Day-of, your bouquet shows up with flowers that are not what you ordered. The florist is apologetic, mentions the wholesale market, and moves on. What are you actually entitled to?
It depends on the substitution clause
Almost every wedding florist contract has a substitution clause that looks roughly like: "Due to seasonal and market availability, florist reserves the right to substitute flowers of equal or greater value and quality." Two things to check:
- Was the substitution notified in advance? Most reasonable clauses require 48–72 hours written notice. If you got a "sorry, no peonies" day-of, that is a breach of the notice requirement even if the substitution itself was allowed.
- Was it "equal or greater value"? Peonies wholesale at $6–12/stem in Dallas-Fort Worth''s April market. Standard white roses are $1.50–3/stem. A peony-for-rose swap is not equal value.
Photographic evidence is your friend
Your photographer''s images of the day are the best record of what you received. Request the photos specifically of the bouquet, centerpieces, and installation work — these will be the exhibit in any dispute.
The realistic remedy
- Partial refund proportional to the cost gap. If peonies were 40% of the bouquet cost and were replaced with an item worth 15% of that, the fair refund is roughly the difference on that portion.
- Delivery fee waiver for process failure.
- Rarely: full refund. Only if the florals were substantively unusable.
What florists typically agree to without a fight: 10–25% refund on the affected items, delivered via Zelle or original payment method within 30 days. If you are being pushed below that, push back with the contract language and a polite reminder that DTPA exposure exists.
What to do in the moment
- Do NOT refuse delivery. You need the flowers. Accept them, take photos, note the discrepancies in writing to the florist same-day.
- Do NOT let them replace "on the fly" without written authorization of the revised terms.
- DO keep the receipt copy and any email confirming the original order details.
Sources: general Texas contract-remedy principles via Texas State Law Library — Consumer Protection.