22 Brook Park Ln,Park Forest,Illinois
3 (2)
Reviews
I should start by saying that I liked April as a person. Very pleasant and upbeat. My concern was when it came to the support for partial planning. I'm sure that she can execute on the day of the wedding. Unfortunately, we never got that far. April dissolved our contract two months before my wedding via email. She mentioned concerns during our last meeting about having my family being overly involved in the wedding but never requested that we have one-on-one meetings, moving forward. During our final meeting, she voiced concerns of payments but failed to provide consistent invoices to receive payment (apparently, it my responsibility to request invoices). She was also unaware of how much she had received. She stated that I tried to renegotiate her contract, which was not the case. Clarification was needed on the type of support that she was providing. Prompt responses were a concern during the spring, summer and fall months because of competing priorities. My family (albeit strong personalities) asked about her actions taken in the wedding process because we were looking to receive more concrete direction and information as we got closer to the wedding date. We were seeing samples from other people's weddings instead of drafts, based on information that we provided at least a month prior. Information was sent only when prompted to do so by the bride vs. information being proactively shared. Referrals were shared but they were not all reliable or up to date. I also had to schedule all of the meetings with the planner, instead of any of that owness being on the coordinator. Finally, when someone declines to provide further support for an event, with short notice, they typically provide a referral. This was also not the case. Ultimately, it was a disappointment. My advice to the planner for the partial planning package would be to - Provide clients with disclaimer if responses will take more that 24-48 hours, possibly setting up an automatic reply on the email saying that their communication was received and responses will be delayed. Proactively provide brides with list, timelines, recommendations etc. (without them having to request those items) Routinely check in with those referrals and verify contact information to ensure that they still offering services Schedule the meetings with the bride and groom (and indicate whether the planner prefers to work directly with them as clients one-on-one). Come prepared with a printed or tentative agenda for meeting Generate automated invoices to the client (with built-in time frame, deadline and/or reminders). I believe that Paypal and similar vendors offer this service.
If I could give April 100 Star rating I would. I previously was dealing with another company whom stopped answering completely a few days before my event. I reached out to April and she was able to make it happen with such short notice. I will definitely be a returning customer. Exceptional service!