I am genuinely disappointed to write this review and cannot recommend Ren Newey or 36th Street…read moreEvents. Our kids hired this planner, and from the very beginning there were warning signs-but the scope of the issues that unfolded went far beyond anything we could have anticipated. From not remembering meeting the groom after a one-hour introductory call, to ongoing disorganization, to inconsistent and frequently changing pricing, the experience was stressful throughout. We were quoted inflated costs for items such as generators-significantly higher than what we were able to negotiate ourselves-and were directed to vendors whose pricing was nearly ten times higher than identical products available on Etsy. Despite being repeatedly reassured that all details were handled, several critical failures occurred on the wedding day. The string quartet never arrived because 36th Street Events sent their information to an outdated email address. Instead of notifying the bride, groom, or any parents about the mistake, recorded music was played without explanation. Requested site visits never happened, staffing was not confirmed, and as a result dinner was delayed by 60-90 minutes, guests had no water available, and the wrong song was played for the father-daughter dance. These operational missteps were extremely disappointing. However, the most troubling aspect was the unprofessional and at times blatantly rude behavior displayed by Ren toward parents, guests, and even the priest officiating the ceremony. Multiple guests approached us asking why the wedding coordinator was so dismissive and why, as family members scrambled to help guests during a sudden rain, she stood by and watched. Prior to the bride and groom entering the reception, Ren told the groom he should button his jacket so he "didn't look fat." All of the above are just a few examples of the disappointment. For an event as meaningful as a wedding, professionalism, organization, and care matter enormously--and sadly, these were consistently lacking. After our bad experience, I did see another similar review for Ren on this platform.

Ren and her team came highly recommended from our event space coordinator. The location of the…read morewedding has 3 event locations and rooms that are booked months in advance and highly sought after in the area. Suffice it so say, they have many reasons to highly recommend Ren and her team. As a mother of the bride, Ren and her team were there for every part of the planning. There was not one ball dropped in the process and in fact the handling of the unusual weather which forced the ceremony and reception into one space was probably the most professional job I have ever experienced during a large event. This was a large wedding that required last minute drapery, which Ren snagged from the best team in the area. The hall was transformed into an intimate, cozy ceremony and was truly spectacular. The tear down from the ceremony and set up for the reception was flawless and did not affect the timing of the entire night. There literally were no hiccups! We trusted Ren and her team from the beginning and that allowed for us to just be calm and confident that this major last minute change would be superbly executed. My favorite part of the experience with Ren was experiencing her heart for my daughter's vision and her attentiveness to her needs and wants with assurances that the day would be spectacular, despite weather complications. Her recommendations from the band, busing, big and small details during the ceremony, happy hour ambience in a tent requiring last minute forced air in rainy weather, and reception ideas and design were truly amazing. 36th Street Events will be my first pick for any future event.

I had a ladies wiggin' out day with a group of my friends and we scheduled a private group party at…read morecoco's. From the beginning to the end it was hands down amazing! Allyson the owner was friendly and so helpful with planning and helping us each pick a wig. Our makeup artist was Jo and she did an amazing job on each of our eyes and lips! We couldn't have asked for a better experience! Thank you so much!

Staff was super friendly and they had exactly what I needed (masquerade mask). Great little shop…read morewith lots of charm

I generally don't write reviews but for Johnell I think she definitely needs an appreciation!…read more We reached out to Johnell for my 3 year old's birthday party recently. We hardly had two weeks for the event day and Johnell worked day and night to get everything planned and coordinated according to the theme of the party. She provided great suggestions like the claw machine, face painting and a magician. It was tough to get a magician in that short time period but she did her magic to find the best one for the event and it was great! All our 50+ guests who attended the party raved about how well the planning and coordination was done for a 3 year old's birthday. It wouldn't have happened without her! She also helped with my baby shower back in early 2020 when Covid didn't hit us yet. My husband worked with her to throw me a baby shower and it was amazingly done. That baby shower event has made us reach out to her again because we knew she will do an excellent job and can trust her because she puts her heart in every event that she takes up. Thank you so much Johnell for all the efforts and an outstanding work even with such short time that you had.

I write this in case it's helpful for others. I sincerely wish I'd have known what I was getting…read moreinto before I entered into a contract with Johnell. If you're not inclined to read the entirety of this lengthy review, I sum my experience up in the last two paragraphs. My wedding was only 1.5 months away. I chose the full package option. As a full-time professional & graduate student, the idea of a wedding planner sounded like heaven. Her reviews were phenomenal. I thought we'd get timelines, help with our vision, several vendor options with differing price points. Instead we got snarky eye rolls when we'd ask about details, sarcastic jokes about us needing to book marriage counseling, disinterest in getting us what we actually wanted, and extremely abbreviated access to her at her convenience. Honestly, it was devastating. The most stressful part of our wedding planning became my interactions, and oftentimes lack of interactions, with Johnell. Price points and vision would continuously get lost in translation. The pattern: Time would pass despite our requests for input on selecting vendors (for example, 3 weeks for florals) and then we'd get an almost finalized contract from a single vendor we hadn't vetted. In the case of florals, at a price of $11K when we'd explained our floral budget was $3K. She was extremely dismissive. Even requests for a quick 15 minute check in call could go ignored. Her preference most of the time was to send emails during peak work hours. And her emails, most times, left things unclear. We explained several times that a weekly 15 minute call was what we needed. But she was extremely resistant. We had, at max, 2 to 3 such calls and then she refused to participate in any others. It was maddening with our 6 week timeline as we felt like our hands were tied about really understanding the status of and options for things. My fiancé and I defaulted to doing the legwork ourselves. When we did, vendors were LOVELY. Bending over backwards to assist us. Supplying us with multiple options and ideas. They took the time to hear us and ask about what we did and didn't want for our day. I was overwhelmingly grateful for their support and availability. I was stunned when Johnell sent an angry email chastising my fiancé for calling a vendor. She reminded us that we'd have to pay her even if we were doing the work. I reiterated to her that this had nothing to do with payment. We'd started doing the work ourselves because we felt handcuffed and limited w/ her at the helm. Over and over we'd discover her "no, that's not possible" would become "sure, we can do that, and here are several other options too" once we'd finally talk to a vendor. The most important thing for me: the wedding to have our unique imprint and flair- were in direct odds with Johnell's priorities. Her priority was the path of least resistance, what's easiest & most convenient for her. Things came together beautifully. But it really was in spite of and not because of our planner. With the vast majority of vendors, we elected to go with others that we'd vetted. This brought on its own drama as we then witnessed Johnell being cold and dismissive with these individuals when they'd attempt to ask questions or share options. I made several attempts to explain to her how poorly we felt we were being treated - via several emails and voicemail when she wouldn't answer or return my call. She would eventually respond in an email days later with a dismissive, "everything will be fine" one-liner. The last straw was her denying us a 15 minute phone call the week of the wedding. Four days after we requested the brief call with her, she emailed, "No, I've done my job already. See you at the wedding on Saturday. Email me a list if there's changes." This transpired despite her contracted description of "unlimited phone calls and emails" and us only having had at most three direct phone calls with her. At that point, we decided to cut ties with her completely. It was an extremely high sunk cost. One that benefitted her (she was paid in full despite not working the week of or day of the wedding) & would cost us greatly. It was worth it though as the thought of this, in our experience, truly unprofessional coordinator running our special day was too disheartening. In sum, I felt trapped in this working relationship. I wound up having to expend more time and energy on fixing things vs had I not had a planner to begin with. All the while being made to feel like a huge annoyance during the brief times when we would have access to her. Her communication style is one tailored to meet her needs and convenience rather than the client's. In hindsight, I never should have hired her. It was the poorest decision of my wedding planning process.

You know sometimes it's really nice to get out of the city for an experience and this was one of…read morethose times. The Austin English Tea Company brings all of the aesthetics, ambiance, and flavors you'd expect in a proper British tea room. Spent a lovely Sunday Funday morning with friends celebrating Galentine's Day (albeit a day later) with fresh and yummy tea sandwiches, scones, clotted cream, mini, quiche, cream puffs, macarons, Prosecco, and more. We had four pots of tea: Classic English Breakfast, Earl Gray, Peach White, and Coconut Oolong. It goes without saying that the English Brekkie and Earl Gray were perfectly brewed and delicious. The Peach White and Coconut Oolong were also perfectly brewed. The Peach White was fragrant and flavorful. Same for the Coconut Oolong though it was more fragrant with a less robust flavor. Still delicious. The tea sandwiches were served on perfectly fresh and soft white bread. Cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches are always my favorite, without question. The Strawberry Devonshire Scone was to die for! I really enjoyed the heart-shaped Rosemary biscuit that had a hint of parmesean flavor as well. The apricot Stilton cheese was flavorful and exactly how you want a Stilton to taste. Service was outstanding. The decor was brilliant, absolute perfection. The entire experience was reminiscent of tea rooms I've visited in England and Ireland. Looking forward to another visit soon! Note: the tea room is located inside Michelle's Patisserie in a shopping plaza---once you enter the tea room you're totally transported to another time and place of elegance, tea, & sweets.

We had the most amazing bridal shower at Austin English Tea Company. The entire restaurant is…read moreabsolutely adorable. We were greeted by the owner Sarah, and seated right away. The table was decorated beautifully. You pick three pots of tea and are brought a tower of different finger foods and a cheese plate. All of the ladies kept saying to each other how good everything tastes... how pretty everything was! We had the best time. The quiche and the hummus tea sandwiches were amazing. The scones were divine. We all loved the peach tea, and the jasmine tea, along with the Earl Gray. We had the best time. We all agreed that next time we would bring our mother's and daughters with us. This place is a gem !! We had the most amazing bridal shower at Austin English Tea Company. The entire restaurant is absolutely adorable. We were greeted by the owner Sarah, and seated right away. The table was decorated beautifully. You pick three pots of tea and are brought a tower of different finger foods and a cheese plate. All of the ladies kept saying to each other how good everything tastes... how pretty everything was! We had the best time. The quiche and the hummus tea sandwiches were amazing. The scones were divine. We all loved the peach tea, and the jasmine tea, along with the Earl Gray. We had the best time. We all agreed that next time we would bring our mother's and daughters with us. This place is a gem !!

Cheryl and her team made our wedding feel so seamless and smooth! I truly got to just enjoy my day…read moreand not stress about anything because they were so on top of things. They kept us fed, took care of the logistics, improvised when needed, managed guests-- everything!! Couldn't be more grateful!

Cheryl, Rohit, and Simran are such amazing planners. We hired them in the middle of our planning,…read morejust four months out from the wedding. We had tons of open tasks and many unfinished decisions to make. Cheryl's project management skills were invaluable, not only for getting things done but also for keeping us organized and helping reduce our stress. Cheryl, Rohit, and Simran are a wonderful team to have by your side. They're always honest and caring, and they genuinely want the best for you. It wasn't just the planning leading up to the event that was superb; on the day of, they were on top of things. I was truly never aware of any hiccups or mishaps; they would simply fix issues before they became problems. If you want a team who dots every 'i' and crosses every 't', if you want a team who will keep you accountable for all the tasks that need to be done, and if you want a team who genuinely cares about you and your family's experience every step of the way, hire Cheryl, Rohit, and Simran.

Def a great little spot for outdoor concerts…read more Not sure why more acts don't come thru here - it's smaller and more manageable than Stubbs and it has very nice bathrooms. We've seen the Strumbellas here twice and truly don't know why more indie acts don't choose this spot over Stubbs. The stage itself is small but the sound system is great and while I don't LIKE it, I definitely understand why they charge for their elevated back bar area (deemed premium seating, at $40 a seat, you get a reserved spot to park it for your event and a great view of the stage). On site there's a hot dog stand and for sure this guy has his supply and demand system down. He smartly uses a fan to waft the mouth-watering aroma of grilled dogs all throughout the venue. Vegetarians need not respond but I would love to find any meat loving person who can go an entire concert here without buying a dog...I'm waiting lol Seriously though, for $10 the dogs are juicy, smothered in good stuff and they absolutely SLAP. Parking sucks but that's anywhere downtown. Street parking if you're lucky, otherwise, they do have an event parking deal with a fairly close parking garage.

Went here to see Lights after her show was moved from Empire Garage, and had a great time! Very…read morecool spot for a show. The box office just looks like a little shack, which was funny. We quickly went through security and got our tickets scanned. You can see from pretty much everywhere and the sound was good! We got there right before she started so we just found our spot in the crowd and stayed there the whole time. I will go back! It smelled like popcorn the whole time so I assume they have concessions.

My wife hired Madina for decor of our Son's first birthday. Our experience was nothing short of…read moreamazing, Madina is an artist and her work ethic is something to be admired. My wife gave her some ideas which were just a rough sketch of what she wanted and color schemes, Madina just made it look spectacular. She kept on improving her design till she herself was content on the over all aesthetics, our decor was simply a piece of art. Each part of our decor, the moutnains, the bear, the camp-van, baloons, lights, color scheme, decor pieces and cake stand was done with pure perfection. We cannot recommend her enough, we have been doing kids parties for over 3 years now and till date after dealing with so many decor professionals we can say Madina and her work is exemplary.

Madina and her team went absolutely above and beyond! So kind, on time, super fast, such amazing…read moreattention to detail. The list goes on and on. I will definitely hire Austin Moments Co. again.

Highly recommend Pearl Events! Jennifer Seals was our planner from Pearl; she perfectly balanced…read morestepping in when we needed support (flowers, lighting, draping) and letting us take the reins on things we wanted to handle. Our wedding was last night, and I really don't have words for how supported we felt. Jen was there every step of the way, making sure we were prepared, calm, and even that we had food and drinks any time we needed them. She managed all the vendor setups, and the execution was perfect. Truly, our day was amazing and we could not have done it without Jen!

Incredibly disappointing experience…read more My fiancé and I had gotten to the point of finalizing a contract with Madison at Pearl Events for them to only tell us at the point of signing they could not take us on a client because they booked another client the night before. They waited until the meeting to tell us, meaning my fiancé and I both took time out of our work day for something that could have been an e-mail. They offered to provide recommendations, they were unable to confirm any availability. All in all a disappointing experience and poor business etiquette.

Alexandra and her team of fabulous girls are AMAZING!!! Everyone is friendly, helpful, professional…read moreand they're all just great people! My daughter wanted a "spa party" for her birthday, and Austin Dream Factory delivered! The party went great! It was completely stress free for me(really!!), and the girls had such a wonderful time! They arrived on time, did all of the set up and clean up, and even had lunch for the girls that was tailored to my kiddo's favorite food! It was obvious that they wanted to be there, and are passionate about what they're teaching the girls, it's not just a business. I will definitely be using Austin Dream Factory again!

From the owner: The Dream Factory's objective is to grant anyone's dream, for a reasonable price. We aim to take…read morethe stress off of the parents while bringing your children the party of their dreams. Austin Dream Factory can do anything from mobile spa parties to sweet sixteen celebrations to boys sports or gaming parties- you name it we can nail it. Our team is broken up into two groups. Each group consists of two Party Hostesses and two Party Coordinators. From start to finish the Dream Team takes care of it all. The assigned Party Coordinator will handle all the intricate details of your event. The Hostesses help to pamper your little ones while assuring their having the party of their dreams! Our goal is to make your custom party experience perfect.

Divya arranged the decor, games, and game prizes for my baby shower this past weekend. I found…read moreHosted Events by A&D on Yelp, and I am very glad that we went with them! Divya is quick to respond, reliable, and detail-oriented. Divya was very supportive with an unplanned location change, and a few extra last minute requests (Adding themed labels to water bottles, setting up return gifts). Everything was done exactly how we had asked and discussed. The decor was beautiful and the games were well organized and enjoyed. I really loved the theme we went with.

We have consistently been impressed by Hosted. Both the event planners, Divya and Aarti are…read morewonderful to work with. They both planned my two daughters first birthdays and now recently my daughter's 5th birthday. Everything was so beautifully done. I had asked for what I wanted and they delivered it magically. Highly recommend working with Hosted. You won't be disappointed!