Wedding Planner Botanica Weddings

Our wedding has been in the planning for 4 years, Ian and Brett where able to pick up where we left off pre, COVID19. IT WAS EVERYTHING AND MORE WE COULD IMAGINE from the venue, food and all the fine details, nothing was not achievable. From 85 guest, our family and Friends could not speak highly enough on how Botanica and team where able to manage such a large guest list. Jarred and I will always have timeless memories of family and friends coming together to celebrate our Wedding Day. Thank you, Botanica Team, Ian, and Brett, for making our dreams come true and ever lasting memories.

My partner and I had the unpleasant experience of dealing with Botanica Weddings.
When we decided to go ahead with this company, we were dealing with Brett Woodhouse. Brett initially sold us the dream; he told us everything we wanted to hear and locked us in with the company. When things began to turn pear shaped, he was no longer helpful.
In February only 5 months out from our wedding, the Venue we chose had sadly cancelled our booking as they were temporarily closing. We were not notified by Botanica about the closure of our venue till May (3 months after the closure and only 2 months before our big day).
Botanica knew about the closure and continued to take our Monthly payments throughout this time with no communication with us.
As you can imagine, hearing our dream venue was no longer operating was extremely upsetting and stressful. But the fact our paid planners managed to ‘forget’ to tell us this information 2 months out from our Wedding was the most gut-wrenching part.
After hearing this, we reached out to the Venue to try find out more information to understand what was going on.
In May, Caroline (the CEO) reached out via email to help us find a new venue. We had to stay with Botanica or we would have lost all money we had already given them as per their contract. Caroline asked us to forward all communication we had with the Venue and reassured us Botanica would follow up to get our deposit back since the Venue confirmed they would be liable to return the money. After leaving the conversation at that, we never heard back from Caroline. We left it in the ‘capable’ hands of Botanica to retrieve the money.
Now we fast forward two months… only 2 weeks till our wedding, we were hit with a ‘variation letter’ from Botanica dated back in APRIL asking us to pay ANOTHER deposit for the monies lost to the first venue. This came to us as an enormous shock. Until then, we were told by the CEO that there would be no further payments required. The email being dated back in April was proof that Botanica knew about the closure and just shows their lack of organisation and care as a company.
Botanica were completely unapologetic and had no sympathy toward the situation. We were only 2 weeks out from our Wedding and important things were still not organised or booked. Our base planner cancelled numerous Zoom meetings with us due to being ‘busy’ or having ‘time of the month’ pain – the entire process was horrific.
We contacted our planner AND Caroline numerous times stating we were not going to sign the letter as this letter said we still had a balance owing since it was created months ago. By the time they sent it to us there was no outstanding balance on our end – we continuously asked them for an updated letter, everybody ignored us.
Now, ONE DAY before our flight to Bali: Caroline asked our planner to call us and demand the money or they would not go ahead with our wedding which was in 4 DAYS. We were backed into a corner and blackmailed for another payment of 7K, even though we had been chasing an updated letter which was never sent. The week leading up to our wedding was hell and, there was no remorse on Botanica’s behalf.
Of course, we had to pay again. We were ONLY 1 DAY out from flying to Bali with our family and friends.
On the day of the wedding;
- Brett was supposed to be our MC, but he chose not to show. They replaced Brett with another person to host our wedding that we had never seen or spoken to.
- 20 minutes before the ceremony when guests had arrived the flowers down the alter had not arrived, the table setting had multiple mistakes and our cake looked like it was about to fall.
After the wedding we also had threats from our photographers that they would not release our pictures as Botanica had not paid them yet…. The list goes on and now I am exhausted typing.
Our experience was horrible. Don’t book through Botanica.

We hired the Botanica team pre-covid and had to postpone our wedding twice. They were professional and fair throughout the process. We had our dream wedding on the beach and the day was perfect from start to finish. We would highly recommend the botanica team! Thanks Chelsea & Ben

I wanted to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude for the exceptional contribution from Botanica Weddings on our wedding day. Brett, Ian, Venia, Lana and all Botanica and Royal Pita Maha team.truly made our day so magical, and we couldn't have been more delighted with their services, they went above and beyond ensuring that every moment was perfect. Our wedding was the most beautiful and magical day of our lives. Thank you so much.

Botanica Weddings exceeded all expectations! We were due to be married in 2020 but due to covid we had to postpone and we eventually got married in May 2023. Right from the start we knew we picked the right wedding planner, at the start of the planning process we dealt with Brett who was fantastic he called us and spoke with us for about an hour talking us through every detail, due to the three year postponement we had three different wedding planners who were all amazing, Talitha, Jo and finally Helmi who took over the planning about six weeks out from our wedding and did an amazing job, planning an overseas wedding could be a very stressful thing to take on but we we felt the total opposite they had everything little detail planned out and our wedding day was honestly the best day of our lives we cannot thank them enough, all their vendors were great, the food was beautiful. The day of the wedding Brett and Helmi arrived about 10am and the day just flowed so smoothly, these guys are great at what they do. If you are planning a destination wedding in Bali these are the guys you will want to plan your wedding.

The team at Botanica Weddings created a day that was above and beyond anything we ever expected. It was the wedding of our dreams, of our guests dreams.

From day one, with the planning. It was so streamlined, easy and simple to do. Our wedding planner, Lana was absolutely amazing and always ready to help. She helped adapt the day to our needs and wants.

We got married at the Waterfall, at the Royal Pita Maha in Ubud. It is a phenomenal location. The greenery, the water, the temples. We had canapés and games down by the river, where we also got photos with our guests.

The Royal Processional is something I will hold in my heart forever. It is utterly stunning and a beautiful story. There is something so special about walking up the driveway surrounded by chanting and the magical way the fire dances.

The reception was so heart warming and lovely. They set up everything so perfectly. It was like walking into a fairytale. We dancing the night away under the lights hanging in the trees. The DJ they organised was so much fun. Everyone was so happy, there was so much laughter and happiness. The sparkler farewell was beautiful. Our friends and family are still raving about it.

Thank you so much for the wedding of our dreams. We are so glad we used your company and wouldn't have changed a thing.

From beginning to end, Botanica weddings worked with me and my fiancé to deliver a destination wedding experience that exceeded every single one of our expectations! Starting with the actual booking process, we were able to make our selections via a series of zoom video calls that made the process easy and stress-free as possible. We definitely went into the process knowing that we would have a lot of value for what we were actually paying. Then the planning process with Jo was aware everything came together. She worked with us, our crazy schedule, eclectic taste, and was patient and very helpful throughout the entire process. Any questions that we had were promptly answered and we felt as if we had our hands held throughout the entire process.

When we finally touched down in Bali, experience only continued from there. She was able to confirm the details when I change the vendors, and even helped with finding lodging for our family. The wedding they experience was also second to mom! More beautiful and extravagant when we could’ve imagined! From a fire dance ceremony, to being catered to by the staff at the Royal Pita Maja, We truly felt and lived the luxury experience that we have dreamed of. Would recommend the team to anybody wishing to have a wedding in Bali!

Absolutely stunning and magical ceremony all due to Ian and his teams detail-oriented and empathetic care. They were a key part in making this day special for my husband and I. The venue we had had spectacular rainforest views and multiple locations to accommodate our needs. The DJ and staff who took care of us helped bring the party on! Overall exceptional experience that we would recommend for any couple that is considering moving forward with this planning service. Thank for making our wedding day absolutely unforgettable!

We hired botanical less than 8 months ago to help us make our dream come true. They did not disappoint. Everything was meticulously planned, every small detail covered by them. Brett and Jo were phenomenal in creating my fairy tale dream wedding. The food, decor, cake, venue, everything was perfect. They made sure we were on schedule, they kept the photographer, makeup artist and everyone else on schedule. It’s like a well oiled machine!

Botanica Weddings gave us a wedding beyond our expectations. We had planned our wedding well in advance but two weeks before our special day, our original venue cancelled. Botanica saved the 'day' literally' and what they pulled together in just two weeks - well no words can describe. Every single one of our guests said it was the BEST wedding they have ever gone to. I can't recommend them enough. All the team are a dream to work with.