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Better Business Bureau (BBB) St. Louis advises consumers to use caution if doing business with Cultivate Wildflower, a flower preservation business located in Marionville, Missouri. Some consumers have reported to BBB the company failed to deliver goods in a timely manner, produced substandard goods, failed to communicate, and provided poor customer service.
Cultivate Wildflower has an “F” rating, the lowest on BBB’s scale, due to recent unanswered complaints. The business also has received negative customer reviews. Complainants were recent brides who gave the business their wedding bouquets to preserve.
“A wedding is supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life, but this company has left some brides empty-handed,” said Pamela Hernandez, regional director for the Springfield BBB. “If it can’t do the work it was paid to do, it needs to provide refunds and return the flowers to their customers.”
A woman who formerly lived in Branson, Missouri, told BBB she hired Cultivate Wildflower in August 2022, paying the company nearly $1,150 for two pieces that were to be created from her October 2022 wedding. The woman said she has not received her items from the company and has asked for a full refund.
The woman said the business owner gave her various excuses as to why the items have not been delivered. The woman said she is no longer interested in having the flowers preserved.
“How would I even know if they are my flowers now?” the woman told BBB.
A Kansas City, Missouri, woman told BBB she entered into a contract with Cultivate Wildflower in May 2022, paying the business $675 over several installments. The woman said she was to receive her items by early September 2023. She didn’t receive them until late November 2023.
“(The items) were extremely damaged,” the woman told BBB. “It looked like it was a rush job.”
The woman told BBB Cultivate Wildflower has a clause in its contract that indicated the business could terminate the contract for “any offending behavior.”
“If you threatened (the owner), she could break the contract, keep the money and your flowers,” the woman told BBB. “I made sure not to upset her.”
A woman from Springfield, Missouri, told BBB she didn’t receive her items from Cultivate Wildflower until after she filed complaints with BBB and the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. The woman said what she received was “very poor quality.”
The woman said she entered into a contact with Cultivate Wildflower in the winter of 2022, paying the company $700. She was supposed to receive her items by June 2023, but didn’t receive them until December 31, 2023. The woman said Cultivate Wildflower came highly recommended from vendors she encountered at a bridal show in early 2022.
“Her work on Instagram and Facebook was nice,” the woman told BBB. “But what I received was not done well. I don’t even know if I will display it.”
BBB could not find any record of the business being registered with the Missouri secretary of state. According to a listing on Canva, the business has been in operation since 2018 and is owned and operated by Nicole Kackley.
In an interview with a BBB investigator, Kackley said Cultivate Wildflower was still in business. She said she didn’t think she needed to respond to the BBB complaints and thought they were “like leaving a bad review” for a business. She said that she had delivered items to all of those who had filed complaints with BBB.
According to the business listing on Canva, prices for her services start at $500. The business also markets its services through various social media channels.
The business did not respond to a BBB letter regarding how it plans to address its pattern of customer complaints.
BBB offers these tips on finding trustworthy wedding vendors:
- Research any business and its owners carefully before paying any money. Check the company’s BBB Business Profile at BBB.org or by calling 888-996-3887.
- Gather trusted recommendations. Ask family or friends about companies they have had good experiences with at their weddings. Then research those business.
- Try to contact several different vendors and get estimates from them. Remember that the lowest estimate not always be the best for you depending on your situation.
- Know what’s in the contract. Before paying any money, get the company’s refund and exchange policies in writing. Understand any cancellation policies if you decide you need to cancel.
- If you feel like you have been wronged, file complaints with BBB and the state’s attorney general’s office.
- See BBB's wedding HQ for more tips and resources.
