LITTLE ROCK, Ark – Newlyweds are frustrated after they say they have been ghosted by a Little Rock business owner who preserves wedding bouquets.

“Who thinks that someone is going to scam you for your wedding flowers, right?,” newlywed Ashley Sheridan said.

It’s supposed to be one of the happiest times in your life, but Ashley Sheridan said her honeymoon period has turned into anything but.

“Over 6 months later, it’s just unbelievable at this point,” Sheridan said.

In June of 2022, Sheridan shipped her wedding bouquet to Evermore Design Studio, a flower preservation service based out of Little Rock.

The turnaround time for her display box was estimated at 12 weeks but when August rolled around, Sheridan received an email from the owner pushing her date back to October.

“That was the last time I heard from her,” Sheridan said.

KARK 4 News received several emails from other brides complaining about the owner’s spotty communication and failed promises.

Some brides said they have been waiting for over a year to get their preservations back.

“The fact that I don’t have them or even know if they’re ok or what they even look like, is very frustrating,” Sheridan said.

KARK 4 News reached out to Evermore Design Studio and received an email back from the owner Lauren Schlechte.

In it, was a copy of a letter she sent out to the remaining brides in December saying she had gotten backed up on orders and won’t be taking anymore. She also promised to provide weekly updates to the brides each Sunday.

“I haven’t heard an update, and no one else has that I know of,” Sheridan said.

Schlechte said she’s hopeful to have all orders completed by March and is offering refunds to customers.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Sheridan said.

As the days pass, more said they are hoping to have their flowers back in their hands again, a momentum they’re hoping isn’t gone forever.

Schlechte has also received several complaints on the Better Business Bureau website. She said she will continue to update all customers on the progress of their items.

Following this story’s airing, our station received this statement from Evermore Design Studio owner Lauren Schlechte: 

“When I started this business 2 years ago, I was extremely excited to bring a new unique option for preserving wedding memories to brides in Arkansas, and across the country. At the time, casting a bouquet in resin was a new form of art, and I never would have imagined how quickly prospective brides would pick up on the trend. Throughout the first year of business, I was able to provide over 100 brides and their families with special items containing portions of their bridal bouquets in as little as 12 weeks. As business started to grow and I started to learn more about how other companies offering the same service were operating, I realized that a 12 week turnaround time was unsustainable. In February of 2022, I updated the turnaround time to reflect the industry standard of 6-8 months. I wanted to be sure that the expectation was set, while still having intentions of turning around projects as quickly as possible. In April of 2022, I realized that I was in danger of overbooking and completely ceased all marketing efforts and closed down shop for new orders. I’ve spent the better half of the past year fully focused on fulfilling orders that had been confirmed prior to April of 2022. While the majority of my clients have been extremely patient and understanding, I do acknowledge how frustrating it is to continually have the completion date of a project pushed back, especially when it is something as sentimental as preserved flowers. In light of that, I have offered refunds throughout the past year for any clients that have been upset with the process. Depending on the state of the project, I have offered different solutions including the completion of some projects in full out of my own pocket, or returning the dried flowers to the client so they can have the project completed by another artist. While I have had a handful of projects extend past the 6-8 month turnaround, the vast majority have been completed in that timeframe. Of the clients listed in the original story, 2 projects have been refunded in full and I currently have plans to ship one order this weekend. The other client has requested that her dried flowers be returned to her, so we are in the process of arranging that. The other 2 clients listed are both still currently within their 6-8 month turnaround time. Regardless of this, both brides have been offered full refunds and both have requested that their projects be completed instead. In December of 2022, I notified all remaining clients that I intended to have all projects completed by the end of March 2023 and would be closed for business after completing all remaining projects. While I regret the extended turnaround times and miscommunications, I’m looking forward to wrapping things up with my remaining projects and providing my clients the priceless memories I have provided for over 200 brides during my time in business.”