Botanika

As a local catering manager, I have been recommending Botanika to corporate clients and brides for over 2 years and every experience with Melissa has been positive and enjoyable. I find her to be very personable and full of beautiful and creative floral and decor ideas. She has assisted me with countless last minute orders with total ease and I know I can trust her to really 'wow' my clients. I have seen the work of many other San Antonio florists, but to me nothing compares to what Melissa offers. I look forward to working with her for years to come! more

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Very poor customer service.\r \r My mother and I had made an appointment to meet with Melissa at Botanika to discuss the floral arrangements and bridal bouquets for my November wedding. I took the time to call ahead (a week in advance) to make an appointment with her since I knew that Saturdays can be and often are busy for florists. I will say that she was very helpful and personable on the phone, but that's where my good experiences end. We arrived early (about 15 minutes before my scheduled noon appointment) hoping to get to look around the shop, but since she was working with another bride and her mom we chose to sit in the lobby area so that we wouldn't diturb them. Ten minutes after my appointment was scheduled to start she was still with the other bride and I decided to check to make sure I had the right appointment time. I did, she was just ""running behind"". Thirty minutes later she was still working with that bride and I began to get frustrated so I poked my head in again and asked if I should try to reschedule. At this point she asked her assistant to ""just come over and reschedule"". I declined the offer.\r \r I still cannot believe that in the entire 45 minutes that I waited to meet with this woman that she not once made the effort to acknowledge that fact that my mother and I were waiting. I understand that people get busy and sometimes run behind. This is something that she should have taken a whopping thrity seconds to step out in the lobby and explain to me. Again, my problem is not with her running behind (eventhough you should try to stick within your designated appointment time limits when possible), it is with the way she handled (or better yet, didn't handle) the situation. Ignoring a bride and her mother (or any customer) is NEVER, EVER acceptable no matter how busy you are. Furthermore, the fact that she didn't even have the wherewithall to send her assistant out to try to greet us and distract us is also unacceptable. What good is having an assistant if they aren't going to help in your customer relations? \r \r Sadly, I cannot even comment on the quality of her work because I never got the chance to see what she could do. I would definitely save your time and effort and go elsewhere. more

My mom(s) (MOB & MOG) & I met with 5 florists, as I wanted to make sure the person doing our flowers could see my vision for our very special day. I was a bit apprehensive after reading some reviews, but we made sure to update all changes on our contract and we were both very detailied in our note taking, so that we were able to remember exactly what we had decided on.\r Melissa was knowledgable, detailed & very creative. She helped make my need/want for ""tradtitional"" into a more modern version, without trying to convince me of something different.\r We have been married for 6 months now, and our families are still talking about how beautiful our centerpieces were!\r My motto: when in doubt, ask for a moch-up of your centerpiece! She is WONDERFUL!!! more

Melissa and her staff are wonderful. My fiancé and I looked at every florist in town (believe me) and Botanika was the only one that got us. They were open to our ideas and collaborative in their approach. Melissa then took that and went way above and beyond our expectations. I strongly recommend Botanika. They are truly the best in town. more

I agree with all the other one star ratings. I had seen the bad reviews online, but gave her the benefit of the doubt because my wedding planner vouched for her. I wish I had listened to my gut instincts. My first meeting with Melissa was tense to say the least. She is very snotty to me and my mother. We were willing to overlook it because I expected her work to be well worth the attitude. Unfortunately I was wrong. On the day of my wedding she was late delivering the flowers and setting up. As if that wasn't bad enough, they were all wrong. The colors and flowers weren't at all what we discussed. The ring bearers pillow was made out of moss instead of button mums, so it shed all over the place. The pomander that she made for my junior bridesmaid was supposed to look like a purse, instead it looked like a huge beach ball and the cheap strand of plastic beads she used to hang it from broke before the ceremony even started. The cake stand was supposed to be covered in crystals, instead it was covered in more of that disgusting moss. These were only a few of the mishaps that I was aware of, but apparently there were more according to my wedding planner. After the wedding my planner asked her for a small refund because of all the mistakes, she refused. The bottom line is I would not recommend Botanika to anyone. Your wedding day is one day you should not look back on and be disappointed with. It makes me sad when I look at my wedding pictures and angry at how much money I spent to be treated so badly. Cons: Wrong flowers, wrong colors, rude service more

As an extremely disappointed customer of Botanika, I was interested to see that over a four year period this horrible florist received NINE ratings of a single star, but on just one day in November 2009, received THREE ratings of five stars. Seems like carefully orchestrated damage control to me. My frustrating experience was similar to previous comments. It included a missing arrangement, sloppy presentation, and last-minute delivery. I fully agree with the single star reviews. Poor service, no attention to what the customer wants, arrogance, over-promising and under-delivering. Oh - and did I mention LATE to the event? There definitely seems to be a pattern here. My single star is because this florist does actually does do some creative work. However, if the creativity doesn't match the expectations and requests of the paying customer, is it truly creative? Or is it like going to a salon with pictures of an elegant hairstyle and walking out with an edgy design not at all similar to what was requested? At least in the case of the salon, the customer would be present and able to challenge the variations to plan as they are made. In the case of Botanika, the customer is forced to accept whatever is prepared offsite and delivered at the last minute, much too late to make any changes. The icing on my cake (another pun intended) was the haughty attitude that I had somehow been unclear about what I wanted and that she, as the ar-TISTE, had to come up with ideas to supplement my vagueness. Not so. And if there had been questions, wouldn't a phone call have been a better solution? If this florist cared as much about her business and all customers as she apparently does about her online image and the three customers who raved about her, possibly there wouldn't be a problem. As it is, I would never even consider using Botanika again. There are too many other excellent options. Pros: There are plenty of other florists around Cons: Bad service, bad manners more

I used Melissa White and refered her to clients. She is the best Florist in Town very creative. I work with Corporate a lot and will refer her to my Clients anytime.\r I can not believe this negative comments. Melissa is known in the community she is a woman of integrety.\r Melissa you are the best keep up the good job. Pros: Very Creative more

I knew by looking at the photos that Botanika Flowers had the style and artistry I wanted for my wedding, and Melissa White exceeded every expectation! My husband and I were just married in Boerne, TX and had a very specific look we wanted that would encompass the beauty and elegance for our hill country wedding. We selected an assortment of colors, flowers, berries, and greenery, and ordered several arrangements in addition to our traditional wedding florals. I saw our flowers for the first time on our wedding day and almost choked up! They were breathtaking! They possessed the artistry I wanted-every piece of the bouquets/arrangements were strategically placed to look natural and complimentary of the surrounding flowers. The colors were warm and absolutely gorgeous! I felt confidence as I walked down the aisle with these flowers, and it didn’t stop there! The floral arrangements and candlescapes at the reception were the only color we had at the reception. We decided on simple white linens and depended on the flowers to give us the burst of color we needed for the reception. Melissa delivered!!! I was SO HAPPY and relieved that they turned out to be even more beautiful than we expected! Also, these flowers have staying power! Every one of our guests had to travel to our wedding. I gave arrangements to my Mom, my Mom-In-Law, my neice, sister, and the Deacon who married us. My husband and I also kept a couple arrangements for ourselves. We are going on five days after the wedding, we’ve traveled across the state of Texas, and these flowers still look fresh and vibrant!! I will ALWAYS go to Melissa at Botanika flowers for my professional custom floral needs! \r One last thing – Melissa went above what one would expect from a floral vendor on many occasions. She made things so much easier for me, and I appreciate the attention she gave to me and my needs during my wedding planning. I had some hurdles to cross, and she improvised to make things as worry free as possible for me. She exudes professionalism and grace along with her talents! My husband and I both are very grateful! She is a pleasure to work with! If you like the photos of her work, you are in for a treat! The real thing is so much better, and she will be someone you will be inspired to do business with again!\r Pros: Gorgeous, high quality flowers and supplies! Cons: NONE!!! more

I have to say that as a member of the local business community Melissa Whites/ Botanika is one of the BEST Florists in town. Our community, Brides, Business's etc are very lucky to have such an Altruistic individual who has such a strong business ethic and an amazing creative talent. I have contracted with Melissa for several years now and for several events from Corporate to Weddings/Brides and have had absolutely no negative feedback. \r As I searched this site I have to admit that I was amazed on what was being written and conveyed about Melissa and Botanika. Its a shame to see such negativity about Melissa who has worked very hard to build a business while also giving back to the community very generously. \r \r Cheers to Melissa White/ Botanika~ A truly amazing individual who will ALWAYS be suggested for my Brides/Clients. Pros: Creativity, Follow Through, overall AMAZING more

I understand why there are so many post on this woman. She should be ashamed of herself. She's ruined people's weddings, including mine. My husband and I paid a great deal of money for her services and nothing was right... not my bouquet, the table arrangements, the candles, and she used cheap flowers in place of my specialty roses. The whole floral decor was done in very poor taste, and ALL of the flowers were closed. Either this woman has no talent at being a florist and truely thinks she is good, or she is just plain money hungry. She made me regret ever spending money on a wedding. I poured my heart and soul into the design and dreamed of the decor for a yr or longer, and the day did not live up because of her. My husband and I worked very hard to earn the money to pay for this wedding and we were extremely disappointed. Im surprised this woman is even in business. This florist will assure you everything will be perfect but what she really means is that she will perfectly profit from you as much as she can. I paid for a mercedes and got a 1991 buick. I sympathize with any bride who has used her as a florist. I'm sorry ladies. My heart goes out to you. Cons: Everything more

Terrible, terrible ... a thousand times terrible. When planning our relatively small wedding and dinner, we were very specific about what we wanted for the wedding party, room decor, etc. Price, design, colors, timing of delivery ... all was discussed in detail. What we received was nothing like what was promised or expected, so we can only assume that she a) wasn't listening, b) forgot, or c) decided to do her own thing regardless. None of these are acceptable options. Examples: The bridal bouquet was short and round (the shape which I had emphatically said I did NOT want) and looked like a stubby knob of flowers topped off with cheap, tacky silvery-glittery-FAKE leaves directly from WalMart. Absolutely, horribly ugly. And, as discovered the next morning, filled with weevils. Did the flowers come out of someone's not-well-fumigated yard? Disgusting beyond imagination. Into the trash it went. The table decorations, which were supposed to be in generous 10"" or 12"" round containers, were actually quite pretty, but were in 4"" square containers which were WAY too small for the tables of 8 at our dinner. They were embarrassingly skimpy. The ""nosegays"" which were to be next to each placecard were simply tiny snips of the leftovers from the centerpieces. No ribbon, no nothing. Just scraps of flowers on the table, for which we were charged $1.50 each. Unbelievable. The room decorations looked like floral stems purchased in bulk and shoved into containers ... terra cotta flower pots spray painted green! These were delivered still damp; maybe she sprayed them in the van or parking lot? We were also shorted one set of lapel flowers for the gentlemen. There were no apologies, just a huff. And finally, she showed up ALONE at 5:25 for a 6 pm wedding!! Having a florist setting up as the guests began to arrive? What?? When challenged about her products and service (LOL!) after the fact, she said we should have mentioned it before the event so she could have done something about it. And just when might we have had a chance to do that? As we were walking down the aisle? In short, we would NEVER recommend Botanika to anyone for any occasion. The lack of accountability or even concern for the impossibly flawed execution, the arrogance, the unprofessional manner, the disregard for our preferences, the shabby billing ... the list goes on and on. We would have done much better - in presentation, service and price - by using the HEB florist. Botanika reels in unsuspecting victims by parading impressive photos of prior work and talking the big talk, but in reality cannot deliver on any promises made. RUN, don't walk, away from this one. Pros: Ideas SOUND promising Cons: Overpriced, poor service, cannot deliver on promises more

Melissa and her crew ruined the happiest day for me and my family. She was hired 1 year prior to my daughers wedding and was paid in full well in advance of the June 20th wedding. Melissa did not deliver what was requested or paid for and when I contacted her after the wedding she said "":I did not like carnations so I did not make the corsage that way"". It was not her choice. We had numerious meetings with Melissa prior to the wedding and met with her Thurs. before the wedding to review timelines. Flowers were to arrive at 530, they arrived to the hotel at 1230 which I found accidenently. They were dead,not what I ordered and had to be returned to the shop for half attempt at fixing. Melissa said your daughter did not object to the flowers what was the bride to say when her mother was so upset? The yellow roses for the Virgin's presentation were dead and I was so embarressed. The girls flowers were not what I asked for nor were they the same size. My daughter's was to be corsett tied with peals it was not only hand tied. Believe me HEB would have done a better job at half the price. I paid over 1500 and all I have left are pictures I hate and a broken heart. Melissa has no idea how distraught I was. I did call her but it did not accomplish anything all she offered me was a new flower arrangement to the church which I declined. Run far away from her and the shop. I would not recommend her to do flowers for the dog show. She is all fluff and NO Subtance. Not sure how she recieved awards, she will sweat talk you spend time with you give you a bill that is out of this world and deliver NOTHING RUN RUN RUN!!! Pros: seems like she knows the business Cons: poor customer service more

This was my one mistake for my wedding. Having married the man of my dreams, I try not to let this bother me for all eternity. She was an hour late delivering our bouquets and boutanierres. She didn't return emails or phone calls in a timely manner during the planning process. In the end, she ended up adding her own creative flair which ruined the vision I wanted. Her ""creativity"" added colors I didn't want and flowers I didn't want. My photographer highly recommended her and I now know he he was biased. I didn't know they would soon be working out of the same building. I was wrapped up in the planning and should have googled her to find these reviews which are SPOT ON with the problems I had.\r \r Stay away. Her pricing is triple if not higher than other florist...and although when you skimp, you don't always get what you pay for, in this instance, I paid way too much for something I didn't want. Melissa White is one of the rudest wedding vendors I have ever come across. She had nothing to say when I expressed my displeasure and said it was too late to remedy any of the flowers. I asked for a partial refund, when I really deserve a full refund, but there was labor and actual flowers so I was reasonable in my request. She would have nothing of it and has refused even a partial refund.\r \r Future brides and ""eventeurs"": stay way from Botanika and Melissa White. Pros: appears confident in her own ability Cons: her ego gets in the way of delivering what the client asked for more

This person, regrettably, was the florist for my wedding. The flowers were pretty, but she was way overpriced and did not produce what we had discussed at all when it came to decor. I can't say enough how snotty she was, though our photographer recommended her, so we went with her anyway. Some extras on top of flowers she ""created"" for my wedding were several hundred dollars and things I could have made for about $20 with supplies from Hobby Lobby. RIP OFF and arrogance to boot! Pros: pretty flowers Cons: cheap decor, way overpriced, does what she wants, not what you ask for more

I was so disappointed in the services that Botanika provided to my wedding. Up until the wedding communication and meetings went well and I was so confident. My flowers arrived my wedding day and it was all I could do to not cry. I had spent so much time begin so specific about what I wanted and gave her many pictures that were the inspiration for what I wanted. She completely missed my vision- I don't think she has the ability to see pictures and deliver what you want without throwing in some of her personal bright taste. The colors were off, flowers she promised not there, the delivery service was horrible. I do not recommend Botanika. more

With the photos and examples you see of Botanika, one thing is for sure- your flowers will at least be bright and watered. However, after going into extensive detail of the flowers I wanted at my wedding, the owner just generally took those ideas and added a color I specifically said I did NOT want, forgot to bring/make a boutonaire for my brother (a member of the wedding party), many flowers were CLOSED (even on top of the cake as the main decoration!), and to top it all off - she drank herself away at the reception (which she was not invited to) distracting the photographer with chatting, wore white, and was all over my 22-year old cousin! I could handle the flowers and the way they turned out, but the owner's behavior was completely unacceptable. Pros: Local business with bright and watered flowers. Cons: everything else. more

I had a hard time getting a hold of the owner to make an appointment to discuss my wedding. I finally got a call back and made an appointment. She showed up at my work two hours early because she was ""in the neighborhood"". I discussed the details and it took over two weeks to get a proposal from her. The posposal was not what we discussed and more along the lines of what she thought was best for my wedding. WAY OVER BUDGET!! I was so disappointed with the service because she had been recommended by several people in the hospitality industry as well as a wedding website. To make matters worse, I later saw her at a bridal fair, and she acted as if she did not know me. I will never recommend or say anything positive about Melissa White and her company. Pros: Beautiful presentation Cons: Bad follow-up, expensive, customer service more

The driver showed up for our event (a funeral) as the event was ENDING and actually tried to set the flowers up while we were walking away. She was quite rude about it when we confronted her about being late. It is one thing to pay for a service you don't receive and another to pay, not receive it AND be treated rudely in the process! While the owner didn't charge us, there is no undoing the fact that they missed the event...For once in a lifetime events or any event that really matters, I would steer clear of Botanika! Cons: Arrived Late, Rude more