Gillian Marie Flower Shoppe And Event Design

My experience was very poor, similiar to what you experienced JULIET D.
My wedding was in 08, and I never felt like writing my review, becuase to this day it still upsets me that my flowers were a huge dissapointment.
To be brief: they were horribly cheap looking, looked thrown together, looked like childrens crafts (the way the ribbon was glued on the bouquets, the flowers were in poor shape, died and wilted by the end of my ceremony, the mens flowers-​well most of the groomsmens flowers fell apart by the end of the church, my bouqet was tiny!!! looked like the bridesmaids bouqets, and the table settings well for 90/​a table, it was VERY Minimal.)
POSITIVE FEEDBACK– the centerpieces looked Okay, it wasnt a complete disaster, but I felt WAY OVERCHARGED for what the centerpieces looked like, and for the quality of the bouqets and boutiners (sp?).
Gillian got to my house VERY LATE becuase she got lost or couldnt find it. ITs not a hard house to find and in her job, that should be the last thing to happen (esp w gps, smartphones, etc). I didnt say anything the day of, because it was an overwhelming day and I WAS LATE to church bc of her and was rushing.
When I spoke to her about my dissatisfaction– I was shocked at how defensive and argumentative she was. I mean, even if i was wrong, treat your customer with respect, obviously i was unhappy so to argue that you felt you did a great job is very egotistical.
HER FATHER recommeneded me (i used to work for him) I had high expecations for what she would be delivereing. BIG MISTAKE, there are MANY OTHER QUALIFIED FLORISTS WITH MORE EXPERIENCE than gillian. SHE IS YOUNG and lack professionalism and experience.
(I’d be more than happy to post pics for anyone to see)

Gillian did an awesome job at our wedding. My bride was very pleased, and most importantly for us, I didn’t have to think about it. I’ve attached some pictures from our big day and I’ll let them speak for the quality of her work.

I absolutely loved working with Gillian Marie Event Design. Gilian herself is extremely helpful and creative. The quality of the flowers are amazing… some even being shipped in from outside the U.S. which is worth every penny. My flowers were gorgeous and would not hesitate to use her again in the future or refer her to friends. I was extremely pleased and flowers came just as I had asked… maybe even a little prettier :) Thanks Gillian!

Not the best, to be honest. I spoke with several florists in the East Bay and selected Gillian to create the bouquets, boutonnières, corsages, and garland (for the arch) for my wedding. Gillian has a nice aesthetic, which I appreciate (+ 1 star), and the bridesmaids bouquets, groomsmen/​parent boutonnières, parent corsages, and arch looked great (+ 1 star).
My bridal bouquet and my husband’s boutonnière, however, were a complete disaster (- 1 star). I wanted a very simple bouquet of dark red mini calla lilies, and the first thing I noticed when I saw my bouquet resting in the basket that Gillian brought was a bent stem, just below the flower. After I picked up the bouquet, the flower flopped over so that it was perpendicular to the rest of the bouquet. I had to hold the bouquet really high, just below the flowers, to keep the stem from bending. I tried not to let it bother me during the wedding, but I realized just how ridiculous it looks to hold a bouquet that high when I saw my wedding photos. My husband’s boutonnière, also a dark red mini calla lily, was even worse. After the ceremony, I noticed that the color from his boutonnière was actually peeling off, like it had been painted dark red, and the calla lily was basically half red and half white. It looked terrible! Eventually, we broke off my already broken stem and inserted the flower into his boutonnière holder. It was a little crooked, but my bouquet and his boutonnière looked infinitely better.
I mentioned these issues to Gillian after the wedding, and her response was disappointing (- 1 star for customer service). Essentially, she downplayed the issue and treated my bouquet and my husband’s boutonnière as if they were trivial components of our wedding flowers. She added that she would have fixed the weak stem in my bouquet if she had known – I question her attention to detail, as the bent stem was literally the first thing I saw and something a professional should catch even with just a glance – and she ignored completely the issue with the boutonnière.
Brides and grooms, there are many florists in the Bay Area, and with Gillian, I definitely didn’t get what I paid for (- 1 star for poor value). My very simple bouquet of 8 mini calla lilies tied with some ribbon was $ 170 – over $ 20/​stem, one of which was broken. Try instead Karl Eckel of Delford West Flowers or, for those on a tighter budget, Janet at the Safeway in Dublin. My sister was also really happy with her flowers from Jacklyn Le of Le Bouquetier, but I recall her quote being rather expensive. Good luck!

Absolutely. Positively. Perfect.
Gillian did all the flowers for my brother’s wedding in September. She did everything from the boquet to the center pieces on the tables at the reception. I’ve been to many a wedding in my life, and I am a very picky person when it comes to just about anything. BUT, I could not find a flaw with anything that Gillian produced for my brother’s special day.
The flowers: Gorgeous, fresh, imported yet inexpensive. The boquets held up all day, both for us bridesmaids and for the bride. The ceremony was at 10 am, and the reception lasted all day. By the end of the party the flowers had hardly wilted and were still stunning and fresh-​looking in all the photos.
The table-​pieces: I cant rave about this enough. It was the classiest, most old fashioned, divine combination of flowers and silver. Gillian filled silver candelabras with red roses, hydrangea, and eucalyptus. The flowers were dripping out of the silver pieces, and sparkled under the softness of the candle light. People were ooohing and ahhhing as they walked into the ballroom and saw the perfection that Gillian created in there.
Customer Service: Gillian showed up at the crack of dawn to the hotel where we were all getting ready. She brought us champagne, and delivered everything with a smile on her face. When the bride saw the boquet, she absolutely loved it. Gillian told her that she had a last minute thought that adding sage to both the bridal and the bridesmaid’s boquet might be a nice touch, and that its supposed to bring good luck. The bride and I loved this idea, and Gillian spent an hour before the ceremony working on perfecting the boquets. She was right, they were gorgeous. We were very impressed that Gillian took the extra step here, where most florists would drop the flowers off and be on their way.
I have recommended Gillian to every single bride that I know. At the age of 26, there’s a lot of brides to be in my life, and I’m sure that Gillian will be incredibly busy in the coming year.

Gillian is great! I decided to have her not only do my wedding flowers but my engagement party and shower also. The flowers for my engagement party turned out amazing! It was beautiful. She listened to what I wanted and used her expertise to create incredible flower arrangements. She is so easy and very fun to work with too. I can’t wait to see the flowers at my wedding!!!

Gillian is truly fabulous with flowers. Her bouquets were simply extraordinary and she has so much attention to detail. She’s also just a really friendly person. I can’t recommend Gillian highly enough for wedding floral work.
Oh, and book her fast before she gets really expensive.