'A disaster': Couple says wedding ruined by decorator who failed to deliver, seek refund

The newlyweds wanted to provide their guests with a dreamy backdrop for snapping photos, but were left disappointed when the event decorator they hired did not deliver — literally.

Now, the couple are seeking a refund from online business wowfloristsg, whom they say made their wedding, which was held at the Carlton Hotel last Saturday (May 25), a "disaster".

In a series of Xiaohongshu posts on Tuesday, the bride, who gave her name only as Tee, called out the vendor for "shirking responsibility" and delaying the refund.

The couple had purchased two packages — a stage backdrop decoration service and a walkway decoration service — which cost $1,176 in total. They paid $940.80 as a deposit.

But Tee told AsiaOne that "90 per cent" of the decorations were not delivered to the hotel. She said that wowfloristsg had only completed the set-up of the photo table, which was a complimentary service that came with the packages.

The 28-year-old HR executive added that discussions with wowfloristsg had been going well — up until a month before her wedding when she started noticing lapses in the service.

The vendor had promised to send the couple a mockup of the photo booth setup, but did not do so.

"She started to drag and gave a lot of nonsensical reasons, and ended up sending me a terrible draft after many days," said Tee, who eventually sent the vendor a sample photo of her ideal set-up.

On the day of the wedding, however, wowfloristsg informed Tee at 5.15pm that the photo backdrop could not be prepared in time as a previous event utilising the decorations had not ended.

The bride was told that the backdrop would only arrive between 7.30pm and 8pm.

Subsequently, the decorator claimed that the backdrop and props could not be delivered as they had gotten wet from the rain.

"Just like that, my wedding was ruined by her. I'm angry because I believe that no one would want to get married for the second time, so there will be no more opportunities for such decorations," said Tee.

"I just want to get my money back and don't want any other newly weds to encounter this."

Tee and her husband lodged a police report on Monday, after wowfloristsg failed to issue them a full refund despite previous assurances.

Tee told AsiaOne she has also approached the Small Claims Tribunals for help, and hopes that more affected couples will file reports.

According to her, another seven or eight couples who had engaged wowfloristsg are in a similar situation.

One affected groom who has also lodged a police report told Shin Min Daily News that the decorator did not show up on time at his wedding ceremony, which was held at Chijmes on May 18.

When the decorator told him she would be an hour late, he told her not to turn up. He and his wife had paid $310.40 as a deposit.

The police confirmed to Shin Min that they have received the reports made by the two couples.

When contacted by AsiaOne, wowfloristsg said that refunds will be made to Tee and her husband.

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com