Bride upset after Orlando flower shop closes

Email says Jonathan's Flowers going out of business, not giving refunds

ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orlando flower shop went out of business over the weekend and told their customers it is not giving refunds for wedding flowers, including if you made a deposit or paid in full.

News 6 spoke to one very unhappy bride-to-be.

"I feel like cheated on almost like how could he do that to me?" said Stephanie Ganio.

Ganio received an email Friday from Jonathan's Flowers, stating, “the business is filing corporate bankruptcy and no prior or future orders will be filled and no refunds.”

"What did you think when you saw that?" asked News 6 Eryka Washington.

"I thought it was a joke! I thought it was spam. And I immediately replied to it because that was his business email," said Ganio.

But it was no joke.

In June, Ganio signed a detailed contract and paid in full $433 for her wedding flowers.

"I showed my fiancé and I was like 'I don't know what to do.' And it wasn't even 'oh my gosh, we don't have flowers… it was oh my gosh, we are this much money out!'" said Ganio.

News 6 went to Jonathans Flowers in Winter Park hoping to get results, knocking on the doors, but no one answered the door or our phone calls. Washington looked inside the store and it was cleaned out, with the shelves empty and furniture gone.

News 6 checked and Ganio is not alone. Customer after customer shared their story on review websites, explaining how they too were ripped off. Many said they paid a deposit and want their money back.

Ganio said there were no signs business was bad when she was there in June.

"Someone was asking me 'did you go there?' Yeah, I think it was my sister who asked me, it was a fully functioning florist.  People were coming and going he had another couple waiting there as well," said Ganio.

Ganio and her fiancé have time to find a new florist since their wedding is in February, but Ganio has a message for the owner, Jonathan Brown.

"I would tell him I’m really disappointed," said Ganio.

News 6 did some digging and found state records show owner Jonathan W. Brown has had a registered florist business since 2004.

News 6 was able to get some results for brides. The Coffee Garden Florist is offering discounts for brides affected by the Jonathan's Flowers closing. Visit their website or call Joyce at 407-451-1284 for more information.


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