Maui Indian Weddings

I would like to start by addressing the fact that no wedding planner ever wants to hear that their clients are unhappy which is why my assistant and myself went above and beyond to please [redacted] and ***Firstly, in the midst of discussing venue options for their wedding on Kauai or Maui, they went ahead and booked a location for themselves, before ever getting a budget or list of vendors from meThis not our protocol, which is to provide an estimate of costs, before the venue is bookedThis left me scrambling to not only find solid vendors, but very inexpensive ones at that, since their budget was set for only $15kThe food of course was going to be the biggest cost, since they wanted to serve people, separate meals over days of events (including the cocktail hour for the wedding reception)That is meals, that we could not go to a traditional caterer for, or the cost would have been approximately $12k-$15kThus we settled on hiring cooks, paying them a set rate for their time, and having one of the chefs purchase all the food, which the couple would only pay cost for Literally they would pay nothing extra for the food costs, just the actual price for the food/ingredientsI would like to address the complaint about the first meal, the night of the [redacted] Party, which was to be casual foods to eat throughout the night They are correct that it was served late I was mortified and spent the entire next morning getting the catering team in line .and after that every other meal was delicious, and served on timeAll of the guests, including the bride, the bride’s sisters, aunties and mother, complemented the food throughout the rest of the eventsAs for the “cooks conversing with the guests” .the chefs were under strict instructions not to converse with any of the guests, unless the guests spoke to them directlyThe only “cook conversing with the guests” happened on the very first night of the [redacted] Party, when the bride’s auntie began to converse with one of the cooks who also [redacted] Indian (as the bride’s family is)This was after that cook was done with the work she was able to do at the time, as the other chefs were finalizing the last dishesOne of the brides aunties asked if she could do some henna on her, which she did for about minutesThe cook was reprimanded afterward, and nothing liked that ever happened againNow lets address the biggest issue of the food paymentAgain they wanted to serve meals, over a 4-day periodThey paid the main chef who brought 100% of all the catering/cooking equipment needed, $for his time and equipment (which ended up being about full hour days with ordering, shopping and cook time!)The next payment to him was for $1800, and this was for “Initial Food Costs”BEFORE they paid this amount, they were given the invoice from the caterer, which clearly stated that any amount over that $would be refunded, and any amount owed would be settled, after the wedding/last event They were also told this twice by me over the phoneNow let’s break down the mathAfter paying $1800, plus another $to a store on Kauai, plus aprox$on a spice order ..that breaks down to only $per person, per meal!!! And anyone who knows Kauai, will tell you can barely get a sandwich for that priceOf course the caterer was going to run out of money! And they were well aware that the $was the “Initial Payment”Now I totally understood the sticker shock to get a $2k bill at the end of the wedding even if the math on that only works out to $per person, per meal! But of course my assistant and I wanted to do our best to alleviate the stress of that bill and the couple had some valid concerns on the caterers invoiceSo between my assistant and myself, we spent hours and days, to get the bill price droppedWe were able to get it down to only $798, and I even offered to pay $of that myself If they had paid the $they owed, it would have still only made each meal $per personWhen they refused to pay the caterer, he went back to the original final bill total [redacted] and [redacted] then sent a letter stating I am the one responsible to pay for the remained or the food costs, so I ended up having to pay the full bill to the caterer myselfThey stated that I have been calling and emailing them about the catering, but I have not called them once after the wedding ended, and I have only repsonded to their texts, and emailed them times about the catering billI will address all their other smaller issues below, before my final statement“not going over every budget” – Up until the day they flew to Kauai, they had both spread sheets and simplified Pdf versions of the budget outlines, which listed the cost for each and every itemThe only number I did not have for them, was the final catering payment, as a lot of the items were not even purchased till the wedding day and day prior to that “not giving us enough info about vendors prior to our payment” – This is the craziest statement because they had the names, addresses, websites and in many case phone numbers of all the vendorsThey also had phone and [redacted] conversations with some of themAs any coordinator knows, you pretty much never give out the contact info of your vendors to your clients but the bride was adamant about getting to know each vendorSo they had as much information as I didTo be clear, they were well aware that I had only ever done one wedding on Kauai before, and that the only vendors I had worked with prior were the videographer, photographer and rental company So together we took all year to go over the vendors as I found them, and they had as much information as I did They paid for/hired each vendor themselves, after reviewing all the information“not following plans/timelines we agreed upon” – The only time we were off on the timeline, was the very first meal at the [redacted] partyAll the decoration were up way before guests arrived it’s just that the brides family started moving all the decorations we had set up, to make small alters .so it may have looked to the bride as if they were still setting up? Otherwise every other vendor, meal and ceremony stared on time“failing to ensure all wedding favors were out for guests, failing to set out pens we had supplied for guest book“ – The bride and I went over all the items she had for me to set out for each eventThey were all stored in a bureau at the venue, and all of the items she gave me were put outWhen I mentioned to my assistant that they wrote here about us not putting out a pen .she said just what I said “what pen? They never said anything about a pen” If they had mentioned a pen, or given me a pen to put out, I would have put it out for themI would like to finish by saying that my assistant and I went above and beyond to please this couple, who were really just disappointed from the minute they checked into the house/venue which was a property they booked themselves, and knew I had never seen beforeHere are just a handful of things we did for them that they never thanked us for, and only seemed to treat us worse after assisting them: - We took over organizing a clean up/handyman crew for their rental house, including coordinating with the property manager, home owners and organizing the crewThis wasn’t just one day it was all weekAnd was in way our responsibility- Because they opted out of a cleaner for the day after the wedding, my assistant and I ended up cleaning, and doing chores for hours, that should have been paid for by them, to a professional cleaner- Due to their last minute request, my assistant’s parents ran a 6-hour [redacted] run for them, with delivery, and only charged them $- Because they opted out of a cleaner for the day after the wedding, I had to pay someone $out of pocket to do trash run To be clear, they only paid me $total, for a year of planning, events, and days of “clean up work” afterwardsI did not make one cent in commission from any of the vendors, catering, or venueI also got stuck with the final catering billAll in all, I lost money on this wedding, which in the end is not what I care aboutOf course all we care about as planners is to have happy clientsBut when I have the sisters of the bride, and the auntie of the bride (who plans events), coming up to me and apologizing for the brides behavior, telling me the events/food were wonderful one has to stop and say, “you can’t please someone who can’t be pleased”The consensus amongst all the vendors involved was that the bride was very rude to them, often swearing and snapping rather than communicatingEven though everyone from the hair/makeup, to henna, to photo and video did a wonderful jobI can take responsibility for the dinner being late for the [redacted] Party, but as far as I can tell this couple has no awareness of all that went beautifully, and all the extra work it took for us to save them a lot of moneyI know that everyone involved in this wedding went above and beyond for the couple, including myselfThat is all I can say, except I wish them very well, and all the happiness in the world together

We still disagree strongly with some of the statements from Everly, but since we have not had anymore from her or her assistant, we are satisfied Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me Sincerely, [redacted]

I would like to start by addressing the fact that no wedding planner ever wants to hear that their clients are unhappy…which is why my assistant and myself went above and beyond to please [redacted] and [redacted]. Firstly, in the midst of discussing venue options for their wedding on Kauai or Maui, they...

went ahead and booked a location for themselves, before ever getting a budget or list of vendors from me. This not our normal protocol, which is to provide an estimate of costs, before the venue is booked. This left me scrambling to not only find solid vendors, but very inexpensive ones at that, since their budget was set for only $15k. The food of course was going to be the biggest cost, since they wanted to serve 50 people, 6 separate meals over 3 days of events (including the cocktail hour for the wedding reception). That is 300 meals, that we could not go to a traditional caterer for, or the cost would have been approximately $12k-$15k. Thus we settled on hiring 3 cooks, paying them a set rate for their time, and having one of the chefs purchase all the food, which the couple would only pay cost for.  Literally they would pay nothing extra for the food costs, just the actual price for the food/ingredients. I would like to address the complaint about the first meal, the night of the [redacted] Party, which was to be casual foods to eat throughout the night.  They are correct that it was served late.  I was mortified and spent the entire next morning getting the catering team in line….and after that every other meal was delicious, and served on time. All of the guests, including the bride, the bride’s sisters, aunties and mother, complemented the food throughout the rest of the events. As for the “cooks conversing with the guests”….the chefs were under strict instructions not to converse with any of the guests, unless the guests spoke to them directly. The only “cook conversing with the guests”…happened on the very first night of the [redacted] Party, when the bride’s auntie began to converse with one of the cooks who also [redacted] Indian (as the bride’s family is). This was after that cook was done with the work she was able to do at the time, as the other chefs were finalizing the last 2 dishes. One of the brides aunties asked if she could do some henna on her, which she did for about 15 minutes. The cook was reprimanded afterward, and nothing liked that ever happened again. Now lets address the biggest issue of the food payment. Again they wanted to serve 300 meals, over a 4-day period. They paid the main chef who brought 100% of all the catering/cooking equipment needed, $1250 for his time and equipment (which ended up being about 7 full 12 hour days with ordering, shopping and cook time!). The next payment to him was for $1800, and this was for “Initial Food Costs”. BEFORE they paid this amount, they were given the invoice from the caterer, which clearly stated that any amount over that $1800 would be refunded, and any amount owed would be settled, after the wedding/last event.  They were also told this twice by me over the phone. Now let’s break down the math. After paying $1800, plus another $700 to a store on Kauai, plus aprox. $200 on a spice order…..that breaks down to only $9 per person, per meal!!! And anyone who knows Kauai, will tell you can barely get a sandwich for that price. Of course the caterer was going to run out of money! And they were well aware that the $1800 was the “Initial Payment”. Now I totally understood the sticker shock to get a $2k bill at the end of the wedding…even if the math on that only works out to $15.66 per person, per meal! But of course my assistant and I wanted to do our best to alleviate the stress of that bill…and the couple had some valid concerns on the caterers invoice. So between my assistant and myself, we spent hours and days, to get the bill price dropped. We were able to get it down to only $798, and I even offered to pay $100 of that myself.  If they had paid the $798 they owed, it would have still only made each meal $11.66 per person. When they refused to pay the caterer, he went back to the original final bill total. [redacted] and [redacted] then sent a letter stating I am the one responsible to pay for the remained or the food costs, so I ended up having to pay the full bill to the caterer myself. They stated that I have been calling and emailing them about the catering, but I have not called them once after the wedding ended, and I have only repsonded to their texts, and emailed them 2 times about the catering bill. I will address all their other smaller issues below, before my final statement. “not going over every budget” – Up until the day they flew to Kauai, they had both spread sheets and simplified Pdf  versions  of the budget outlines, which listed the cost for each and every item. The only number I did not have for them, was the final catering payment, as a lot of the items were not even purchased till the wedding day and day prior to that.   “not giving us enough info about vendors prior to our payment” – This is the craziest statement because they had the names, addresses, websites and in many case phone numbers of all the vendors. They also had phone and [redacted] conversations with some of them. As any coordinator knows, you pretty much never give out the contact info of your vendors to your clients…but the bride was adamant about getting to know each vendor. So they had as much information as I did. To be clear, they were well aware that I had only ever done one wedding on Kauai before, and that the only vendors I had worked with prior were the videographer, photographer and  rental company.  So together we took all year to go over the vendors as I found them, and they had as much information as I did.  They paid for/hired each vendor themselves, after reviewing all the information. “not following plans/timelines we agreed upon” – The only time we were off on the timeline, was the very first meal at the [redacted] party. All the decoration were up way before guests arrived…it’s just that the brides family started moving all the decorations we had set up, to make small alters….so it may have looked to the bride as if they were still setting up? Otherwise every other vendor, meal and ceremony stared on time. “failing to ensure all wedding favors were out for guests, failing to set out pens we had supplied for guest book. “ – The bride and I went over all the items she had for me to set out for each event. They were all stored in a bureau at the venue, and all of the items she gave me were put out. When I mentioned to my assistant that they wrote here about us not putting out a pen ….she said just what I said “what pen? They never said anything about a pen”.  If they had mentioned a pen, or given me a pen to put out, I would have put it out for them. I would like to finish by saying that my assistant and I went above and beyond to please this couple, who were really just disappointed from the minute they checked into the house/venue…which was a property they booked themselves, and knew I had never seen before. Here are just a handful of things we did for them that they never thanked us for, and only seemed to treat us worse after assisting them: - We took over organizing a clean up/handyman crew for their rental house, including coordinating with the property manager, home owners and organizing the crew. This wasn’t just one day…it was all week. And was in way our responsibility. - Because they opted out of a cleaner for the day after the wedding, my assistant and I ended up cleaning, and doing chores for 9 hours, that should have been paid for by them, to a professional cleaner. - Due to their last minute request, my assistant’s parents ran a 6-hour [redacted] run for them, with delivery, and only charged them $100. - Because they opted out of a cleaner for the day after the wedding, I had to pay someone $150 out of pocket to do trash run To be clear, they only paid me $3000 total, for a year of planning, 4 events, and days of “clean up work” afterwards. I did not make one cent in commission from any of the vendors, catering, or venue. I also got stuck with the final catering bill. All in all, I lost money on this wedding, which in the end is not what I care about. Of course all we care about as planners is to have happy clients. But when I have the sisters of the bride, and the auntie of the bride (who plans events), coming up to me and apologizing for the brides behavior, telling me the events/food were wonderful…one has to stop and say, “you can’t please someone who can’t be pleased”. The consensus amongst all the vendors involved was that the bride was very rude to them, often swearing and snapping rather than communicating. Even though everyone from the hair/makeup, to henna, to photo and video did a wonderful job. I can take responsibility for the dinner being late for the [redacted] Party, but as far as I can tell this couple has no awareness of all that went beautifully, and all the extra work it took for us to save them a lot of money. I know that everyone involved in this wedding went above and beyond for the couple, including myself. That is all I can say, except I wish them very well, and all the happiness in the world together.

We still disagree strongly with some of the statements from Everly, but since we have not had anymore from her or her assistant, we are satisfied
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
[redacted]