Orangerie Events

When contracted [redacted] to plan our wedding. She did not perform the duties described in our contract and we had to hire another planner three We were unable to get in touch with [redacted] to discuss our wedding and meetings that were scheduled with vendors. She did not produce event planning materials promised in the contract and she underestimated costs associated with our event by almost 50 %. When we asked for meetings with vendors at our venue she did not contact any of the vendors and instead left the country on a vacation. In our search for another planner to salvage our wedding we found out that we were the fifth bride this had happened to in the last fee months. As with us she refused to return other deposits and the pattern of non performance was exactly the same.Desired SettlementWe are seeking a full refund of our deposit.Business Response The client contracted my services on August 15, 2013. The contract clearly states all deposits are non-refundable. Over the course of the next six months, I worked on behalf of the client to secure or recommend vendors, maintain communication with all parties involved and was readily available to answer my client's questions, often by email or text. We met in person on at least six different occasions, including planning meetings with the stationery designer, florist, caterer, venue and rental company. I have documentation showing each email/request received by the client as well as my reply and response time to each email, which was mere minutes in some cases. I sat in-person with the client to create a budget based on their desires for the wedding. Although I recommended vendors that would fit within the proposed budget, the client sought and hired other vendors without my inclusion. The client met with these vendors either without my knowledge or informed me by saying "You don't need to attend." The client was aware I was going to be out of the country for vacation two weeks prior to my departure date and I even met with the client in-person the morning I was leaving to discuss specific details and address any concerns. The client quoted in an email, "I know it is a well deserved break and you won't be receiving any emails from me while you're gone." Throughout the entire process, the client never indicated their discontent with my services and on the contrary, often sent words of appreciation and gratitude for my assistance. The claim that the client is the fifth bride this has happened to is a slanderous statement based on hearsay and has no validity. The client decided to cancel the contract close to a month before the wedding date. The state of the wedding at the time of cancellation was a far cry from needing to be salvaged. At that point, all of the vendors were secured, a site visit had been conducted at the venue, decor details had been discussed at an in-person meeting on February 4 and a timeline had been formulated. The following weeks would have been devoted to tying up any loose ends, handling the small details for the wedding day and ultimately managing the event the day of had the contract not been cancelled. Final Consumer Response Mrs. [redacted] was terminated three weeks before the wedding. She did not inform us that she was leaving the country we read it on her blog. When we told her that we had seen she was leaving the country on her blog she said everything would be fine and that her assistant would be taking over for her. We never received an email, text or phone call from her assistant. When Mrs. [redacted] returned to the US she did not return emails or phone calls to me and did not attend the venue site visit. She neglected to set meetings with our vendors for that site visit as was prior to her leaving the US. We were never given a time line and the budget that she refers to was discussed in August and was 50% under the actual cost of the wedding. Three weeks before the wedding there was no time line, transportation was not planned or secured, the venue walk through with vendors was not scheduled, there was no tent layout, rentals were not finalized, musicians for the church were not secured, programs for the ceremony were not ordered. Mrs [redacted] is well aware of the other clients she has done this same disservice to at the exact time she was doing it to us. She even went as far as to tell one client that she was in [redacted] seeing doctors rather than the truth that she was leaving on a trip to [redacted] I have spoken by phone several times with this client and she has also been damaged by Mrs [redacted] in the amount of $2500.00, it is not gossip or hearsay it is fact and she will be filing a complaint as well. Final Business Response The method by which the client found out I was going on vacation is not relevant to the deposit, non-performance or the foundation of this complaint. As soon as the client found out I was going to be gone, she sent an email expressing apprehensions about me being away and I immediately responded and scheduled the in-person meeting for the day I was leaving. While on vacation, I did respond to emails from the client and venue coordinator and am happy to forward those along if needed. My assistant was available to answer any questions or address any issues, however we did not receive any emails or requests from the client other than the emails I personally responded to. I do take full responsibility for not finalizing the site-visit immediately upon my return, however, I had a personal conflict in the proposed scheduled date and was trying to rearrange my schedule from abroad in order to accommodate. I should have communicated that to the client more clearly. I am also happy to forward the timeline that was in fact created as well as the contact information for both the pianist and violinist who were booked for the ceremony. As for the tent layout and rentals, this was to be discussed upon my return given I had been sent conflicting information in regards to who would be providing the services as well as what the venue would allow. I agree there were still pending items to be addressed and handled in the weeks leading up to the wedding, which is standard with any wedding, however that does not negate the fact that hours of time had been invested since initially contracting my services in August. Hence the reason the deposit is instated. With all weddings clients, I speak directly with the rental company to finalize the order based on the final guest count and also email the final timeline and layout to vendors two weeks prior to the wedding date. Finally, I am aware of another client who was disappointed in my services and have been aware from the onset of this complaint that the two were communicating. That is one client and not five as stated previously. I will address that client and the specifics surrounding that wedding and my services directly with that client as it as no direct relation or pertinency to this complaint. Lastly, I would never discuss or challenge someone's personal health information in a public setting and I would advise anyone else from doing so.