Karen Tran Florals

Karen Tran does gorgeous work, there is no denying that. Her work is also very «cookie cutter» all her weddings look the same. I can’t see the couples personality, except that they have great taste and a big budget. I like to go to weddings and look around and feel like «okay this is the couple– whether its a 100k or 15k wedding, usually you can always tell a lot about a couple through the décor of their wedding.
Another thing I don’t like is how pushy she is! When I told her my budget (which was a nice good budget) she simply said I would have to up my budget because photographers alone start at around 15k! I believe that some do but not all. I wasn’t going to pay for a 15k photographer, but I know you can get a great photographer for about 5k. If I would have went with KT I would have not been able to choose any of my terrific vendors and I would have had just another signature KT wedding, when we wanted the wedding to have our signature and style. I
Back to my budget, she not only told me I needed to go up a couple hundred grand– yes you heard that right, but she also tried to convince me to a destination wedding, when she knew I wanted to be married in San Diego because I knew my grandma can’t fly. I think having a destination wedding is great, but it is also something YOU and your FIANCE want as soon they start planning. Not get it pushed on them because it will be «nicer» according to your FLORIST, self proclaimed wedding planner.
Before there was even a contract in place she started calling all her contacts in Hawaii and some in San Diego (probably just to shut me up) but each Venue I thought of, she would say something negative about it– like it doesn’t seem like your vision, which I know really meant it wasn’t her vision. Mind you these were nice venues like the grand del mar and L’auburgue (did I spell that right) those are gorgeous venues, breathtaking gorgeos and not cheap at all! When I mentioned I wanted to work with a specific planner– she said no because they don’t agree with how she works. I wonder why? Oh, maybe because they know KT pushes couples to spend way more than couples want to on floral and design and she basically wants to be in full charge, which is fine but I wasn’t going to allow that during the planning process. She doesnt even have «wedding planner/​coordinator» on her website, so why would she expect me to give my wedding to her completely. I was way more comfortable with hiring an actual planner, who is all about planning the actual event. Oh and when I considered having a destination wedding for about 5 minutes she said lets fly out there to check out the venues. I said maybe ill have to think about. She replied well you think Ill book us in the four seasons in Maui, can I have your information, so we don’t lose reservations. What?! Did she think I was rich? And able to just pick up and fly not only myself but her to hawaii and pay for all our expenses and our stays at the Four Seasons! After that, I stopped responding to her because I realized no matter what i say she won’t do my wedding if its not her way. Even though I was willing to work with her minimum, I knew she would still say no. She takes a percantage out of the total you spend with her, so I knew she just wanted to make a whole lot more than a couple thousand dollars off of us.
I have heard stories where she did work as just a florist/​designer as long as they met her minimum of 15k in San Diego, which is why I contacted her to begin with. I guess she heard my budget and figured I could spend 100s of thousands with no problem– wrong! Even if I had an unliimited budget I would never spend 500k on a wedding for 100 people, in San Diego. I mean with 50−100k budget for 100 people will get you a VERY nice wedding in San Diego. I wished we would have seen eye to eye. As soon as I contacted her she decided we were working together. No contract, nothing. Just a bunch of her being pushy and trying to force me to have a wedding that I did not want. I wouldn’t even know how to spend 500k on a wedding for 100 people in San Diego. It would be a whole lot of floral and designing and even with the the best food and open bar, not to forget the venue alone, which usually goes hand in hand with food and beverages, a good photographer and videographer, an officiant, cake, hair and make up dress, rings etc it would still come out way under 500k. IMO.
Sorry for my rant– it’s just sad she is so talented, but wants everyone to spend more than they can or prefer and that is just bad business. In the wedding industry it is very important to understand and respect a bride and grooms budget and must haves.

I just had a conversation with Ms. Tran, and she really left me with a bad taste in my mouth. She managed to make me feel bad about my wedding location, my budget, and all of my ideas. She said she charges 10k at the minimum. Then I told her some of my ideas, and she just said ‘if I can’t do it right, I won’t do it.’ She wouldn’t even talk me through why my ideas wouldn’t work, or suggest better alternatives. Lastly when discussing my location and guest count, she said ’ that location really looks better with more people than you have’. Well, I already put down my deposit so the nice thing would have been to keep her mouth shut or suggest ways to improve the way it looked. Instead she was negative, curt, and unhelpful to say the least. I just looked through her pictures again and while the images are nice, she really just does the same things over and over again. I suggest looking to someone who enjoys making people happy. Avoid a service industry professional with an ego the size of Rhode Island.

Even if you have a great product (or so it seems from pictures), good customer service and professionalism are principles that will make your business successful.
I had contacted Karen after seeing some photos of her work and this is what every bride-​to-​be does when you’re planning a wedding, to see what fits in your budget and what doesn’t. Well, Karen replied promptly the first few times until I told her my budget (over 10% of my wedding cost) and I guess that was too little for her because she stopped replying entirely. She’s very unprofessional and I’m actually glad we’re not working with her because if she can be unprofessional over minor things, imagine if something like this happens on your wedding day!

I went to a meeting with Karen and we discussed décor for almost an hour for my wedding. She never sent me an estimate or quote as she said she would, she also tried to force other vendors on me such as a photographer or the person to create my invitations. She said I needed a photographer she approved of so she would have good pictures in case they were in a magazine. She doesn’t listen to what you want. I am not huge on the florals themselves, I like candles and such, but she insisted on creating the décor totally based on her florals. Don’t go to her unless: a) you want to be pushed around, and b) you want to waste you time meeting her only for her to forget (or ignore) sending you a quote. Waste of time.

Karen Tran florals is as good as it gets.
STUNNING. BREATHTAKING. ORIGINAL. It’s no wonder that Karen Tran Florals has been featured in just about every wedding publication out there — –her work is amazing!
KTF offers much more than just floral design — –they are truly a one-​stop-​shop in terms of designing your wedding day décor –, from linens, to lighting… china to custom dance floors, and of course gorgeous florals, KTF is all a bride and groom need to ensure a perfect wedding day.

I could not be happier with the flowers from our wedding — Karen did an amazing job! We got married at the Prado and our reception was in the Grand Ballroom. We needed really dramatic, big statement centerpieces for our tables and Karen more than delivered. The flowers and table décor were more than stunning and completely blew us away. Our guests are still talking about how gorgeous our flowers were! We cannot thank Karen enough for bringing our vision to life and I would definitely recommend her to any other brides. Thank you Karen!

Karen was one of the 1^st artists I looked into and was pleased from day one! Her amazing eye and view on what would work completely amazed my mom and I. My husband and I got married at the Hotel Del Coronado in July 2010 and I don’t know what I would have done if it was not for the beautiful flowers and décor provided by Karen and her team! When we had first met I told her I had wanted a peonies in my bouquet but around our wedding they were not in season, two days before the wedding Karen called me personally to let me know she had found some and wondered if I still wanted them instead of my second choice. She also put way more into our ceremony on the beach and our beautiful reception in the coronet room then we could ever had imagined! My husband and I got the unique chance to look at the reception room before anyone else and as we walked into the room our jaws dropped with amazement at how beautiful everything was! To this day people still talk about how beautiful our wedding was, and Karen was a major role in that!
Thank you so much Karen for your beautiful vision! There is no one else I would have rather wanted to work with!

I had the sincere pleasure of working and collaborating with Karen Tran on my wedding in November of 2009 at La Valencia in LaJolla, CA. I live in Las Vegas and Karen and I had our first meeting to discuss my overall vision in Las Vegas while she was attending a convention. Karen is not only personable and beautiful but she completely understood my vision and carried it to the ultimate level. She is a true artist in every sense of the word. Karen and her team provided the floral and décor for my glamorous vintage inspired wedding. My wedding has been featured on several wedding websites and in print publications. My wedding guests continue to talk about the beautiful florals and décor to this day.
Thank you Karen for making my wedding so completely memorable!
Darby Fitzpatrick-​Reber

Karen Tran is AMAZING! Her work is beyond beautiful and she pays attention to every detail. We were married Nov. 2009 and we started working with Karen about 8 months before the wedding. She was extremely easy to work with and does care about staying within your budget. Karen simply wants to give you the most amazing wedding/​event possible.
Our wedding was the most amazing day and we owe so much of that to Karen. As the bride, I was super busy with work the month before the wedding and I knew that I could trust her make decisions about colors, florals, etc because she has amazing taste. I listened to all of her suggestions because she knows what is going to look the best in the space provided. Our wedding was beautiful — it was so romantic and the atmosphere was perfect. You could hear people making oohs and ahhs as they entered the dining room. Karen worked with us and our budget to make our wedding the most spectacular day of our lives. She pays attention to every detail and is more than willing to help with other aspects of the wedding planning. It is clear that she loves what she does and just loves making every event beautiful.
We received so many compliments on our wedding. I would recommend every girl use Karen for her wedding. She will help to make it the best day of your life. Karen Tran Florals are not just flower arrangements, they are an art.

My mother used to do floral designs for the Waldorf Astoria in New York– and she was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by Karen’s floral and event décor at my wedding this past December. Karen worked within the color scheme that my husband and I imagined for our winter wedding at the Santaluz Club, and our guests were no short of AMAZED by all of the flowers at our ceremony, cocktail, and reception (including the bouquets, boutonnieres, petal path, pillars, table centerpieces, tablescapes); additionally, the vases, crystals, and candles made our centerpieces look so elegant and rich. It is now two months later, and still we are receiving compliments about the flowers from friends and family who attended! When people say that our wedding is the nicest wedding they’ve ever attended, we believe them– because Karen’s creations and eye are unmatched… and for our wedding, she used the most exquisite florals (many of which had to be imported) to create the perfect tone and mood– (warm but vibrant!) She and her staff worked day and night the week of. to make everything look perfect… And it was!!!
We initially met Karen in July and during the six months of preparation, Karen was extremely professional and punctual in returning emails and calls, meeting with us, and offering helpful advice and suggestions, not only for the florals but for the overall décor, and also in giving us ideas for other little touches to make our event really special and unique. We hired her for wedding coordination and floral services and she did not disappoint. The day went smoothly, everything looked gorgeous, and even the staff at the Santaluz kept saying that this was the nicest event that they had ever seen at their club!
We were extremely pleased with the process and result of working with Karen Tran — her florals designs are WORTH EVERY PENNY!!! And by the way I don’t think there is anything wrong with telling your vendors what your budget is; if they are good honest people who are passionate about what they do (like Karen), they will want to make you happy and help you stay within budget but make the most of your money!
Check out our wedding on her blog; her work is INCREDIBLE!!!

I met with Karen last week, and she was very sweet and personable. But for for weddings, she charges 25% of your overall budget. So the higher your budget, the larger «cut» she takes from you. I believe that a vendor should charge for their services and/​or products, not charge by means of a tax. It is up to the bride and groom to decide the percentage they would like to spend; and our budgets are our business! Never tell a vendor (with the exception of your planner) what your total budget is. It’s completely out of line for them to ask. Every wedding guide I have looked at suggests that you allocate approx. 10% of your budget for flowers and extras (flowers, linens, lighting). 25% is ridiculous, because 50% will go towards the reception venue. So how do you pay for a band/​dj, dress, photographer, etc. Ridiculous!