‘One of the most important pieces’ Brides say local florist ripped them off right before weddings

GREENE COUNTY — More than a dozen people filed complaints with the Ohio Attorney General’s office about a Greene County florist.

Brittany Evans from Riverside said she booked with Flowers by Des in 2019 because of a promotional rate she found on Facebook. Then, the day before her wedding she got a message from the Flowers by Des Facebook page.

“It said it was Des’ accountant saying that she was in the hospital and she was unable to provide services for the weddings this weekend and all refunds were being processed and to message the customer service account for more information,” Evans said.

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That was about a month ago. Evans said she has reached out to the florist multiple times but still hasn’t gotten a refund for the $106 she paid for her bouquet and her husband’s boutonniere.

“The flowers are one of the most important pieces. I mean, other than the groom, the flowers is something that most brides dream about,” Angela Lemke, who has been a wedding planner for 11 years said.

She said Flowers by Des no-showed for one of her brides on a different June weekend. That bride also has not received a refund.

News Center 7′s reached out to the Ohio Attorney General’s office and found these brides are not the only unhappy customers. 16 people have complained to the AG, several sharing similar stories about paying for flowers and not getting them or their money back going as far back as a November 2020 wedding.

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On June 18th, News Center 7 reached out to Desiree Pace via email. Her team declined to comment.

On July 7th, News Center 7′s Molly Koweek called Pace. She texted back saying she was unavailable to talk until Sunday. However, in a subsequent text message she said “Doesn’t matter how many hours we have spent letting clients know we will be part of their big day and explaining ourselves to them will be undone do to this. Others know they have 90 days for a refund per contract and we are sticking to that.”

In the meantime, brides like Evans are still waiting for their refunds.

“If she was really in the hospital, I understand that. Things happen. But it’s really unacceptable to not refund someone money,” Evans said.

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