HBW Reviews 262

If I could give 0 stars to this company, I would.

I am due to get married next week, in Ireland. I ordered my wedding flowers in June to be delivered to Ireland. I paid £520. I was gifted a free gift for spending over £300, of some extra stems for my table decorations.

A week or so later I received an email from Irish customs to say that I have been issued with two customs charges, amounting to 410 Euro and that they will not deliver my items unless this payment is made. I had no idea that there would be customs charges applied when I made my order. At no time during any of my correspondence with Hidden Botanics prior to placing my order (and there were lots of back and forth emails) did anyone warn me about impending customs charges for shipping to Ireland (this is obviously a result Brexit and the fact that the UK is no longer in the EU). Nowhere on their website does it have any warning or disclaimer about possible customs charges for international shipping.

I contacted Hidden Botanics as soon as I received these fees from An Post/customs and was told in no uncertain terms that it is "the customer's responsibility" to check and pay customs charges. I tried to explain that I had no idea that these charges would be issued and had I known I wouldn't have placed the order or would have arranged to have the order delivered to my UK address.

I have had to contact customs and An post in Ireland via phone and email over the last few weeks to try and determine why I have been issued with two charges. I paid one charge, as Hidden Botanics refused any liability or compensation, but wanted the other fee dropped as assumed that this had been applied to the 'free gift' sent separately the day after placing my original order. One box was delivered, but this seemed to be just the free gift items, not anything I had ordered with my initial order. Shortly after another box arrived. This box contained only half of my order. Missing items include my bridesmaids corsages and my bridal bouquet.

In order to get the second fee re-evaluated/dropped and my other outstanding items delivered, I needed tracking information for the items sent by Hidden Botanics. I repeatedly asked the company to give me the following info:
1. How many boxes were sent
2. A list of what was in each box
3. The tracking numbers for each box

Kristin from Hidden Botanics did not give me an straight answer to these questions until the forth time requested. I was trying to establish through a series of photographs sent from my mother in law (to be) what had actually been delivered and what still was outstanding/sitting at customs. Also, I needed the information so I could send it to Irish customs/An Post for the re-evaluation of my charges.

My £520 order (plus free gift) had been split into three separate parcels. This meant that custom had charged me PER box. So not only had the company not provided any prior warning about possible customs charges and refused any kind of compensation for the loss of half my order (including my bridal bouquet) but they actually boxed my items in three separate parcels - meaning I incurred more than one charge.

When I explained to Hidden Botanics that I would be launching a complaint to the ombudsman, I was told to "calm down" by the same representative via email.

I have ten days before I get married and I still do not have half of my wedding flowers. I am completely broken by this and I cannot afford to pay another charge at this time, as we have already gone over budget. I am so upset by the experience and cannot believe that Hidden Botanics, who deal with wedding flowers for a living, cannot see the importance of their role in someone's big day and that they wouldn't want to help rectify the situation. They've shown zero empathy in this case and have behaved both rudely and unprofessionally. All of this could have been avoided had the company displayed warning/disclaimer information on their site - but it is clear they do not do this as they don't want to lose custom (if people were aware they might not place the order in the first place).

I am so saddened that I may be walking down the aisle in 10 days time without a bouquet and there's nothing I can do about it.

Horrendous customer service, with a complete lack of care and empathy for their customers.

DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY.

Five stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 to HB!
My headpiece arrived very quickly in Italy and it was intact in its package. The flowers were beautiful and as in the picture!
Also the customer care (I communicated directly with the founder) was very efficient and kind!

Beautiful bouquets and button holes. The bouquets were stunning and fitted the theme so well, the buttons hole were the perfect size too. The whole process was so easy and Calga was so accommodating with help me find the perfect flowers for the wedding. Quick delivery too

DO NOT USE. After seeing some negative reviews on a Facebook group, Etsy and Trustpilot of this company, I have emailed them and politely asked to cancel my order as I had decided to go with fresh flowers instead. The customer service team were quite frankly rude and told me it’s not possible to cancel my order as they have to allocate the time to make sure they can squeeze everyone’s orders in (I get married in March 2024 and they don’t send the order until 4 weeks before your wedding day). So they absolutely won’t have done any work on my order or ordered any materials, as I had previously asked for an update and been advised that there won’t be one until nearer the time.

I referred to their refund policies and terms of service, both of which DO NOT specify that a refund is not possible on ANY of their items - including custom items, and was told ‘you can take this further if you want, a refund will not be possible’. After mentioning that their refund policy is incorrect, they changed it on their website and advised me it had always stated what it currently does. Imagine being gaslit by a wedding supplier.

I then messaged them on Instagram to try and get some help, as the customer service team via email were terrible and I have now been blocked on Instagram. They accused me of harassing them, when I was simply going up the ladder trying to get a reasonable response from someone.

After a LOT of back and forth, the company offered me a 50% refund. Not wanting to go through the hassle of a small claims court I accepted this, but god forbid you are a bride who’s wedding is called off or some kind of natural disaster occurs because you will have a lot of struggle on your hands to get any money back from this company - even if your wedding is months and months away, there is no leeway.

What a wonderful experience from start to finish. The team at hidden botanics were prompt and helpful with their responses and gave great ideas to help me create my perfect wedding bouquet. I would highly recommend their services, the final product arrived beautifully and neatly packaged and everything was in tact. I can’t wait to be able to keep my gorgeous flowers forever knowing they will keep and remain to be beautiful for all the years to come. ❤️

The girls at Hidden Botanics were so responsive and dedicated to making my custom bridal bouquet what I envisioned. A joy to work with, they captured the wild summery look I wanted. I love that my dried/artificial bouquet will last beyond my wedding and be a beautiful reminder in my home of our special day!

Beautiful! All bouquets matched, as did the hair pieces. Couldn't recommend more, vibrant colours looked amazing in the photos!

The bouquet came out beautiful. I did add some more dried flowers at the back to match the height of my bridesmaids bouquets that I made

Just received a replica bouquet I had made for my sons best friend's wife she didnt keep any of her flowers and hopefully its a nice surprise and memory for her absolutely stunning...Will definitely order from them again even if its just for a floral arrangement

We needed a hair crown for my daughter's first communion. When it arrived, it was beautiful but too big. We were able to send it back and receive an identical one in the right size within a week just in time for the big day. It would have been easier to communicate over the phone and initially we were told that the expedited delivery for the replacement would be £18 however this charge was waived when we complained and we paid the usual £10 express shipping fee.

Delivery was not within time specifications even though extra paid for this. Communication about order was very poor. Order arrived after wedding. Would not recommend using.

Beautiful flowers. They were perfect for my wedding. I couldn't believe the gorgeous smell when I opened the box!

A beautifully made crown that I can’t wait to wear on my big day 😃

Absolutely beautiful wedding flowers. Much cheaper than going to a florist and none of my guests could believe I bought them online! Helpful and professional when I emailed the company about some queries I had. Having dried flower bouquets meant myself and my bridesmaids could keep them for months and months to come. Also loved having the matching buttonholes and a hairpiece 😊

So disappointed! My order didn’t arrive so it had to be sent again and then when I finally received it the bouquet was completely different to the photos on the website, it was actually much similar to a different bouquet listed on the website rather than the one I ordered. This was supposed to be for my wedding but now I have to completely change my plans last minute

Beautiful arrangements! Also speedy and good communication. I had a delivery issue, and they were quick to respond and help me. Great company, will purchase from them again. I purchased one large bouquet and 4 small bouquets for my wedding. Can’t wait! And they smell so good!

My flowers were custom and literal perfection. I love being able to display them at my home forever!!

Cagla was a pleasure to work with creating my custom wedding bouquet! She is so attentive to details and really emulated the style is was hoping for. Makes me wish I was having a larger wedding and needed to order more!

These were the best flowers I could have wished for my wedding, they were so easy to order and the team were so helpful when ordering separate stems for the reception venue. The flowers we absolutely gorgeous and I got so many compliments on them and my mum even stealing the bouquet to keep at home after the ceremony!

Ordered a bridal bouquet and buttonhole for our secret wedding. Loved being able to look at them prior to the wedding and the fact I have been able to keep them.
Looked exactly like the picture and stayed like that all day
Well worth the money