Designer Venues Wedding Decor & More

From the very beginning of meeting and working with the bride, it was apparent that she was unprepared to handle her decor she planned to use and the financial responsibility of paying for our servicesI had to deal with numerous attempts to collect deposits, a bounced check, and incorrect credit card information, all extremely past due paymentsThrough all of this we were very patientAfter only having a total of two meetings with the bride, (not several as stated by the bride) she was reluctant to go over the decor details but instead to our amazement she offloaded enough boxes of her decor that completely filled up our full size suv from floor to ceiling and front to back! Then said they planned on giving me more laterI wasn't told till then, she expected me and my staff to set up all her personal decorThe allotted time for setup was only hoursI informed her that I would have to hire extra staff to help set upThe bride assured me that she would have "students" help put out her decor.Contrary to brides claim that we were late the day of the wedding, we arrived almost two hours prior to the reception venue doors even openingWe set up the decor needed for the outside while waiting for the setup from the venue of the tables and chairsI previously confirmed with the bride that the venue would be providing and setting up all the tables and chairs for the receptionWith leaving half of my staff to wait for the venue to setup the tables and chairs at the venue, (so that we could then set out the brides decor) I took the other half of my staff to setup the altar at a different location in which we couldn't begin setup until 3pmAt this time we were informed by my reception staff that there was no one hired by the bride to setup tables and chairsAlso as courtesy earlier that week I was concerned that the bride might not have anyone providing the table linensTo my amazement days before the wedding, she did not! Once I informed them they had no one for setup of the chairs and tables for us, they sent two of their guests over to the reception site to setup tables and chairsThey were reluctant to do the work and they relied on my staff to place some of the tables and chairs for themThis caused us to loose valuable time waiting for the setupWe were also told by the brides family that the guests would not be able to complete the setup because they had to get back for the ceremony.During the table and chair setup, we were only able to find some of table linens they dropped off that day with no communication to us of their locationTo our AMAZEMENT not only did most of the linens not fit the tables they were dirty, stained, wrinkled and covered in pet hair! There were not even enough linens for all the tablesDirectly after this we started putting out the brides glass Centerpieces that were to be filled with water from the kitchenAfter completion of the centerpieces, the Venue Coordinator informed us that glass and open candles were not allowed outsideShe also informed us that the bride was aware of this in the venue contract she signedMy staff had to remove all the centerpieces, which again took away more valuable setup timeThe students the bride provided to help with her set up didn't know anything about the setup of her decorEven when given the map of the decor layout, they setup indoor tables wrong and needed constant direction and instruction by me for setupWhich yet again took away valuable time we couldn't afford to looseAs a result our priority had to be on the guest tablesI knew before anything else, guest would be wanting to sit at their tableI communicated to the brides friends and family on her behalf the situation during all of thisWe still managed to get everything that was allowed by the venue out and readyAny items that were not put out were a result of lost time and venue regulation.The bride also stated we were late tearing down the ceremony back drop and that they had to tear it downThere was never a time frame given to me on when my staff had to tear down the backdropWhen my staff arrived to tear down and remove the back drop, some of the brides family had voluntarily broke down the back drop with no complaints to my staff and acted very happy to do soNo mention was made of being late from anyone including the venue and especially the brideIn fact, when my staff arrived the bridal party was just finishing up there last photos.The bride claimed that we didn't bring everything that we were contracted to bring including our hired staff or the flatwareTotally untrue! I personally helped collect it from the tables, wash, and return to our rental company! Unbelievable! It's clearly evident the bride will say anything to avoid taking responsibility for her poor wedding planning and pass the blame on to us! The Venue Coordinator who was there the whole night, has even stated that the brides statement is completely untrueWe also have documentation and eye witnesses to support our statementThe Venue Coordinator expressed how we were very professional and did a wonderful job dealing with the stress and chaos as a result of the brides poor planningShe also requested our business cards and asked if we would like to be a vendor at their future open houses.In conclusion, we have wonderful reviews from all our past couples and continue to get rave reviews from everyone, including other vendors working with us on our eventsEven as recent as this past weekend we were overwhelmed with the compliments from everyone involved in our weddingsUnfortunately, in the nature of any business you will work with people who depict you untruthfully and unfairly to avoid taking responsibilityWe will continue to provide excellent services to our brides as we always do and look forward to working with brides who are committed to having a wonderful wedding day

From the very beginning of meeting and working with the bride, it was apparent that she was unprepared to handle her decor she planned to use and the financial responsibility of paying for our services. I had to deal with numerous attempts  to collect deposits, a bounced check, and...

incorrect credit card information, all extremely past due payments. Through all of this we were very patient. After only having a total of two meetings with the bride, (not several as stated by the bride) she was reluctant to go over the decor details but instead to our amazement she offloaded enough boxes of her decor that completely filled up our full size suv from floor to ceiling and front to back! Then said they planned on giving me more later. I wasn't told till then, she expected me and my staff to set up all her personal decor. The allotted time for setup was only 2 hours. I informed her that I would have to hire extra staff to help set up. The bride assured me that she would have "students" help put out her decor.Contrary to brides claim that we were late the day of the wedding, we arrived almost two hours prior to the reception venue doors even opening. We set up the decor needed for the outside while waiting for the setup from the venue of the tables and chairs. I previously confirmed with the bride that the venue would be providing and setting up all the tables and chairs for the reception. With leaving half of my staff to wait for the venue to setup the tables and chairs at the venue, (so that we could then set out the brides decor) I took the other half of my staff to setup the altar at a different location in which we couldn't begin setup until 3pm. At this time we were informed by my reception staff that there was no one hired by the bride to setup tables and chairs. Also as courtesy earlier that week I was concerned that the bride might not have anyone providing the table linens. To my amazement days before the wedding, she did not! Once I informed them they had no one for setup of the chairs and tables for us, they sent two of their guests over to the reception site to setup tables and chairs. They were reluctant to do the work and they relied on my staff to place some of the tables and chairs for them. This caused us to loose valuable time waiting for the setup. We were also told by the brides family that the guests would not be able to complete the setup because they had to get back for the ceremony.During the table and chair setup, we were only able to find some of table linens they dropped off that day with no communication to us of their location. To our AMAZEMENT not only did most of the linens not fit the tables they were dirty, stained, wrinkled and covered in pet hair! There were not even enough linens for all the tables. Directly after this we started putting out the brides glass Centerpieces that were to be filled with water from the kitchen. After completion of the centerpieces, the Venue Coordinator informed us that glass and open candles were not allowed outside. She also informed us that the bride was aware of this in the venue contract she signed. My staff had to remove all the centerpieces, which again took away more valuable setup time. The students the bride provided to help with her set up didn't know anything about the setup of her decor. Even when given the map of the decor layout, they setup indoor tables wrong and needed constant direction and instruction by me for setup. Which yet again took away valuable time we couldn't afford to loose. As a result our priority had to be on the guest tables. I knew before anything else, guest would be wanting to sit at their table. I communicated to the brides friends and family on her behalf the situation during all of this. We still managed to get everything that was allowed by the venue out and ready. Any items that were not put out were a result of lost time and venue regulation.The bride also stated we were late tearing down the ceremony back drop and that they had to tear it down. There was never a time frame given to me on when my staff had to tear down the backdrop. When my staff arrived to tear down and remove the back drop, some of the brides family had voluntarily broke down the back drop with no complaints to my staff and acted very happy to do so. No mention was made of being late from anyone including the venue and especially the bride. In fact, when my staff arrived the bridal party was just finishing up there last photos.The bride claimed that we didn't bring everything that we were contracted to bring including our hired staff or the flatware. Totally untrue! I personally helped collect it from the tables, wash, and return to our rental company! Unbelievable! It's clearly evident the bride will say anything to avoid taking responsibility for her poor wedding planning and pass the blame on to us! The Venue Coordinator who was there the whole night, has even stated that the brides statement is completely untrue. We also have documentation and eye witnesses to support our statement. The Venue Coordinator expressed how we were very professional and did a wonderful job dealing with the stress and chaos as a result of the brides poor planning. She also requested our business cards and asked if we would like to be a vendor at their future open houses.In conclusion, we have wonderful reviews from all our past couples and continue to get rave reviews from everyone, including other vendors working with us on our events. Even as recent as this past weekend we were overwhelmed with the compliments from everyone involved in our weddings. Unfortunately, in the nature of any business you will work with people who depict you untruthfully and unfairly to avoid taking responsibility. We will continue to provide excellent services to our brides as we always do and look forward to working with brides who are committed to having a wonderful wedding day.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.IN RESPONSE: This message originally read on 3/26/201 From the very beginning of meeting and working with the bride, it was apparent that she was unprepared to handle her decor she planned to use and the financial responsibility of paying for our services. ** We had our first meeting in June of 2014, at that time I had no idea what décor I had decided on using so it is very difficult to understand how it was apparent from the beginning that I was “unprepared to handle my décor.” In our first meeting it was stated that I want to do a lot of things myself as I am very crafty and DIY and that I wanted that incorporated into my reception. I was told that being DIY is great and that would be great and not a problem to include those touches.**I had to deal with numerous attempts  to collect deposits, a bounced check, and incorrect credit card information, all extremely past due payments. Through all of this we were very patient. **My mother-in-law is not a very wealthy person and I appreciate how patient and flexible she was with her in receiving payment. There was one incident where I sent her the wrong expiration date for my credit card and it had to be run again. However, in the end she was paid before the event and in full binding her to the invoice and contract signed by my mother-in-law. **After only having a total of two meetings with the bride, (not several as stated by the bride) she was reluctant to go over the decor details but instead to our amazement she offloaded enough boxes of her decor that completely filled up our full size suv from floor to ceiling and front to back! Then said they planned on giving me more later. **We had our initial consultation meeting in June and a final meeting with myself, my mother, her, and her husband in February for a final walk through. A meeting was scheduled a week before that where my sister and fiancée were in attendance but she was unable to make that meeting and we were notified last minute. Throughout the year from our initial consultation there were several communications made via e-mail that were initiated by myself. If as details were being provided she had questions, it was never expressed to me in any of our conversations. I wasn't told till then, she expected me and my staff to set up all her personal decor. Setting up my décor, as previously stated, was discussed in our initial meeting and no concern was expressed. At our final meeting when our décor was unloaded, yes there were a lot of items. Glass centerpieces and candy jars were strategically boxed up and labeled. Items were not lightly packed to be sure that the items would not break.**The allotted time for setup was only 2 hours. I informed her that I would have to hire extra staff to help set up. **My mother did express concern that we did have a lot of décor and just her and her husband would not be able to get everything done. Later she become concerned as well and contacted me to let me know that she wanted to hire additional staff to be sure that everything got put out, this would be an additional $100 charge and that was added to the invoice. The day of the event the “staff” included herself, her husband, children, and an additional man.**The bride assured me that she would have "students" help put out her decor. **I had a few students volunteer to work my reception, specifically to help with serving dinner. I did let Designer Venues know that students would be there during the set up time and once they were finished helping set up for dinner she can use them to assist in whatever else she needed. These are outstanding senior students; however they had no intimate details of the reception and what needed to be done or where things went. If they were to be used at all by Designer Venues details would have needed to be given to them since they had none of the details, all that information was given to Designer Venues. I provided Designer Venues with a detail layout of each space and where everything should go. All of the décor was boxed and labeled, trying to make it the easiest way to get everything out.**Contrary to brides claim that we were late the day of the wedding, we arrived almost two hours prior to the reception venue doors even opening. We set up the decor needed for the outside while waiting for the setup from the venue of the tables and chairs. I previously confirmed with the bride that the venue would be providing and setting up all the tables and chairs for the reception. With leaving half of my staff to wait for the venue to setup the tables and chairs at the venue, (so that we could then set out the brides decor) I took the other half of my staff to setup the altar at a different location in which we couldn't begin setup until 3pm. **Reliable witnesses that were there to help with the event were there at 3pm and saw no one in sight. My father and Father-in-law dropped off a few additional décor items that afternoon and at 3:30 when they arrived still saw no one there. At our final meeting it was discussed that [redacted] would be providing the assigned number tables and chairs, however it was assumed that the set-up of the tables and chairs would come from Designer Venues as part of the set-up listed in the invoice.. It was our understanding at our final meeting that [redacted] would be at [redacted] setting up the reception, while her husband went and set up the ceremony arch. Both [redacted] and her husband went to the garden to set-up the arch which we witnessed at 3:30 and left 1 man (“staff”) at [redacted].**At this time we were informed by my reception staff that there was no one hired by the bride to setup tables and chairs.Also as courtesy earlier that week I was concerned that the bride might not have anyone providing the table linens. To my amazement days before the wedding, she did not! **The linens were discussed at our final meeting where we clarified if [redacted] would be providing them and as we found out they would not. We asked for the linens to be added into the invoice and even discussed color, 17 just a solid white. However upon receiving an updated invoice a few days later it was not included. I figured if I could find linens that we could use it would save us around $200, which I did. There were 19 round white linens provided, plenty for the use of the reception, since there were only 17 guest tables and were delivered the afternoon of the event since she did not want to meet prior to that to receive them.**Once I informed them they had no one for setup of the chairs and tables for us, they sent two of their guests over to the reception site to setup tables and chairs. They were reluctant to do the work and they relied on my staff to place some of the tables and chairs for them. This caused us to loose valuable time waiting for the setup. We were also told by the brides family that the guests would not be able to complete the setup because they had to get back for the ceremony. [redacted] provided the tables and chairs and Designer Venues did not set them up so my brother-in-laws left the ceremony location to come to the reception location to set them up. They did not have the layout of where the tables and chairs went Designer Venues did and gave them no guidance as they set-up.**During the table and chair setup, we were only able to find some of table linens they dropped off that day with no communication to us of their location. To our AMAZEMENT not only did most of the linens not fit the tables they were dirty, stained, wrinkled and covered in pet hair! There were not even enough linens for all the tables. Directly after this we started putting out the brides glass Centerpieces that were to be filled with water from the kitchen. After completion of the centerpieces, the Venue Coordinator informed us that glass and open candles were not allowed outside. She also informed us that the bride was aware of this in the venue contract she signed. My staff had to remove all the centerpieces, which again took away more valuable setup time. **The contract that I signed with [redacted] did not mention anything about having glass. It was a City of Phoenix ordinance that I was not notified about. After signing my contact [redacted] changed their contract to clearly state a no glass policy however this was not in my signed contract. There were 19 white round linens provided, there were plenty since only 17 guest tables were required. The linens were in excellent condition.**The students the bride provided to help with her set up didn't know anything about the setup of her decor. Even when given the map of the decor layout, they setup indoor tables wrong and needed constant direction and instruction by me for setup. Which yet again took away valuable time we couldn't afford to loose. **The students did not know anything about the setup as they were initially there to help with serving dinner. They should have received clear direction from the Designer Venues staff as to what needed to get done, this communication did not happen and is not the students fault. Credible witnesses informed me that the staff had no idea where anything was or where anything went. There was no urgency in setting up my reception especially with such tight time constraints. As a result our priority had to be on the guest tables. I knew before anything else, guest would be wanting to sit at their table. I communicated to the brides friends and family on her behalf the situation during all of this. We were unable to get ahold of Designer Venues the day of our event. I was receiving phone calls and texts from [redacted], and from my students and when we tried to call her no one picked up. Never received a call back.**We still managed to get everything that was allowed by the venue out and ready. Any items that were not put out were a result of lost time and venue regulation. The bride also stated we were late tearing down the ceremony back drop and that they had to tear it down. There was never a time frame given to me on when my staff had to tear down the backdrop. When my staff arrived to tear down and remove the back drop, some of the brides family had voluntarily broke down the back drop with no complaints to my staff and acted very happy to do so. No mention was made of being late from anyone including the venue and especially the bride. In fact, when my staff arrived the bridal party was just finishing up there last photos. **During our final meeting tear down of the ceremony arch was discussed. I informed them that our rental was up at the garden at 6:00pm but there was a little flexibility in that time. Somewhere between 6:00 and 6:15 is when it needed to be removed by. I was ensured that set-up would begin at [redacted] and once set up was underway the husband would come back to the garden to remove the ceremony arch. At 6:30pm when no one had shown up and we could not get a hold of anyone my sister, father, and family friend broke the arch down so when staff did arrive it would be a quick removal. My sister was in her bridesmaids dress doing unplanned manual labor, they were not pleased to do it, but were not going to make it a big deal on my special day.**The bride claimed that we didn't bring everything that we were contracted to bring including our hired staff or the flatware. Totally untrue! I personally helped collect it from the tables, wash, and return to our rental company! Unbelievable! It's clearly evident the bride will say anything to avoid taking responsibility for her poor wedding planning and pass the blame on to us! **It isn’t clearly evident that I will say anything to not take responsibility, there isn’t anything additional for me to gain by filing this complaint. I am just seeking the truth. I have taken responsibility for the things that I did poorly. However at the end of the day no matter how nice or crazy I may have been as a bride, services were accrued to do a job. Based upon our meetings and communications we were confident in hiring their services, however the overall execution was poorly done. In review of the rebuttal it appears as though Designer Venues admits that this is their best work and they did an amazing job! Which I find this hard to believe. According to Designer Venues the blame for the evening falls solely on myself, my family, and my students. Attached are copies of conversations that have taken place and statements from witnesses during the set-up process that can attest that what I am saying is in truth. I don’t have unrealistic expectations of an apology or admitting of wrong doing, even the manner in which I was spoken to after the event. But more I take this opportunity to voice my concern and make other brides aware that this is not a perfect service and I would never recommend them to anyone getting married. Designer Venues has made this a personal attack on myself and my family in an order to shift responsibility for their poor services. The level of professionalism that this company first gives you is very impressive, but based upon experience that professionalism quickly diminished.**
Regards,
[redacted]

From the very beginning of meeting and working with the bride, it was apparent that she was unprepared to handle her decor she planned to use and the financial responsibility of paying for our services. I had to deal with numerous attempts  to collect deposits, a bounced check, and...

incorrect credit card information, all extremely past due payments. Through all of this we were very patient. After only having a total of two meetings with the bride, (not several as stated by the bride) she was reluctant to go over the decor details but instead to our amazement she offloaded enough boxes of her decor that completely filled up our full size suv from floor to ceiling and front to back! Then said they planned on giving me more later. I wasn't told till then, she expected me and my staff to set up all her personal decor. The allotted time for setup was only 2 hours. I informed her that I would have to hire extra staff to help set up. The bride assured me that she would have "students" help put out her decor.Contrary to brides claim that we were late the day of the wedding, we arrived almost two hours prior to the reception venue doors even opening. We set up the decor needed for the outside while waiting for the setup from the venue of the tables and chairs. I previously confirmed with the bride that the venue would be providing and setting up all the tables and chairs for the reception. With leaving half of my staff to wait for the venue to setup the tables and chairs at the venue, (so that we could then set out the brides decor) I took the other half of my staff to setup the altar at a different location in which we couldn't begin setup until 3pm. At this time we were informed by my reception staff that there was no one hired by the bride to setup tables and chairs. Also as courtesy earlier that week I was concerned that the bride might not have anyone providing the table linens. To my amazement days before the wedding, she did not! Once I informed them they had no one for setup of the chairs and tables for us, they sent two of their guests over to the reception site to setup tables and chairs. They were reluctant to do the work and they relied on my staff to place some of the tables and chairs for them. This caused us to loose valuable time waiting for the setup. We were also told by the brides family that the guests would not be able to complete the setup because they had to get back for the ceremony.During the table and chair setup, we were only able to find some of table linens they dropped off that day with no communication to us of their location. To our AMAZEMENT not only did most of the linens not fit the tables they were dirty, stained, wrinkled and covered in pet hair! There were not even enough linens for all the tables. Directly after this we started putting out the brides glass Centerpieces that were to be filled with water from the kitchen. After completion of the centerpieces, the Venue Coordinator informed us that glass and open candles were not allowed outside. She also informed us that the bride was aware of this in the venue contract she signed. My staff had to remove all the centerpieces, which again took away more valuable setup time. The students the bride provided to help with her set up didn't know anything about the setup of her decor. Even when given the map of the decor layout, they setup indoor tables wrong and needed constant direction and instruction by me for setup. Which yet again took away valuable time we couldn't afford to loose. As a result our priority had to be on the guest tables. I knew before anything else, guest would be wanting to sit at their table. I communicated to the brides friends and family on her behalf the situation during all of this. We still managed to get everything that was allowed by the venue out and ready. Any items that were not put out were a result of lost time and venue regulation.The bride also stated we were late tearing down the ceremony back drop and that they had to tear it down. There was never a time frame given to me on when my staff had to tear down the backdrop. When my staff arrived to tear down and remove the back drop, some of the brides family had voluntarily broke down the back drop with no complaints to my staff and acted very happy to do so. No mention was made of being late from anyone including the venue and especially the bride. In fact, when my staff arrived the bridal party was just finishing up there last photos.The bride claimed that we didn't bring everything that we were contracted to bring including our hired staff or the flatware. Totally untrue! I personally helped collect it from the tables, wash, and return to our rental company! Unbelievable! It's clearly evident the bride will say anything to avoid taking responsibility for her poor wedding planning and pass the blame on to us! The Venue Coordinator who was there the whole night, has even stated that the brides statement is completely untrue. We also have documentation and eye witnesses to support our statement. The Venue Coordinator expressed how we were very professional and did a wonderful job dealing with the stress and chaos as a result of the brides poor planning. She also requested our business cards and asked if we would like to be a vendor at their future open houses.In conclusion, we have wonderful reviews from all our past couples and continue to get rave reviews from everyone, including other vendors working with us on our events. Even as recent as this past weekend we were overwhelmed with the compliments from everyone involved in our weddings. Unfortunately, in the nature of any business you will work with people who depict you untruthfully and unfairly to avoid taking responsibility. We will continue to provide excellent services to our brides as we always do and look forward to working with brides who are committed to having a wonderful wedding day.

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.IN RESPONSE: This message originally read on 3/26/201 From the very beginning of meeting and working with the bride, it was apparent that she was unprepared to handle her decor she planned to use and the financial responsibility of paying for our services. ** We had our first meeting in June of 2014, at that time I had no idea what décor I had decided on using so it is very difficult to understand how it was apparent from the beginning that I was “unprepared to handle my décor.” In our first meeting it was stated that I want to do a lot of things myself as I am very crafty and DIY and that I wanted that incorporated into my reception. I was told that being DIY is great and that would be great and not a problem to include those touches.**I had to deal with numerous attempts  to collect deposits, a bounced check, and incorrect credit card information, all extremely past due payments. Through all of this we were very patient. **My mother-in-law is not a very wealthy person and I appreciate how patient and flexible she was with her in receiving payment. There was one incident where I sent her the wrong expiration date for my credit card and it had to be run again. However, in the end she was paid before the event and in full binding her to the invoice and contract signed by my mother-in-law. **After only having a total of two meetings with the bride, (not several as stated by the bride) she was reluctant to go over the decor details but instead to our amazement she offloaded enough boxes of her decor that completely filled up our full size suv from floor to ceiling and front to back! Then said they planned on giving me more later. **We had our initial consultation meeting in June and a final meeting with myself, my mother, her, and her husband in February for a final walk through. A meeting was scheduled a week before that where my sister and fiancée were in attendance but she was unable to make that meeting and we were notified last minute. Throughout the year from our initial consultation there were several communications made via e-mail that were initiated by myself. If as details were being provided she had questions, it was never expressed to me in any of our conversations. I wasn't told till then, she expected me and my staff to set up all her personal decor. Setting up my décor, as previously stated, was discussed in our initial meeting and no concern was expressed. At our final meeting when our décor was unloaded, yes there were a lot of items. Glass centerpieces and candy jars were strategically boxed up and labeled. Items were not lightly packed to be sure that the items would not break.**The allotted time for setup was only 2 hours. I informed her that I would have to hire extra staff to help set up. **My mother did express concern that we did have a lot of décor and just her and her husband would not be able to get everything done. Later she become concerned as well and contacted me to let me know that she wanted to hire additional staff to be sure that everything got put out, this would be an additional $100 charge and that was added to the invoice. The day of the event the “staff” included herself, her husband, children, and an additional man.**The bride assured me that she would have "students" help put out her decor. **I had a few students volunteer to work my reception, specifically to help with serving dinner. I did let Designer Venues know that students would be there during the set up time and once they were finished helping set up for dinner she can use them to assist in whatever else she needed. These are outstanding senior students; however they had no intimate details of the reception and what needed to be done or where things went. If they were to be used at all by Designer Venues details would have needed to be given to them since they had none of the details, all that information was given to Designer Venues. I provided Designer Venues with a detail layout of each space and where everything should go. All of the décor was boxed and labeled, trying to make it the easiest way to get everything out.**Contrary to brides claim that we were late the day of the wedding, we arrived almost two hours prior to the reception venue doors even opening. We set up the decor needed for the outside while waiting for the setup from the venue of the tables and chairs. I previously confirmed with the bride that the venue would be providing and setting up all the tables and chairs for the reception. With leaving half of my staff to wait for the venue to setup the tables and chairs at the venue, (so that we could then set out the brides decor) I took the other half of my staff to setup the altar at a different location in which we couldn't begin setup until 3pm. **Reliable witnesses that were there to help with the event were there at 3pm and saw no one in sight. My father and Father-in-law dropped off a few additional décor items that afternoon and at 3:30 when they arrived still saw no one there. At our final meeting it was discussed that [redacted] would be providing the assigned number tables and chairs, however it was assumed that the set-up of the tables and chairs would come from Designer Venues as part of the set-up listed in the invoice.. It was our understanding at our final meeting that [redacted] would be at [redacted] setting up the reception, while her husband went and set up the ceremony arch. Both [redacted] and her husband went to the garden to set-up the arch which we witnessed at 3:30 and left 1 man (“staff”) at [redacted].**At this time we were informed by my reception staff that there was no one hired by the bride to setup tables and chairs.Also as courtesy earlier that week I was concerned that the bride might not have anyone providing the table linens. To my amazement days before the wedding, she did not! **The linens were discussed at our final meeting where we clarified if [redacted] would be providing them and as we found out they would not. We asked for the linens to be added into the invoice and even discussed color, 17 just a solid white. However upon receiving an updated invoice a few days later it was not included. I figured if I could find linens that we could use it would save us around $200, which I did. There were 19 round white linens provided, plenty for the use of the reception, since there were only 17 guest tables and were delivered the afternoon of the event since she did not want to meet prior to that to receive them.**Once I informed them they had no one for setup of the chairs and tables for us, they sent two of their guests over to the reception site to setup tables and chairs. They were reluctant to do the work and they relied on my staff to place some of the tables and chairs for them. This caused us to loose valuable time waiting for the setup. We were also told by the brides family that the guests would not be able to complete the setup because they had to get back for the ceremony. [redacted] provided the tables and chairs and Designer Venues did not set them up so my brother-in-laws left the ceremony location to come to the reception location to set them up. They did not have the layout of where the tables and chairs went Designer Venues did and gave them no guidance as they set-up.**During the table and chair setup, we were only able to find some of table linens they dropped off that day with no communication to us of their location. To our AMAZEMENT not only did most of the linens not fit the tables they were dirty, stained, wrinkled and covered in pet hair! There were not even enough linens for all the tables. Directly after this we started putting out the brides glass Centerpieces that were to be filled with water from the kitchen. After completion of the centerpieces, the Venue Coordinator informed us that glass and open candles were not allowed outside. She also informed us that the bride was aware of this in the venue contract she signed. My staff had to remove all the centerpieces, which again took away more valuable setup time. **The contract that I signed with [redacted] did not mention anything about having glass. It was a City of Phoenix ordinance that I was not notified about. After signing my contact [redacted] changed their contract to clearly state a no glass policy however this was not in my signed contract. There were 19 white round linens provided, there were plenty since only 17 guest tables were required. The linens were in excellent condition.**The students the bride provided to help with her set up didn't know anything about the setup of her decor. Even when given the map of the decor layout, they setup indoor tables wrong and needed constant direction and instruction by me for setup. Which yet again took away valuable time we couldn't afford to loose. **The students did not know anything about the setup as they were initially there to help with serving dinner. They should have received clear direction from the Designer Venues staff as to what needed to get done, this communication did not happen and is not the students fault. Credible witnesses informed me that the staff had no idea where anything was or where anything went. There was no urgency in setting up my reception especially with such tight time constraints. As a result our priority had to be on the guest tables. I knew before anything else, guest would be wanting to sit at their table. I communicated to the brides friends and family on her behalf the situation during all of this. We were unable to get ahold of Designer Venues the day of our event. I was receiving phone calls and texts from [redacted], and from my students and when we tried to call her no one picked up. Never received a call back.**We still managed to get everything that was allowed by the venue out and ready. Any items that were not put out were a result of lost time and venue regulation. The bride also stated we were late tearing down the ceremony back drop and that they had to tear it down. There was never a time frame given to me on when my staff had to tear down the backdrop. When my staff arrived to tear down and remove the back drop, some of the brides family had voluntarily broke down the back drop with no complaints to my staff and acted very happy to do so. No mention was made of being late from anyone including the venue and especially the bride. In fact, when my staff arrived the bridal party was just finishing up there last photos. **During our final meeting tear down of the ceremony arch was discussed. I informed them that our rental was up at the garden at 6:00pm but there was a little flexibility in that time. Somewhere between 6:00 and 6:15 is when it needed to be removed by. I was ensured that set-up would begin at [redacted] and once set up was underway the husband would come back to the garden to remove the ceremony arch. At 6:30pm when no one had shown up and we could not get a hold of anyone my sister, father, and family friend broke the arch down so when staff did arrive it would be a quick removal. My sister was in her bridesmaids dress doing unplanned manual labor, they were not pleased to do it, but were not going to make it a big deal on my special day.**The bride claimed that we didn't bring everything that we were contracted to bring including our hired staff or the flatware. Totally untrue! I personally helped collect it from the tables, wash, and return to our rental company! Unbelievable! It's clearly evident the bride will say anything to avoid taking responsibility for her poor wedding planning and pass the blame on to us! **It isn’t clearly evident that I will say anything to not take responsibility, there isn’t anything additional for me to gain by filing this complaint. I am just seeking the truth. I have taken responsibility for the things that I did poorly. However at the end of the day no matter how nice or crazy I may have been as a bride, services were accrued to do a job. Based upon our meetings and communications we were confident in hiring their services, however the overall execution was poorly done. In review of the rebuttal it appears as though Designer Venues admits that this is their best work and they did an amazing job! Which I find this hard to believe. According to Designer Venues the blame for the evening falls solely on myself, my family, and my students. Attached are copies of conversations that have taken place and statements from witnesses during the set-up process that can attest that what I am saying is in truth. I don’t have unrealistic expectations of an apology or admitting of wrong doing, even the manner in which I was spoken to after the event. But more I take this opportunity to voice my concern and make other brides aware that this is not a perfect service and I would never recommend them to anyone getting married. Designer Venues has made this a personal attack on myself and my family in an order to shift responsibility for their poor services. The level of professionalism that this company first gives you is very impressive, but based upon experience that professionalism quickly diminished.**

Regards,