Since the owner of this business wants to deem real reviews from guests at her events as "unhelpful", here's a review from a bride who worked with Cossie and her "company."
I had the "pleasure" of having Cossie as my wedding planner for my wedding that took place on 7/13/24 at the Founders Inn in Virginia Beach. The venue itself was GORGEOUS and the food was amazing thanks to Laura Shendelmen, the Client Services staff and the Food&Beverage staff.
Operationally, however, my wedding was an ABSOLUTE DISASTER. Mrs. Crosswhite does nothing but throw a binder full of card stock and deadlines at you. She'll surely show up to your cake and food tastings to eat the food though (she won't take a single note, mind you), she will also LEAVE YOUR EVENT TO ATTEND ANOTHER ONE. She will also have her husband come to the event even thought he was not invited nor did she ask if he could attend and will have him play bouncer and will take absolutely no accountability when you bring issues to her attention.
My sister purchased a gorgeous monogrammed aisle runner that was unfortunately never used because Cossie was not there to roll it out as she stated she would be because she had left my wedding to attend another one she found more important.
My rehearsal dinner was also a disaster, as she did not book the practice space like she was supposed to, so we were unable to practice appropriately with the DJ and because of this, I was not able to walk down the aisle to my song of choice.
There were also not enough chairs at the head table so my wedding party was unable to sit comfortably after walking into the reception area.
Instead of being able to relax and relish in my wedding day, my mother in law and I were instead running around trying to ensure last minute accommodations were being met, which is what Cossie is being paid to do. There were so many errors that guests were bringing things to my attention as well.
The experience I had with this business was lackluster and less than professional, and when our family brought these issues to Cossie's attention, she lacked accountability and shifted blame to Laura Shendelman, who in fact saved the day.
I say all this to say, if you're looking for a stress free wedding planning experience, run far away from 1 Elegant Event. read more
