The bottom line is that Barbara is a GAMER! She executed flawlessly on an absolutely wild wedding day where every external curveball that could happen, happened. Let me set the stage for our wedding day a bit... The pouring rain forced us to switch the ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner and dancing locations last minute. Oh and did I mention my wife was suffering from debilitating food poisoning from the night before! She was supposed to show up at the venue at 10:30am with the bridesmaids, but instead made it crawling in at 4:30pm. Additionally, Barbara had to deal with TWELVE hard-drinking groomsmen beforehand, since I had six Marine Corps buddies show up early to practice the sword arch. Although inside the bridal cottage it was a chaotic blur of Pedialyte sips and constant tears, Barbara was outside, calmly bringing order to the chaos, expertly directing the vendors and her crew to adjust timelines, setup locations, and overall strategy to adapt to mother nature and my wife's severe illness. Barbara stayed calm and collected throughout, and through a small miracle (read Barbara's experience and judgment), we began the wedding on time in a beautiful secondary location at the venue. I am sure that any wedding planner in Central Texas would be just fine on a sunny day with no contingencies, but we all know that is not how reality works. If you want someone who will facilitate the BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE no matter how crazy the circumstances, we can assure you that Barbara is the obvious choice. I could go on and on about the wedding planning assistance and guidance she provided for us, but I will let you read the other five star reviews to learn about that. I will end this review where I started; Barbara comes to play on Gameday! She will accept nothing less than excellence from every vendor, caterer, and her own employees, which provides an amazing guest experience. We were told by just about every guest it was the best wedding they had ever been to, and we could not have done it without Barbara! read more

Barbara was hands down the best choice for our wedding!! Upon meeting Barbara, we knew our wedding would be in the right hands, but she blew it out of the water! Her communication is unmatched, and we always felt she was understanding exactly what our vision was. From making sure we were on track every step of the way, to providing her experience anytime something came up we had a question about, to calming us down whenever we got stressed, Barbara made the months leading up to our wedding relaxing, and enjoyable as we planned the happiest day of our lives. She has unbelievable venders she works with, and every vender we got through her was the absolute right choice. Her attention to detail and way in which she kept the party flowing the day of was incredible, and the day of our wedding my wife and I didn't feel stressed once, a feat which I credit all to how awesome Barbara was! The design of the wedding was absolutely beautiful, and worked perfect with the space! Whenever there was anything we wanted, or felt like it couldn't happen, she made sure we made the best choice, and because of her hard work our wedding was a once in a lifetime event! We recommend her to anyone, because we know first hand how amazing any work she touches is!! read more

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Hiring Barbara's Brides was, without a doubt, the BEST decision we made when planning our wedding!! Barbara was so professional, kind, and knowledgeable from the start. She is so experienced and knows how to get the job done! She was amazing throughout the planning process and on the wedding day. She also surrounds herself with a great team. Gerad was there on our walk through, rehearsal, and wedding day and is such a calming presence (not to mention hilarious!). Gerad made sure that EVERYTHING that we did (and didn't!) think of that could possibly happen was planned and went smoothly. I'm so thankful we had Barbara's Brides to make our big day everything we wanted! read more

Barbara was amazing. She came highly recommended by our wedding venue and her intimate knowledge of the venue and what works/doesn't work for the space was invaluable as we planned our wedding. Her connections also got us the best DJ, the best photographer, the best officiant, and the best florist out there. She listened to all of our concerns and worked to make sure that our vision for the wedding came true. She was also a great steadying force amongst the chaos that is the day of your wedding. Everything was beautifully taken care of and went off perfectly. We honestly could not have asked for more from Barbara and wholeheartedly recommend her to any and everyone! read more

Book Barbara and Gerad now! I work in the wedding industry and I know the value of a planner but you really don't know what they do until you experience it first hand. Barbara comes with years of experience and knows this industry like the back of her hand. She guides you on vendors and will give you a realistic view of expectations. She was an advocate for me during our floral meeting. She got to know me ahead of time and what me and my fiancé like and don't like and our budget. During the floral meeting, she knew exactly what to ask for and how to articulate what we liked and didn't like. She saved us money just in that meeting alone! They made everything happen on wedding day and I had no clue when things were getting fixed (I messed up the seating chart and they used their resources and figured it out without bugging me during my hair and makeup). My family felt so much love from them and knew they could ask her questions or count on her to make things happen. Her company offers everything from limited service to full service and packages in between. I know there are so many wedding planners out there so you need to find the right one for you based on personality and experience. For me personally, I loved Barbara's years of experience and her ability to say no if it would not work and protect me. She was a mother figure for me and someone to really count on. I had a small wedding with no wedding party and my mom passed away, so her expertise and guidance and protection was perfect! Gerad on her team is amazing and a rockstar and so wonderful to work with. You would be lucky to have either of them as your planner for your wedding. read more

Barbara's Brides - Wedding Planning Near Me

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Thank you, Barbara!!! We are so grateful to have worked with Barbara and team for our wedding at The Driskill in May 2021. Barbara's planning and execution were flawless - she helped us map out our timeline, checked in with us regularly, and ensured that our vision became a reality. Through the entire process, Barbara was resourceful and ultra-responsive, even to our late-night emails! As out of towners, we so appreciated Barbara's local insights and depth of experience planning weddings at the Driskill. For example, she provided us with a list of preferred vendors, who are among the best in the industry and also were experts at working at the Driskill. She also attended our tasting and rehearsal which helped us develop a great relationship with her even before the wedding. Barbara's Wedding Advisor planning package truly surpassed our expectations, as she went above and beyond to help us select our décor, flowers, and cake, arrange tables and displays, and handle all day-of coordination with our vendors. Oh, and she also expertly bustled my wedding dress! Overall, we can't thank Barbara enough and would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a wedding planner! -C&P read more

Barbara and Gerad did an incredible job of helping us plan our wedding. We live out of state and she was able to help schedule appointments at several of our vendors during the days we were in town and was always mindful of our budget. She was also always easy to get ahold of and communicated very well with us from start to finish. Ultimately our big wedding wasn't able to happen due to COVID, but I have no doubts that she would have had the day running smoothly read more

My husband and I hired Barbara Hearne of Barbara's Brides as our wedding planner after interviewing several other coordinators. She reassured us that even as our "month of coordinator" she would be able to save us more money than we would spend hiring her. She told us stories of other budget brides with whom she worked and ways that she helped them achieve their dream wedding. She never seemed overly friendly, but at the time she seemed experienced and dedicated to doing a good job. Post-wedding I can tell you that hiring her was the biggest mistake that we made. She never saved us a single penny, degraded us for our budget (which she supported upfront), refused to be flexible, was unable to tackle situations creatively, and delivered the promises in her contract poorly, if at all. Trying to be fair, we contacted her with our complaints after we returned from our honeymoon. Rather than answering in a professional manner, Barbara was belligerent, refused to take responsibility for anything, and then took it upon herself to list everything from our wedding that she didn't like, most of which had nothing to do with her executing her job as a planner. I can honestly tell you that her lack of professionalism and inability to plan an event ruined our reception. I could go on and on about the ways in which she failed to deliver, but my advice for anyone planning an event is to stay far away from Barbara's Brides. We have since reported her to the Better Business Bureau. I only hope that future couples can enter into a contract and receive the quality service that they deserve. read more

I had a "touch base" meeting with Barbara today and just wanted to take the time to reassure any brides out there that she is a great and professional planner. I'm in a profession that gives me little spare time, coupled with a groom living in Vegas and the fact he is Muslim and I'm Christian. Even before I was engaged, I had contacted Barbara to see if she had the experience to coordinate a muti-religious, multicultural event. We have been planning the wedding for over a year and she has not disappointed! Barbara has been willing to work around our schedules, recommended great vendors, made excellent considerations for both religions and helped to trouble shoot for potential problems. She promptly responds to my emails and will even send me reminder emails to keep me on track. Even though not hired for the Muslim wedding (nikkah), she provided helpful guidance. Barbara has saved me so much time and money, I'm actually able to enjoy planning my wedding (which is the biggest gift of all). If you are considering hiring a wedding coordinator in Austin, Barbara should be at the top of your list. read more

We got married a year ago, and I was so happy that my husband found Barbara! When he started researching day-of wedding coordinators I tried to convince him that I would be okay without help because I didn't want him to spend the money. But with work and finals coming up at school, he saw how stressful it was becoming for me to plan the final details. It was beginning to feel like a chore, instead of a fun and special experience. When my mother-in-law and I first met Barbara, we immediately knew that everything was going to run smoothly and that our lives were about to get easier. She was so confident and organized! I am the type of person that cannot make decisions on my own, and Barbara was always willing to give me suggestions when needed. When I had a question she always answered the phone, and if I emailed, she always replied immediately no matter what time it was. Sometimes we wondered if Barbara even slept! The day of the wedding, I had so much anxiety. But when Barbara got there, suddenly I was calm and at ease. Just knowing that she was there was comforting enough to allow me to enjoy my wedding day. I knew everything was going to be perfect! One thing that sticks in my mind is during the reception when Barbara came to my feet's rescue and told me to put my flip flops on. I said not yet because I wanted to be able to have my gorgeous heels on for the garter toss pictures later in the evening. She looked at me and told me to trust her, and I did. Next thing you know I was the happiest bride ever and dancing the night away! She even remembered to put my heels back on for the bouquet and garter toss, like I wanted! Such a tiny detail, but it meant so much to me. I've been in other people's weddings, and Barbara truly is the best coordinator out there. I can't imagine anyone doing a better job than her. She helped us have our dream wedding, and Barbara, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! http://austinweddingcoordinators.com/2010/07/03/happy-lakeway-summer-bride.aspx read more

First rate - that is how we would describe Barbara. As an out of town couple, she walked us through the entire process of planning a wedding (her checklist is amazing and so detailed) and we felt guided every step of the way. When we got in touch with her about coming into town, she coordinated meetings with sites and vendors with ease and even on days when they are not accustomed to meeting with couples. After every trip to Austin to plan, we checked items off our to-do list which made us feel great. Also, we were one of those couples that asked a lot of questions when it came to vendors, contracts, and the specifics of their service. Barbara answered all our questions thoroughly and thoughtfully. We trusted Barbara every step of the way, to the point that we selected our caterer without even having tasted because of the market conditions and Barbara's confidence that they would deliver. She was right, and the food was a highlight of the wedding for our guests. Literally, our wedding was as close to perfect as it could be. We cannot recommend Barbara and her team enough. read more

Barbara helped us execute a wonderful Rehearsal Dinner for our son and his bride at the Austin Country Club. She had an answer for every question and eliminated a lot of stress so we could enjoy the moment. She helped me pick out rentals such as table covers and chargers to elevate the venue's items without blowing our budget. She also answered random questions when I called her such as what shoes the groomsmen should wear. We loved working with Barbara. Highly recommend. read more

Barbara will save your day! No matter how hard it is or how far along you are or if another planner screwed you! And it will be MAGICAL. read more

Barbara's Brides - Wedding Planning Near Me

"I have had the honor of working with Barbara Hearne for a number of years as a Honeymoon Travel Consultant to many of her wedding couples. As owner of Barbara's Brides, she does an extraordinary job in providing exceptional wedding planning services for brides and grooms seeking a highly individualized, creative wedding experience. Her knowledge, decades of experience and professionalism are truly unique and outstanding in this industry. I recommend her wedding services without reservation. Her company is the very best in Austin, Texas for brides and grooms seeking a truly memorable, worry-free wedding experience. Barbara's Brides receives highest honors, awards and acclaim, year after year. If you are getting married, and desire the best consultant in the business, contact Barbara's Brides for your wedding. Jill Nicholson, Owner JILL NICHOLSON TRAVEL Austin, Texas jillnicholsontravel@gmail.com or jin618@gmail.com read more

NEWS FROM THE GROOM: Barbara and her staff helped keep my Bride sane and organized. We had a huge wedding with lots of moving parts. Barbara worked through some particularly difficult situations that I didn't want to handle...and she did it with grace. I threw some curveballs her way the day of and during the wedding and she hit 'em out of the park. Well worth the investment and I'm a little shocked she doesn't charge more, she's certainly worth it. I recommend Barbara w/out reservation. I don't often give out my information, but for her I'll make an exception. You may contact me at Ward@WardDavisonLaw.com if you'd like some more information on Barbara. Congratulations, Ward read more

We hired Barbara's Brides as a day-of-coordinator for our August 2020 wedding, which was ultimately moved to May 2021 because of the pandemic, after our venue coordinator recommended her. Barbara is well-established in the Austin wedding community. I had no doubt that she and her team could pull off anything with their experience and connections. Because of this, I was relieved that I didn't have to worry about missing details or checking things off my list because I knew Barbara would make sure things were addressed. Barbara provided a preferred list of vendors early in the process, which was super helpful in reviewing and deciding on our many options, though many of our vendors were not on her list. She preemptively checked on us during the pandemic, moved our date with no issues, shared a wedding checklist, shared a wedding timeline with me and the vendors in advance of the big day, and after the wedding, she ensured I received a reimbursement for services not rendered by one of the vendors. She was especially kind when she gave us a lovely Driskill cookbook, which we decided to use as our wedding guestbook. Barbara's associate Gerad ran the day-of coordination and did a fabulous job. There were a few small details that I would have changed, but in the grand scheme they didn't matter, and certainly without Barbara and Gerad, our wedding wouldn't have turned out so great. I am very grateful to have found such a professional and established team that pulled together all the major details while allowing me to enjoy and soak in the day. read more

Barbara was AMAZING. I was not an easy bride to deal with, but Barbara took care of everything. She managed every details, had great working relationships with all the vendors, and was able to answer all of my questions quickly. She quickly responded to my texts/emails/phone calls at all hours of the day, and was courteous and respectful to even my most difficult family members. Everything on my wedding day came together perfectly, and I couldn't have asked for a better lady to have by my side. We will forever be grateful to Barbara for making my dream wedding come true! read more

Barbara was the planner for my sister's wedding. I cannot tell you how awesome she is! My sister's wedding was absolutely stunning and we had such a great time. There was so much planning that went into that day and a lot of things that could have gone wrong. But thank goodness for Barbara. The wedding was perfect! My sister got everything she wanted at her wedding and Barbara made sure that she and her new Hubby got to enjoy every second! AND she made sure that the bridesmaids got to have a great time too! We didn't have to worry about setting up anything, all we had to worry about was having fun getting ready and partying at the reception! Looking forward to my own wedding, because I know Barbara will make my wedding day as perfect as my sisters! read more

I can't say enough about Barbara Hearne. I was initially concerned that we didn't hire her as a full time consultant due to our schedules, but we made it work with our budget and did what needed to be done without a full time consultant. Barbara was always available for Q&A via phone and email, even for those tough family "what do I say/do with X" questions. The week of the wedding I was thrilled when she took over the many vendors, me, etc. Barbara stepped up in numerous, numerous ways but I am most thankful in the way she handled our four year old son. She made sure he had food and was taken care of when my friends and family were busy enjoying themselves. Barbara's second (could have been first) success for us was the way she organized our vendors (florist, photographer, baker, etc.) I never had to worry about a thing!!! And, she handled my family when I couldn't or simply didn't want to!!! I was able to turn to Barbara and she just took control. Thank you Barbara! You made my day mine! read more

From the first visit until the day after the ceremony, Barbara did an amazing job with all facets of wedding planning for my daughter and fiancé, who live in another state. Barbara demonstrated a professional, yet friendly demeanor, exceptional knowledge of vendors, responsive and respectful, and anticipated every detail to make sure the wedding went flawlessly. And it did, thanks to her experience (she may have been an orchestra leader in a different life?). It was a beautiful outside wedding, and even when it did begin to ever so lightly rain a bit during the ceremony, Barbara was there with umbrellas for the guests. She handled each detail as if it were her own daughter's wedding, which helped my stress level considerably. I will always be grateful to Barbara and her expertise for making my daughter's wedding an unforgettable and lovely event. She is wise, unflappable, a joy to work with and gets it done! I highly recommend Barbara to anyone looking for a dependable, experienced, compassionate wedding planner. She's a great lady! read more

I can't say enough good things about Barbara. I hired Barbara as my day of coordinator for my wedding and that was the best decision I made! Before planning my own wedding, I never had the chance to help a family member or friend with their wedding prep, so I was completely lost on what I needed and where to start. As soon as I hired Barbara, though, she immediately pointed me in the right direction and gave me all the guidance I needed throughout the whole process to make smart decisions. She also provided me a list of her preferred vendors, which are all amazing! In the weeks leading up to the wedding, Barbara coordinated with all the vendors to make sure everything would go smoothly on the day of. She didn't miss one detail and thought of everything. She even caught things that I had missed and didn't realize until the day before (like the microphone for a reading during the ceremony - kind of a big deal) and immediately contacted the appropriate vendors to get what I needed. On the day of the wedding, my husband and I didn't have to worry about about one thing. Barbara was at the venue when the vendors started to arrive and she pulled everything together beautifully. When we arrived at the venue we couldn't believe what we saw! Everything was perfect and even more beautiful that what we had imagined. Additionally, during the reception, Barbara made sure that we stayed on schedule and that everything went as planned, which allowed my husband and I to actually enjoy the wedding. Our wedding was the best day of our lives thanks to Barbara and I would absolutely recommend her to anyone looking for a wedding planner. Thank you, Barbara!!! read more

From my sweet husband (who doesn't have a Yelp account) : "Hire Barbara. Honestly, she is the greatest. She made this potentially complicated, stressful process so easy with her incredible recommendations for caterers, music, cake, lighting -- everything. Not only did we not need to worry about a single problem or complication, even when we did worry unnecessarily, Barbara was there with her calm, reasonable demeanor to help us know that she'd taken care of everything. An important point about how wonderful Barbara made this process was her interaction with my now-wife -- a strong-willed person who runs her own business, and who would most of the time rather handle everything herself rather than trust someone else. Barbara not only helped her feel calm and relaxed, so we could enjoy the day together, but she also made her feel truly cared for. That was the most special thing about Barbara to me. Barbara played a big role in our wedding day becoming as wonderful as we hoped it would be." read more

Oh my gosh Barbara and Gerad are the best!!! She and Gerad made sure that our wedding went off without a hitch. My husband's family added 30 extra people the week before and she flawlessly rearranged the event so that we could all fit, and it was even better than I had originally imagined!! Gerad handled my day off planning and he was such a dream! Everyone loved him. He made sure the day went seamlessly, flawlessly bustled my dress, made sure I always had champagne and just made sure that everything was exactly what I wanted. I love them both, thank you so much!!! read more

Planning a wedding when you work in the wedding business brings you some good perks. One of those perks is knowing which vendors are the best. I chose Barbara from Barbara's Brides to be my wedding planner out of the many, many wedding planners in Austin. She was a pleasure to work with, extremely professional and had many tips to share that helped me keep within budget (yes, even us wedding professionals have budgets!) My budget was less than ideal, but I was smart enough to hire her and she pulled every thing together beautifully. I loved going through the reception and seeing all the small touches that she did on her own that made it look more beautiful than I could have imagined. She even made sure I looked great at all times by reapplying lip gloss throughout the evening. Something I didn't even think to do! I look back on my wedding with such fondness and happiness. Even my husband, who thought I was crazy for hiring a planner when he thought I could do it, said afterward that it was the best money we spent. She is considered to be one of the top planners in Austin, but that hasn't gone to her head. When you meet her, she is down to earth, warm and friendly and makes you feel like your's is the only wedding she is working on. You won't be disappointed with Barbara Hearne. read more

After reading all of Barbara's reviews I am bit baffled by them because my experience with Barbara was completely different. I just recently got married in May and Barabara was our coordinator. I hired her half way through the wedding planning process because I was becoming a bit overwhelmed with all of the little details. Barabara was a great sounding board for me and answered all of my emails very promptly. Although I came up with many of the ideas for my wedding myself, I was not surprised with this because I had purchased the lowest package from Barabara so this is what I expected. She did help me by okaying a idea or nixing it which helped narrow down a lot of things. By far though I can say the money I spent on Barabara was the best money I ever spent on the wedding, just for during the week of and the actual day of the wedding. Things went extremely smooth during that time and I know it is because of Barabara. I will say this for all of you brides out there. If you are looking for a super sweet and cheery coordinator who is all love and kisses Barabara isn't your person. She is a no-nonsense get the job done type of person who might piss some people off in the process. She has been doing this a long time and knows what it takes to get the job done right. But bottom line she looks out for the bride and groom's interest FIRST. No one elses, which in my opinion is what I paid for. The day of the wedding she was there every step of the way, coordinating all the vendors, making a rain plan, and making sure people were not sneaking in alcohol. She remembers all the small details like making sure the bride and groom eat to bringing me the last coconut mojito before they ran out. Every single person I talked to commented on how beautiful my wedding was and how they have never been to a wedding where not one thing went wrong. Little did they know some small things did go wrong but Barbara was quick to fix them. I was able to sit back and enjoy my wedding and not sweat all the small stuff. Barabara runs a tight ship and she doesn't mess around, but her ultimate goal is to make the bride happy and give her the dream wedding she so desires. I can tell you from the bottom of my heart she did that for Sonny and I and we are super grateful!! If you want someone who will get the job done right hire Barabara. You will not be sorry or stressed the day of. Trust me! read more

I had my wedding two weeks ago and I wanted to write a review of how wonderful Barbara is from Barbara's Brides! We selected her after meeting with a bunch of other wedding planners. We chose Barbara because of her no-nonsense, get-it-done mentality. I am a person who is perhaps a bit too nice and therefore I can be pushed around sometimes, so I need a coordinator that was going to stick up for me and make sure things went the way they were supposed to. Many girls pick a wedding coordinator based on some sort of emotional attachment, but I wanted a wedding coordinator, not a friend, to run interference for my wedding, and that is exactly what Barbara did! The entire wedding went off without a hitch! I can't tell you how many guests came up to me and told me how impressed they were with the flow of the reception and how beautifully it was orchestrated. I had several people come up to me and said that this was the best wedding they had ever been to!! One thing that really stood out to me was Barbara's ability to handle the multitude of personalities concerning my wedding. I am the first one in my family to get married, so my family was a bit high strung and basically had no idea what they were doing. Barbara always took time out to explain processes and educate my family about how the wedding industry works. Additionally, she always put my wishes FIRST. She always had my best interest at heart and did whatever she could to achieve what I wanted. Her vendor list is invaluable also! There are so many vendors to choose from in Austin, and each vendor that I selected was from her list and they were extremely professional and created the exact ambiance I had worked so hard for a year to create! Barbara's ability to think quickly and problem-solve was critical to the success of our wedding! During the entire reception she kept me on schedule and gave me a head's up of where I needed to be or what was coming up next. If you want someone who is going to get things done then Barbara is your lady! read more

Barbara is an AMAZING planner who will make your wedding exactly how you envisioned! I hired her specifically for wedding decor/design and day-of coordination based off of her decades of experience and previous wedding photos (and the fact that I hate decorating). I also wanted to work with someone who had vetted and established relationships with the best Austin vendors, and let me tell you, Barbara hooks you up with the BEST florist, photographer, DJ, etc. She had also done numerous weddings at my venue already (Barr Mansion), so I could trust her judgement with it. I met with Barbara and her go-to florist to go over the overall feel of my wedding and my goals for the look. They worked so well together that I only had to give a few adjectives, and they knew EXACTLY how and what to do. Because my wedding was in expert hands, I was completely stress free in the months leading up to my wedding and on the day of (not exaggerating, just the way I felt). I showed up and was directed on where to be when by Barbara and my photographer, who also work seamlessly together. Because I didn't have to worry about the details, I could enjoy every moment getting ready and catching up with my closest friends. People could not stop commenting on how beautiful the flowers and decor were, and how smoothly the whole night flowed. Everything was like clockwork and I was able to enjoy (and remember) every, single, moment. Barbara even had extra sparklers for ~100 guests in her car (?? only a wedding planner would) after we forgot to bring them. Barbara does not promise anything she can't deliver, and she is very open and honest about everything so you have realistic expectations and are not left in the dark. She is very prompt with replies during her busy, booked up schedule, which clearly takes great time management skills and attention to detail. I can say that not all highly rated planners are guaranteed to deliver on your wedding day (as my friend experienced during her summer 2018 Austin wedding with a different highly rated planner). You can absolutely trust Barbara with the most important day of your life, and I'm so SO glad I chose her!! read more

The experience I had with Barbara was less than pleasant. Prior to the service of the wedding it was decided that my father would be placed in charge of videotaping the ceremony. I instructed him to find Barbara and she would instruct him as to the appropriate location to record the service. She simply handed him the video camera and walked away without providing him any guidance or detail about the order of the events of the ceremony. At the reception there were other instances where her inattention to detail proved to cause problems. When it came time to introduce the bride and groom, Barbara instructed me that it was my responsibility only a few minutes prior to the couple's entrance without informing me as to how they would like to be introduced. There were also several issues with the structure of the reception. Barbara failed to inform the videographer as to when events were taking place; so several items are missing the first portion of the event. An example of this was the couple's first dance. Throughout the course of the wedding events the battery on the video camera needed to be recharged. I instructed Barbara of this fact and told her she needed to notify me when the next event was taking place so that I would be able to retrieve the camera to record the event. When it came time for the first dance, I handed Barbara the iPod and told her to wait for me to retrieve the camera. As I was returning the music had already started and I missed the first half of the dance. Aside from the inattention to detail there was also a lack of professionalism when conversing with Barbara. There were several instances where clarification was needed, and she responded in a condescending manner. For instance, there was some confusion as to what all needed to be removed from the venue before the end of the night. I went discuss the matter with Barbara and she dismissed me, stating that she had already addressed it with the bride's mother. When in fact it was the bride's mother who sent me to seek clarification. read more

Let me start off by saying, I was that girl who did not want to hire a wedding planner, I wanted to do it allll by myself and save money. I now laugh at that girl, hard. Because I had no idea how much I needed Barbara, and am SO THANKFUL we had her!! Barbara has great relationships with the top vendors in Austin and was so wonderful throughout every single process. She always knew who to call, and if there was a problem, I did not find out until after she had already solved it. I cannot stress this enough - even if you think you don't really need a planner - you NEED a Barbara. I had a lot of hiccups along the way, including a nightmare hair/makeup trial and having to find a new company only a couple months out, Barbara called every (trusted) company in Austin and got me quotes and availability by the next morning. The Republic of Texas Biker Rally ended up being in town the weekend of my wedding, upon discovering this only days before leaving town, by the time I called Barbara she already had maps and closure listings for me and additional routes for our incoming guests. She is very quick and responsive, and very reliable & an all around joy to work with. Barbara's team worked tirelessly on our wedding day and we truly could not have pulled it off without them. read more

My wife and I are project managers by trade, and as such, figured we could handle planning a wedding. That went well for a few months, but we quickly realized just being organized isn't 1/10 of what it takes. We hired Barbara and everything went smoothly from then on. Barbara has what we didn't have: experience *planning a wedding*. She knew what to expect and when, so there were no surprises. She helped us with our remaining needs and found vendors who could accommodate our strange demands. At the wedding proper, she made sure that everything ran seamlessly and that my new bride and I could relax and enjoy our day rather than stress about any details. Barbara is very professional, super-knowledgable, easy to work with, and very good value for the money. If you are at any stage in your wedding planning, stop what you're doing and go talk to Barbara. I can't recommend her services enough. read more

I would have to agree with Jamie Lee. I just helped my very close family friend with her wedding and Barbara was the planner. I'd heard nothing but great things leading up to the wedding. However the weekend of she was extremely rude to the family, uncooperative and made many, many rookie mistakes. My friend paid a very hefty price for her "custom package" and did not get what she paid for in my opinion. Barbara, being a wedding planner for over 25 years I would expect a little bit more knowledge. For example, the catering set up was horrendous. For 300 guests you need more than 1 line. Common sense. An experienced planner knows this. Second thing--at the rehearsal dinner the transportation just didn't show up. Barbara didn't either. And this was not the "month of coordinator" package. This was the whole shebang! Now that she is realizing that the family of the couple is very unhappy with her services, Barbara is back peddling and blaming the vendors for her mistakes. I am writing this so that other brides do not have the same experience. Shop around, girls!! You have so many choices. Your wedding coordinator should not charge you for things like "boxing up your cake topper" or "making a plate of food." Yes, these are things she lists in her so-called packages. And besides all of these big blunders, she was simply rude and only worried about impressing the bride. Big Mistake. Huge. She forgot about all of the other 299 people at the event that can either make or break you. It's all about word-of-mouth... And I'm here to tell you to take your hard earned money elsewhere. read more