suffering?!

[raccoon]

5. Hope this gets thrown out of court. nt

[La Lioness Priyanka]

8. if you can afford 27000 you're not doing anythign out of need. want maybe, not need

[redqueen]

39. Uh oh... I'm about to get all pointlessly judgmental again!

x(

[madeline_con]

54. I second that motion!

:eyes:

[mainegreen]

6. I'm sure this is a case of another moron not reading the contract they signed.

Most florists have in their contracts that they reserve the right to substitute suitable flowers of equal value if for some reason the flowers originally specified are not available. Our florist did that and one of the flowers we wanted was swapped out on our wedding day. You know what? It still looked good! And we weren't knee-jerk ass faces about it either.

[GirlinContempt]

17. A lot of people don't read the contracts they sign for services

and those same people are often the ones who throw my 'contractual obligation' at me when they aren't happy.
It's pretty hilarious.

[hedgehog]

9. You know, I can't honestly say whether we had flowers at my

daughter's wedding or not. Maybe on the bride and groom's table? I do know we had little coloring books made by the bride's sister documenting the courtship. People had a good time with those!

[Hugin]

10. Hey! Coloring books.

What a great idea.

[DarkTirade]

11. ... I think this answers the question as to whether or not there are frivolous lawsuits out there...

[DS1]

12. The inanity of this lawsuit coupled with the assholishness of this duo

makes my head hurt.

I want 50,000 in damages.

[GCP]

13. ROFL

:rofl:

[Omphaloskepsis]

14. That should be a wonderful marriage..

Starting things off with litigation. I imagine it will end in the same way.

[GirlinContempt]

15. If one part of a days worth of the wrong colour flowers is

worth $400,000+, imagine a few years of ugly socks, or holey underwear!

[Omphaloskepsis]

20. Holey underware + bad haircuts + marriage = Me wearing a barrel held-up by straps..

if I ever get married..

Check your PM's if you have a chance. A long time ago I sent you a black and white photo of me with my sisters twins. It has been a few years and they are getting big. I will send a link to a flickr sideshow of their birthday last Saturday. They are getting big. If you are interested?

[GirlinContempt]

51. Sure

[davsand]

16. Bridezilla strikes again!

I used to handle catering stuff for weddings, and I have seen any number of insane brides. I once watched a bride scream for 20 minutes at an elderly cake lady because the icing on the massive wedding cake was "orange" rather than "peach" colored. The cake (thankfully) was not my problem because the bride had the contract with the wedding cake lady. I finally had to just walk away because listening to her bitching too much longer was probably gonna result in a homicide...

I can only imagine what this wedding must have been like to deal with.



Laura

[AlCzervik]

18. who's a princess, you are elana, yes you are.

if she has children i feel sooooo bad for their future teachers.

[madeline_con]

55. She'll be like the broad who screamed at the t-ball coach

until he made uour 5 year old trade shirts with her kid, because Connor was ALWAYS # 16. :puke:

[quiet.american]

19. And to think, someone actually married this piece of work. n/t

[XemaSab]

21. I was just thinking if I were the groom I'd slip out the back

and count myself lucky.

[Critters2]

32. And again I ask....

this chick is married and I'm not? And yet, I've never sued anyone, let alone a florist.

[Debi]

59. Well, now we know your problem...you're too damn nice

:hi:

[sueh]

22. The bride is an attorney. What other wedding service providers will she sue?

[kay1864]

24. I decided to look her up

She's an associate with a NY firm, she specializes in litigation.

Wonder if this attention will gain her points or lose her points at her firm?

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

23. We spent $500 on ours and they rocked!

[Rabrrrrrr]

25. I'd divorce her. Fuckin' idiot bitch.

[Dukkha]

26. I see frivolous shit like this all the time

Working in credit card disputes wedding services get disputed often for the most mundane details. People need to accept a certain margin of error when dealing with a very large event with lots of tasks happening at once. All the hired services involved do the best they can and never guarantee perfection so the human factor should always be kept into consideration.

But the brides have had it built up in their heads for years that this is their "day" and the world revolves around you and if all is not absolute perfection then everything is ruined! The Horror! They act like whiny rich spoiled brats at a sweet 16 party. Think of what else could have been done with that $27k, like placed in education bonds for their children. Weddings in general are extremely self-indulgent and wasteful, often at the reluctant attendees expense.

[Critters2]

31. When I work with couples planning weddings,

I always tell them that something is going to go wrong. Really, some little thing won't be perfect. That'll make your wedding stories interesting, and the day spontaneous. And when it's all said and done, you'll still be married.

But then, I don't often do weddings for people who would spend $27,000 on flowers. I wonder what kind of honorarium the officiant got.

[kay1864]

27. Lotsa funny comments here:

She's delinquent on her attorney registration fee, her firm represented Britney Spears, she likes leather pants, and she made Fark.com!

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/10/16/a-lawyer-bride-sues-her-florist/

[Critters2]

30. I hope this one was intended as saracasm...

"The bride is fighting for all of us who have been burned by incompetent florists. Let this serve as a notice to all florists: we, your customers, will not take it anymore. We deserve decent floral arrangements.
Comment by Anonymous - October 16, 2007 at 11:38 am"


Either way, it made me LOL!!

[Crabby Appleton]

28. Mother Nature decides what colors flowers are -

sue her

[Critters2]

29. That is one lucky groom. nt

[Pacifist Patriot]

33. I'd like to see the judge throw it out and chastize her for wasting so much damn money...

on flowers.

Sorry, but I officiate plenty of weddings and that is hardly enough to ruin a wedding. Spoiled fucking brat in my opinion.

[Sugar Smack]

34. Ooh! Meet "Ginger".

"Ginger" is a real person I used to know. Another friend and I decided after a year of this we had to let her go. There was a day when we turned to each other and said, "So, how long has it been since Ginger asked you how your day was?"

Meet Ginger.

"Y'all, I've decided to use the taupe linen for the invitations instead of the oyster gray matte. Do you guys think I may be making a mistake?"
"We really ought to get you two hooked up with husbands."
"Omigod. I already bought the dress and I found the PERFECT dress here. (flip, flip, flip) Look at that picture and TELL me I didn't make a HUGE mistake."
"OK, NOW, I'm upset."
"You guys, who wants to help me shop for some cute shoes to go with the dress?"
"I saw the cutest centerpiece for the tables, but I don't know if we can afford them or whether I should just stick with the ones we were planning on having."
"I saw the cutest napkins."
"I saw the cutest floral arrangement."
"I saw the cutest tablecloths."
"I saw the cutest shoe ornaments. Do you guys think that's tacky?"
"I saw the cutest earrings."
"I saw the cutest napkin holders."
"I saw the cutest cake ornament."
"I saw the cutest doilies."
"I saw the cutest candle holders."
"I think you should design the invitations. Can you do calligraphy? We have 200 people coming. That's be a big help."
"Thanx, you're a doll."
"Why didn't you return my call? I left a message on your answering machine about the color of my garter. Light or dark blue? I need to know, because "Chloe" didn't call me back either."
"OK, NOW I'm upset."
"Lily is SO not invited. She took WAY too long to RSVP. Plus, she's going to embarrass me, I know it. And I really think she has the hots for my fiancee."
"I only have six more months to plan this. You guys, I'm SERIOUS! You don't know what this is like for me. You've never planned a wedding."
"We're not going to have any alcohol at my wedding because that would be too expensive."
"You've worked at a bakery before. Do you think you could do our cake?"
"OK, NOW I'm upset."
"I can't go to the doctor with you because I have an appointment to pick up my veil. Sorry!"
"You guys, we had a huge fight and I think we may have to call it off."
"We made up! Yay!! Do you want to hear all the details about our make up sex?"
"What if something goes wrong with the dress? Omigod, Chloe's picking it up for me today. If she gets anything on it I will seriously kill her. She's not exactly, you know, graceful."
"I have to return these shoes! God, I am SO UPSET! I brought them back here and they don't match the dress! God, I am so pissed."
"...and we're going to have our names engraved on it, and on one side will be a little detail of a heart, and on the other side there will be a little detail of an infinity sign, because that's how long we'll be together, and there's also an-eighth carat diamond here and..."
"OK, NOW I'm upset."
"I am SO PISSED. The invitations were supposed to go out yesterday and my stupid fiancee can't even manage to remember to post them."
"Do you guys think I'm making a mistake? I saw "Mark" the other day and I'd forgotten how cute he was and how well we used to get along."
*snort* "Would ANY self-respecting person get their hair done at SuperCuts? You have GOT to be kidding me. You're joking, right?"
"If I don't lose twenty pounds, I'll never fit into the dress."

This is a repost of a thread I did for matcom, but I thought it would be fun here, too.:o

[kay1864]

38. Funny stuff!

I'm majorly impressed that you remembered all those.

Is she still married? Or did her DH throw himself off a cliff?

[Sugar Smack]

42. Heh! Thank you. I sometimes wonder if she's still married.

Love comes in odd boxes, but I think "love", to her, was beside the point. Some of that may have been a bit of hyperbole on my part ;-) but GOD, was she insufferable.

[DS1]

43. Ginger makes me stabby

[Sugar Smack]

44. OMG! I'm freakin dyin' here.

:rofl: :applause: :spray: :patriot:

[SacredCow]

35. My other half is a florist.....

He has literally hundreds of stories about bridezillas. And, so nobody thinks I'm being unfair, also has hundreds of success stories of brides that became loyal customers. Of course, the bridezillas are more interesting to tell and hear!

Fortunately, over the years, he's developed a sixth sense about which ones are going to be troublesome and he'll either profess a scheduling conflict, or quote them a ridiculously high figure for his work.

[gmoney]

37. Devil's Advocate: If *I'm* paying $27,000 for something...

...I would certainly expect to receive what I ordered in the correct color and in the condition agreed upon. If I'm purchasing a red car, but when I go to pick it up, they try to give me a pink one with stained upholstery, I'd raise a fuss to be sure. If I'm the florist, I make damn sure I can put my hands on those flowers, and if there's any doubt as to their availability, I have her choose an alternative when we sign the contract. And if it happens at the last minute, and is absolutely unavoidable, I tell the bridesmaid or someone in the wedding party about the problem to see how it should be handled, and so they can inform the bride, so it's not a surprise.

If she spent $27K on the flowers, it was probably a $100K wedding. That is insane, I agree, but when you spend that kind of money, I think you're allowed to have certain expectations.

:popcorn:

Personally, I'd advocate for "wedding finance reform" -- a cap on the amount spent on a wedding. Spending $100K on a wedding is the kind of thing that started the French Revolution.

[SacredCow]

40. Well, you hit the heart of 99% of the problems....

And that's availability and condition. Florists simply can't promise that any particular flowers and/or colors will be readily available- they're at the mercy of the wholesalers, who are at the mercy of the growers, etc.... And that's just availability- condition is the next obstacle. Usually, the brides-to-be understand this and trust him to make appropriate substitutions as needed. If it's something MAJOR (like a color change) he'll consult them first, of course. He normally insists on a final consult one week prior to the wedding date. By that time, if something is likely not to be available then they can make other arrangements.

He had a consult just this past month where the bride insisted upon Lilies of the Valley for a January wedding. Frankly, he doesn't screw with those things because they are so damn unpredictible. However, she was adamant that she HAD to have them. So, he said he'd have to decline because he didn't feel comfortable with agreeing to provide something that he couldn't be reasonably sure he could get in a suitable condition. She left in a huff, and one of his former proteges (and not a good one) agreed to do it to her expectations. THEN he called my honey and asked him how to deal with Lilies of the valley... I'm afraid her flowers are going to be very disappointing.....

So, since I didn't see the flowers in this case, I'm not making a judgement. It could be either way. Regardless- Yes: $100K for a wedding is just totally insane!!!!

[calico1]

36. Unless you are using fake flowers how

can you demand they be an exact color? What a dope.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

41. People spend $27,000 on flowers, but bitch about

$600 for a string quartet. I'm going to start charging $1,200.

[oregonjen]

45. We had a string quartet at our wedding

Best decision ever. How lucky you are to play at such events. :hi:

[JVS]

56. Fuck that, I'm getting a Power Trio

[distantearlywarning]

46. We paid $400 for ours.

We arranged them ourselves for free. They were lovely and I wouldn't have changed a thing, even if we had hit the Powerball the week before the wedding.

Furthermore, I think spending 27K on flowers is wasteful and tacky in a city where homeless families sleep on the street. Just my opinion.

On Edit: We discovered during the reception that the cake maker mixed up our order and gave us a different kind of cake than the one we had ordered. My reaction? I was happy because the new cake looked so pretty with the flowers and other stuff. I was happy because my husband was happy (he liked the taste of the new cake better than the old cake). I was happy because my guests were eating it and seemed to like it. I was just happy. It was my wedding day. Yes, a few things went wrong, but so what? I was marrying the guy I loved. I wasn't sweating the little stuff. I wonder what lawyer-bride's marriage is like...

[iverglas]

47. I just dunno ...

If I'd paid someone $27,000 for something and I didn't get it, I think I might just sue. I think a lot of people in this thread would too.

If you go to a fast-food restaurant and pay your 5 bucks for a hamburger and get it home and discover it's a fishburger, and fish makes you puke ... well, it's pretty easy to find something else to eat.

If you pay $27,000 for specific flowers for your wedding and you get there and discover they're not what you paid for and they're really ugly and you don't want them ... well, you could throw them out and have no flowers at all.

I think weddings are stupid, mainly because I think marriage is stupid, and I think spending any kind of money on this sort of thing is moronic, so this is never going to happen to me. I just wonder how all the people who did spend money on the accoutrements of a wedding because for some reason, I dunno, I guess it was important to them, would feel if somebody they'd given their money to fucked it up for them. If people don't give a shit what colour the flowers at their wedding are, why don't they all just hand over their money and take pot luck?

If she'd wanted pink flowers, she would have paid $27,000 for pink flowers. Apparently, she didn't, and she doesn't want to. Damned if I can find anything unreasonable about that, or about somebody being pissed enough about it to claim damages.

[GirlinContempt]

52. I'm not entirely sure in this situation, because I don't know the contract

but I know fucking insane brides.
The contract they sign with me specifically states that they have to do x y and z. For instance, show up for a final fitting. If they don't, we can not guarantee the fit of their garments. I've lost count of the number of times some insane twit has threatened to sue me because some half wit groomsmen didn't come in for his fitting and didn't get dressed until 20 mins before the wedding. Like it's somehow MY fault. Like I can somehow fix it.
If you're the kind of person who's marriage is ruined, or even whole day, because of some fucking flowers, i can't imagine that, so I can't speak to that.
But I can speak to people taking some fucking responsibility for their own shit, and brides seem to be notoriously bad for that, whether they're spending $50 or $500 on something, they expect it to be perfect with no help or effort on their own part, and if it isn't, it couldn't POSSIBLY be their fault.

I think most people in this thread can't imagine paying that much for flowers, and probably can't imagine having so much invested in the colour of their flowers that it would matter over $400,000 worth. And I sympathize with them. I also sympathize with people who have to deal with whacko brides, because I know what they're like, and they make me want to break things. Or people.

[iverglas]

57. oh well

I sympathize with people who don't get what they paid $27,000 for.

If florists, or anyone else who provides goods or services to brides, hold their customers in such contempt that they think it is unimportant that they provide the goods or services they have contracted to provide for a price like that, it would seem to me that they are the ones with the problem.

After all, we really shouldn't forget that there are businesses that profit extremely handsomely from all these bridal whims. If bridal florists think it's unimaginable for someone to have so much invested in the colour of their flowers that they would sue if they got the wrong colour, bridal florists should maybe just fold their tents and stop being part of the whole ludicrous bridal industry themselves.

I don't know what the situation was in this case. Maybe the rust-coloured hydrangea fields were hit by a plague of locusts and the whole thing was a case of force majeure and not basis for a suit. I would think that with that kind of money on the line, the florist would have had a pretty good reason for not delivering what was paid for.

But I really just don't think that anybody gets to participate in, promote and profit from the loony rituals of weddingdom and then complain bitterly when it backfires. If brides bought their dresses off the rack at Zellers or had their mothers run them up at home, and decorated their banquet halls with daisies from the garden, a lot of businesses would be out of business. Those businesses do a lot to manufacture the stupid "needs", and if they contract to fill them, they oughta do what their paid for. And given the industry they're in and the role they play in hyping the whole moronic concept of the perfect biggest day of yer life, dealing with bridal whims is obviously one of the things they're paid for.

[jmowreader]

48. Yes, she has a RIGHT to be pissed...

y'see, hydrangeas won't actually grow in a "dark rust" color. You use white hydrangeas--very common, very easy to get--and dye them.

I don't know if it's a $400,000 problem, but if someone paid me $27,000 to produce 22 centerpieces of hydrangeas dyed a specific color, I could manage to produce same.

[SacredCow]

50. I think there IS a dark-rust colored variety.....

some wierd hybrid. Not that it matters a heck of a lot in this debacle...

[jmowreader]

58. I asked my wife...

who holds nurseryman certification from the University of Georgia. They come in white, pinks and blue/purples, and the blues and purples need aluminum in the soil to develop their color.

Apparently they're super easy to dye because they just soak up water like sponges.

But look...I want to know what kind of a guest list you've got to justify over $20,000 worth of flowers.

[tammywammy]

49. I think I'm just going to go to the courthouse whenever I get married

Me, whomever and a couple friends. Then we can throw a kick ass party a week or so later. Sounds like a good deal. I won't have to get a dress and flowers and all that other crap.

[carly denise pt deux]

53. 27,000 for flowersA?!?!?!?!

our rings, gown and suit, wedding and honeymoon didn't cost that much!
Carly

[midnight armadillo]

61. Ha! I can top that.

Our wedding, complete with dress, food, rings, DJ, photographer, limo, videographer, wedding & reception in a 100 year old beautiful mansion, 80 guests, AND 10-day Caribbean honeymoon cost under $7k. In eastern MA, no less, hardly a cheap part of the county.

People 7 years later still tell us how much fun they had at the wedding.

[JBoy]

60. This is her

http://www.kelleydrye.com/attorneys/bio_pics/04125

She doesn't look as bitchy as I imagined. Doesn't mean she's not still a fucking bitch.

[midnight armadillo]

62. Bridezilla culture

It has simply become a disgusting part of American culture that a) weddings should nearly bankrupt everyone involved, and the cost should start around $30,000 and b) that brides are entitled to any type of behavior they desire because they're the bride.

I am glad I did NOT marry a bridezilla. I remember three days before the wedding we were going out to dinner and a movie and somebody asked why we weren't fighting and in hysterics. Why? Everything was taken car of at that point! The planning took us a couple of weekends to see our vendors, and everyone had a blast at the big event.

[Zephyrbird]

63. If I remember correctly, she's a lawyer, I think fresh out of law school

Another reason to hate every one of those sanctimonious, supercilious, holier-than-thou, I'm a queen (no offense, gay guys) so bow down, J.D. (it's not juris doctor folks, it's "juvenile delinquent"), money grubbing, patronizing, useless, waste of DNA, swimming in the shallow end of the gene pool, skid mark in the road, my shit don't stink, lawyer.

Ask me what I really think.

[Maine-ah]

64. well, hell, my whole wedding was under 4k

and I had a florist do my flowers.

[asthmaticeog]

65. That settles it, I'm going to law school.

I'd *love* to be able to afford to be so unholy fucking precious.