Benken Garden Center, Florist & Event Venue — Attraction in Silverton

I don’t want to leave a negative review for the place that hosted the best day of my life but with the amount of money we paid I’d like to warn others. When I toured the venue with Robin, I noticed she’s very passionate about flowers but not passionate about hosting weddings, she said her venue is more for chill brides (which I consider myself to be) but I ignored the red flags and picked the venue because of how stunning and unique it is. Communication was lacking and a month out from the wedding I asked Robin when our final meeting or phone call would be to go over everything and she refused to do this with me. She did answer most of my questions over the phone and email but because we had no formal meeting she didn’t know any details about my wedding, timeline, etc, and she was not prepared. The rehearsal was not helpful and she kept wandering away during it and seemed annoyed when we asked questions. They charge a $250 set up and clean up fee for decor. I brought my decor in a day before, when we got there at 2:30 the day of the wedding no decor was set up. Robin then set my candles at each guest table and that was it. She said “oh your bridesmaids are here they can set up the rest” We said no we’re about to start photos. Thank GOD I have amazing bridesmaids who stopped everything to finish setting up the venue when they weren’t supposed to. One of my bridesmaids overheard Robin tell a coworker “you know we’re not a real wedding venue” I’m still not sure what was meant by this comment. The situation caused me so much undue stress and made the few hours prior to the ceremony chaotic. Every interaction with Robin was so rude and negative to the point it felt like she was trying to piss us off. Despite our treatment we all remained calm and courteous towards her so I really don’t know what we did to deserve that. Thankfully I also hired a coordinator because the day would not have been possible without one. Also we were aware they require you to purchase beer and wine through them but were not aware they would charge us double or triple the price and call it “service industry standards” Luckily at the end of the day the positivity of our day and other vendors outweighed them. It’s a beautiful venue that our guests loved but I would not get married there unless you’re ok with bad communication and attitudes. My florals were beautiful though so I suggest they focus on that and quit offering...

What a wonderful place! I ordered flowers for delivery to the Cincinnati Dinner Train (traveling in April), finding Benkens on the Dinner Train site (bc they will deliver straight to your table on the train before departure). During the call w/ Benkens I had some specific requests, which required them to slightly tweak their standard designs for these table displays for the train. Mind you, I called several months in advance of our trip on the train. I requested specifically colors that were popular during the '40s, so, vibrant reds and oranges of the right color to marry with the reds, and I think we tweaked something about the display vase and how it was used as well. Needless to say, in the intervening months I would find myself wondering how/if this was all going to sort out seamlessly, and if what I had already paid for was going to fulfill the look and ambiance I was going for on my trip. Anxious, I called the week of the trip--only to confirm that they still had my order and to share the table number we had been given (it had changed since my original ticket designation). I did not re-discuss or re-confirm the design requests I had made. The night of our ride on the train was magical enough--but the flowers and the arrangement were simply OUTSTANDING. Most passengers would comment on how beautiful they were as they passed by (I guess they had not read far enough into the Dinner Train website to realize they could also have ordered). In fact, they twinned perfectly with my '40s ensemble, and they were just the right size for the table; not taking up too much room, but still feeling like a touch of absolute luxury nonetheless. And then, in the days to follow, as we took them home, they reminded us of our memorable ride. Benkens did a perfect job, [I'm sure we've all ordered flowers remotely/online before, and been disappointed in the final product, but my reservations about this proved entirely unfounded, here] and I cannot recommend them highly enough. The absolute...

Florist & Greenhouse in central Cincinnati OH on a cold about to rain Sunday morning. How impressive could it actually be. Impresive enough that this grumpy ba.....d of an Englishman saw fit to leave a review for the first time in his 35 years of life to date. Yes there plants are amazing and they clearly know everything there is to know about what they do but beyond this wow! Probably one of the slickest run retail establishments I have ever seen. We showed up 5min before it opened and there was a team of four primed ready on the car park ushering you into the spot you needed and offering initial advise and directions to your desired product. Inside there was staff posted at key points to help with any smaller input. Then the check out team had everybody moving flawlessly with a smile. Then back out to the lot where the military grade team are Jonny on the spot supporting all the customers with car protectors and a helping hand loading everybody cars. Yes it’s a florist and greenhouse. But kudos to the team running this place. There is a LOT of billion $ service industries that should send its people down to this place just to...