First of all, I would like to state that Sheila did an amazing job (as a florist); if we were just…read moredealing with her I would give Elegant Events a 5 out of 5. If you're looking for a great florist, you have found one with her.
However, for my wedding we ended up working mostly with Donielle (the wedding planner), and her services left much to be desired. We went with their premium full package because neither my husband nor I live near PA, we were on a tight schedule, and we needed some eyes and ears on the ground. Unfortunately, it was our tight schedule that kept us from seeking a better service as these issues came to light. Our issues were as follows:
1. Many of Donielle's vendor recommendations were very overpriced. In many cases we were so shocked that we set out and found our own vendors, who were much more reasonable (and they were brilliant). We expected her to know where to find a good deal, having worked in the business, but that clearly wasn't the case. On multiple occasions I was able to find a better deal at a reputable company with just a quick google search. As an example, the suggested table vendor was priced hundreds of dollars (per table) higher than the one we found on Google.
2. Donielle became difficult to reach, if not unavailable, during the last couple of months leading up to our wedding. We would have to hassle her for simple status updates. Had we not been so proactive in communicating with our vendors, we would have been in the dark. I understand that spring is a busy time for a wedding planner, but if you can't fulfill the promises to a client who you know is on a tight time-table, you should be honest and turn the job down.
3. We were charged a lot for our floral arrangements; however many of the flowers that we ordered were never used, and instead were left in the van. While a small excess of flowers is acceptable to be left behind (you don't need to use every petal), leaving such a considerable quantity in the van, not asking the client if they want to use the excess, and then charging them the full cost is wrong.
4. One of the few things we were not particularly proactive about was the bus shuttle, and Donielle dropped the ball. The one hiccup the day of our wedding was that the shuttle bus from New York showed up 1.5 hours late. After we spoke to the bus company (who took responsibility and provided us with a generous discount) they informed us that Donielle had never bothered to tell them when they had to arrive at the event, but rather told them when they should pick people up per our amateur estimate. As such, they couldn't accurately factor in the time in transit and they showed up late. Had they known when we were supposed to start, they would have suggested that we move the pickup time up (and we would have).
5. We were surprised with a $1,300 invoice after the wedding. The invoice was for the purchase of 20-30 rustic flower vases. Donielle wasn't particularly forthcoming about the price of the containers when we requested them, and it was a last minute thing we trusted her on during the weeks leading up. I can't imagine how the containers in the picture I posted (photo courtesy of BG Photography) would cost $40-$60 per container, even with EE's markup. You can find the same exact containers on Amazon for $18 including shipping, which means EE's markup was 2-3x the cost of the containers (assuming they were purchased at retail price). We trusted her, and (once again) we were burned. Had we known their rate, we would have purchased our own; in the least this final invoice shouldn't have come as a surprise after the event. Link to the vases on Amazon: https://goo.gl/Q3wgAO
6. Donielle refused to take responsibility for any of the issues listed above. She attempted to skirt around them (particularly regarding the last two points); instead of a simple apology she insisted that we all have a phone meeting days before my terminally ill father-in-law went in for a risky surgery. Understandably we didn't take her up on that offer and wrote her and the costs associated off.
Fortunately, these problems didn't stop us from having a great time and a wonderful wedding. However, had it not been for our careful monitoring/follow-up and my mother-in-law's tireless efforts contributing to contract negotiation and organizing, I can't say things would have gone so well.
