Unfortunately, I was not able to have the Forever & Always Wedding that I dreamed of. Although…read moreHeather communicated very well, there were a couple of incidents that I found slightly unprofessional:
1. I signed a contract with one of her staff as my wedding planner. Unfortunately, from my understanding, there were unexpected changes in the company, so Heather had to take over. However, Heather responded that she would make an exception for me and not charge me an additional $1000 for this change. With all due respect, I should not be financially penalized for changes that an owner experiences; especially since I already signed the contract that I financially agreed to.
2. I encountered a lot of life changes that disrupted my ability to move forward with a wedding that my brothers were supposed to be in. For instance, I had a depressed, suicidal brother, I had another brother leave for Japan for the Marines, and I had an uncle pass away. All vendors except for Heather were so kind to fully refund my deposits due to the situation. Unfortunately, Heather responded that she was still a businesswoman and was financially hurting, so she was in no place to offer a full refund. I basically paid Heather almost $500 to establish a simple contract. I already had all the vendors in place and organized, so this deposit was for nothing. Heather should not be held responsible for unexpected circumstances, but this wedding meant a lot to me. As a business owner, you should be able to compromise with your clients based on their situation. I could have easily used that deposit to help my family for the funeral.
I find this situation absurd because I never wanted a wedding planner to begin with. Our wedding list was only 32 guests, but my fiancé insisted that we hire a planner because he did not want me to stress out. I admire him for caring, but this wedding was going to be a private and intimate event with very little management. I blame myself for hiring a wedding planner when I did not need one. It is unfortunate that Heather was thinking like a businesswoman and not a human being with empathy. Nonetheless, please make sure to ask about the refund policy for emergencies such as death, health, etc.
Two stars are for her communication, but I can only evaluate Heather based on my experience with her before the wedding date. Therefore, I am unable to provide feedback for her day service since my wedding never happened.
Has it ever occurred to you, Heather, that you had not heard from me in a year because I was busy dealing with other important things like planning a funeral? My wedding was the last thing on my mind. Also, I was not complaining about the charge that never happened, I am complaining about your response to your changes. There was no need to comment on that you are more expensive and won't be charging me. We could have proceeded forward with whatever it was we were doing. You contacted ONE venue and that is because they had YOU sign a contract with them. FYI, my pre-engagement photos were scheduled with the photographer I hired for my wedding and I was still refunded the full amount. This vendor did not work for free either and still managed to prioritize customer service over money. You are a business owner and have the liberty to do as you please, but you must have needed the money more than I did, so I hope my contributions helped your business. Nonetheless, well done on your communication.
If you have a family member with a life-threatening illness or you have a medical condition that may require potential hospitalization, please do not hire Heather as your wedding planner as she will not refund you the deposit because not make exceptions for your situation simply because she does not "work for free."
Thank you.